Joel Chapter 2
3/10/25 12:01 PM
Solitary Man
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Joe 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet (sho-far) in Zion (tsee-yone – mountain, permanent capital, from a root meaning guiding pillar, sign, title, waymark), and sound an alarm (roo-ah – to split the ears with sound) in my holy (ko-desh – sacred, hallowed, sanctuary) mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble (raw-gaz – quiver, stand in awe): for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand (kaw-robe – near in place or time);
So far we have seen Joel begin to describe the devastation wrought by the judgment of Yehovah in his day, namely, judgment by locust. And this horde was one that had never been witnessed, nor heard of, by any member of the community. This helped to cement the fact that this event was of the Lord, and did not happen in the natural cycle of nature.
The second chapter will continue to describe just how deadly and efficient and all encompassing that this horde has, and will continue, to operate. The imagery of a destroying army is so vivid that it is quite unmistakable that God not only wants us to envision an army of locusts, but a future army of human destroyers as well. Thus the verses may be applied to any overwhelming force that God chooses to unleash during any period of judgment on any nation, at any point in history. Ultimately, though, the last and terrible final judgment is in view, and that will be most clearly discerned when we get to chapter three.
Therefore, the first great truth in this chapter is that the day of the Lord is not just one specific time period, nor is it only two (Joel’s day and the end of time). Ultimately, the people of God can read and learn about what to expect, and what is expected of us, during any time of God’s anger.
This short book does not delve into any detail about what caused their current plague. It is assumed that some sort of grievous sin has occurred, and/or a backsliding over some period of time. And it is most likely true, based on what the entire scripture teaches us on this subject. But according to what is found in this work, God’s people are to gather, mourn, weep, and fast. They are told to ask God to spare them. It may surprise you that nowhere are they told to confess whatever sin it is that they have committed. One could almost say that no repentance is in view. Almost. But not quite. Verse 13 will tell us to rend our heart – a call to repentance if ever there was one.
I believe that a specific sin is not mentioned because this book is to serve as a general blueprint for all generations, when the anger of the Lord is roused. It does not really matter which specific sin has been committed to get you to a place of judgment, the important thing is that we follow the instructions that God has given us in this book to remedy our situation. If God spoke of a specific sin, say, idolatry, then someone may not take the commands in this text to heart, if a different sin was the primary cause of their distress. If one needs an instruction manual in order to be able to recognize the characteristics of a time of judgment, and what to do about it, this is it.
Men, read the instruction manual! Don’t be like you normally are, skipping the manual and trying to assemble your new toy and making a mess of it! God has been gracious enough to give us instructions. Let us be humble enough and wise enough to take the time to shama them – to hear with the full intention of obeying what we have read.
Another major truth that I want to deal with at this time is the timing of things. Many sincere preachers have taken a dogmatic stance as to when the day of the Lord is to occur. They are convinced that they know when the former and the latter rain also come to pass. They confidently draw up fancy charts, telling you when the latter rain will occur, when the end time revival occurs, how the rapture fits in and where, and when the signs in the heavens take place.
And each and every time someone writes a new book or makes a new video, events take place that renders all of their predictions as utterly incorrect.
Think of all the date setters throughout history. Time and time again someone sets a date for something, and 100% of the time, God makes a fool out of them. Well, I have been made a great fool by God at least once in my life thus far, and believe me, I have no intention of ever repeating that process! It is not pleasant.
I say all this to lay down an important principle. I have read these three chapters in their entirety more times before beginning this commentary than any other commentary that I have undertaken. I believe I can see why the Lord had me do this. He is showing me that this prophecy is written in such a way as to make a rendering of the precise chronology of end time events as something that is not specifically revealed in this text. Depending on which verses you emphasize and which verses that you ignore, you will come to a different conclusion as to when certain events herein has, or will, take place. And I believe it is written that way on purpose.
For example, at the end of this chapter we will come to that most famous passage, where God is said to have poured out his Spirit upon all flesh, etc, etc. Peter quoted this on the day of Pentecost. Was that a solid interpretation and fulfillment of that portion of scripture, if you take it in context? Well, yes and no. No, if one strictly looks at context. Yes, if one understands that many scriptures have more than one fulfillment to them. That passage is no exception. We shall examine multiple possible fulfillments of that one portion when the time comes to do so.
As we go from verse to verse, the emphasis will be on keeping the interpretation flowing based first and foremost on immediate context. But we will also deal with possible and probable future fulfillments. We shall come to see that trying to make this text perfectly fit into your personal prophecy chart will be an exercise in futility. Unless you are a dishonest soul. Then it will be easy.
I will try to deal as best as I can with the most probable sequence of events, as I understand it. I know that many of you will not agree with each and every nuance, and that is perfectly okay. I am here to try and make these old texts come alive as best I can, trying to make them relevant for someone living in the 2020’s. I pray that at least some of you find some revelatory spiritual food for thought as you pursue your relationship with him.
Now back to verse one. I don’t know about you, but whenever I read this verse, immediately this song comes to mind:
They rush on the city, they run on the wall
Great is the army that carries out His word
They rush on the city, they run on the wall
Great is the army that carries out His word
The Lord utters His voice before His army
The Lord utters His voice before His army
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion
Sound the alarm in My Holy mountain!
Blow the trumpet in Zion, Zion
sound the alarm!
This is a paraphrase of Joel 2:1,9 and 11. And the way the charismatics interpret the meaning of this song could not be more opposite from the truth!
We sing it as a happy, joyous song of victory. No song gets the old time charismatic on their feet and dancing than this one. It’s a great, catchy tune. We sing it as if we are the ones attacking the enemy. The shofar has blown, the saints have gathered for battle. Jesus has shouted, and the victory is ours!
We shall see that the truth is the exact opposite. The shofar is one of alarm. We are being attacked, we are not the ones doing the attacking. The enemy is climbing our walls, and overrunning our dwelling places. And to top it all off, it is Yehovah himself who is shouting before his army – his army of judgment that he is leading against us!
How many of you still want to shout and dance now?
I kind of ruined this song forever for you, haven’t I! Too bad. I’ll take the truth over our sacred cows of tradition any day.
Zion is mount Moriah. It is the place of God’s temple, which signifies the place of his holy presence. Today, our bodies can spiritually represent the temple of the living God, but that does not take away form physical Zion. Zion also represents Jerusalem, Judah, and even all the land of Israel itself. So if you harbor any hatred or rejection of Zionism, repent while you still can. That is like hating the idea of the catholic (universal) church, because the primary denomination of Christendom called itself Catholic. We may not see eye to eye with all our brethren in Christ, but if they are followers and disciples of Jesus Christ, then they are our brothers and sisters nonetheless. If they are followers of a denomination and the traditions of men, that is another matter entirely.
Let us look at this holy mountain a bit more closely. First, judgment begins with us. Not with the government. Not with the cabal. Not with the new world order, or the genocidal lunatics that are trying to wipe out all life on the planet.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
If we are being severely chastised, even unto death and destruction, you need not worry that somehow the truly wicked will escape.
Let us call to mind these scriptures, as a reminder of the fact that Zion holds a place of preeminence in the mind of God:
Dan 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
God is a Zionist. All the men of God in the bible were Zionists. I am a Zionist. If you are a true child of God, then you are automatically a Zionist. The whole world is against Zionism. And don’t try to argue that I love Jesus, I love the Jew, but I hate political Zionism. There is no such thing. God does not separate the political from the spiritual. Not when it comes to his land. Do you think every biblical king was purely righteous in conduct? Of course not. Each person will face the judgment. But each king in Judah was of the line of David. And that was crucial in God’s plan. All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Yet God chooses whom he wills. He has chosen the Jew. Zion is where he has chosen to place his name forever. Period. End of story. I don’t care if you don’t agree. If you do not agree, at least you are in the vast majority. It seems as it the entire world has turned against the Jew. No matter how many atrocities Hamas unleashes, 97% of mankind still chooses to hate the Jew. Enjoy all your worldly friends. I am sure they will help you pass the time as you spend eternity in the fires of hell.
You cannot hate the Jew and say that you belong to Christ. We have been grafted into the family of God. If Jesus had not made this special provision for us Gentiles, we would have absolutely no hope whatsoever. Forever damned. Forever burning in torment. Given over to the watchers and their ‘gentle’ ministrations. God is doing something once again with the Jew here in 2025. If the whole world is against something, then that is a sure sign that we should be for it.
Now that my introduction is over, exactly what is this verse saying? Let us assume Zion also stands for all the people of God, in Christ, even as it eternally stands for Israel and the Jew. First, blow the shofar within the body of Christ, or Zion. Don’t blow it amongst the crooked politicians. God is not speaking to them. God is speaking to the church. Wake the saints up. If we want to drill down even deeper, we could claim that God is speaking to the remnant, the true church of Christ. Whether one wants to say this book speaks to the entire church, or to his true church within the visible church, is open for debate. I tend to lean toward teaching that God is speaking to his remnant. After all, just because one claims to be Christian but is not, is no more a part of the body of Christ than any other heathen. It matters not what we think of ourselves, it only matters what God thinks. So let us continue with the idea that God is speaking to his holy remnant, his real followers, those who have made that choice to sell out to Jesus.
The alarm is to be ear splitting. Loud. It is to sound in my holy mountain. In other words, it is to be at maximum volume to each and every member of the body of Christ. Not just some. Not most. All.
Next, we are to tremble. Not shout, sing, or jump for joy. Tremble and quake. Why? For the day of the Lord is at hand. It is near in time, and in place. In Joel’s day, it had already begun. God had unleashed the weapon of his choice, the various types of locusts, to devour everything in their path. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the day of the Lord was upon them.
So, should there be any doubt in anyone’s mind today that the day of the Lord is upon us. All these things since 2020 could not have occurred unless God had made them occur. Think of the almost perfect synchronization and coordination of virtually every government on the planet, in their national security response to the imaginary covid threat. In ordinary times, it is almost impossible to get 3 countries to act in concert on any topic, much less 200 of them to walk in near perfect unity. Only God orchestrating his army could do this. As we shall see later in this chapter, God was in charge of leading his army of locusts. So it is today. The day of the Lord is upon us, even as it was in Joel’s day. Is it the final and most terrible day of the Lord? Only time will tell.
Joe 2:2 A day of darkness (kho-shek – misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, obscurity) and of gloominess (af-ay-law – misfortune, concealment), a day of clouds (aw-nawn – thunder) and of thick darkness (ar-aw-fel – gloom, lowering sky), as the morning (dawn) spread (paw-ras – break apart, disperse, scatter, chop in pieces) upon the mountains: a great (rab – abundant) people (am – tribe, nation) and a strong (aw-tsoom – powerful, numerous); there hath not been ever (from eternity) the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations (dore dore – revolution of time or an age (twice)).
I want all of us to stop and slowly absorb every nuance of every word in this verse. Let it sink into your soul until it becomes a part of you. This verses will forever purge all nonsensical and erroneous imaginings as to what the end times are really like.
We are living in a day of darkness. A day of misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, and great obscurity, or deception. We are living in a time of depression, misfortune, and a concealment of the truth as never before. It is a day of clouds, not sunshine. There is thunder and the threat of storm at every turn. The darkness is supernaturally thick, that is, people have never been as deceived about reality as they are today. The sky is lowered, as if the heavens are about to fall and smother us. As the light upon the dawn of a new day spreads quickly to banish all darkness, so too the day of the Lord will render an opposite effect. That is, the supernaturally thick darkness will suddenly rise and banish all light. Did not covid suddenly spring up from nowhere and banish all the light of the truth from every corner of the planet?
The analogy continues by comparing the locusts to a great horde of an alien nation suddenly appearing out of nowhere, as a powerful, uncountable foe. When one looked, one understood that they were looking at something unique. These locusts must have been something else. Never before seen, and apparently would never be seen for a very long time afterword. However this last portion most glaringly describes the final day of the Lord, does it not? Never shall we see the like, as far as horror and terror goes, even as Jesus tells us:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Mar 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.
Mar 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
I could now relate many, many examples of this scripture being fulfilled before our very eyes. Has not the horror of the jab brought untold misery and loss like never before? Hasn’t the gas-lighting of the last 5 years been unprecedented in our history? Are not the days marked with a pessimism such as never been seen in our lives, save this last gasp of hope that God has given America? And most tellingly, have we not been made gradually aware of just how powerful and pervasive our enemy is? We are not fighting another nation’s army. Rather, we are fighting people in authority at every level in each of our own lands. The majority of our own people have become the enemy. Wittingly or unwittingly, they have joined the enemy’s ranks to help bring about this new world order. A nightmare of surveillance, poverty, despair, brutality, and hopelessness. While some of us have learned to take a certain measure of shelter in the arms of the Almighty, think about the millions upon millions of all those around us, lost and bewildered, ignorant of what is being done to them, embracing lunatic nonsense, all because their own neighbors and friends are part of the enemy’s army. It does not matter if they are aware of what they are doing or not, all that matters is that most are fighting for the side of evil, and are against the side of good.
The final battle of the age has begun.
Joe 2:3 A fire devoureth (aw-kal – eats up) before them; and behind them a flame burneth (law-hat – licks up): the land is as the garden of Eden before (paw-neem – the face) them, and behind them a desolate (shem-aw-maw – devastation, astonishment) wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
The locusts are as a raging fire, devouring all that is in their path. After they have passed through, what we see is a nothingness, an utterly barren wasteland. In comparison, what was there before they came now seems as rich as the garden of Eden.
I see a parallel to 2020. Something occurred in that year that forever changed this planet. Looking back, does it not seem that pre 2020 was like the garden of Eden, as far as freedom, peace, security, and the general state of our nations went? Now, does it not grate on your soul as to how it seems that every single thing that the government does, at every level, seems to have no other purpose but to harm us in some way? That is why the first month of Trump’s mandate is so special. When was the last time any politician kept so many promises in such a short time period? And don’t give me any crap about the few things that he has not yet done. So many things have not manifested because the wicked are fighting him every step of the way. They know that if they do not defeat him, then it may be all over for them, so they will fight to their last breath, as they have nothing to lose. If ever there was a man to pray for and uphold, this is the man. Never in history have we seen someone try to implement so much good in so short a time. Quit trying to condemn him for not being perfect. This is a man that God can use. But he will not survive long without our prayers. And we shall see in this chapter, no one shall survive long without following God’s recipe to avert total disaster.
Joe 2:4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
A casual reading of this chapter will make it seem like a human army is being spoken of exclusively. Yet a human army is used as a symbol as to what this locust army looks like, and how it behaves. Some think the head of a locust resembles the head of a horse, and that may very well be. The idea here is that this is a disciplined horde, one that is compared to an attacking mounted cavalry formation.
Joe 2:5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame (lah-hab – flash) of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong (aw-tsoom) people set in battle array.
These insects were so numerous that their sound was unique and unmistakable. They sounded just like an army on the march, or as an enormous fire that was devouring everything in its path. The point is that whatever God chooses to use to punish the people for their sin, it is implacable and unstoppable by any natural human effort.
Joe 2:6 Before their face (paw-neem) the people shall be much pained: all faces (paw-neem) shall gather (kaw-bats – grasp, collect, assemble) blackness (paw-roor – illuminate, glow, flush).
Just the sight of this enemy will cause everyone to lose heart. Again, in the natural, there will be no hope. Just as today, in most western nations, in the natural, it looks like hope has been taken away. In Canada, when the truckers convoy was crushed in 2022, something broke in the spirit of Canadians. It was as if we had tried our best, and our best was not good enough. The mistake we made was that we thought we could overturn judgment on our terms, using our methods. There was no heartfelt repentance by the remnant on a national scale. No, we all got caught up in all the displays of patriotism and flag waving. We put pride in the nation ahead of God’s plan of total repentance as our only hope. I will never forget that day when a small group of believers decided to do a Jericho march around our parliament buildings. They walked around the building 7 times, declaring this and pronouncing that. The very next day, instead of the walls of oppression falling down, a physical fence went up all around the place! God then gave me a prophetic word, stating that it was he that had done this. We thought we could arrogantly usurp a blessing and make God move on our behalf. But instead of victory, a greater oppression was decreed. And so it was. Bank accounts froze, trucks confiscated and damaged, law abiding civilians arrested and given outrageous prison sentences, and not a single sitting parliamentarian stood up for the oppressed. God did not come to our rescue that day. And now, it looks like God is orchestrating even worse judgments on our land, by inciting Trump to goad our government, causing the stupid, ignorant, godless fools in our land to forget the 10 years of communism just experienced and turn on the one man on the planet that is actually trying to do good. And no amount of daily prayer is able to dislodge Yahweh on this present course. He truly is the one who raises up, and throws down.
So America, enjoy your short season of reprieve while you can. For all you believers who still want to label Trump the anitchrist, or think Elon is the devil himself, I testify to you that any one of us in any other western land would give almost anything to have your government in charge of our nation. Please do not waste this opportunity. Repent, and perhaps the Lord will extend your season of grace. Otherwise you too shall end up as we in Canada. Losing it all, and no one even knows it. And almost all of the church seems to not care. Refusing to speak of these things, cowering behind their walls, not daring to speak of anything that would draw the notice of the censors, this is what happens when the things of God become of no importance in a nation. Canada is a godless place. And it shall remain so, until and unless every last soul that is part of the true church of Jesus decides that this life has no more meaning, forsaking our carnality, blindness, deadness, and false teachings, and embraces the way of the cross.
We in Canada are much pained at this time. But who knows, as we shall see, at least in this book, we will eventually stumble upon verses of hope, so do not despair just yet.
Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men (ghib-bore); they shall climb the wall like men (eesh – person) of war; and they shall march every one (eesh) on his ways (deh-rek – road or course of life), and they shall not break (entangle) their ranks:
Do you see how ridiculous that song is? The locusts are the ones who are going about like the gibbor, or the mighty men. They climb every wall. They seem to be so disciplined. All are of one mind. They eat everything in sight. To me, this symbolizes the army of the antichrist. He will assemble an army of the ultimate hive mind. The devil hates the fact that you have free will, though he tries to get you to use it at every opportunity when it comes to choosing to disobey God. Once he has you in his grasp, then that free will is brutally taken away from you.
This is the ultimate goal of all the jabs, I believe. Although almost impossible to confirm and verify, there being so many reports of a fragmented and anecdotal nature, a pattern is emerging. And it seems that whatever they are putting in these shots, it is affecting people’s minds. There is brain fog, and there are people who are hearing voices. Others are experiencing lassitude and a loss of will. There are hints that technology may exist that allows someone to place voices and thoughts in someone’s mind. Perhaps even rewriting a person’s thoughts with some that are not their own, but they will think that they are. These things are all designed to take away the ability of anyone being able to give their life to Jesus and be saved.
We are living in frightful, horrible times, not exciting ones.
Joe 2:8 Neither shall one (eesh) thrust (press) another (awkh – brother); they shall walk every one (gheh-ber – mighty one, warrior) in his path (mes-il-law – course, highway): and when they fall (naphal) upon the sword, they shall not be wounded (baw-tsah – finished, broken off, stopped).
Now no one would claim that locusts march in formation like a disciplined army, only that in their overwhelming abundance, with nary a space between them, it certainly appears that way. They do not fight with one another, nor exhibit any sort of self will. They all act like one mindless hive mind.
And isn’t that the horror of what we saw during covid? And now in Canada we are seeing it again, with everyone suddenly becoming patriotic, and waving Canadian flags and hating all things American. This same liberal government who told us Canada is the first post-national state, having no identity, is now telling us that we’re supposed to be proud to be Canadian. This same wicked group, who told us to be ashamed of all the Indian mass graves, which were a complete hoax, now tells us to be proud and fight Trump. In reality, they are displaying their utter hatred of Canada once again, in the most crass and hypocritical manner possible. They will ensure that Canada is economically destroyed by fighting Trump, and forcing him to make good on his threats. Canada will die, and Trudeau and the Liberals will become even richer and dance on the millions of corpses of the citizens in their wake. And Trudeau will win the gold star from his master Schwab and satan himself.
This is what you get when you let a pedophilic homosexual run anything. Nothing but death and destruction.
So be it. Canada has made its choice. When millions are starving and their children are all dead, then I suppose some may try and cry to the Lord. I know what he will say. Go and cry out to your gods whom you so loved. Your gods of abortion and euthanasia and transhumanism and gender dysphoria and genital mutilation and Trump hatred. Perhaps they shall deliver you.
Joel will show us that there is hope. But it all depends at what point in the judgment cycle that the people respond. Personally, I think Canada is beyond the point of no return. We are in the time that Jeremiah found himself in. America, you have done enough to have seemed to have attracted God’s attention. Do not waste your last opportunity as we have.
Joe 2:9 They shall run to and fro (jostle against each other) in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Locusts cannot be contained. So it is with all of God’s judgments. Do you think you can stop them? Maybe you see the dollar crashing. So you buy gold. Do you think that you are now safe?
I sometimes enjoy watching that Doomsday Preppers show. While some have altruistic motives, many are completely obsessed with protecting their own home, and no other. The lengths they go to in order to have enough for doomsday is truly breathtaking. As I was watching one show, the people had made their bug out location in North Carolina. They had stockpiled several years worth of food and supplies. They specifically said that they wanted to be 3000 feet above sea level, in the mountains, and there they would be safe. I wonder if that recent man made flood that scoured those same mountains wiped out all their supplies. My point being that there is no place you can go to escape the judgment of God.
Jer 44:25 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
Jer 44:26 Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.
Jer 44:27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
If you have ticked off God in a thorough enough fashion, there is simply no place that you can go to escape his plans of evil for you. We love to quote the verse that speaks of God’s plans for good for us. Yet we never tie that into our behavior. If our behavior warrants it, God can just as readily watch over you to do evil instead of good. This is why it’s so stupid, and even dangerous, to quote certain promises of God without a full understanding of context, conditions, and implications.
Joe 2:10 The earth shall quake before (paw-neem) them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark (kaw-dar – black, mourn), and the stars shall withdraw their shining (no-gah – brilliancy):
Locusts can darken the sky if their swarms become massive enough. Here is another ominous reference to the end of days, where the lights in the heavens will dim, symbolizing the darkness that has overrun men’s hearts in this last rebellion against the Most High. Perhaps all the chemtrails are the beginning of this fulfilment. Note also the prominence of earthquakes in the judgments. I don’t think that we’ve experienced this aspect yet, as we haven’t really had unnatural earthquakes to any extent. Something more to look forward to, for all of those who are so ‘excited’ to be alive at this time, I guess.
Joe 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before (paw-neem) his army (khah-yil – force): for his camp is very great: for he is strong (aw-tsoom) that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very (meh-ode – especially, vehemently) terrible (yaw-ray – dreadful, fearful); and who can abide (kool – bear) it?
This is the most shocking verse in the entire book. Yehovah himself is said to be at the head of this army. What army? This dreadful, awful, army of locusts. This army serves no purpose but to destroy everything in its path. We have all been taught that something like this is never God’s will. Either it’s the devil, or at the very best perhaps some teachers may allow for the truth that God permitted it.
That is a pure cop out. God permitted it? And what, pray tell, is happening in all of creation that he does not permit? Of course he permitted it! Just like he has ‘permitted’ everything that happens in the cosmos. That is saying absolutely nothing.
This verse is saying this is his army. Not the devil’s. Not the WEF’s, or the WHO’s, or anyone else’s. And he is giving it commands. To do what? To destroy all the wealth of God’s people. Note I said God’s people. God did not send these locusts to the Gentiles. He sent them to Judah, where his city and his temple is.
Once again, we are reminded of what the day of the Lord is really like. It is terrible and dreadful and fearful. It is of such a horrendous nature that the prophet wonders who can abide, or bear it?
Can you bear it? Are you able to abide the day of the Lord? Are you still excited? Does utter destruction and annihilation of the body of Christ’s physical wealth turn you on? Is this something that you really are looking forward to?
It is only because this has not happened to most of us that we foolishly dare to speak with such audacious ignorance. How about those poor souls, such as the J6ers, or the pastors jailed in Canada that have lost so much, do you think that the wiping out of all their wealth was something wonderful? Now don’t get me wrong. Some of them have come out of prison as truly transformed individuals. In their suffering, God has molded a masterpiece. The joy of the Lord is evident in their face. And some may even be thankful, in a way, for the loss of everything in the natural, as it enabled them to turn to God with all their hearts, having nowhere else to turn. But I would claim that the loss of all your physical comforts is never a pleasant thing, as Paul says.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
We shall see in this book of Joel that the goal is not character development so much as repentance. Different scriptures teach us different truths, and it is up to us to let the Holy Spirit quicken that portion of scripture that seems good to him to do so.
Let us have faith to embrace even the hardest truths, such as is found in this verse. As God commanded the locusts as his personal army in Joel’s day, perhaps he is commanding the cabal as his personal army in this day, in order to drive his people to a desired end.
Joe 2:12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn (shoob – turn back, turn again) ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping (bek-ee – overflowing dripping), and with mourning (mis-pade – lamentation):
Joe 2:13 And rend (kaw-rah – tear) your heart, and not your garments, and turn (shoob) unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful (rakh-oom – compassionate), slow to anger (af – wrath as smoke from the nostril), and of great (rab – abundant) kindness (che-sed – mercy, pity, favor), and repenteth (naw-kham – to sigh, sorry, rue) him of the evil (rah – distress, trouble, harm).
And what is that desired end? Repentance. Plain and simple. Why did God send the locusts? Why did he take personal charge of this most destructive force? In order to motivate his people to do what the above 2 verses command.
The first step is always to shoob. And shoob in two directions. Shoob away from something, and shoob toward something else. If you are to turn toward God, you must turn away from what was keeping you from God in the first place. And what is keeping you from God? What in your life is more important than more of God himself?
It’s easy to list some of the obvious things. The internet, your hobbies, food, children, religious activities even. But what about the not so obvious things? How about lack of perseverance? When you pray, and pray, and pray, and nothing happens, do you get discouraged? Do you subconsciously make a choice and say that this is not working? That it’s no use. I’m not one of those who are specially chosen to really know him intimately? So you decide to settle for second best? Back to your nominal relationship with God. You gave it what you thought was your best shot, but it just didn’t work out. But at least you tried.
Okay, so we have decided to turn away and now, turn to. But how do we turn? Is there any hesitation? Are there some limitations, conscious or unconscious, that you have placed in the path? The bible says you must turn to God with all your heart. Not some. Not most. Not 99%. But all. And there is where, I suppose, most of us fall short. How do we know when we are acting whole heartedly? I guess only when God tests our commitment. He will eventually ask us to do something that takes us right to that limit that we have set inside of us. Will we go this far, and no further? Will you go speak about Jesus to that person who really hates you? Will you give that extra dollar to that poor man, when you had your heart set on buying that new sweater for yourself? Will you give up that extra couple hours of sleep that you were looking forward to, when the Lord puts a prayer burden on your heart? Will you go and stay up all night with your sick neighbor, even though they don’t appreciate it? So in this context, as all your food has been eaten up by the enemy, will you turn to God with everything you’ve got, or will you blame God, and pull a Job’s wife type of stunt:
Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
Hopefully there aren’t too many of those out there who are reading this. I don’t think they could bear this kind of teaching in the first place!
Now the next step is fasting, weeping, and mourning. Fasting was a big thing in bible days. People did it as a matter of course, whenever calamity hit. David fasted when his child that he had in adultery with Bathsheba got sick. He would not eat until the outcome was decided. In that case, it did not work. Esther fasted when her entire tribe’s existence was on the line. In that case, it worked. The next verse will speak to this issue. There are no guarantees that it will work. But I think the bible teaches that you do increase the odds of a favorable outcome. Not because God is impressed with your will power, but that it helps to break self will in your life. It also leaves you more time for God. It also makes you more sensitive to spiritual things.
I confess I am not a great faster. I do it at a certain time of year, and that’s about it. I do not obey this ordinance as I should. I am sure there are many of you out there that can testify to the great benefits of this practice.
The key is that fasting helps to exhibit a proper heart condition. So does weeping and mourning. If you cannot demonstrate any sincere emotion over the calamity that has befallen you and your tribe, then there needs to be some serious soul searching with your God. Some may say that they are not emotional people. But do those same people scream their heads off at a sporting event, or laugh at great length over a humorous movie? Of course, Arabs are notorious for displaying outward shows of great emotion, often bearing no reality to what they really are thinking. God wants a heart that is moved by the suffering of others. In this case, it was probably pretty easy to weep, as these locusts had hit everybody hard. Let’s not be so hard hearted. Just because the judgment had not yet reached your house, do not forget the brethren so affected. That is why I often listen to personal testimonies of suffering, such as of those who have been hurt by the death jabs. It helps to keep a softened heart.
As we examine verse 13, we see that God wants reality. Who cares if you tear your robe? Tear your heart instead. Remember how the high priest tore his robe at Jesus’ supposed blasphemy? That did not impress God at all.
God tells them to turn to him a second time. And why should we do so? Because of the innate character and nature of God. While his ways may be judgment (Dan 4:37), his nature is grace and mercy. If he was not slow to anger, mankind would have no history to speak of. His chesed, his lovingkindness, is what gives us hope.
All those positive characteristics allows him to repent. In fact, God is looking for an excuse to not have to harm us. In fact, he only goes into ‘day of the Lord’ mode when he is left with no other choice:
2Ch_36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Are we there yet? Is Canada there yet? America seems to have escaped, at least for a moment. But Canada is going in the opposite direction. Into further sin, wickedness, ignorance, and rebellion. They want to fight against all that is right and good. And there is something so evil in the average Canadian person’s heart that they are willing to so easily and quickly forget all the oppression that the Liberals have imposed on this nation, and are eager to hate an America that now has a righteous ruler who is exposing the utter depravity of the rest of us in the west by comparison. It is because the actions of Trump are in such contrast to the wickedness of all other western governments, that most are having a massive meltdown. They are terrified that perhaps their citizens may actually demand that they stop worshipping satan and start performing a bit of mishpat, or righteousness, themselves.
While we may pounce on this scripture as infallible ‘proof’ that God is always willing to stop his judgment if we simply turn to him with all our hearts, unfortunately this is not so. Depending on the situation, there are times, as we saw in the Chronicles scripture above, where there is no other remedy. During Jeremiah’s time, during the siege of Jerusalem, the judgment cycle had progressed too deeply. Nothing more could be done. Look at these passages, to prove my point:
Jer 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
Jer 11:14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
I suppose it depends what the Spirit of the Lord quickens to you in each situation. I rather prefer Joel’s scripture passage over Jeremiah’s, don’t you?
Joe 2:14 Who knoweth if he will return (shoob) and repent (naw-kham), and leave (reserve) a blessing (ber-aw-kaw – prosperity) behind him; even a meat offering (minkhaw) and a drink offering (neh-sek) unto the LORD your God?
The sense of this is that perhaps God would return at least the means to perform the minimal amount of proper daily service to him, as represented in these two of the most common (and inexpensive) offerings. At least perhaps enough would be restored to restart the bare essentials of proper worship once again.
This is a very important concept that scripture teaches. For too long the false (or at least ignorant) teachers of the word have preached this ‘and they lived happily ever’ fairy tale when it comes to the repentance of God. That is, if we meet his condition of true and complete repentance, God always restored all that we lost, and maybe even more (as it was with Job, who received double for this trouble).
But this is simply not true. Remember when the Jews returned to Zion after their 70 year exile in Babylon? Did they ever return to the greatness of the days of Solomon? Was their rebuilt temple ever as great as Solomon’s? Only in the days of Herod, who undertook the building project with a similar motive of corruption as current politicians do (with the inherent money laundering) did the temple regain its former glory. Yet Judah itself never regained the political power it once had.
Jeremiah and a few of his friends had their lives spared, and that was about it. Daniel and his 3 friends most likely were made eunuchs, a terribly painful procedure that many died from. Joel here is hoping not for some return to former glory, but at least enough to fulfill the minimal requirements of proper temple worship.
This is also very telling. Joel was first and foremost interested in the things of God, not man. He was not hoping for his own barn to be full, but that first of all, the needs of God’s house would be restored. This attitude of humility and proper priorities is something we should all strive after.
I have noticed myself that the prayers most quickly and consistently answered are those that have to do with my ministry to the Lord. Personal requests are very hit and miss. Prayers having to do with fulfilling my calling seem to be answered speedily and consistently. This is another proof that we need to always prioritize the King’s business over our own.
Joe 2:15 Blow (clang an instrument) the trumpet (shofar) in Zion, sanctify (kaw-dash – pronounce, observe) a fast, call a solemn assembly:
As in Joe 1:14, the call for a solemn gathering is reiterated, as well as an accompanying fast. It seems that any time of serious soul seeking had a fast as an integral part. While we now have liberty in Christ, sometimes I think we use that as an excuse to shirk our duty for denying ourselves the way that we should. I certainly am guilty of not doing enough on my part to fast for the needs of the body of Christ.
I presume the idea of blowing the shofar is a sort of early warning system. The call to repent has been given. The answer to the great plague has been revealed. God says to rend their hearts, and turn to him in all sincerity. So the obvious thing to do is to gather the saints to execute God’s will in the matter.
Charismatics love to take everything and turn it into a party. The shofar seems to be blown only for Jericho like situations. They blow it to signify attack and victory. They never look to scriptures such as this, where it is used to gather the people in times of great distress, in order to get everyone focused on the one thing that could possibly save them.
Joe 2:16 Gather the people, sanctify (kaw-dash) the congregation, assemble the elders (ancient), gather the children (o-lale – babe, suckling), and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet (khoop-paw – canopy).
Does the body of Christ recognize the times and the seasons? Do we think that every day is a feast day? Are there no more fast days on the Lord’s calendar? Are we like the Israelites in the wilderness, who, at the first sign of delay, allowed boredom to override all common sense:
Exo_32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Are we still blowing the shofar in our congregations, pretending that the walls are falling down? Will we continue to play the fool, right until the very end? The command of God during imminent judgment is clear. Gather everyone. Young and old, even the infants. Even those, whose terms in the above verse indicate that they were actually performing the marriage ceremony, were not to be spared. Even though a newly married man was exempt from military service for one year (Dt 24:5), this was an exception to that general rule. Even as Israel today is most often attacked on their Sabbath, or most holy days, and are forced to fight, so it is when the hammer of God is about to fall on his people.
The question is: Will we hearken to those initial words of warning? Remember Joel was written as the first of the prophetical books. His warnings came more than 200 years before total judgment was to fall on Judah. So in his case, these were some of the first warnings God gave to his wayward people. His patience turned out to be incredible. He arose early, speaking again and again for over 200 years, until finally there was no remedy. If we happen to hear the word of judgment and we are in the season of Jeremiah, then we will have waited too long.
I will leave it up to each of you to decide if we have waited too long in this day.
I also like the imagery of the above verse where it states that the bride was in her closet. As a chaste virgin, the body of Christ should be found in their prayer closet so that when the call of the Lord comes, we are in the best position to hear it clearly.
Even in the new testament, this exhortation to prayer and fasting has not been done away with. Even in the matter of the marriage bed, there are times when, by mutual consent (not by one super sanctified, holy roller wife ‘declaring’ that this is what God said), couples are to devote themselves as if they were yet single:
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
This confirms the fact that this Old Testament command is just as valid today as it was in the past.
However all this gathering of the saints is of no value without sanctification. The children of Israel knew instinctively that an outward show of affliction was the least they could do in order to show that their hearts had been smitten by the judgment of the Lord:
Exo 33:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it:
Exo 33:2 And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Exo 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Exo 33:4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments.
Exo 33:5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.
Exo 33:6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.
The stripping of their ornaments would be like us shutting off our cell phones until God was satisfied with our penitence. I don’t think you could get 10% of the saints of God to do this for more than a few hours. Even if we all show up, if we fall into our shallow, trite, and superficial modes of worship, God will not accept us.
This verse tells us that unless all of the people of God show up and agree to seek the Lord with all of their hearts, it’s not going to work. At the bare minimum, we have to believe that at least all the true remnant must be at the place where they can hear the voice of God, and all choose to obey this call for weeping, rending of hearts, and crying out to God for mercy. Just a few of us here and there will not cut it.
Of course, there are times when God would be satisfied with less than all. Think of Abraham, pleading for Sodom. Ten righteous would have done it. In Ezekiel’s day, God would have been satisfied with one.
Eze_22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
I always wondered why Ezekiel himself was not counted as that one.
Again, we must hear the current word of the Lord for ourselves. We must perceive where we are in the judgment cycle. Joel is at the beginning of the cycle. Here, God seems to want all of his people to come together and agree to amend their ways. If they agree, full restoration was in store. Ezekiel heard his word in Babylon, just before the destruction of Jerusalem. This was Judah’s last chance. Even one righteous soul could have possibly deflected the full force of God’s wrath into something not so all consuming.
Joe 2:17 Let the priests (cohen), the ministers of the LORD, weep (baw-kaw) between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach (kher-paw – disgrace, shame by stripping naked), that the heathen (goy) should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
The leaders are responsible to set the example of true repentance. In this case, because it is a response to the initial warnings of God, just begging God to relent of the evil that he has sent our way is enough to move the heart of God. In Jeremiah’s day, God wanted to see specific acts of obedience, such as found in this passage:
Jer 34:8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
Jer 34:9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
Jer 34:10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.
Jer 34:11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
Jer 34:12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 34:13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,
Jer 34:14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
Jer 34:15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
Jer 34:16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Jer 34:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
Jer 34:18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
Jer 34:19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;
Jer 34:20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.
As punishment is progressive, so the demands of repentance become increasingly stringent. What may have worked in Joel’s day, ie, a sincere rending of the heart and begging for mercy, would not work later on. God will become increasingly angry at us if we continue to break our promises to him. Just like if our child promises to not misbehave, we will forgive him. But if he continue to break that promise, we will hold him to a stricter judgment as time goes on.
I wish that we were at the start of the judgment cycle. If all we needed to do is convince the remnant to gather and cry out for mercy, our chances of deliverance would be so much greater. While we shall discover God’s abundant mercy in this book, there does come a time of broken promises where God’s total mercy is not so easily found.
There are several interesting things to be learned from this verse. First of all, all pretense that God is still speaking of the locusts seems to be gone. We are now speaking of future days of the Lord, where God’s army is not the grasshopper, but evil armies of men.
The priests were to make this petition between the porch and the alter. This was the place in the temple where everyone in the assembly could see. Nowhere was he to turn his back onto the congregation, as traditional liturgical priests used to do, as they ‘magically’ used their special powers to transform the bread and the wine into the physical body and blood of our Lord (as you can see, I am no fan of transubstantiation – in fact, ‘trans’ anything makes me suspicious!). The priest was not to enter the holy place, where the congregation could not follow. As members of the body of Christ, the way to the holy place has been made open for all:
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
The reasoning the priests use to try and convince God to relent of his heavy hand upon them is by appealing to his pride. Why should God’s name be slandered amongst the heathen? Why should your very own heritage be given over to insult and mockery? When God’s people are brought low, it allows all the mockers and scoffers and the haters of God to justify themselves, saying that God is not real. Look at how he has treated his own people. Some God he is.
This tactic worked for Moses, more than once.
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Num 14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
Num 14:12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
Moses Intercedes for the People
Num 14:13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
Num 14:14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
Num 14:15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
Num 14:16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
Num 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
Num 14:18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Num 14:19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
Num 14:20 And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
Num 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.
Num 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Num 14:23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
If it worked twice for Moses, maybe it will work again?
Joe 2:18 Then will the LORD be jealous (kaw-naw – zealous) for his land, and pity (khaw-mal – compassion, commiserate) his people.
Contrary to what we generally read in Jeremiah, at this time and in this place it is stated that God will have compassion on his people. There is a jealousy that is reserved for God alone. While jealousy is a bad thing when it is found in us, just like vengeance, it is the purview of God:
Exo_20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo_34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deu_4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Deu_5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
Deu_6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
Jos_24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
Eze_39:25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
Nah_1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Zec_1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zec_8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
So we see there are several verses that speak of God’s jealousy. In fact, one of his names is jealous (Ex 34:14). Mainly, he is jealous for his name, or his reputation. If you decide to worship any other, you provoke the jealousy of the Lord. He will not share worship or glory with another. Why should he, since he created all things? Only in him is found salvation. Also in Zechariah we see God is jealous for Zion. So if you are one of those Zion haters, you have chosen to make yourself an enemy of God. Good luck with that.
Here in Joel it is also said that God is jealous for his land specifically. This cannot be spiritualized and twisted into some sort of replacement theology heresy. Israel has not been replaced, nor shall it ever be. God is jealous over the land of Israel. Hamas and others of their ilk have no idea of the wrath that they have reserved for themselves in the afterlife. Neither has everyone that condemns Israel for having the audacity to try and exist in the land that God has reserved for them. Israel is the only land of the entire planet where God says he is jealous over. And you still want to oppose Israel? Do you really think that’s a good idea?
Joe 2:19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn (increase), and wine (new wine, also expulsion), and oil (also anointing), and ye shall be satisfied (saw-bah – sated, filled up) therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach (kher-paw) among the heathen (goy):
So now we are moving into a promise of great blessing. God has begun judgment. The day of the Lord has been initiated in Joel’s day. We have seen that Joel is also speaking of future days of the Lord, which is any day when God shows up to punish his people (not the heathen) for their sin. He tells them what to do. Assuming they obey the instructions, this is what God will do in return. It will sound similar to the famous 2 Chr 7:14:
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
God just wants us to acknowledge our sins, and to turn back toward him. He knows that we are but flesh, and he is willing to forgive. He takes no pleasure in our pain, but is willing to do whatever it takes to bring us back to him. If we shoob (turn), then first of all, he promises to answer. Is that not the best blessing of all? That we will hear his voice once more? Is that not one of the most trying burdens that we face, when we pray and pray, but cannot seem to make a connection with heaven above?
God promises to meet our daily needs. What the devourer has destroyed, God will put back. He will send us corn, or food, or fresh manna, or the true word of God, to feed us therewith. He will send us new wine, or a renewing of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. He will bring back the gifts of the spirit, as evidenced in the anointing oil. The ministry will be renewed. He promises to satisfy the longing on our hearts. If we make it through our own generational round of judgment and act accordingly, then he promises to judge us no more. Oftentimes the promise was made to a king that he would have peace in his day, and the king was glad to receive such a word:
2Ki 20:16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.
2Ki 20:17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
2Ki 20:18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
2Ki 20:19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
Ki 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
2Ki 22:15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,
2Ki 22:16 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:
2Ki 22:17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
2Ki 22:18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;
2Ki 22:19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.
2Ki 22:20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
I personally would be thrilled to receive such a word in this evil day. To be able to defer the certain day of the Lord that is upon us for one more generation would be about the greatest boon that we could possibly receive at this stage in our nation’s history.
Joe 2:20 But I will remove far off from you the northern (tsef-o-nee, from a root meaning hidden, dark, gloomy, unknown, only time in OT) army, and will drive (naw-dakh – banish) him into a land barren and desolate, with his face (paw-neem) toward the east (kad-no-nee – ancient, past) sea, and his hinder part (termination) toward the utmost (akh-ar-one – last, uttermost) sea, and his stink (stench) shall come up (aw-law – ascend), and his ill savour (tsakh-an-aw – putrefy, only time in OT) shall come up (aw-law), because he hath done great things (gaw-dal – twist, boast, proud).
The language here lends itself to a remez, or a hint of something deeper. This enemy that God has stirred up to chastise his own people comes from a gloomy, unknown, dark place, represented by the northern direction. The cross of Christ has removed far off the forces of darkness from having claim on our eternal souls. Jesus has cast the enemy away into a far off, barren and desolate land. That reminds us of the story of azazel, or the scapegoat:
Lev 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat (saw-eer – satyr, faun, devil), and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
Lev 16:22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
Lev 16:26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat (az-aw-zale – azazel) shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
Strange things are found in the word, are they not?
The face of this enemy will be toward the east. Sun worshippers faced that way. It seemed bad things either came from the north, or the east. The east represents ancient things. Perhaps there is a hint of the ancient sins of the watchers, corrupting man once to their near extinction. Now back once more, up to their old tricks, with depopulation and genocide on the menu once again.
Because of their pride, the stench of their evil deeds shall come up into the nostrils of God. In opposition to the sweet smelling sacrifices Israel offered to Yehovah, the deeds of the dark ones were an abominable stench in heaven. Once more, God will unleash something called the day of the Lord to take care of these rebels once and for all. They will not be allowed to defile a third time.
Joe 2:21 Fear (yaw-ray) not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things (gaw-dal).
If the land could speak, it would be groaning unceasingly.
Rom_8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
In Israel today, war on seven fronts is destroying the land. In the west, chemtrails are sterilizing and destroying everything that lives. The land cannot take much more defilement. Yet here God is promising that the land will be restored.
This brings to mind the question I brought up at the start of this chapter. Exactly when shall this occur? The initial fulfilment was when God drove off the locusts in Joel’s time. Other minor fulfillments would occur whenever God’s people truly repented and turned back to him. Eventually, God would relent and restore that group’s fortunes. But as far as the great and terrible actual Day of the Lord, only in the Millenium will we see this total restoration. Therefore I believe that these promises of total restoration have their perfect fulfilment in the Millenium alone. Sorry, all you ‘kingdom now’ and ‘dominionist’ people! While God can always bless any one nation and/or tribe at any time, we are on a collision course with destiny. Once the tribulation begins, there are no more temporary reprieves. It is downhill all the way, culminating in the second great extinction, when the King of Kings returns to reclaim his earthly throne.
Joe 2:22 Be not afraid (yaw-ray), ye beasts (be-hay-mah) of the field: for the pastures (naw-aw – home, pleasant places) of the wilderness do spring (sprout), for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength (substance).
So we are now hearing of the great mass slaughter of the birds. Millions upon millions of birds are being killed, for the same reasons as for our great pandemic (that is, for no reason at all). The second grand scamdemic deception is under way. Will Trump and RFK put an end to it? Time will tell. I suppose it all depends on whether or not God chooses to wipe out our food supply as part of his army of judgment on our generation at this very moment or not.
The above verse speaks of the animals having their food supply rapidly restored, once God chased off the locusts back in the directions that they came from. Note how God is blending current and future pronouncements of judgment. He speaks of the locust plague, then the human army, then both, then back and forth, and weaving a tapestry of truths to ponder. The really critical point to grasp is that the specific timing of each verse is not meant to be known. He is speaking about general aspects of the judgment-repentance-restoration cycle. Certain verses will jump out at us, while another generation will have other verses that will seem more prominent and indicative as to what is actually going on. God does not want us to try and make a dogmatic timeline of future events from this book. That is not the purpose of this narrative. Rather, we are to meditate on the whole, and let the Holy Spirit speak to us as to what he wants to emphasize at any one point in time.
Joe 2:23 Be glad then, ye children (bane) of Zion, and rejoice (brighten up) in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain (mo-reh – archer, teaching, teacher, early rain, from a root to flow as water) moderately (tsed-aw-kaw – rightness, justice, morally virtuous), and he will cause to come down (yaw-rad – descend) for you the rain (gheh-shem – shower), the former rain (mo-reh), and the latter rain (mal-koshe – spring rain, eloquence) in the first (ree-shone – in place, time or rank, beginning, eldest, of old time) month.
In bible times, the former rain came around October, the latter rain in March. Month is in italics. It was added as the latter rain would come in the first month Nissan, in March.
I believe a better translation would be:
Be glad you sons of Zion and brighten up in Yehovah, for he has sent the teacher of righteousness, and he will cause the descent of the shower, even the former and latter rain, as decreed of old time.
The teacher of righteousness is Jesus. Just as sure as Jesus has been sent, so will the rain that will bring life. Two rains would primarily represent the two comings of our Lord. These things have been decreed of old time, so have no doubt on that. Two of the three things have been fulfilled, so you can rest assured that the third shall also come to pass.
Of course most Pentecostal scholars consider the former rain as being fulfilled on the initial day of Pentecost, while the latter rain will be fulfilled in some end time harvest, unprecedented in history.
While I agree that this verse may also apply to the giving of the Spirit, I take a different view of the timing of the latter rain. I believe we have already experienced it in the 20th century. From Azuza street, to the birth of Pentecostalism, to the tent revivals, to the healing revivals, to the Catholic charismatic movement, to the Jesus movement, from about 1900 to 1980 we had an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the world had not seen since the time of the apostles. Many millions were brought into the kingdom of God. Starting around 1980, the great apostasy began to take over the church, especially in the west. And it all was made possible by the introduction of the great heresies of our day. From word of faith to hyper grace, from Kingdom Now to Dominionism, from laughing revivals, to chasing after nonsensical false signs and wonders, such as teeth being filled with gold, oil on the hands, glitter on the shoulders, crackers in your bible, feathers on the floor said to be from heaven, etc, etc, not to mention the televangelists and the ungodly Christian television and satellite empires. All these things the devil quickly put in place, in order to once and for all quench the genuine moves of the Holy Ghost.
And quench it he did. I was saved right at the tail end of the Catholic charismatic movement, and quickly fell into the word of faith heresy. That derailed my faith for many years. I can certainly attest to the fact that nowhere is the Spirit of God moving like it did during those first couple of years of salvation. Much pseudo faith, much illusionary moving of some spirit, but no real lasting fruit whatsoever.
Ichabod is our name. No glory is our daily fare. As in Noah’s day, God gave mankind 120 years to repent, we have had 120 years from 1900 to 2020. as in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the son of man.
Joe 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats (yeh-keb – wine vat, presses) shall overflow with wine and oil.
When Jesus comes, our larders will be full. Jesus is the bread of life. The Comforter causes us to overflow with new wine. When God decides to curse, who can disannul it? In the same way, when God decides to bless, who can withhold the bounty?
Joe 2:25 And I will restore (shaw-lam – make good, make amends) to you the years (shaw-neh – age) that the locust (ar-beh) hath eaten (aw-kal – burnt up, consumed), the cankerworm (yeh-lek), and the caterpiller (khaw-seel), and the palmerworm (gaw-zawm), my great (gaw-dole – exceedingly proud, insolent) army (khah-yil – force, resource) which I sent among you.
Once again God smoothly refers directly to the current crisis. We love to quote this verse as a sort of general salve that we apply to every believer’s current woe, whether petty or perilous.
Let us also remind ourselves one more time that God wants us to know that it is his army, not the devil’s, that has eaten, burnt up, and consumed his people’s crops. Now locusts themselves do not have the ability to feel exceedingly proud. Therefore, God is simultaneously speaking of real locusts, and men who act like the locust. The point is that it is not very important as to which instrument God uses to punish. Today, he is using the cabal. An invisible enemy that has infiltrated every country, and caused so many of each nation’s citizens to turn traitor and destroy their own nations from within. All for a few silver coins. The mind reels from the global madness right in front of our very eyes.
Preachers just love this verse. How they love to hype up the audience in promising everyone in the crowd that God will restore everything the locust has eaten. I have lost count as to how many personal prophecies I have heard about how God will restore all that the locust has consumed. There are a few universally known verses in Joel, and this is certainly one of them.
But we all know that this great promise does not manifest in everyone’s life. Many, many saints have years stolen by the devourer, that are never made up. Many die prematurely. Many live out their entire lives in misery and poverty. So what gives?
Well, what gives is life itself. Reality. The pain and challenge of the promises of God on the one hand, and the lack of the manifestation of their fulfillment on the other. This is the challenge of faith. Will we cling to the truth that most things will only come to perfection in the next life, or will we allow doubt to cause us to lose our way? Or will we be found in company of all those in Hebrews, who also did not receive everything that they were promised?
Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Now one could argue that those before the cross were destined not to receive all things, but we on this side of Calvary, have received the promise. In the context, Paul is speaking of the manifestation of salvation found in Jesus. Yet the principle still holds. Think about all the saints under the altar today, crying out day and night for God avenge them, as their lives were all cut short, and they fell short of receiving all things in this life:
Rev 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
So we see that the mystery of God and all his ways will leave us all with unanswered questions, until we get to the other side, as Paul so clearly states for us:
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Joe 2:26 And ye shall eat in plenty (aw-kal aw-kal), and be satisfied (saw-bal – sated), and praise (haw-lal – rave, be clamorously foolish, celebrate, to make a show) the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously (paw-law – miraculously) with you: and my people shall never be ashamed (boosh – disappointed, confounded).
Well, I know that the charismaniacs have certainly continually fulfilled the portion of the above verse where it said we will rave, make a show, and be clamorously foolish! I have certainly witnessed my fair share of that type of behavior!
Until Jesus comes and perfectly fulfills all things, I like to take comfort in scriptures such as these by looking to the deeper spiritual fulfillment. If we truly rend our heart, cry out to God, and obey his voice, then he will give us exceedingly abundant revelations of his word. We will eat until we can contain no more. The opening of his word to our souls shall bring great contentment. There is nothing more wondrous than when God takes a portion of scripture and shows you great and wonderful things which you know not. Revelation is always miraculous. Scholarly study is not. Anyone can parse the Hebrew and the Greek. But to be given a true spiritual understanding of what God is trying to say in his word is a pearl of great price beyond measure.
Does the revelations of God stir your soul the way it should? Does it take away all the temporal disappointments that life has thrown your way? When you are confounded, does the light of the word of Yahweh suffice to meet all your needs? Can you honestly feel the same way as the Psalmist?
Psa 119:105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Let us feast on the word while it is still light. The darkness is fast approaching, and things we take for granted may suddenly disappear.
Joh_9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Joe 2:27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst (centre) of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed (boosh).
When God blesses us, and not man, there is no greater sense of comfort and security. Can anything compare when God answers your prayer, and you know it could only be God?
I am finding that when I pray concerning something that has to do with my ministry for the Lord, he has never failed to speedily respond. Several times I have asked for confirmation that what I am writing is his will, and that others are being blessed. And without fail, someone emails or comments about how some posting is touching their heart. And it happens every time! Once I even asked for three separate confirmations and sure enough, within a short time period, three different people reached out and let me know that something I wrote was blessing them in some way. I marvel at the grace and goodness of God!
On the other hand, my personal prayers do not receive such speedy answers. Take for example my prayers for the salvation of my and my wife’s relatives. That is slow going. I have heard more than one testimony when someone gets woken up in the middle of the night with a burden to pray for someone. Later, they find out that that person, at that specific time, was going through some crises, but was delivered. But notice the difference. When a burden is given, it is God’s will that you pray for that person. When you choose to pray for someone, while almost never a wrong thing to do, it is your will that is initiating it. That’s a different story. Not that God does not answer prayers that you initiate. All I’m saying that if it’s definitely for the kingdom’s business, prayers seems to get answered much more speedily than ones that you come up with. That is why it is so critical to do everything that you can to try and discover what God wants you to do at any one time. Your prayer life will become more vibrant and rewarding.
Joe 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward (akh-ar kane – the hind part and set upright, rightly, straightway), that I will pour out my spirit (ruach) upon all flesh (baw-sawr); and your sons (bane) and your daughters (bath) shall prophesy (naw-bar – speak by inspiration), your old men (zaw-kane – ancient) shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (khiz-zaw-yone – revelations):
Well here we are. It has taken us some time, but we are finally here, at the most famous passage in this book. I am sorry it has taken so long, but I type whatever God places into my heart.
Of course Peter claims that this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. I quote the entire passage of Acts here, in one place. We will compare Joel 2:28-32 to Acts 2:16-21.
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
There are some interesting differences in the texts, are there not? Peter says this outpouring will come to pass in the last days. That is similar, but subtly different, in that in Joel’s version, we notice the word afterward, which means the hinder part and straightway, or for certain.
The smoke is described as vapours in Acts, pillars of columns in Joel. Acts says notable day, Joel says terrible day. Acts says saved, Joel says delivered. And the greatest difference is in the last verse, where Peter cut off the last part that stated that salvation comes from mount Zion and Jerusalem, and has something to do with his remnant only. Although Peter was speaking to the Jews that had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, he probably left out the last part to really focus on the part of the outpouring of the Spirit, not on where it was coming from, or having to explain the excerpt about the remnant.
The first problem we encounter is this word afterward. After what? We have just been speaking about the great restoration that God has bestowed on his repentant people, after judgment. Joel has been speaking of this judgment as a manifestation of the day of the Lord. Now we all know that the final day of the Lord will receive no restoration until the Millenium. So the afterward cannot refer to after the last, great day of the Lord. Otherwise no outpouring of the spirit could occur until the end of the tribulation, which is the final, great day of the Lord. Most likely Joel is speaking of some time after his current judgment and imminent restoration. The fact that the word afterward carries the idea of the hinder part, seems to indicate that the last days are in view, as Peter rightly speaks. In effect, that was the interpretation Peter was given as to the meaning of the word afterward – the last days. Scripture interprets scripture.
Did Peter take this in context, or out? Both, I think. Part of the prophecy can be rightfully said to be fulfilled – the giving of the Holy Spirit. But the blood and fire and vapour of smoke part, that is generally understood to be part of the great and terrible day of the Lord itself, at the end of the last days, not at the start. But since Peter only focused on the outpouring part, he can be forgiven in quoting most of the passage, as perhaps he was only giving context to what he was going to emphasize.
If there was one thing all the apostles believed, it is that the last days began right after Jesus’ ascension. Paul spoke as if he believed Jesus was coming back at any moment:
Co 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
1Co 7:30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
1Co 7:31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
Now I don’t believe that Peter had grasped the next great truth of this verse. That is, that the Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh. Not just Jewish flesh, but all flesh. God had to send a vision three times about unclean animals being cleansed by God in order to convince him that he was supposed to even enter a Gentile home, much less preach the gospel and then baptize them, once God sent the same Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his household.
Peter probably thought that since the next part of the verse referred to ‘your’ sons and daughters, ‘your’ old men, and ‘your’ young men then that obviously referred to Jewish children only. However the word ‘your’ was not really in the Hebrew text. It simply spoke of sons, daughters, ancients, and youths. Therefore, the ‘all flesh’ is meant to make us understand that the following categories of people are in relation to the ‘all flesh’ and not in any way shape or form just Jewish flesh only. The word ‘all’ really means the whole part, so there is no doubt in the Hebrew.
When you stop and think about this, this word, given around 815 BC, would have been very hard to believe by the average Israelite. Was there any indication from Torah or any other scripture that God intended to take a family out of all the tribes of the earth? Did not this verse fly in the face of everything that the Jews believed about them being the chosen people of God? How could this possibly be true?
Well, just because God cut one covenant with Abraham, and then another with Moses, did not mean that he could not cut another one later on. And indeed we know that is exactly what he did:
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Almost all Christians tend to forget that God cut the New Testament (covenant) with Israel and with Judah. Not with the goy (gentiles). While this verse in Joel gives us a strong hint that God is going to do something very special with this covenant, it took Paul to spell it out for us:
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Joel is the book that begins to reveal the great plan and purpose of God in procuring salvation for all. Isaiah of course further reveals the tremendous revelations of the suffering servant to come. But yet, we should appreciate how hard it must have been for the apostles to take all this new revelation in. What a leap of faith it must have been! One can imagine the hatred that the ruling Jewish class must have felt towards the apostles of the Lamb, in having them preach that the Jews were not the only chosen people of God anymore. In fact, whosoever will could now join themselves to the family of God, without having to go through the rigamarole of circumcision, and adopting the traditional Jewish practices, etc. Change is hard at the best of times. This change was earth shattering in its implications.
So are we to take this verse and pronounce a dogmatic limit as to which group of people are allowed to do what, when it comes to manifestations of the workings of the Holy Spirit? Are only sons and daughters allowed to prophesy? Are only old men allowed to dream, and young men allowed to see visions?
I think not. What is being communicated here is the idea of universality. The Spirit will move as he will. He is not limited any more to the prophet and the priest. Whether young or old, male or female, God will choose whom he will choose. Even a cursory examination of what is said proves this. Is not everyone a son or a daughter? Therefore everyone who has the spirit poured out upon them is potentially a candidate to be used to prophesy.
Now before all of you go running off to Amazon to order in your John the Baptist kit of a hairy garment, and prepper food of locusts and honey, Paul instructs the church on the proper use of the spiritual gifts in 1st Corinthians. And no, there is still holy order, especially in public gatherings of the body. This verse is simply saying that the ‘all flesh’ means exactly that. Your prejudices against the young, or the female, or even the old, will not hold water anymore. God is about to do a new thing. The fact that it would take well over 800 years before this even began to come to pass, and another 2000 years after that to finally be completely fulfilled, is beside the point. Prophecy is prophecy. Sometimes God speaks a moment before something happens, sometimes he speaks thousands of years in advance.
Joe 2:29 And also upon the servants (eh-bed – bondmen) and upon the handmaids (shif-khaw – female slave) in those days will I pour out my spirit (ruach).
Whatever economic or social classes man had set up would be of no consequence as to who God decides to anoint. This must have been an even greater shock. It’s bad enough that Joel is saying that God will fill the goyim with the Spirit. It’s crazy to think that women, much less young women, will speak under inspiration. But now you’re telling me that even the slaves, and yes, even female slaves, the lowest of the low, will also have the Spirit of God poured out on them?
I wonder how many wanted to run out and hang this false prophet right on the spot! If you stop to think about it for a bit, it’s hard to imagine anything more outrageous, without it being outright heresy, that the prophet could have spoken at that point in history. This is why being a prophet is no picnic. Who knows what consequences he faced when he spoke of these things?
Joe 2:30 And I will shew wonders (mo-faith – miracles, tokens, omens) in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars (columns) of smoke.
So now we come back to timing. While Peter may have rightly claimed the initial outpouring had begun, these next two verses are commonly thought of as being reserved for the very end of the last days. I don’t see any other way of looking at them, since reality tells us that these have not happened yet. While there have been so called ‘omens’ in the sky in all ages, at least as far as people perceive them to be, these things speak of something unique, and global, and has the aura of cataclysm about it.
The Israelites did have a pillar of fire and smoke, but that was localized, and served as a sort of sneak preview of coming global attractions. We could peruse the book of Revelation for some scripture to cross reference, but I will leave that up to the zealous readers of this work, this chapter being very lengthy as it is.
Notice that God speaks of these portents as tokens and omens. They are miraculous in nature, so they will not be man made DEW weapons, or chemtrails, or anything the dark minds of evil men can conjure up. No, these are coming attractions that have an ominous, not a pleasant feel to them at all.
Joe 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness (kho-shek), and the moon into blood, before (paw-neem) the great (gaw-dole) and the terrible (yaw-ray – dreadful, frightful) day of the LORD come.
While Bill Gates concentrates on dimming the sun with his demonic weather modifications, when God decides to dim the sun, the darkness shall be one that will be felt. Again, I believe God previewed this in Goshen:
Exo 10:21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt (search, grope, feel).
Exo 10:22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
Exo 10:23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
We know of the blood moon phenomenon. This is something completely different. Your guess is as good as mine.
This is to occur in the face of, rather than before. The word paw-neem always denotes something being done in the frontal presence of someone. So I don’t believe that this is saying that the sun and moon have to do its thing before the final day of the Lord, but in the face of, or during the day of the Lord. So we do not have to wait for these two signs before the tribulation can begin. They are part of the tribulation itself.
And once more, we are reminded as to the character of this time. It is terrible, dreadful, and frightful.
I truly fear what the body of Christ has to endure. That is why the doctrine of the rapture is so eagerly embraced. It is a sort of security blanket, or a thumb to suck on, when the scary things of life threaten to take away our peace once and for all.
Sorry folks. Unlike Linus in the Peanuts cartoons, God is not handing out blankets to hold and thumbs to suck on. He does give us great and precious promises in his word though, to help see you through.
Joe 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered (maw-lat – escaped, rescued, preserved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance (pel-ay-taw – escaped portion, escaped remnant), as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant (saw-reed – survivors, rest) whom the LORD shall call.
There is not a specific time period associated with this verse. In other words, we do not know if this was meant for before, during, or after the great and terrible day of the Lord. And that I believe is on purpose. God’s salvation is available to all. Anyone who in true faith and sincerity calls out from the bottom of this heart to this great God of the universe will experience the saving hand of Yehovah.
Is there a greater truth than this in the entire bible? Even in the midst of a prophecy of the absolute most perilous and terrifying time in all of man’s history, we have this, the greatest and most precious of promises. What would we do without the hope of universal salvation for all? All of us are eligible. How awful it must have been, if you were a Gentile living before the cross. And you came upon Israel. You heard the great stories of God choosing this tribe, and all the great deliverances that they experienced in their history, confirming their claims as being the chosen people of God. And in your heart you somehow knew it to be true. And you went away dejected, wondering what fate led you to be born into the rest of humanity, one where God had not chosen you? What hope did you have? Even Paul spoke of this:
Eph_2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now Joel has given you hope. You read this ancient prophet and you wonder. Something warm begins to stir within your breast. Not quite believing, yet hoping against hope – could it be? Is it possible? Can salvation really be mine?
You continue reading, and you see that this salvation comes from mount Zion, which is Jerusalem, which stands for the land of Israel. So somehow it ties in with Israel. Then the Lord may have led you to the next prophet that he sent. Isaiah then speaks:
Isa 52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Isa 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Isa 52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Who is this ‘sprinkler of many nations’? What does that mean? Of course we know that in Isaiah’s next chapter, the great secret of the cross is laid for all who have eyes to see.
The last phrase is a bit perplexing, but maybe carries a hint that the survivors of the great and terrible day of the Lord shall also be delivered to repopulate the earth in the Millenium. Who else is there to repopulate the earth? All the raptured saints? All that are in heaven? No more babies for us! Only those that survive the cataclysmic final events of this present evil age seem to be candidates for that privilege.
Well, I have finally said all I have to say. For those of you who have not yet fainted in scholastic toil, please join me for the final chapter next time.
Solitary Man
