Joel_2

Joel

Chapter 2
{Note: In verses 1-9 we have Joel's view of the battle of Armageddon. It is written more or less from the viewpoint of the Jews living in the Tribulation. There are four or five writers who develop Armageddon. John's Armageddon is found in Revelation 16:12-16; Daniel's Armageddon is found in Daniel 11:40-45; Zechariah's Armageddon is found in chapters 12 and 14; Joel's Armageddon is found in chapter 2:1-9; Ezekiel's Armageddon is found in chapters 38-39. They all develop something different but they all deal with the invasion of the king of the north.}

1~~'Blow your trumpet'/"sound the ram's horn" {showphar} in Zion
and sound an alarm on My holy mountain
{see Daniel 11:45 - Jerusalem}
{trumpets were a warning signal of enemies coming}.
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble
{either from fear - unbelievers or from awe - believers}.
For the day of Jehovah/God is coming . . .
surely it is near {chronologically coming}.

{Day of the Lord Described}
2~~ A day of darkness and of gloominess . . .
a day of clouds and of thick darkness.
As the dawn spread upon the mountains . . .
{as the dawn invades the darkness and cannot be stopped,
so the king of the north is going to invade the land and cannot be
stopped.}
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.

{Note: This describes the invasion of the King of the North in the Tribulation. And even though he moves into the land with all of his troops, yet there are places where he does not reach. Believers are protected. Dawn is an analogy to people great and strong. This is the king of the north invading Palestine, as per Joel 2:20; Daniel 11:40,45; and Ezekiel Chapters 38,39.}

{Analogy Changes from Dawn to Fire}
3~~A fire devours/'eats up' before them.
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is as the Garden of Eden before them
{was a great agricultural society before the invasion},
and behind them a desolate wilderness
{the invaders destroy the land}.
Yes, and escape shall not be unto him
{RBT says this refers to the dictator of Palestine,
to him and his administration/ also refers to the
King of the North. He is not going to escape.
Daniel 11:45 says, "He shall come to an end."}.

{Note: Just as a fire burns up everything before it so is the fierceness of the invasion of the King of the North.}

{Verses 4-5: Description of the Invaders}
4~~The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses.
And as horsemen,
so shall they run/advance {in assault}.

{Note: The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses. This follows Daniel 11:40; Ezekiel 38:4; Zechariah 12:4. All of the Armageddon passages have certain things in common and they have a common language. Horses simply refer to mobile forces.}

5~~Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains
they shall leap {move with great speed};
like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble;
as a strong people 'set in battle array'/'organized for battle'.

{Reaction to the Attack - Maximum Pain and Anxiety}
6~~Before them {the invaders},
the people shall be much pained
{chuwl - word also used in the pain of childbirth}.
All faces shall pale with anxiety/worry.

{Verses 7-9: Initial Success of Invaders}
7~~They shall run like mighty men/'men of courage'
{attack with great courage}.
They shall climb the wall {wall of Jerusalem}
like men of war
{courageous warriors}.
And they shall march with perfect discipline
{idiom: literally 'everyone in his ways' means a
very well trained and disciplined, force marching with discipline}
and they shall not break their ranks
{under fire, they stay calm}.

8~~Neither shall one thrust another
{won't injure each other as happens in battle}.
They shall walk every one in his path
{each does his assigned job}.
And though they fall in the midst of weapons,
they shall not be wounded
{get up and advance}.

9~~They shall run to and fro in the city
{penetration of city defenses}.
They shall run upon the wall.
They shall climb up upon the houses.
They shall enter in at the windows suddenly/'like a thief'.

10~~The earth shall shake before Him {Jesus Christ}.
The heavens shall tremble.
The sun and the moon shall be dark.
And the stars shall withdraw their shining.

{Note: RBT says 'Him' is again another reference slipped in referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the earthquake which occurs at the moment the Lord Jesus Christ touches the earth - Zechariah 14:4; Isaiah 13:13; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25-27. One purpose of this earthquake is to spilt the Mount of Olives so that the born again believers bottled up in Jerusalem have a perfect way of escape.}

{Note: This is a darkness similar to that which existed at the cross. The day that Jesus Christ returns is just like the day that Jesus Christ hung upon the cross. When He hung upon the cross there was complete darkness during the last three hours. No one in the world saw Jesus Christ bearing our sins. The Father alone saw Him and the Father poured out our sins upon Him and He was judged. It is significant that this same darkness occurs a second time when Jesus Christ returns to the earth. The darkness covers the city of Jerusalem so that the king of the north cannot move in with his armies and wipe out the remnant of the believers who are valiantly resisting. It is a type of darkness that light cannot penetrate. This darkness is described in Isaiah 13:9,10; Ezekiel 32:7,8; Joel 2:10,11; 3:15; Amos 5:18; Zechariah 14:6; Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25-27; Revelation 6:12. This darkness is mentioned in many places and always is connected with the day of the Second Advent. Because the earth will be covered with darkness we have the fulfillment of Revelation 1:7: "Behold every eye shall see Him." Jesus Christ is the light of the world and this is the only light that will dispel that darkness on that day.}

{Also see Revelation Chapter 6:17}
11~~And Jehovah/God utters His voice before His army.
Indeed His bivouac/'military organization' is very great.
For powerful is he who carries out His word.
For the day of Jehovah/God is indeed great and awesome.
Therefore who can endure it?

{Note: This is apropos because Sennacherib is one of the invaders predicted by Joel. Then in the prophesy of the Tribulation, Joel is talking about the king of the north at the end of the Tribulation. In the Assyrian invasion, Sennacherib's army was halted in its tracks by Jesus Christ speaking a word and wiping out 185,000 of the best Assyrian infantry. Similarly, when the king of the north is about to destroy the remnant in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ will speak a word and they will all drop dead - Revelation 19:15.}

{Evangelism in the Tribulation and 3 Manifestations of Faith in the Tribulation}
12~~Therefore also now, is said by Jehovah/God,
"Turn yourself even to Me with all your heart/'right lobe',
and with fasting
{fasting means to give up a normal function such as eating to take
in more doctrine instead of this function - in the Tribulation the
new believers will need lots of doctrine real quick - concentrated
bible study},
and with weeping
{weeping - RBT says weeping is usually negative in the bible - not
always but usually. Here this is most likely 'weeping for joy' and
is the description of the Jews who now realize their True Messiah
has come (again)},
and with mourning
{mourning - RBT says mourning then is a contrast to weeping so
would be describing the Gentiles who now realize what they
passed up by missing being Raptured with the Church - they are
Tribulational believers but not part of the Church Age believer
benefits}."

{Note: 'Turn to me' is actually the Hebrew way of describing receiving Jesus Christ as savior. In other words, this means to turn to someone for help. You have tried all sorts of solutions. Nothing helps against the locusts, nothing helps against the Assyrians, nothing helps against the king of the north - Turn to the Lord.}

13~~And tear your heart/right lobe,
and not your garments
{no ecstatics - in the day this was written, someone going into
ecstatics would grab their own clothes and tear them},
and turn unto Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead . . .
for He is gracious
{channuwn - grace is the name for the plan of God - it is salvation
freely given based on Christ's work on the cross - God is free to
bless you not because of who and what you are, but because of
Who and What He (Jesus) is}
and merciful
{rachuwm - mercy is the plan of God (grace) in action},
slow to anger
{'aph - an anthropopathism - God does not change so He does not
anger really they describes God in terms that a human could
understand},
and of great kindness {checed},
and repent/'change your mind' of the evil.

{Note: 'Rend your heart/right lobe, and not your garments' refers to the practice of Joel's day where one of the signs of having an ecstatic experience was to tear your clothes.}

14a~~Who knows/understands {yada`}
when He will return
and 'change His mind'
{meaning when He will remove the discipline of the Jews (5th cycle
of discipline) and restore them to Client Nation to God status -
here will be in the Millennium}?

14b~~And 'leave a blessing not earned or deserved' {salvation} behind Him.

14c~~{Present} a meat offering and a drink offering
unto Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead.

{Celebration of the Jews at End of 5th Cycle of Discipline in the Millennium}
15~~Blow the trumpet/'metal trumpet' {showphar}
in Zion {Jerusalem}
{this it s different trumpet from the one in verse1 - this is a metal
trumpet that is used to call the people to celebrate - under for
good circumstances now},
'set apart'/sanctify {qadash}
a fast/'special worship period' {tsowm}.
Call a solemn assembly {`atsarah}
{here the remnant of believers in the Tribulation}.

16~~Gather the people
{scattered Jews will return to Promised Land},
'set apart'/sanctify the congregation
{means to 'get the people gathered together'},
assemble the elders
{bring the rulers of Jerusalem together},
gather the children
{all normal activities are temporarily halted so
pull the children from the schools to the party},
and those that suck the breasts/babies
{no excuses - women with small babies come and
bring the babies also - this party is for all}.
Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber,
and the bride out of her closet
{When can you have more fun then a honeymoon?
When Christ returns!}

{Back to the Present - Pray for Deliverance from Current Invasion}
17~~"Let the priests,
the ministers of Jehovah/God,
weep/'offer a prayer/lamentation in time of calamity'
between the porch and the altar
{contemporary message for the people of Joel's day - tragedy
coming - pray},
and let them say,
" 'Have compassion on'/'exercise grace on'
{ chuwc - imperative mood}
Your people, O Jehovah/God
{a mature believer knows from doctrine, that this request
is in line with God's plan - so this is placed in the imperative
case},
and give not Your heritage to reproach
{refers to turning them over to the 5th cycle of discipline and
the heritage means the 'four unconditional covenants'
connected with the Jews},
with the result that
{a conditional result if God does reproach the Jews}
the nations/gentiles {gowy}
should rule over them {God's people}.
Therefore, should they say among the people,
"Where is their 'Elohiym/Godhead?"

{Note: The weeping here means to make a lamentation in time of public calamity or to offer a prayer in time of public calamity. The place was between the porch and the altar, and this was the east porch of Solomon's temple, a place of prayer.}

{Verses 18-19: Prophecy of the Removal of Israel's Discipline}
18~~"Then will Jehovah/God
be zealous {qana'} for His land,
and have compassion {chamal}
{His love expressed in terms of protection - grace finding a way}
for His people."

19a~~"Yes, Jehovah/God will answer
and say unto His people,
"Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil
{at this time, these were signs of economic prosperity}
and you will be satisfied therewith
{it is one thing to have prosperity and another thing to be
happy under conditions of prosperity!}."

19b~~"And I will no more make you
a reproach among the gentiles/nations {gowy}
{no more 5th cycle of discipline, so the 2nd Advent is in view here
also}."

{Note: This answer is for two occasions. First is the locust plague, which was an economic disaster in Joel's day. The plague foreshadowed the Assyrian invasion but the point here is that the plague knocked the land out economically. Next, just before the 2nd Advent there will be economic disaster again in the land. In all cases Jehovah/God delivers. The locust plague is offset by prosperity and, again, by prosperity with the return of Christ.}

20~~"But I {God} will remove far off from you
the northern {army}
{referring to the King of the North in the Tribulation
see Daniel 11:40-45 14: Zachariah 1-9also},
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,
with his face toward the east sea {Dead Sea},
and his rear
{back part of the army}
toward the utmost sea
{Mediterranean Sea}.
And his stink shall come up
{annihilation of his troops - rotting corpses},
and his 'ill savor' {synonym for stench again}
shall come up,
because He {God} has done/manufactured {'asah} great things
{picture of Grace in Action - He has - in the PAST has had
compassion/mercy on His people}."

{Note: The near fulfillment, of course, is Hezekiah's deliverance from the Assyrian invasion - Isaiah 37. The far fulfillment is the King of the North - Daniel 11:45.}

Continued