Nov. 02, 2022

JOEL: “THE DAY OF THE LORD”

“EXPECTING THE DAY OF THE LORD”

JOEL 2:28-3:21

Obadiah 1:15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.”

Joel describes a sequence of events relating to this “great and terrible Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31)

1.   Before That Day: The Spirit Poured Out.

Joel 2:28-32

*The Jewish Context: The “afterwards” in 2:28 refers to the events described in 2:18-27 when the Lord heals the nation after the Assyrian invasion.

Acts 2:17 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.”

“The last days” began with the ministry of Christ on the earth.

Hebrews 1:2 “Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

Matthew 24:21,29 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” 29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

And the time of “Jacob’s trouble”

Jeremiah 30:7 “Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.”

Many students of prophecy think that this special time is detailed in Revelation chapter 6-19, climaxing with the return of Christ to earth to deliver Israel and establish His kingdom (Isaiah 2:2-5, Zechariah 12-14, Revelation 19:11-20:6).

During the Old Testament era, the Holy Spirit was given only to special people who had special jobs to do, like Moses and the prophets (Numbers 11:17), the judges (Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29), the great men like David (1 Samuel 16:13). But the promise God gave through Joel declared that the Spirit will come upon “all flesh,” which includes men and women, young and old, Jew and Gentile.

Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved…”

Acts 2:39 “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

*The Church Context:

In Acts 2, Peter did not say that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled. He said that the same Holy Spirit Joel wrote about (this is that) had now come and was empowering the believers to praise God in various languages understood by the Jews who were assembled in Jerusalem from many parts of the Roman Empire (Acts 2:5-12).

When it comes to Israel “the last days” (or “latter times”) will involve both tribulation and exaltation (Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-5), a time of trouble followed by a time of triumph and glory. As far as the church is concerned, “the last days” involve “perilous times” of satanic opposition in the world and apostasy in the church (1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:1-8, 2 Peter 3:1-9, 1 John 2:18-23, Jude 18-19).

Apart from the ministry of the Spirit, believers can’t witness with power (Acts 1:8), understand the Scriptures (John 16:13), glorify Christ (John 16:14), pray in the will of God (Romans 8:26-27), or develop Christian character (Galatians 5:22-23).

2.   During That Day: Judgment Poured Out. Joel 3:1-16

The phrase “bring back the captives” (3:1) means “reverse the fortunes” or “restore the fortunes.”

* “Nations, Prepare for Judgment!”

Joel 3:1-8 

This great battle will take place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (vs.2,12), a site mentioned nowhere else in Scripture.

Jeremiah said to the Babylonians:

Jeremiah 50:11 “Because you were glad, because you rejoiced,
You destroyers of My heritage, Because you have grown fat like a heifer threshing grain, And you bellow like bulls.”

• “Nations, Prepare for War!”

 Joel 2:9-15

This passage describes what is generally called “the battle of Armageddon,” when the armies of the nations unite against the Lord and His Christ (Psalm 2:1-3) and gather to destroy Jerusalem (Joel 3:16; Zechariah 12-14). 

You find a similar image in Revelation 14:14-20 when God reaps “the harvest of the earth” and “the vine of the earth” and crushes armies like clusters of grapes.

Frightening signs from the Lord will accompany this battle (Joel 3:15; 2:10, 30-31, sign that Jesus mentioned in His prophetic discourse on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:19-27; Luke 21:25-28).

Joel 3:10 commands the nations to arm for battle, even to the point of turning farm tools into weapons; but Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3 describe a different scene:

Isaiah 2:4 “He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

* “Nations, Prepare for Defeat!” 

Joel 3:16 “The Lord also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.”

The name “Armageddon” is found only in Revelation 16:16, referring to the Plain of Esdraelon where many major battles were fought in the Old Testament times.

Like a fierce lion, God will “roar out of Zion” and conquer the enemy (Amos 1:2, Hosea 11:10-11). When the Lamb becomes a Lion, the nations had better tremble (Revelation 5:5).

Isaiah 26:20-21

3.   After That Day: Blessing Poured Out. Joel 3:17-21

Everything will change when the King comes back and begins His reign! Joel promises a holy city, a restored land, a cleansed people, and a glorious King.

• A Holy City

Joel 3:17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

When Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord came down and filled the building (1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chronicles 5:11-14).

Psalm 69:35 “For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it.”

Isaiah 51:3 “For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”

The prophet anticipates that great day when “sorrow and mourning will flee away” (vs.11) and God will once again dwell with His people (Isaiah 12, 33:20-24, 35, 52, Jeremiah 31, Micah 4, Zechariah 1).

Jerusalem is called “the holy city” at least eight times in Scripture (Nehemiah 11:1,18, Isaiah 48:2, 52:1, Daniel 9:24, Matthew 4:5, 27:53, Revelation 11:2), and we call it “the holy city” today.

• A Restored Land

Joel 3:18-19

There is coming a day when the land will be like the Garden of Eden for beauty and fruitfulness.

Isaiah 51:3 “For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”

Zechariah 14:8 “And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.”

•  A Cleansed People

Joel 3:20-21 “But Judah shall abide forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion.”

What good would it be to have a restored land if it were populated with a sinful people?

Zechariah 13:1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.”

The prophet Ezekiel describes this cleansing:

Ezekiel 36:24-27

• A Glorious King

Joel 3:21 “For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion.”

What a wonderful way to close a book, “For the Lord dwells in Zion.” The prophet Ezekiel watched as the glory of God departed from the temple that was about to be destroyed (Ezekiel 8:4, 9:3, 10:4,18, 11:23), and then he saw the glory return to the new temple in the restored nation (41:1-5).

The prophecy of Joel begins with tragedy, the invasion of the locust, but it closes with triumph, the reign of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Jesus said to His disciples:

Matthew 19:28 “So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Revelation 11:15 “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come!”

Revelation 22:20 “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”