Lesson #03

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Joel

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 7, 2010

Lesson #02

January 7, 2010

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JOEL 2:1-27
Lesson #03
THE DAY OF THE LORD AND GOD’S PLEA

• Memory Verse: Joe 2:21

• Joel continues the theme that he introduced in chapter 1. That theme is the Day of the Lord.
  • We have learned that this is a time period of 1007 years that begins in an increasing spiritual darkness of the seven year tribulation period. The light of dawn comes with the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fullness of light is established on earth in the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. This millennial kingdom lasts for 1000 years.
  • What background did Joel have for his preaching about the Day of the Lord?
    • As we see, the Day of the Lord includes the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ. The millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of promises made to God’s people and promises made to King David.
    • Read Deu 30:1-9 Promises made to God’s people.
      • This is God’s promise concerning the possession of the Promised Land.
    • Read 2Sam 7:13-16 Promises made to King David
      • This is God’s eternal promise to King David that concerns three things:
        • A house (or a family)
          • God promises that David’s lineage will endure forever.
        • A kingdom
          • God promises that David’s reign will endure forever.
        • A throne
          • God promises that from David’s lineage there would be a King that would reign forever.
      • All the prophets knew of these promises that God made to David concerning a kingdom on earth that would extend into eternity.
      • All the prophets knew of the promises of a coming Messiah that would rule God’s people.
      • All the prophets knew that the Promised Land belonged to the Jews from the time that promise was first made to Abraham and restated to Moses in Deu 30.
  • The prophet, Joel, explains that none of these promises will come to completion until first there is the darkness of judgment.

 

• Read Joe 2:1-11 The description of the Day of the Lord.

 

• “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion…”

 

(1)
• The Israelites were familiar with the sound of the trumpet as a signal of an impending attack from the enemy.
• Joel’s prophetic words are the sound of the trumpet of warning. His words in chapter 2 will make the reader tremble for fear.
  • The Day of the Lord is imminent.
    • Through the Bible in both the New Testament and the Old Testament, the prophets did not use a future tense in the language of their prophecies. All prophecy is seen as being imminent. In other words, it could occur at any time.
      • This particular use of language indicates that God is outside of time and space. He sees everything as though it is happening now.
      • This particular use of language keeps the believer spiritually awake so that he does not become complacent in thinking that it is not relevant to him and his time period.
    • The phrase “it is nigh at hand” also contains the idea that when the “day” begins, the events will proceed without hesitation until the “day” ends.
      • In other words, in a regular day, there is no stopping of time. When sunset begins, night will surely follow and then the dawn will surely come.

 

• “Zion….my holy mountain…”

 

(1)
• This refers to the city of Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, what was called the city of David was built on a mountain. This city is Jerusalem.
  • It is from Jerusalem that Joel gives his prophecy about the Day of the Lord.
• The darkness:
  • The Day of the Lord is described as darkness.
    • The first fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that relates to the locust plague.
      • When a swarm of locust invades the fields, they fly in a thick mass that can blot out the sun in the same way as a dark cloud.
    • The second fulfillment of the tribulation period relates to the spiritual darkness of that time period.
    • Just as the Jewish day began with sunset and an increasing darkness, the tribulation period will begin with spiritual darkness that will increase as the seven years of the tribulation unfold.
      • Why the spiritual darkness?
        • The rapture of the church will occur before the tribulation period begins. The church is God’s light in this world. The church filled with Holy Spirit is the restrainer of spiritual darkness and evil in this world.
          • Read 2The 2:1-8
            • In the last days even before the tribulation period there is the beginning of spiritual darkness as Paul explained in 2The 2 as an apostasy or a falling away from the truth of Jesus Christ.

 

• “…a great people…”

 

(2)
• The first fulfillment:
  • The plague of locust in the first fulfillment becomes a great army. This army is the Assyrian army that was the strongest and most salvage of its time that came and destroyed the Northern Kingdom in 722 – 721 BC.
• The second fulfillment:
  • The great army of the tribulation period that begins the Day of the Lord refers to the army of the Antichrist.
    • The tribulation period will begin with a peace treaty confirmed by the Antichrist for seven years. It will promise peace but bring war. It will promise the protection of all Jews in the nation of Israel.

 

• “A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth…”

 

(3)
• The means for destroying a plague of locust was to burn the crops and the locust together.
• Near the beginning of the tribulation period, after the signing of the peace treaty, there will be a war that will test the power of the Antichrist to keep the peace his treaty promised. This war is described as a war of fire.
  • Read Eze 38:22
  • Read Eze 39:6
    • In this war of Eze 38 and 39, Russia and her allies will attack Israel to test the power of the Antichrist and his army.
    • The Antichrist will win this war with his claim to keep the peace. His victory will gain for him world credibility and power that will put him on the road to world domination for seven years.

 

• “The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.”

 

(4)
• How do we know that this army is the army of the Antichrist?
  • There are two ways we know this:
    • =1= We have seen previously that when the Bible speaks of Assyria and the Assyrian, it is a prophetic prefigure of the Antichrist.
      • We have already examined the fact that these prophecies in Hosea and Joel refer to a first fulfillment of the destruction of Israel by the Assyrian army in 722-721 BC. and the second fulfillment in the last days refers to the reign of the Antichrist in the tribulation period.
    • =2= The book of Revelation gives us many details about the tribulation period and the reign of the Antichrist even to the description of his army.
      • Read Rev 9:2-11
        • In light of Joel’s prophecy about locust in chapter 1, it is interesting that the army in Rev 9 is described using the word locust.
          • The head of a locust looks like the head of a miniature horse. The Italian word for locust means “little horse”.

 

• “Like the noise of chariots…”

 

(5)
• The description of the Antichrist’s army in Rev 9:9 also mentions the noise of chariots running to battle seems to describe helicopters. Here in Joel we see them leap on mountain tops.

 

• “…all faces shall gather blackness.”

 

(6)
• We have already seen from this chapter and Eze 38 and 39 that this is a war of fire that blackens everything.

 

• “…when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.”

 

(8)
• Following the scripture in Rev 9, this army is supernaturally empowered by Satan, (Abadon or Apollyon) from the bottomless pit.
  • Verses 8-10 present us with a description of the Battle of Armageddon when the Day of the Lord is at its darkest.
    • Revelation and Jesus use almost the same words as Joel used to describe signs in nature that mark the event of the second coming of Christ.
      • Read Mat 24:29-30
• “…for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? (11)
  • Jesus said that unless God intervenes in the Battle of Armageddon man would destroy all humans on the earth. (Mat 24:32)
    • As a result, Jesus Christ appears in the heaven with all his saints that make up his army. The event of His second coming is to protect and prevent the annihilation of the Jews.
  • This section of Joel ends with a question of desperation for the non-believers living at that time.

• Read Joe 2:12-17 The Plea
  • Joel answers the question, “Who can abide it?”
    • What can a non-believer do living at the time of the Battle of Armageddon?

 

• “…turn ye even to me with all your heart…”

 

(12)
• The word, “turn”, means to repent and change your heart, your mind, and the direction of your actions.

 

• “And rend your heart, and not your garments…”

 

(13)
• In the Old Testament they stressed the outward tearing of one’s garments to indicate sorrow or repentance. However, in the same way as all of Judaism, it was an external religion when what God wanted was an internal religion of the heart.
• This repentance is so deep in the heart that there is mourning. This is not just a few surface tears that may or may not reflect true repentance, but a very deep mourning.
  • We see this deep mourning of repentance and turning to Jesus Christ by the Jews at the second coming in the prophecies of Zechariah.
    • Read Zec 12:10-11

 

• “…for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness…”

 

(13)
• Up to the point of the very last minute before Christ comes, man is able to take advantage of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
  • As we saw in Zechariah 12 the Jews will come to Christ for salvation.
• Joel’s second trumpet sound:
  • The first trumpet sound at the beginning of this chapter is the trumpet sound of warning.
  • This second trumpet sound is the trumpet call to gather together in a fast.
    • In the wilderness, the Jews used the silver trumpets for warning and to call people to assemble.
    • In the Old Testament, God gave the people a series of feast days and not days of fasting.
      • At the second coming of Christ the Jews will fast and mourn for all the time through history that they have missed with their rebellion against God.

• Read Joe 2:18-27 The Promise
  • Notice the word “then” in verse 18.
    • This word puts events into a time sequence.
      • When the Jews repent and mourn for their savior, Jesus Christ, then God will forgive them.

 

• “…I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.”

 

(19)
• Through all the history of the Jews, they have been considered and treated like the scum of the earth. However, all that will change at their repentance.
  • Jesus Christ will establish his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. During that 1000 years, the Jews will be a favored nation and enjoy the abundance of blessings from the Lord.

 

• “I will remove far off from you the Northern Army.”

 

(20)
• The first fulfillment:
  • The Assyrian army and the Assyrian empire were totally destroyed by Babylon, so that there is no nation called Assyria today.
• The second fulfillment:
  • The army of the Antichrist and his kingdom will be totally destroyed by the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth.

 

• “…he hath done great things.”

 

(20)

“…the LORD will do great things…”

(21)
• The second coming of Christ is the great thing that He had done in the Battle of Armageddon for He saves His people. The great thing that God will do after that is the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth for 1000 years.
  • The description of that kingdom is in verses 22-27.
    • The land will be productive (22, 24)
    • The promise of the former rain and the latter rain can be taken literally to water the earth, but it also has a spiritual meaning to refer to the double anointing of the Holy Spirit.
      • The former rains are those in the fall of the year while the latter rains are those in the spring of the year. This double rainfall in one month will cause the land to produce abundantly.
    • Everything that Israel’s enemies destroyed will be restored in the Millennial Kingdom.

HOMEWORK
JOEL 2:28-32
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Joe 2:1-27
  • Think about yourself living under the reign of Jesus Christ and seeing Him face to face every day.
  • Now think about your life today where you cannot see Him face to face.
  • What in your life today would you change if Jesus was present face to face every day?
    • Pray and ask God to help you make those changes, because even though you cannot see him face to face today, He is equally present with you now as He will be in the Millennial Kingdom.

• Preparation for Joe 2:28-32
  • Read Joe 2:28-32
  • Read Act 2
    • Which aspects of Joel’s prophecy were filled on the day of Pentecost?

• Which aspects of Joel’s prophecy were not fulfilled on the day of Pentecost?

• Memory Verse: Joe 2:32a