Joel Part 2 - Sermon (4-15-12)

In the ninth century B.C. the Lord brought a plague of locusts upon His people, the people of Judah, in order to draw them back to Himself. A plague of locusts had come upon the land and completely desolated it, devoured every tree and every green thing and left nothing in there wake but a white powder that Joel makes reference to. The Lord raised up the prophet Joel at this time to bring a message to His people, a message of repentance. And the Lord uses this current event, this natural disaster, this swarm of locusts to illustrate and warn the people, and us, about an event that is yet future. Joel takes this current event and uses it as his platform for telling the people about a coming devastation that will ultimately take place in the end times. This is common among the prophets. The Lord often used their current circumstances to picture something that was going to take place in the future. This kind of writing is like a pair of bifocals. When you look through the bottom of the lens you can see things that are close up, when you look through the top part you can see things that are far away. And so this is what Joel does in this book. Looking through one part of the lens we see the plague of locusts that devastated the land of Judah almost 3000 years ago, and when we look through the other part of the lens we see an event that is yet to take place, but that is coming very soon, the day of the Lord.

In chapter 1 Joel describes the complete devastation of the land. He says in verse 4 - "What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten." In verse 7 he says  - "It has made my vine a waste." Not only is this referring to the produce of the land being wiped out and the fruit of the vine being consumed by the locusts, but it's also referring to the nation as a whole being laid waste. In Isaiah chapter 5 the Lord refers to Israel and Judah as His "vineyard" and His "delightful plant", and he goes on to describe the utter desolation that the locusts have brought on the land. Joel continues and says that this plague didn't catch the Lord by surprise, but rather He sent it on them for judgment.
Unlike the many of the other prophets, Joel doesn't isolate a sin of the people. Many of the prophets dealt with the people concerning their idolatry or worshiping false gods, but Joel makes no mention of that. Instead it seems that the people of Judah had just become complacent in their economic security. The land was abundantly producing fruit and in their great prosperity the people forgot the Lord. This is the very thing the Lord warned them about in Deuteronomy 8:11-14 where He says - "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."
It seems that this was the state of the people of Judah at this time, and so the Lord brought this plague of locusts upon them to draw them back to Himself.

Five times in this small book Joel makes reference to "the day of the Lord." Just like the locusts, the day of the Lord will begin as judgment from God upon the earth. Verse 15 says - "Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty."
What was local and immediate, the swarm of locusts, would give way to something global and ultimate, the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is not a 24 hour period. It's not like, you have thanksgiving day, then you have Christmas day, then you have the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is a process that unfolds and intensifies. It's God intervening in mans affairs by judgment. There are four "days" spoken of in Scripture. Right now we're living in "mans day", "the times of the gentiles." This period will give way to "the day of Christ", spoken of four times in the New Testament, in which the church will be raptured. And then comes "the day of the Lord" which will begin with the 7 year tribulation period. This day, "the day of the Lord" begins with the tribulation, continues through the millennial kingdom, or, the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth, and will finally end with the destruction of the heavens and earth and construction of the new heavens and new earth. After this comes "the day of God" which is the eternal state.
So this third day is the one that Joel is focusing on in his prophecy.
There is actually no more detailed period of time in all the Bible than the day of the Lord. Along with many of the prophets, Jesus spoke of this day in the gospels and Revelation 6-19 deal exclusively with this day as well. It will begin 7 seal judgments, followed by 7 trumpet judgments, followed by 7 bowl judgments. And each phase is more intense and more severe than the previous one.

The Jewish day is not like our days. Our calendar day begins at midnight, but the Jewish day begins at sundown, at evening. This is based on the statement in the creation account in Genesis 1 - "And there was evening and there was morning the first day." The Jewish day begins in the darkness and ends up in the light, and that's exactly how the day of the Lord is going to come about. It will begin in the darkness, in the 7 year tribulation period. Joel says in chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 - "For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness." So the day of the Lord will begin in the darkness but that in turn will lead many people, including the entire nation of Israel, to repentance. And then it will continue through the millennium, a time when Jesus Christ will be reigning on the earth. A time of peace and prosperity, "And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a young child will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:6-9)
So the day of the Lord, though it begins in the darkness, it will end in the light.

Last time we saw that in view of the devastation of the locusts, as well as in the last days, the Lord calls the people to do three things:
1) Repent. In verses 12-13 he calls the people to repentance. - "Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil."
2) Regroup. In verses 15-17 he called the people to assemble together before the Lord.
3) Rejoice. The people were called to rejoice, not in their circumstances, but in the Lord.
Repent, regroup and rejoice. This is Gods message, and He says that once you do this "I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten." And we saw last time that, not only was this what the people of Judah needed to do, and not only is this what they're called to do during the day of the Lord, but we need to follow these steps when there is something in our lives that is eating at us, something bugging us, some trial that has come into our lives. We need to take these same steps.

Now that we've finished our review, hopefully we can finish the rest of the book.

Joel 2:28-32 - "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls."

"After this" that is, after Israel has been restored to their land, and the nation as a whole is brought into blessing. The Lord says "I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind." The context of the book of Joel, as we've noted, is the day of the Lord, and the things described here in these verses are also speaking of things that will come to pass in that time period.
In Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and many passages in Revelation talk about the events mentioned in verses 30 and 31. "Blood and fire", Revelation 8:7-8 - "The first sounded, and there came hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood."
"Smoke", Revelation 9:1-2 - "Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit."
"Darkness", Revelation 8:12 - "The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way."
"The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood", Revelation 6:12 - " I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood."
So these things in verses 30 and 31 are all signs that will take place during the tribulation period.

The outpouring of the Spirit in verses 28 and 29 will also come about in the day of the Lord. This will happen in part during the tribulation period. That is, while judgment is coming down the Spirit will be coming down too and many people will be saved, including the entire nation of Israel. During the tribulation many will be saved. We won't be here during this time, but the gospel will nevertheless be preached. The Lord is never without a witness. In Revelation chapter 7 the Lord raises up 144'000 Jewish evangelists, 12'000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. It will be like 144'000 Jewish Billy Graham’s. Then in Revelation chapter 11 we see that the Lord raises up two witnesses who will do great miracles in the streets of Jerusalem and the whole world will see their great signs and listen to their message. For years people wondered how the whole world was going to see the things done on the streets of Jerusalem by these two men, and then came satellite television.  And on top of that, in Revelation 14 we're told - "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people."
The Lord has it covered. 144'000 Jewish evangelists, two witnesses performing miraculous signs, an angel flying through the sky proclaiming the gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue and people. We won't be here to preach the gospel, but the gospel will be preached, and many people will believe and come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through these witnesses that the Lord will raise up.
Despite the great revival that will happen in that time, and the many who will get saved during the tribulation, most people will apparently not get saved, but the Lord will pour out His Spirit on those who do come to Him for salvation, and again, this will include the entire nation of Israel, for Paul says of this time that “all Israel shall be saved.” So the Lord will pour out His Spirit on those who call on Him, and it will come about that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

But this outpouring of the Spirit is also referring to the kingdom age. Verse 32 says - "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered" Why? The answer is "For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape." Another translation says "For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance." In those days restored Israel will be the center of blessing for the whole earth. This is not the case today. But in that time, after the church has been raptured and the Lord has picked up again with the nation of Israel to make them a means of salvation for the nations, Joels prophecy will be fulfilled to the letter. And the Spirit will be poured out on all mankind. Age isn't a factor and neither is gender, for it says - "your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."
After Israel repents and turns back to God as they're called to do earlier in this chapter, an event which will take place right near the end of the tribulation, then the Lord will pour out material blessings on them, that's what we have in verses 21-27. Then the Lord will pour out His Spirit on all mankind, spiritual restoration.

Since this appears to be the proper interpretation of this passage, what are we to make of Peters use of it in Acts chapter 2? Is it possible that Peter misapplied it? I don't think so. You'll remember that after Jesus rose from the dead and right before He ascended to heaven He told His disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. He was already in them, for in John chapter 20 Jesus breathed on them and said to them "Receive the Holy Spirit." So a portion of the Spirit was already in them, they were saved, but Jesus tells them in Acts chapter 1 to go to Jerusalem and wait for the coming upon of the Holy Spirit, and that's what they did. About 120 people were gathered together in an upper room when suddenly, Acts chapter 2 tells us in verses 1-13 - "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”"
And it was in the midst of this that Peter stood up and gave this great sermon, which he began by quoted these last verses of Joel chapter 2. Acts 2:14-21 says - "But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’"
Notice that Peter didn't say that what was happening at that time was the fulfillment of Joels prophecy. He merely said "this is that." Peter knew very well that the day of the Lord had not yet come, and he stated so in 2 Peter chapter 3. He also says in 2 Peter chapter 1 that "no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of ones own interpretation, but men moved by the Spirit spoke from God." So it's hard to believe that Peter would take a passage out of it's context to apply it to something that was taking place right then, especially since he was filled with the Spirit when he preached these things.
When Peter says "this is that" he is not saying that this is the fulfillment of Joels prophecy. In other words, he did not identify the events, he identified the power. That which took place on the day of Pentecost was the very same thing that Joel said would take place when the day of the Lord had come. The very same power of the Holy Spirit was operating in that day which shall operate when the kingdom has come on earth.
In other words, Pentecost was a sample of what Joel foretold. Just as the locusts foretold the coming judgment, Pentecost was predictive of the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days.

You would have to take these verses of Joel 2 way out of there context in order to say that their complete fulfillment was at the beginning of the Christian dispensation rather than during that day of the Lord as the passage suggests. Taken in full context it's obvious that Joel refers primarily to the bringing in of the kingdom, not the church.

This is a very important principle. When there was the speaking of tongues in Acts chapter 2, Peter was able to say to a group of skeptics, "this is that" and then quote the Scriptures. He was able to point to the Scriptures and say that this has a strong biblical base. Anything we do in worship or in the expression of gifts we need to be able to say "this is that" and point to the Scriptures. There is enough in the New Testament to keep us challenged until the Lord comes back without having to find other things that are not spoken of. I'm not interested in experiences where there is not a strong biblical base.
Leaders of all sorts of religions can change there minds on all sorts of issues, and what can their followers say? They have no standard, not set of guidelines to keep them on track. The can always introduce some new teaching or new doctrine, and their followers cannot object. And even in our own pentecostal circles we have people saying "this is the new thing, this is how the Spirit is moving." I'm not interested unless you have a strong biblical base.

In chapter 3, continuing on with his theme of the day of the Lord, Joel talks in verses 1-17 about a specific judgment that the Lord will bring on the nations during the day of the Lord. Verse one tells us the time of judgment. Verse 2 tells us the place of judgment. Verses 3-8 tell us the basis of the judgment. Verses 9-12 tell us of the preparation for the judgment. And verses 13-17 show us the execution of the judgment. And then the book ends in verses 18-21 with the restoration of Israel when the Lord will dwell in Jerusalem.

Joel 3:1-8 - "For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land. “They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink. Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the LORD has spoken."

At the end of the tribulation period God is going to gather all the nations of the earth for judgment. In verse 3 we see the horrible mistreatment of the Jews. Throughout history we can look back and see these awful things happening happening to Gods chosen people. "They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink." We tend to think "that couldn't happen." But as we look back through history it happened all the time to the Jewish people. The things that Titus the Roman general did to the Jews are really unspeakable. And the things that happened in the concentration camps in Germany in the 40's are horrifying. If we didn't know it really happened we would say "unbelievable."
But this is the bases for the Lords judgment in that day, that is, the treatment of the Jews. God is going to gather all the nations of the earth and pass judgment on the based on how they treated the Jews. This is the judgment that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 25:31-46 - “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
During the tribulation, when the anti-Christ is leading the nations of the world, for someone to aid the Jews they will be putting their own life at risk. And the Lord will honor those who showed their faith in a practical way by supporting the Jews, and they will be rewarded with entrance into the millennial kingdom. But those who harmed the Jews, or were even indifferent toward them, will go away into eternal punishment.

The valley where God will carry out this judgment is identified as "the valley of Jehoshaphat." There is a valley in Israel that separates the the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, and this valley bears the name "the valley of Jehoshaphat." However, it wasn't called this until the fourth century A.D. so whether or not this is the valley referred to in this passage is unsure.
The name "Jehoshaphat" means "Jehovah's judgment." So when we translate that we read verse 2 this way - "I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehovah's judgment." We don't know for certain the location of the judgment, but it's clear that the place will be known as the valley of Jehovah's judgment.

"They have divided up My land." - All throughout history people have been trying to separate Israel from their land, and for centuries the Jews were separated from their land. But even when they were separated from it no nation took possession of it. The Romans drove the Jews out of there land, but in 1948 they came back and bought it. They already owned it, but they came back and bought it. They are the only nation that has had to buy back their own land. And in 1948 they were recognized by the U.N. as a nation. But now people are trying to make them give up there land to the Palestinians. This doesn't make sense. They owned the land, then they bought the land, and yet they're still being pressured to give it up to a people that aren't even a nation.

Verses 4-8 - They sold the people trying to get rid of them and separate them form their land, but the Lord says that He will raise them up and bring them back to the land that He has given to them. And on top of that, what the nations did to Israel will come back on their own heads. That's a natural law, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

Verses 9-17 speak of a battle. This isn't the sheep and goat judgment talked about in the verses before, but it would seem that this is talking about the battle of Armageddon.

Verses 9-10 - "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”"

Verse 10 sounds a lot like Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4, only it's backwards. Isaiah 2:4 says - "And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war." This is the verse that is written over the door of the United Nations building. But they messed up. They forgot to put in the first part of the verse. The first part of the verse says - "And He (Christ) will judge among the nations and rebuke many peoples..." This time of beating weapons of war into implements of peace will only come after the Lord has judged the nations. It will only come after this verse in Joel is fulfilled. They will only beat their swords into plowshares after they have beaten their plowshares into swords and come out against the Lord and His people to wage war.
The Lord is telling the nations to arm themselves for battle, because war is coming.

Verses 11-14 - "Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."

This war, this battle of Armageddon is also talked about in Revelation 19 and Zechariah 14. The land of Israel is going to be overrun and all human help for the remnant of the Jews will be gone. In there time of greatest distress Israel will cry out to God alone for help. And the answer, as seen in the two passages previously mention is the Lord Himself. The cry of Jerusalem when it is surrounded by the armies of the earth will reach the ears of the Lord, and we will return alongside our Lord. He won't be coming as a baby in a manger this time, this time He will come as a mighty warrior riding on a white horse. The Jews will cry out to their once rejected Messiah and He will answer them.
This is how John describes His answer in Revelation 19 - "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”"

"The sickle" mentioned in verse 13 is referred to in Revelation 14, in connection with the battle of Armageddon and the judgment to follow. And in that passage we're told that the slaughter was so great that in that valley the blood will flow up to the horses bridle for a distance of 200 miles.

The valley of decision is not a time for the people to decide whether or not to follow Christ, that time has passed. the decisions being made at this time are the decisions of the Judge. The Lord is deciding and doling out judgment on the heathen nations.

Verses 15-17 - " The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The LORD roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more."

Verses 15 and 16 describe the same heavenly signs that are mentioned in chapter 2 verses 30-32. In the midst of the calamity the Lord will be a shelter for His people. When the Lord comes back to reign in Jerusalem there shall no longer be any stranger there. The city shall be holy to the Lord. Gods people will be submitted to the Lord who will rule over them. The Lord will dwell in His holy mountain. This is all going to take place at the beginning of the millennial kingdom, and in that time the people will experience unparalleled peace and prosperity. So this day that begins in darkness, will ultimately dawn in the light of the Lord Jesus Christ reigning on the earth.

Verses 18-21 - "And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD To water the valley of Shittim. Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations. And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the LORD dwells in Zion."

Joel ends his prophecy with a description of the time when the Lord will be reigning on the earth. Verse 18 parallels with Ezekiel chapter 47, a spring will go out from the house of the Lord to water the land. Judgment will be passed on Egypt and Edom. two nations that are constantly at odds with the Lords people. The book of Obadiah tells us that Edom will be blotted out forever, while Egypt, Isaiah 19 says, will be punished for her sins and then restored. But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.

Judah's time of trouble will lead her into full restoration, and the years that the locust has eaten during the seven years of tribulation will be restored to her in the kingdom age. The day of the Lord is a time of judgment. A time that the Lord will again pick up where He left off with His chosen people, the people of Israel. And He will use this time to draw Israel back to Himself. The day of the Lord will be a time of judgment. It will be a time of international fighting, it will be a time of spiritual and material restoration, and ultimately it is the time of Messiah's ruling on the earth.   

Why did God choose to use one third of His holy Scriptures for prophecy? Why did the Lord raise up people like Joel to prophesy during a time of loss in the history of a nation? The Lord has a plan, He has a plan for history and He is not surprised by any turn that history takes. He wants to assure us that He is in control. This plague of locusts, the persecution of the Jews throughout history, the coming day of the Lord, the Lord is using it all to accomplish His ultimate purpose. And no event, no trial in your life or in mine is meaningless. The Lord is using it for His purpose.
God has to constantly remind us that this world is not our home. We're just aliens and strangers, sojourners and pilgrims on the earth. Our job is not to change the economic or political structure, or invest in the financial markets of this world. But we need to realize that we're just passing through. The world is swiftly heading towards the day of the Lord, and the Lord has given us all this information about it so that we can warn others. Joel said "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!" At that time it will be the Lord deciding His judgment, but right now there are multitudes all around us that are making a decision. They are deciding what they will do with Jesus who is called the Christ. We need to influence their decisions. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
The Lord is coming back. He is going to call us up to Himself, we will sit at His side as His bride. We will rule and reign with Him here on the earth for a thousand years, and we thus we shall ever be with the Lord. It is wonderful beyond our imagination. But in the mean time the Lord has not left us on our own, but has given us the Holy Spirit, to do His work through us in reaching out to those who right now are in the valley of decision. May the Lord enable us to live in submission to His leading and may we be sensitive to His will, that we may be used for His glory. May we see the trials that come into our lives as those things which draw us closer to Him, and be able to say "when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold."

2 Peter 3:9-18 - "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."