Joel
Chapter
3
{Verses1-8:
Agenda of the 2nd Advent of Christ}
1~~
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time,
I
shall restore the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem."
{Note: 'In those days' refers to the days immediately following the second advent of Jesus Christ. 'At that time' refers to the early days of the Millennium. It means at that time and at no other time, so it is a specific time. This is the only time then when the wheat and the tares are separated or when the baptism of fire actually occurs. This is the only time when the 5th cycle of discipline is terminated and when a new civilization begins and when the unbelievers must be removed and the Jews must be restored.}
2~~"I
will also gather all nations {Gentile nation},
and
I will cause them to come down
to
the Valley of Jehoshaphat {means 'the Lord judges'},
and
will judge concerning My people and My heritage, Israel
whom
they have scattered among the nations,
and
parted My land for spoil."
{Note: 'My heritage' refers to the born again of Israel. This means that the Tribulation is the worst period of anti-Semitism the world will ever know - Revelation 12:1-10, and the basis for removing the unbelievers will be their expression of rejection of Christ through anti-Semitism. 'Whom (the Jews) they have scattered' - the Gentiles who were unbelievers have scattered. This means to scatter and to persecute. It is a piel stem, it is intense, intense persecution. 'And parted my land for spoil' - they have actually divided the land for spoil, which is again strong anti-Semitism. This passage is further amplified by Matthew chapter 25:31-46, where you have sheep and goats. The sheep and goats are divided by attitude toward 'my brethren' - the 144,000 evangelists of the Tribulation. The goats are unbelievers - they rejected their message. The sheep are believers - they accepted the message.}
3~~"And
they have cast lots for My people
{happened in 70AD - the Romans did all these things}.
And
have given a boy for an harlot.
And
sold a girl for a glass of wine . . .
that
they might drink."
{Note: We saw something like this from the Romans when the Jews went into the 5th cycle of discipline, and this is extended into the Tribulation. 'And they (The Romans of 70 AD) have cast lots for my people' - The Romans took the 97,000 survivors from the siege of Jerusalem and gambled for them. 'And have given a boy for an harlot' - there was a lot of homosexuality in the ancient world and a lot of the survivors were little boys and they were very much in demand to be trained for homosexual practices. 'And they sold a girl for wine'- a glass of wine, literally. 'That they might drink it' - in other words, the person who had charge of the slaves just simply had a whole chain gang for these girls whom he would sell for a glass of wine. This indicates the terrible situation, which existed at the beginning of the 5th cycle of discipline. Luke 21 is the amplification of this particular section.}
({Verses
4-8: Parenthesis Setting Up
Historical Parallelism to a Prophecy}
4~~"And
what have you done to Me, O Tyre, and Zidon,
{the two capitals of the Phoenician city/state system}
and
the region of Philistia?
Do
you inflict evil on Me?
{question is answered by II Chronicles 21:16-17 - yes}
When
you inflict evil on Me,
speedily
I will return the evildoing
on
your head."
{Note: The catastrophe mentioned here is one that occurred when the Arabians and the Philistines made a raid into Judah and Jerusalem a few years before Joel wrote this book. They captured a very large number of Jewish people and they sold them into slavery to the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians took them across the water and sold them to the Greeks. This is a tragedy that people remember and consequently this is used to illustrate now what will happen when the 5th cycle of discipline occurs and what will happen again at the Second Advent.}
{Note: Tyre and Sidon are mentioned here because they are the capitals of the whole Phoenician city state system.}
{Verse
5: Describes Indictment Against Them}
5~~"Because
you have taken My silver and My gold,
and
have carried into your temples
My
goodly pleasant things
{the various articles of furniture and things
that were used in connection with the temple}."
{Jewish
Children were Sold into Slavery}
6~~"The
children also of Judah,
and
the children of Jerusalem,
you
have sold to the Grecians,
that
you might remove them
far
off from their own land."
{Note: The Greeks were a very homosexual people at this time. So the children were sold into slavery for very horrible experiences.}
7~~"Behold
I will raise them out of the place
where
you have sold them
and
I will return your recompense
on
your own head."
{Note: This is actually what is going to happen to Tyre and Sidon/Zidon. Alexander the Great had a tremendous respect for the Jews, and when he returned to the Middle East and when he returned to conquer the Persian Empire, he used these Jews, bringing them along with him. The Jewish children grew to be administrators for Alexander the Great.}
8~~"I
will sell your sons and your daughters
into
the hand of the children of Judah
{as administrators for Alexander the Great, this prophecy came
true},
and
they shall sell them to the Sabeans . . .
{the Sabeans lived on the Southern Tip of Arabia - the people of
Queen of Sheba}
to
a people far off," for Jehovah/God has spoken it.)
{Note: End parenthesis. The parenthesis simply reminds the people that a horrible thing that happened in the past is in some respects analogous, though not as intensive, as the terrible siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.}
{Verses
9-16: 2nd Advent Judgment of the Gentiles}
9~~
Proclaim you this {idiom meaning 'a call to arms!'}
among
the Gentiles {gowy},
"Prepare
war {Preparation},
wake
up the 'mighty men'/'valiant soldiers' {Training},
let
all the men of war draw near {Mobilization}.
Let
them come up {Attack}."
{Note: If you want to keep your free nation, you better be ready for war. This preparedness is the same today as it was in the day this was written - preparation, training, mobilization and readiness for invasion.}
{Was
a Time for Peace - At this Time will be the Time For War}
10~~"Beat
your plowshares into swords
and
your pruning hooks into spears . . .
{means to switch economy over to war status},
let
the weak {not trained in warfare}
say/think,
'I am strong'
{How can 'the weak' say this? Through proper military training}.
{Note: In time of war, the factories making cars needs to start making tanks. That is the idea here.}
{Verses
11-13: The Judgment}
11~~"Assemble
yourselves,
and
come, all you Gentiles,
and
gather yourselves together round about.
There
cause the mighty ones to come down,
O
Jehovah/God."
{Note: This last part is a prayer. The mighty ones simply mean the trained soldiers who have come through and caused trouble.}
12~~"Let
the Gentiles {gowy} be awakened,
and
come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat
{where this judgment occurs}.
For
there will I {Jesus} sit to judge
all
the Gentiles {gowy} round about.
{Note: In Matthew 25: 31-43, the mechanics of this are described. Believers are the sheep and will go into the Millennium. The goats are the unbelievers and will be removed off the earth in the Baptism of Fire.}
13~~"Put
in the sickle
for
the harvest is ripe
{the end of the Tribulation when we have a maximum thrust of
anti-Semitism}.
Come,
get down.
For
the press is full, the vats overflow;
for
their wickedness 'is great'/'has reached saturation'.
14~~"Multitudes
{Jews being evangelized},
multitudes
{Gentiles being evangelized} . . .
in
the valley of decision {Tribulation}.
{describes the situation up to the 2nd Advent of Christ -
7 years of maximum world evangelistic thrust - many will
face the decision - time is running short}
For
the day of Jehovah/God
is
near in the valley of decision.
{Day
of the 2nd Advent Will Be a Very Usual Day}
15~~"The
sun and the moon shall be darkened,
and
the stars shall withdraw their shining."
{Note: This is the unusual darkness that accompanies the 2nd Advent. Twice in the human race this abnormal darkness has existed. The first time was at the cross, during the last three hours when the sins of the world were poured out upon Christ and judged. At that particular time when these sins were being judged and darkness covered the earth, no one saw Jesus Christ bearing our sins. At the Second Advent the earth will be covered with darkness. This darkness does several things. First of all it protects Jewish believers who are resisting the King of the North in the siege of Jerusalem. It also protects Jews who are in Edom, Moab, and Ammon. They are hiding up in the mountains and the Kings of the East, the oriental block, is moving in on them and they are protected by this darkness. So it is a day when everything stands still, when darkness protects the believers. And the second purpose of the darkness is to announce the coming of Christ to the entire world for Christ, the Light of the world, will be the only light that day.}
16~~"Jehovah/God
also shall roar out of Zion
{this is the cry of a victorious soldier slaying the enemy},
and
utter His voice from Jerusalem
{see more on this in Revelation 19:15},
and
the heavens and the earth shall shake
{see also Zachariah 14:5}.
But
Jehovah/God will be the hope of His people,
and
the strength of the children of Israel."
{Note: This verse was quoted by Amos in Chapter 1:2}
{Verses
17-21: Millennial Restoration of the Jews}
17~~"So
shall you know
{the greatest virtue in any believer's life
is knowledge of doctrine!}
that
I am Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
dwelling
in Zion, My holy mountain.
Then
shall Jerusalem be holy,
and
there shall no strangers pass
through
her any more {no more invasions}."
{Note: The believers in the complete darkness will be occupied with Christ and will be happy if they have the doctrine in their souls. The unbelievers will have one final last great GRACE opportunity to change their minds and believe - crisis evangelism.}
{What
Mature Believers will be Thinking -Prosperity of the Millennium}
18~~"And
it shall come to pass, in that day,
that
the mountains shall drop down new wine
{'a waterfall of new wine' - idiom meaning 'maximum prosperity'}
and
the hills shall flow with milk,
and
all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters,
and
a fountain shall come forth of the house of Jehovah/God,
and
shall water the valley of Acacias.
{Note: This verse is quoted in Amos 9:13.}
{Note: Picture of the perfect environment of the Millennium.}
{What
Mature Believers will be Thinking II -Removal of Historical Enemies
in the Millennium - They Are Using Faith Rest - Relaxed Mental
Attitude Under Great Pressure}
19~~"Egypt
shall be a desolation,
and
Edom shall be a desolate wilderness,
for
the violence against the children of Israel
because
they have shed innocent blood in their land."
{Note: In other words, in the past Egypt was antagonistic toward the Jews, in the past Edom was antagonistic toward the Jews, in fact the last persecutors of the Jews before they went into the 5th cycle in 70 AD. So the enemies of Israel from one end of Jewish history to the other end - before they went out in the 5th cycle.}
{What
Mature Believers will be Thinking III -
Generations of Prosperity of the Millennium}
20~~"But
Judah shall dwell forever,
and
Jerusalem from generation to generation."
{What
Mature Believers will be Thinking IV -
The Lord Handles the Problems - The Battle is the Lords}
21~~"I
{God} will avenge their blood,
which
I have not avenged {previously} . . .
for
Jehovah/God dwells in Zion."
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