Book Of Joel Chapter 1.
The first chapter of Joel is preparatory for presenting a figure of the end-times events in Israel in the Tribulation. It uses symbolically the theme of the devastation by the plagues of locusts in their different stages of development (the palmerworm, the cankerworm, the caterpillar, the locusts) that the divine chastening brought upon Israel at different historical moments for their disobedience to God. These plagues are figurative of a massive invasion upcoming that will devastate the trees, the corn, the olive crop, the wheat, the barley, the vineyard and fruit trees and will even cut off the worship offerings to the Lord and take the joy out from the sons of men (1:1-12). To tighten their belts, call a solemn assembly and sanctify a fast (day of Atonement) in the midst of a holdown (restraining) from making offerings while crying out to the Lord will be the only proper response (1:13,14). This chapter is intended to be a type of the day of the Lord in end times for Israel: "Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come" (1:15). Did you catch that? It is of the Lord's doing, a chastisement of the Nation Israel from the Lord himself. It is an invasion of a devastating plague. Being "at hand" means that is near, coming up next, soon by a phrase search. It will affect the grain seeds and the barns/garners as well as the animals of the herds of cattle and wild beasts, for their pastures will be devoured and the water holes dried up. Locusts were the token means by which Israel was forewarned and chastised in the OT.
This chapter sets up the stage for the events that will be seen in Israel at the time of the end and the other two chapters will exactly pinpoint the timing and the nature of the invaders. Joel is fully eschatological even if it was directed at Judah by this prophet a contemporary of Elisha, and is likewise directed to the southern kingdom in end times.
This chapter sets up the stage for the events that will be seen in Israel at the time of the end and the other two chapters will exactly pinpoint the timing and the nature of the invaders. Joel is fully eschatological even if it was directed at Judah by this prophet a contemporary of Elisha, and is likewise directed to the southern kingdom in end times.
The Book Of Joel, Ch. 2
This chapter starts with a loaded verse and is full of details that can not be rushed thru.Some of the verses are scattered around to disguise the meaning as God does in scripture commonly so that we study to show ourselves approved unto God. And we also need to keep the ideas separately.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall run to and fro 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.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Let us take one verse at a time.
v.1 The trumpets have two separate sounds, one to summon the governors and the people to assemble and the other is the alarm that when in their land was to be sounded when invaded by the enemy to summon GOD (Numbers 10). Israel had no need for walled cities if they had been obedient to God, for if and when they were attacked all they had to do was to call upon God. The setting is that of Israel suffering an invading army, a coming day of the Lord.
v.2 In a day when the atmospheric conditions are going to be devoid of light due to thick darkness and clouds and gloominess, they are attacked by a people so strong with a strength never ever seen before and will never be seen again. Note that the light is lacking because of the thick atmospheric clouds, not because it represents an eclipse(s) of the celestial lights. Also note that this army is uncommon, as never seen so that one needs to consider if it means a suprahuman agency.
v.3-6 This army is characterized by flames and fires that are devouring before and after their paths and whose soldiers are organized, of great ability and fully equiped.
v.7 People will experience the ashes of their consumption of the land.
v.8,9 This verse is a key to the nature of the army: it is well disciplined and trained but if any fall upon a sword they shall not be wounded. This speaks of an other that physical army, not of human make-up. These invaders are like thiefs (that come to steal, kill and destroy).
v.10 What can make the earth quake before them and the heavens tremble if not but a demonic army? How can we tell? We can by looking at Revelation 9:13-21 that describe these beasts in details for they are a massive army of death demons, an army that has just been released from the depths of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1-3) in the midst of a smoke as from a great furnace. They do have a king (locusts do not have a king or leader). Israel is suffering a great invasion by a demonic horde at this point in the end times, for they are entering into the Birth Pangs stage or beginning of the great tribulation.
v. 11. This verse tells us two very critical things: first that in this 6th trumpet (2nd Woe!) period they are in the middle of the day of the Lord, supporting the concept that the day of the Lord is not a single day but a time of years. Second, this is the Lord's army for the demons are used of God to bring his indignation over the world, his fierce wrath. This is not the time to hang around the earth for the Church in the Tribulation, for no one can abide during the day of the Lord!
v.12-14 Are the words of the Lord to the nation at the time that they are discard the external demonstrations of sorrow and repent (turn) in mourning (for sins), weeping (for dishonoring a holy God) and fasting ( a token of sincerity) and He will relent and even bless.
v.15-17 This they are to do by calling the nation to assemble and the priests to plead for mercy and protection by his grace.
v.18-20 If the leaders do this, THEN the Lord will answer, no more make of them a reproach and even remove from them the northern army. But who is this northern army? The parallel verses in Revelation 9:13-21 given above show that this demonic army is from the river Euphrates, and given that it is the 2nd Woe, it is Satan's antichrist who leads it, an invincible army that Israel can not defeat (Dan. 7:21).
v.21-26 And if Israel seeks the Lord God, they are to rejoice in his peace and forsake fear, for he will restore the pastures for the beasts, and provide the early and latter rains again for the crops that will replenish their vats and the seeds eaten by the locusts and bring times of plenty once again. Note that the early rains were in the fall and the latter rains were in the spring but in the first month (Tishri) he will give both. This speaks of the outpuring of the Holy Spirit upon the nation at the very time of the defeat of the enemy at the close of the great tribulation (as we have written about). Note that God says again in v.25, as in 2:11that this is "my great army" for the Devil and his christ must too obey him who is in control!
v.27 By this Israel will know that "I AM" is in their midst.
v.28,29 These two verses look forward to the restoration of the nation Israel and the conversion of the remnant upon whom he will pour his Spirit in redemption and renewal.
The next three verses are better than gold and precious stones for they are the biggest clue to the timing of the end times in this book so we must look at then carefully. First, do not expect these to be chronologically ordered for they are not.
v.30-31 God will show wonders in the heavens and also in the earth; the former are eclipses, not blackouts (as 2:2,10), but actual direct changes in the lights in the firmament (not blocking of the lights by the earth's atmospheric obstruction). The sun will be turned into darkness (solar eclipse) and the moon (will be turned) into blood, BEFORE the great and terrible day of the Lord come. The day of the Lord thus will be preceded by solar and lunar eclipses and if we watch the signs in the skies, these are already upon us. The wonders in the earth are blood and fire and pillars of smoke before that day come. Does that speak of 1 Thess. 5:1-3, a description of sudden destruction?
v.32 Is a promise of deliverance to whosoever in Israel and in the remnant who calls upon the name of the Lord. Thus Joel chapter 2 is also eschatological for it foreshadows the end times in Israel when the antichrist and his army invades the land, as directed by the Lord for the chastisement of the nation (Is. 27:8, Ez. 39:26, Zech. 11:15-17) at the midpoint of the Tribulation and to start the great tribulation period.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall run to and fro 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.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Let us take one verse at a time.
v.1 The trumpets have two separate sounds, one to summon the governors and the people to assemble and the other is the alarm that when in their land was to be sounded when invaded by the enemy to summon GOD (Numbers 10). Israel had no need for walled cities if they had been obedient to God, for if and when they were attacked all they had to do was to call upon God. The setting is that of Israel suffering an invading army, a coming day of the Lord.
v.2 In a day when the atmospheric conditions are going to be devoid of light due to thick darkness and clouds and gloominess, they are attacked by a people so strong with a strength never ever seen before and will never be seen again. Note that the light is lacking because of the thick atmospheric clouds, not because it represents an eclipse(s) of the celestial lights. Also note that this army is uncommon, as never seen so that one needs to consider if it means a suprahuman agency.
v.3-6 This army is characterized by flames and fires that are devouring before and after their paths and whose soldiers are organized, of great ability and fully equiped.
v.7 People will experience the ashes of their consumption of the land.
v.8,9 This verse is a key to the nature of the army: it is well disciplined and trained but if any fall upon a sword they shall not be wounded. This speaks of an other that physical army, not of human make-up. These invaders are like thiefs (that come to steal, kill and destroy).
v.10 What can make the earth quake before them and the heavens tremble if not but a demonic army? How can we tell? We can by looking at Revelation 9:13-21 that describe these beasts in details for they are a massive army of death demons, an army that has just been released from the depths of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1-3) in the midst of a smoke as from a great furnace. They do have a king (locusts do not have a king or leader). Israel is suffering a great invasion by a demonic horde at this point in the end times, for they are entering into the Birth Pangs stage or beginning of the great tribulation.
v. 11. This verse tells us two very critical things: first that in this 6th trumpet (2nd Woe!) period they are in the middle of the day of the Lord, supporting the concept that the day of the Lord is not a single day but a time of years. Second, this is the Lord's army for the demons are used of God to bring his indignation over the world, his fierce wrath. This is not the time to hang around the earth for the Church in the Tribulation, for no one can abide during the day of the Lord!
v.12-14 Are the words of the Lord to the nation at the time that they are discard the external demonstrations of sorrow and repent (turn) in mourning (for sins), weeping (for dishonoring a holy God) and fasting ( a token of sincerity) and He will relent and even bless.
v.15-17 This they are to do by calling the nation to assemble and the priests to plead for mercy and protection by his grace.
v.18-20 If the leaders do this, THEN the Lord will answer, no more make of them a reproach and even remove from them the northern army. But who is this northern army? The parallel verses in Revelation 9:13-21 given above show that this demonic army is from the river Euphrates, and given that it is the 2nd Woe, it is Satan's antichrist who leads it, an invincible army that Israel can not defeat (Dan. 7:21).
v.21-26 And if Israel seeks the Lord God, they are to rejoice in his peace and forsake fear, for he will restore the pastures for the beasts, and provide the early and latter rains again for the crops that will replenish their vats and the seeds eaten by the locusts and bring times of plenty once again. Note that the early rains were in the fall and the latter rains were in the spring but in the first month (Tishri) he will give both. This speaks of the outpuring of the Holy Spirit upon the nation at the very time of the defeat of the enemy at the close of the great tribulation (as we have written about). Note that God says again in v.25, as in 2:11that this is "my great army" for the Devil and his christ must too obey him who is in control!
v.27 By this Israel will know that "I AM" is in their midst.
v.28,29 These two verses look forward to the restoration of the nation Israel and the conversion of the remnant upon whom he will pour his Spirit in redemption and renewal.
The next three verses are better than gold and precious stones for they are the biggest clue to the timing of the end times in this book so we must look at then carefully. First, do not expect these to be chronologically ordered for they are not.
v.30-31 God will show wonders in the heavens and also in the earth; the former are eclipses, not blackouts (as 2:2,10), but actual direct changes in the lights in the firmament (not blocking of the lights by the earth's atmospheric obstruction). The sun will be turned into darkness (solar eclipse) and the moon (will be turned) into blood, BEFORE the great and terrible day of the Lord come. The day of the Lord thus will be preceded by solar and lunar eclipses and if we watch the signs in the skies, these are already upon us. The wonders in the earth are blood and fire and pillars of smoke before that day come. Does that speak of 1 Thess. 5:1-3, a description of sudden destruction?
v.32 Is a promise of deliverance to whosoever in Israel and in the remnant who calls upon the name of the Lord. Thus Joel chapter 2 is also eschatological for it foreshadows the end times in Israel when the antichrist and his army invades the land, as directed by the Lord for the chastisement of the nation (Is. 27:8, Ez. 39:26, Zech. 11:15-17) at the midpoint of the Tribulation and to start the great tribulation period.
The Book Of Joel Ch. 3
Joel chapter 3 is about the restoration of Israel after that they have suffered their due punishment for their rejection of their Messiah (Zech. 11: 1-14)
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
Let us again do a verse by verse commentary.
v.1 It will be the time in those days when the Lord will regather Israel for the second and last time.
v.2 But as for the Gentile Nations that have invaded and done Israel evil he will bring them to the valley of Jehoshaphat (Armageddon) to pour on them the wrath of his great indignation for having scattered Israel and parcel out his (God's) land. Land for peace negotiations? Not in God's eyes they will not.
v.3-8 describe how they have treated Israel and it is the same pattern as the Gentile nations in the past have dealt with them so that the verses are mingled so that which occurred in the past foreshadows that which will occur in the future.
v.9-12 Are a warning challenge to prepare to fight with Him, to come to his land to face God, to wake them up to the fate that faces them as they get judged. God is bringing in all his enemies to his land, as with hooks in their jaws to get their due reward.
v.13 This is the angelic harvest, that of the reapers of Matthew 13 (Jesus Christ's harvest is always for salvation but that of his angels is for condemnation).
v. 14 Megiddo is also called the valley of decision for in such God will judge the nations and bring to an end the times of the Gentiles, closing that book forever.
v.15,16 These verses find their parallels in Revelation 16: 17-21 and Matthew 24:29, the very last judgment of the great tribulation where the enemy is all defeated but the earthly catastrophies cause such darkness in the atmosphere that none of the luminaries (sun, moon, stars) can give their lights (a blackout, not eclipses) and all that is seen is the contrast of the darkness with the parusia or coming of the Lord in the clouds (Matt. 29:30,31 Zech 9:14, Zech 14: 2-7) in glory and splendor.
v.17-21 Is a final conclusion of the kindgom of heaven's (Millennial Kingdom or Theocratic Kingdom) blessings for Israel, having been restored, regenerated, and rewarded while their enemies Edom and Egypt made desolate.
This book has so much information that allows us to date that at the Second Woe or 6th trumpet sound there will be an invasion by the Devil's christ into the land, as ordered by God himself to purge them and make the remnant white and pure. But it too can cause to stumble if attention is not paid to the very details the book provides. One stumbling block is cofusing Joel 2:10, the background of which is found in Joel 2:2 and it clearly references a blackout, confusing it with Joel 2:30,31 which is about natural eclipses, which the context does not say are simultaneous for that is impossible but are sequential, given to us by the hand of God (I will show wonders in the heavens). A blackout is cloudy darkness due to obstruction of the light because of atmospheric blackness resulting from earthquakes, volcanos (fire/brimstone), wars (nuclear bombs) etc. It is described in Ezekiel 32:7,8 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.
It is like this:
Joel 2:2,10 talks about a blackout at the midtrib point, at the invasion of the demonic army of AC
Joel 2:30,31 is an inserted verse, and deals with eclipses before the day of the Lord begins at the pretribulation time.
Joel 3:15-16 is a blackout on the very last day of Armageddon that closes the great tribulation. Each therefore apply to a specific period in relation to the tribulation time and are not to be confused with the others.
Finally, note that the so called Joel's Army, that many confuse as a Christian army that does the bidding of war for God, is not so, but is a demonic army led by the Devil's christ or antichrist that do the will of God. The contexts and parallel verses tell a different story so that to put the Christian church in the tribulation is obfuscation that takes to a dead end dark alley. Check it out.
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
Let us again do a verse by verse commentary.
v.1 It will be the time in those days when the Lord will regather Israel for the second and last time.
v.2 But as for the Gentile Nations that have invaded and done Israel evil he will bring them to the valley of Jehoshaphat (Armageddon) to pour on them the wrath of his great indignation for having scattered Israel and parcel out his (God's) land. Land for peace negotiations? Not in God's eyes they will not.
v.3-8 describe how they have treated Israel and it is the same pattern as the Gentile nations in the past have dealt with them so that the verses are mingled so that which occurred in the past foreshadows that which will occur in the future.
v.9-12 Are a warning challenge to prepare to fight with Him, to come to his land to face God, to wake them up to the fate that faces them as they get judged. God is bringing in all his enemies to his land, as with hooks in their jaws to get their due reward.
v.13 This is the angelic harvest, that of the reapers of Matthew 13 (Jesus Christ's harvest is always for salvation but that of his angels is for condemnation).
v. 14 Megiddo is also called the valley of decision for in such God will judge the nations and bring to an end the times of the Gentiles, closing that book forever.
v.15,16 These verses find their parallels in Revelation 16: 17-21 and Matthew 24:29, the very last judgment of the great tribulation where the enemy is all defeated but the earthly catastrophies cause such darkness in the atmosphere that none of the luminaries (sun, moon, stars) can give their lights (a blackout, not eclipses) and all that is seen is the contrast of the darkness with the parusia or coming of the Lord in the clouds (Matt. 29:30,31 Zech 9:14, Zech 14: 2-7) in glory and splendor.
v.17-21 Is a final conclusion of the kindgom of heaven's (Millennial Kingdom or Theocratic Kingdom) blessings for Israel, having been restored, regenerated, and rewarded while their enemies Edom and Egypt made desolate.
This book has so much information that allows us to date that at the Second Woe or 6th trumpet sound there will be an invasion by the Devil's christ into the land, as ordered by God himself to purge them and make the remnant white and pure. But it too can cause to stumble if attention is not paid to the very details the book provides. One stumbling block is cofusing Joel 2:10, the background of which is found in Joel 2:2 and it clearly references a blackout, confusing it with Joel 2:30,31 which is about natural eclipses, which the context does not say are simultaneous for that is impossible but are sequential, given to us by the hand of God (I will show wonders in the heavens). A blackout is cloudy darkness due to obstruction of the light because of atmospheric blackness resulting from earthquakes, volcanos (fire/brimstone), wars (nuclear bombs) etc. It is described in Ezekiel 32:7,8 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.
It is like this:
Joel 2:2,10 talks about a blackout at the midtrib point, at the invasion of the demonic army of AC
Joel 2:30,31 is an inserted verse, and deals with eclipses before the day of the Lord begins at the pretribulation time.
Joel 3:15-16 is a blackout on the very last day of Armageddon that closes the great tribulation. Each therefore apply to a specific period in relation to the tribulation time and are not to be confused with the others.
Finally, note that the so called Joel's Army, that many confuse as a Christian army that does the bidding of war for God, is not so, but is a demonic army led by the Devil's christ or antichrist that do the will of God. The contexts and parallel verses tell a different story so that to put the Christian church in the tribulation is obfuscation that takes to a dead end dark alley. Check it out.