CHAPTER 2

(800 B.C.)

CALL TO ALARM

¹Blow you 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 comes, for it is near at hand (the terms, Zion, My Holy Mountain, and The Land, define Israel and Jerusalem as the scene of these future events. The phrase, Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, refers to Israel, where the Battle of Armageddon will take place. For the Day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand, refers to the period in the future when the Messiah will interfere on behalf of His ancient People and deliver and restore them. Its details are predicted in the Book of Revelation.

As well, modern Preachers must sound an alarm at the condition of the modern Church, for these events of which Joel speaks are near at hand. This also means that the Rapture of the Church, which will precede these events, is very near [I Thess. 4:13-18; II Thess. 2:7-12]);

THE ARMIES OF GOD AT ARMAGEDDON DESCRIBED

²A 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 has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. (A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, refers to the beginning days of the Battle of Armageddon, when the Antichrist shall ascend and come like a storm, and [he] shall be like a cloud to cover the land [Ezek. 38:9].

Neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations, describes the Coming of the Lord with His mighty Army, which the world has never seen before and will not see again until the end of the Millennium, when Satan and his angels and demons will appear on Earth in an effort to once again take it over, at which time God will send His Army of Heaven against them for the second time [Isa. 24:22; Rev. 20:7-10].

This is what the many generations refer to, which concerns a time span of about a thousand years between the Second Coming and the end of the Millennium.)

³A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and nothing shall escape them. (This Verse corresponds with Ezek. 38:22, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone, which refers to the Second Coming of the Lord, which will take place in the Battle of Armageddon [Zech. 14:3].)

⁴The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. (The pronoun them refers to all the Saints who will be with the Lord at the Second Coming, which corresponds with Rev. 19:14. All the Saints of God who have ever lived will then come back with the Lord, and will be riding on white horses. These, of course, will be spirit horses.)

⁵Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. (This Verse tells us that the Second Coming will not only be glorious, but its power will express itself in a manner which the world has never known before. The phrase, As a strong people set in battle array, will be in answer to the boasts and taunts of the Antichrist, which will fill the world the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.)

⁶Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. (The Antichrist, seeing this tremendous power arrayed against him, shall be much pained.)

⁷They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks (the initial thrust of this Verse is that the Second Coming of the Lord will not, at least in its initial stages, be for the blessing of the world, but instead for the destruction of evil. Hence, they are called men of war. As well, they shall not break their ranks until this job of defeating the Antichrist and his armies is completed; and, completed it will be!):

⁸Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk everyone in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. (The phrase, And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded, shows that the Glorified Saints, the army of the Lord, will have Glorified Bodies, which are impervious to harm. In other words, they cannot be killed.)

⁹They 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. (The idea of this Verse is that no place will be inaccessible to this Army of the Lord.)

¹⁰The Earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining (the sense of this Verse is that the coming of the Son of God will be so resplendent with Glory, with the very heavens lit up to such a degree that they will literally tremble; moreover, the sun, the moon, and the stars will be so outshone that it will seem as if they have no light. Jesus mentioned this [Mat. 24:27-30]):

¹¹And the LORD shall utter His Voice before His Army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong Who executes His Word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (The phrase, And the LORD shall utter His Voice before His Army, speaks of all the happenings of Verses 2 through 11. For He is strong Who executes His Word, proclaims the Lord having the Power to back up His Word, and that all these predictions shall come to pass exactly as stated. All of this speaks of the Second Coming!)

CALL TO REPENTANCE AND FASTING

¹²Therefore also now, says the LORD, turn you even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning (as Verses 2 through 11 spoke of the Second Coming, Verses 12 through 17 portray the call to Repentance for Israel, which will take place at the Second Coming, and will guarantee her future Restoration; it also speaks to the Judah of Joels day, but more so to the Second Coming and what will then happen):

¹³And 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 repents Him of the evil. (This is a description of what will take place in Israel at the Second Coming, as it regards Israels Repentance.)

¹⁴Who knows 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? (As the Righteousness of God demands Judgment upon unconfessed sin, likewise, the same Righteousness demands Blessing when sin is repented of and turned from.)

¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly (in essence, this speaks of the events in Israel immediately after the Second Coming. Even though Israel at that time will not be able to literally blow a trumpet, just the same, the image is sufficient. As well, even though none of this pertains to the Church, the example could also well apply!):

¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the Elders, gather the children, and those who suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. (As stated, all of this will take place immediately after the Second Coming, when Israel finally repents.)

¹⁷Let the Priests, the Ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the Altar, and let them say, Spare Your People, O LORD, and give not Your heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (The idea of this Repentance in that coming day pertains, in effect, to Israels rejection of Christ and their crucifying Him. They will now learn that the One Whom they crucified is, in fact, their Messiah; hence, the religious leaders of Israel at that time will lead in this contrition before the Lord.)

THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD AND RESTORATION

¹⁸Then will the LORD be jealous for His Land, and pity His People. (Upon Israels Repentance, the phrase, Be jealous for His Land, proclaims the fact that as the Lord sought once to destroy it because of sin, now He will be quick to bless the Land and all that is in it. And pity His People, means that the Lord will accept Israels Repentance and restore them to their rightful place and position in the world.)

¹⁹Yes, the LORD will answer and say unto His P eople, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen (now, because Israel has properly repented before the Lord, the reproach is finally gone and prosperity now begins!):

DESTRUCTION OF ENEMIES

²⁰But 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 has done great things. (The total fulfillment of this Prophecy speaks of the coming Antichrist, who will be defeated in the Battle of Armageddon [Ezek. 38:15].

The east sea is the Dead Sea and the utmost sea is probably the Mediterranean. Therefore, the defeat of the Antichrist will be total!

And his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, refers to the great number of the soldiers of the Antichrist being killed, as prophesied in Ezek. 39:11-16.

Because he has done great things, refers to the Antichrist magnifying himself to do great things; for he will propose to attack and defeat Immanuel Himself [Rev. 19:19]. The great things of the Antichrist will prove to be nothing, while the great things of the next Verse, as accomplished by the Lord, will be magnificent.)

RESTORATION OF THE LAND AND PEOPLE

²¹Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. (All of the following pertains to what the Lord will do for Israel at the beginning of the Kingdom Age, which is immediately after His Return and Israels Repentance.)

²²Be not afraid, you beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. (This portrays the coming Kingdom Age, when the wild, carnivorous nature of the animal kingdom will be changed, because the curse has been lifted.

For the pastures of the wilderness do spring, refers to the deserts blossoming as the rose [Isa. 35:1]. For the tree bears her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength, refers, as stated, to the curse being lifted, with the land all over the world producing that which was originally intended. In other words, it will be a time of such plenty and prosperity as the world has never known.)

²³Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He has 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. (The phrase, Be glad then, you children of Zion, refers to Israel now restored as the premier nation of the world, which is her rightful place. In other words, the world cannot be properly blessed until Israel is in her rightful place, which she will be not long after the Second Coming.

The former rain and the latter rain refer to the two rainy seasons in Israel. The first, or former, coming in October, promoted the germination and growth of the seed previously sown; the latter, coming in April, matured the crops and got them ready for harvest. Spiritually speaking, the former rain speaks of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Early Church. The latter rain speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit, which began at approximately the turn of the Twentieth Century and which will continue on through the Millennial Reign [James 5:7].)

²⁴And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. (This speaks of the harvest of prosperity which will be gathered in the coming Kingdom Age.)

²⁵And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you. (And I will restore to you the years, refers to that period of time which began with Nebuchadnezzar and which now has lasted for about 2,500 years. The mention of the locusts, etc., is meant to be symbolic of the years lost to the times of the Gentiles. The phrase, My great army which I sent among you, speaks of the great empires which ruled Israel because of Israels sin and refusal to repent.)

²⁶And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you: and My People shall never be ashamed. (Now, Israel will function as she should; as a result, they will eat in plenty, and be satisfied. As well, never again will Gods People be ashamed.)

²⁷And you 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. (Once again, the Holy Spirit through the Prophet uses the phrase, And My People shall never be ashamed, because Israel in fact has lived in shame for over 2,500 years.)

THE OUTPOURING OF GODS SPIRIT

²⁸And 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 (the word afterward refers to the occurrences predicted in Verses 30 through 32. This Promise of the Spirit is placed out of chronological order in order to couple it with the material blessings of Verses 21 through 27 and to provide for Acts, Chpt. 2. In fact, the phrase, And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, even though beginning on the Day of Pentecost, still, will not be totally fulfilled until the coming Kingdom Age.

And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, refers to the Gifts of the Spirit, which accompanied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the time of the Early Church, and which continues to this hour [I Cor. 12:7-11]; however, and as stated, this will have a complete fulfillment in the coming Kingdom Age. As well, the outpouring of the Spirit is for all old and young, men and women):

²⁹And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. (Even though the words, In those days, actually refer to the coming Kingdom Age, still, and according to what was said by the Apostle Peter, that which happened on the Day of Pentecost was the beginning of the pouring out of My Spirit, which continues unto this day, and as stated, will be fully realized in the coming Kingdom Age.)

SIGNS PRECEDING THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE DAY OF THE LORD

³⁰And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the Earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (This pertains to the Great Tribulation, which will immediately precede the Second Coming.)

³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. (This is fulfilled in Rev. 6:12 under the sixth seal.)

³²And 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 has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (The entirety of these Passages proclaim three great outpourings of the Holy Spirit:

1. On the Day of Pentecost, which continues unto this hour [Acts 2:1-28:31];

2. During the future Great Tribulation [Acts 2:16-21]; and,

3. During the Millennium [Isa. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 36:26-27; 39:29; Zech. 12:10].)