Blow a trumpet in Zion.
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near, Joel 2:1
The trumpet has sounded and the day of the Lord is coming. In the near fulfilling, the Assyrian army is going to swarm in , like the coming of light breaking at dawn. But in the final day, it will be the Tribulation. It sounds like there will be demon locust, according to Revelation. He describes the destruction as if it were Eden before and desolation after.
Nothing escapes the invaders, like fire consuming stubble. People are in anguish. The invasion is very well ordered and disciplined. They climb walls and enter by windows. The earth quakes and heavens tremble. The sun and the moon grown dark.
The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it? Joel 2:11
But with God, there is always hope.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 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. Joel 2:12-13
He makes a way through personal repentance. He wants us to turn to Him with our hearts.
- bless Him with a grain or libation offering
- fast
- call an assemble of everyone, including
- children
- nursing infants
- grooms getting ready
- brides getting ready
- Priests, lead the way
- they should weep in public
- ask for the people to be spared
- pray to God, for His own name's sake.
Verses 18–19 tells us that this will be His response:
Then the Lord will be zealous for His land
And will have pity on His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with them;
And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations. Joel 2:18–19
Then He will remove the northern army from you (Assyrians and demon locust). He will drive them into a parched land. Which we know from the book of Nahum, God deals completely with the enemies of His people, even though He used those same baddies for His purposes first.
Joel goes on to offer comfort to the land and to the beasts of the field. The Lord has done great things! The grass is turning green and fruit is coming in.
Then He encourages the people of Zion with the same good news. Rain is coming. The threshing floors will be full; the vats overflowing—grain, figs, and win are coming back! He even promises that He will make up for the years that all four of the locust stripped away. You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.
Praise the name of the Lord, who has dealt wondrously with us.
Then My people will never be put to shame.
27 “Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame. Joel 2:27
Wow.
That's a lot.
The Tribulation.
Healing following the Tribulation with a promise we'll be satisfied and never put to shame.
That's a lot to consider.
But now that the Tribulation is over, even greater things can be expected in the final day of the Lord.
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.
29 “Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Joel 2:28–29
The day is coming and is near.
Pentecost was just a preview. Next time, the final time, His Holy Spirit will be poured out over every believing member of the remnant. He will also display wondrous works in the sky and on earth—blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will go dark and the moon turned to 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. Joel 2:32
It's interesting to think that this is the type of prophesy they had before the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. How awesome and terrifying. It's awesome and terrifying for me and I've seen a lot more of the puzzle unfold.
Blessed by the Name of the Lord. The time is coming and is near.
Amen.