JOEL - CHAPTER 2
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2002 James Melough
2:1.
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all
the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is
nigh at hand;”
Obviously it would be futile
to blow a trumpet or sound an alarm in connection with a locust invasion, and
it is equally clear that here the prophet is not discussing that catastrophe,
but rather something far worse, namely the terrible judgments of the day of
the Lord which will begin following the rapture of the Church, and will
include the terrible Tribulation judgments, and conclude with the final
dissolution of the heavens and the earth after the Millennium.
Relative to the imminence of
the day of the Lord, as noted in 1:15, Joel was speaking as the amanuensis of
God of Whom it is written, “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day,” 2 Pe 3:8.
2:2.
“A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness,
as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there
hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the
years of many generations.”
Darkness is invariably
associated with the anger and judgment of God, while clouds are connected with
His glory; and gloominess is literally misfortune or wretchedness.
“... as the morning spread
upon the mountains, etc.,” is translated by the NEB as, “like a blackness
spread over the mountains a mighty, countless host appears,” the corresponding
NT section being Re 9:14-16, “Loose the four angels which are bound in the
great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared
for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of
men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand
thousand:”
This is the account of a vast
eastern army marching westward across the Euphrates in the Tribulation era,
which will destroy a third of the world’s population. It will be the greatest
military force the world has ever seen, and it will be one of the armies that
will assemble in the valley of Jehoshaphat, meaning Jehovah is judge,
(known also as Armageddon), near the end of the Tribulation as described in Re
16:12-16, “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of
the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come
out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of
the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working
miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,
to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.... And he
gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon,
meaning hill of slaughter.” (There is no place known specifically as
Armageddon, but most commentators agree that the reference is to a place in
the vicinity of Megiddo, or to the wider area known as the plain of Esdraelon).
For a detailed description of this gathering, please see Re 19:11-21.
2:3.
“A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as
the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea,
and nothing shall escape them.”
This goes beyond the
destruction wrought by the locusts. It is the description of the utter
devastation that will lie in the wake of the above mentioned vast army, the
destruction being similar to that resulting from a fire devouring everything
in its path. There can be little question that the description is of the
dissolution of the present world order during the last half of the
Tribulation.
2:4.
“The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so
shall they run.”
The description given in Re
9:17-18 is, “And I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them,
having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of
the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and
smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the
fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their
mouths.” Clearly the description is not of literal horses and horsemen, but
rather the metaphorical description of modern weaponry, including very
possibly that which is atomic.
2:5.
“Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the
noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in
battle array.”
This seems to be the
figurative description of modern aircraft: note, for example, the reference to
the sky implied in connection with the tops of the mountains which jut into
the sky; the idea of speed conveyed in their leaping; the roar of aircraft
portrayed by “the noise (roar) of a flame of fire,” roaring through a field of
dry stubble; and the might suggested by the words “as a strong people set in
battle array.”
2:6.
“Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather
blackness.”
Other translations convey more
vividly the misery that will attend the advance of this mighty army, for
example, “the peoples are in anguish; all faces are waxed pale”; “peoples are
in torment, every face blanches”; “peoples will be appalled and every face
covered with blackness.”
This is the brief but eloquent
description of the universal misery that will envelope the world like a shroud
in the great Tribulation: the final three and-a-half years of that imminent
seven year era that will precede the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in power
and glory to inaugurate His millennial kingdom.
2:7.
“They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war;
and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their
ranks:”
The picture here is of
invincible power, the running referring to the speed with which they will
overcome all opposition; their climbing the wall declaring the futility of
opposition. Their marching every one on his ways, and not breaking rank is
another way of saying that nothing will turn them aside from their destructive
purpose, nor will any opposition diminish their power.
2:8.
“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and
when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.”
Nothing will cause confusion
among them similar to that which occurred amongst the Midianites in the days
of Gideon, as recorded in Jg 7. Their campaign will be meticulously planned
and executed, any casualties among them leaving their strength undiminished.
2:9.
“They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they
shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a
thief.”
Their running to and fro in
the city describes their unhindered destructive activity. They will range at
will, there being no power able to stop them. Their running upon the wall and
their climbing upon the houses, combine to present the picture of an
invincible force energized by destructive lust, while their entering in at the
windows like a thief probably announces the impossibility of their victims
finding any hiding place from their fury.
2:10.
“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the
moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:”
The language of this verse is
so similar to that of Re 6:12-14 that it is difficult not to believe that both
descriptions apply to the same event: the terrible judgments that will
convulse the earth in the great Tribulation, i.e., the last three and-a-half
years of the seven year Tribulation era. The verses in Re 6:12-14 read as
follows, “... there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as
sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell
unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is
shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is
rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their
places.”
There are many other
Scriptural references declaring that there will be such cosmic disturbances
during the Tribulation era, e.g., Joel 2:30-31; 3:15; Mt 24:6-8, and the
question arises as to whether this language is literal or symbolic. A
fundamental rule of sound exegesis is to accept the language first as being
literal, (unless the context clearly indicates otherwise), and then to look
also for a spiritual significance above and beyond the literal. That rule
therefore requires us first to accept this statement literally since there is
nothing contextually against it. There is, however, good reason to believe
that the language may be also symbolic, so that the shaking will be not only
of the earth literally, but also of the whole social structure.
Since the sun is a symbol of
the Lord Jesus Christ the Light of the world, the darkening of the sun, then,
may have reference not only to the literal darkening of the source of the
world’s physical light, but of its spiritual light also. The reign of the
beast will be a time of ruthless repression of testimony for Christ, which
will produce corresponding spiritual darkness.
Since the moon is the
Scriptural symbol of corporate testimony, its becoming like blood would appear
to be the symbolic reminder that the Tribulation age will be one in which any
corporate testimony for Christ will bring deadly reprisal from the beast. And
while the moon is the symbol of corporate witness, the stars are symbolic of
individual testimony, so that in the falling of the stars to the earth we are
being shown the death of those who will seal their testimony with their blood
during the reign of the beast.
As has been noted in other
studies, Israel is symbolically portrayed by three plants: the vine represents
her past; the fig, her Tribulation-age experience; and the olive, her
blessedness in the Millennium. The likeness therefore of the falling of the
stars to the falling of unripe figs would indicate that many of the martyrs
will be Jewish. These green figs, falling before having had time to ripen,
are an apt symbol of those Jewish believers of the Tribulation age, who will
die before the Millennium begins. As these untimely (appearing out of season)
figs were the forerunners of the ripening fig harvest, so will these
Tribulation-age martyrs be the forerunners of the coming great harvest of the
redeemed, some others also dying, but others physically surviving the
Tribulation judgments, and remaining on the earth to enjoy millennial
blessing. And while Israel will be the vortex of those judgments, it is clear
that they will encompass the whole earth. Many Gentiles will also seal their
testimony with their blood.
“... shaken of a mighty
wind.” Having regard to the fact that the wind is a symbol of the Holy
Spirit, the further lesson to be gleaned here is that God the Holy Spirit will
be the power working on earth in the Tribulation, not to restrain sin as He
does now, but using the unrestrained rebellion of men and demons to accomplish
the Divine purposes for the ultimate blessing of the earth and the men upon
it.
“And the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved
out of their places,” Re 6:14. In addition to the clear literal meaning, this
may also indicate the dissolution of all stable government, for in Da 4:26
God’s message to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel was, “... thy kingdom shall be
sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.”
The departure of the heavens, therefore, and the removal of every mountain out
of its place, emphasizes the same truth, for as we have noted in other
studies, a mountain represents a king or kingdom, see Da 2:34-45.
It has been suggested by some
that the islands represent either lesser governmental powers, or centers of
commerce. Inasmuch, however, as an island is an area of land standing up out
of a body of water (usually the sea), it is much more likely that above and
beyond the literal application, these islands may represent the
Tribulation-age equivalents of local churches or corporate testimonies, for
certainly this is the picture presented by the dry land separated from the sea
in Ge 1:9. Isa 57:20 declares that the sea is the symbol of earth’s
unbelieving masses, so that what is separated from the sea must of necessity
represent the opposite of unbelief, that is, faith. It seems therefore that
we may perhaps also view the moving of these islands out of their places, as
the symbolic warning that the corporate testimonies for God in the Tribulation
will either be removed completely by persecution, or denied any permanence by
being forced to flee from place to place to escape the murderous tyranny of
the beast.
2:11.
“And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very
great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is
great and very terrible: and who can abide it?”
Combining what is written here
in Joel with the corresponding portion in Revelation, it seems that the Lord
will use as His instruments of judgment the great eastern army plus His
disarray of the forces of nature. The gentle voice which men ignored when He
pleaded with them to repent and save themselves by trusting in Him as Savior,
will then be changed to the thunder of His anger which none will be able to
ignore so terrible will be His judgments.
“... his camp is very great”
declares the stupendous power of the forces God will use in His execution of
judgment against a world that will have finally exhausted His patience. The
reference to the strength of those who carry out His word is the assurance
that their power will be that with which He invests them to accomplish His
purposes. Since their power will be His they will be invincible.
As noted already the day of
the Lord is that long period that will begin after the rapture of the Church
and that will continue till the final destruction of the heavens and the earth
prior to the coming of the new heavens and earth. Unlike past ages when man
has been permitted to use his will to disobey and defy God, the day of the
Lord will be of a very different character. In the great Tribulation
rebellion will be visited with judgment, and in the Millennium overt sin will
bring instant death to the rebel, and the rebellion permitted in the brief
interlude after the Millennium will result in the destruction of Satan and
those men who will have allied themselves with him in his final attempt to
overthrow God.
“... and who can abide it?” is
also translated “... who has strength against it? ... who can withstand it?
... who shall be able to endure it?” The answer is, None!
2:12.
“Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:”
Having declared the terrible
nature of His coming judgments, the Lord now reverts to pleading with His
people to save themselves from His wrath; nor was His plea addressed only to
the men of Joel’s day: it is the same voice with which He has called in pity
and mercy to rebel men in every age. Genuine repentance will avert his wrath,
and bring instead His blessing; but more is needed than a mere superficial
expression of repentance: it must be that of a convicted, broken, contrite
heart, expressed not only in words, but in deeds, the deeds themselves not
bringing the blessing, but being the evidence of the genuineness of the
professed repentance. Good works are the evidence of a genuine conversion,
but it is faith, not the works, that brings salvation, as it is written, “By
grace are ye saved through faith ... not of works lest any man should
boast,” Eph 2:8-9.
Fasting was for Israel, not
for the Church, the denial of food to the body being the symbolic expression
of abstention from gratifying the lusts of the flesh. In other words, an
evidence of a true conversion is not in literal fasting, but in refusal to
indulge fleshly lust.
“... and with weeping.” Tears
are often the evidence of genuine sorrow, but not always: they can sometimes
be the result of stirred emotions rather than of a convicted conscience. God
deals in reality.
“... and with mourning.”
Mourning goes beyond weeping. It is related to sorrow of such magnitude as
results in wailing, tearing the hair, beating the breast, etc. Only the
conscience awakened by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit can know
anything of the true nature of sin, and of what a terrible thing it is in
God’s sight.
2:13.
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God:
for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and
repenteth him of the evil.”
This continues to emphasize
the need of the genuine sorrow that springs from a smitten conscience and
turns the penitent to the Lord for pardon and cleansing.
Grace bestows undeserved
blessing, whereas mercy withholds deserved punishment, so that God’s character
is beautifully described in its being said that He is both gracious and
merciful. His being slow to anger and of great kindness assures us of His
very great patience and equally great desire to bless abundantly those who
accept His pardon through faith in the Son He has given to die as man’s
Substitute on Calvary’s cross, Paul reminding us of that great kindness in Ro
8:32, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
Warning, however, is needed
relative to God’s patience. It is very great, but it is not infinite, and
once it is exhausted nothing can deliver the guilty from His terrible anger.
It is to be remembered that His patience operates within time constraints He
Himself has set, and which are unknown to man. Man cannot be saved at a time
of his own choosing, and once he crosses that invisible line separating God’s
mercy from His wrath, he passes irrevocably beyond the pale of mercy. The
necessity of availing ourselves of God’s mercy while it is available is
emphasized in the warning He has given in Ge 6:3, “My spirit shall not always
strive with man,” Pr 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy,” and 2 Cor 6:2, “Behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Tomorrow may
be too late.
To repent is literally to have
a change of mind, but when used, as here, in relation to God, that is not the
meaning, for the very need to change one’s mind implies a previous error in
judgment. God is never under such necessity, for His judgment is always
perfect. The thought here relative to His repentance involves, not a change
of mind on His part, but rather on the part of those who by repentance make
themselves the objects of His blessing rather than His wrath. Nothing will
ever induce God to bless the unrepentant, or to punish the penitent. The
principle governing His conduct towards man is that obedience commands His
blessing; disobedience, His wrath.
2:14.
“Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him;
even a meat (meal) offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?”
The prophet here is offering
the hope that Israel may not have passed irrevocably beyond the pale of mercy,
and because of that hope is encouraging them to yield the repentance enjoined
in the preceding verses so that God may respond by blessing them again with
abundant harvests out of which they may present their grateful worship in the
form of the appointed offerings, virtually all of which were accompanied by a
meal and drink offering.
2:15.
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:”
In verse 1 of this chapter the
command was to blow the trumpet, and sound an alarm, but here it is to blow
the trumpet and set apart a special time for fasting, and for calling the
people together in solemn assembly to wait upon God. In verse 1 the command
related to the still future day of the Lord; here it related to Joel’s own
day, and had in view deliverance from the effects of the terrible locust
plague that had devastated the land, for it is to be remembered that there
would have been no plague had it not been for Israel’s disobedience.
We are missing the lesson,
however, if we fail to realize that the principles enjoined here are
applicable to every occasion when God’s people discover that their
disobedience has cut off His blessing, and brought instead His chastisement.
There is to be the awakening to consciousness of wrongdoing as portrayed by
the trumpet blast; renunciation of sin as represented by the fasting; and the
gathering together before Him in contrite united confession of sin, and the
invocation of His cleansing and blessing, as demonstrated in the calling of a
solemn assembly.
2:16.
“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his
chamber, and the bride out of her closet.”
The gathering of the people
together declares the need of united penitence. The people must be of one
mind and one heart. “sanctify the congregation” means to notify the people of
the need to assemble in united confession and supplication before God, the
need of unanimity being further stressed by the fact that no one was to be
exempted from this assemblage. The inclusion of all, from the elders to the
infants, and the newlyweds, declares that no circumstance would afford a valid
reason for absence from the enjoined gathering of the people.
2:17.
“Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the
altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage
to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say
among the people, Where is their God?”
The priests, the Lord’s
servants, were the representatives of God before the people, and of the people
before God. They were now commanded to approach God on behalf of the people,
their weeping being the expression of genuine repentance on the part of the
people, for it is futile to expect God to grant deliverance from the judgment
incurred by sin, if the judgment has not produced repentance.
“... between the porch and the
altar” continues to emphasize the intercession of the priests on behalf of the
people, for the porch was where the people assembled, while only the priests
were permitted to approach the altar. How much more privileged are believers
of this present Church age, for in 1 Jn 2:1 it is recorded, “My little
children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
It is to be noted further that
with the exception of the convicted sinner seeking salvation, only those who
belong to God can expect any response to their supplications: the people were
described as “thy people ... thine heritage (possession).
We should note also that God’s
honor is inseparably linked with the obedience of His people. Their
disobedience brings reproach upon Him, and causes His sovereignty to be
impugned.
The spiritual equivalent of
Israel’s being under the dominion of the heathen is for believers to be
submitting to the lusts of the flesh, and thus placing themselves under the
power of Satan. The degree to which Christendom has been guilty of this
offense may be measured by the world’s brazen defiance of the Creator. The
almost universal disobedience of professing Christians has simply set the
pattern for the rest of the world. But as Israel’s sin brought judgment in
the days of Joel, so also just as surely will the multiplied sins of
Christendom bring judgment upon today’s world.
2:18.
“Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.”
The mockery of the unbelieving
world angers God, but it will not induce Him to bless His people apart from
genuine repentance on their part, but when that repentance is forthcoming then
will He stretch out His almighty arm in deliverance and blessing. That
knowledge ought to teach us the imperative of keeping short accounts with
Him. Sin should be confessed, repented of, and forsaken as soon as we become
aware of it.
2:19.
“Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you
corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no
more make you a reproach among the heathen.”
While this undoubtedly has
immediate reference to God’s promise to grant blessing in response to the
repentance resulting from the devastation wrought by the locusts, its ultimate
application is to the abundant millennial blessing reserved for the repentant
remnant of Jews and Gentiles who will emerge alive from the terrible
Tribulation judgments.
Since corn is used
typologically in Scripture to represent the written Word as spiritual bread;
and wine as a type of the Word to cheer the heart; and oil as a symbol of the
Holy Spirit, we must recognize that in the Millennium this spiritual truth
will also be fulfilled, for relative to that golden age it is written, “I will
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be
their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they
shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more,” Jer 31:33-34.
2:20.
“But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into
a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder
part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savor
shall come up, because he hath done great things.”
This may refer to God’s later
dealings with Assyria, but the language in general indicates that the
application is to what will be during the Millennium, many competent exegetes
understanding the northern army to be Russia; and the barren and desolate
land, Siberia, in which case the east sea would be the Atlantic ocean; and the
utmost sea, the North Pacific ocean.
“... because he hath done
great things” is understood by some to refer to the mighty evil deeds of the
northern enemy; but by others, to refer to Jehovah and His mighty power in
destroying the northern enemy.
2:21.
“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.”
2:22.
“Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do
spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield
their strength.”
Land, as used here, is
generally understood to refer to millennial Palestine; and the “great things,”
to God’s miraculous transformation, not only of that land, but of the whole
earth in that glorious age, for it is to be remembered that Adam’s sin has
affected not only man, but the whole creation, including the earth itself and
the creatures upon it, as it is written, “cursed is the ground for thy sake,”
Ge 3:17, and again, “For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation)
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature (creation)
was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath
subjected the same in hope, because the creature (creation) itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth
in pain together until now,” Ro 8:19-22.
In the Millennium there will
be the same abundant provision for every creature as for man. See also Isa
11:6-9 for further details relative to the changed state of the animal
creation in the Millennium, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the
bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall
eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the
asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
2:23.
“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he
hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for
you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.”
God will give the autumn and
spring rains in just the right measure for the fecundity of the earth.
2:24.
“And the (threshing) floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall
overflow with wine and oil.”
2:25.
“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I
sent among you.”
Relative to the locust,
cankerworm, caterpillar, palmerworm, etc., see comments on 1:4.
2:26.
“And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord
your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be
ashamed.”
This continues to emphasize
the abundance of the Lord’s provision in the Millennium, a provision which
will evoke the grateful worship of His people, and their glad acknowledgment
of Him as the Source of all their blessings. They whose sin has so often
caused them shame and disappointment in the past will never again be guilty of
such folly.
2:27.
“And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord
your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
Jehovah has dwelt in the midst
of Israel in the past, but they in their folly had attributed their blessings
to Baal and other imaginary gods, thus transmuting God’s blessings into
chastisement and its accompanying shame and misery. With the establishment of
the millennial kingdom their knowledge of God would be such as will preserve
them from ever again being guilty of such sin.
2:28.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all
flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall
dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
2:29.
“And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour
out my spirit.”
This prophecy has been more
misunderstood and misapplied than probably any other part of Scripture in
connection with the activity of believers on the day of Pentecost when there
was just such an outpouring of the Spirit as is described here, Peter quoting
this part of Joel’s prophecy to explain the ability of believers to speak in
the languages of the multitudes who had come from virtually every part of the
known world of that day to keep the feast of Pentecost, those multitudes being
led to praise God because each in his own language was able to hear the
gospel.
What is not generally
understood is that the thirty-eight years from AD 32 (the year of the
crucifixion) till AD 70 (the year of the destruction of Jerusalem) were a time
of transition in which Israel was still being offered the millennial kingdom.
Had she as a nation believed the gospel preached by the apostles following the
Lord’s resurrection and ascension, Israel could have had the millennial
kingdom after the seven years of the Tribulation which must precede its
inauguration. The ability of the believers to speak in all the known
languages of the day was one of the proofs of how near the millennial kingdom
was. Sadly, however, Israel as a nation lacked the faith to grasp the offered
blessing, with the result that in the following thirty-eight years the offer
was gradually withdrawn.
It is to be noted that the
verse reads, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out
my spirit upon all flesh...” and it is clear that this outpouring of God’s
spirit is to be in the Millennium. What occurred on the day of Pentecost was
simply an example of what will be in that coming glorious age.
Many, incidentally, understand
this outpouring of the Spirit “upon all flesh” to be limited to all Israel,
not to all the nations.
2:30.
“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and
pillars of smoke.”
2:31.
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
great and terrible day of the Lord come.”
The gift of tongues was only
part of what is to precede the inauguration of the millennial kingdom. As
these verses make clear there were to be other signs in the heavens and in the
earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun was to be darkened, and
the moon turned into blood. The truth is that all the terrible Tribulation
judgments described in the book of Revelation are also to precede the
inauguration of the millennial kingdom. But none of these things occurred two
thousand years ago! Why? Israel as a nation would not repent and trust in
the Jesus she had crucified, refusing to accept Him as her long promised
Savior Messiah, even though God in matchless grace was willing to impute her
crucifixion of Christ to ignorance, and to pardon her error, see Ac 3:17-26.
The gift of tongues was given
on the day of Pentecost to encourage Israel to believe, but she would not,
with the result that the gift and the offer of the millennial kingdom were
gradually withdrawn, and ceased altogether in AD 70. Notice the absence of
any reference to tongues in the later Epistles. Nor will the gift be renewed
until the millennial kingdom is inaugurated, though it is possible that it may
be operative also in the Tribulation to facilitate the spread of the Gospel
world-wide during those seven years.
It is a great mistake to
believe that the gift of tongues is for the Church age. It isn’t! It is for
Israel! One mark of the Holy Spirit’s activity during this present Church age
is that He never bypasses the individual’s will, yet a characteristic
of the use of the so called gift of tongues today is that it is
involuntary, and therefore not impelled by the Holy Spirit but by demons.
Relative to the signs and
wonders mentioned here in verses 30 and 31, see comments on verse 10.
2:32.
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,
as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”
While certainly this is the
assurance given the penitent in every age, the context makes it clear that the
reference here is specifically to those who will be enduring the hardships of
the terrible Tribulation judgments, many competent scholars believing that it
relates specifically to Israel.
“... the remnant whom the Lord
shall call” may not be taken to teach the error that God predestinates some to
salvation and others to damnation. Scripture makes it very clear that
salvation is the result of a free-will choice to believe in Christ as Savior;
and damnation, the result of an equally free-will choice not to trust Him as
Savior.
God in His sovereignty calls
men through the gospel, those who obey that call making themselves His elect;
those who disobey that call, remaining amongst the dammed in spite of His
desire to save them.
As to why some live and die
without ever hearing the gospel, the explanation is that God foreknows who
will and who will not respond believingly, and in His sovereignty withholds it
from some of those foreknown rejecters while bringing it to other foreknown
rejecters. Why He makes that choice is not revealed, but Scripture makes it
clear that whether a man will be in heaven or hell is the result of his own
free-will choice, that choice being foreknown by God, but not predestinated.
The remnant here is primarily
those Jews who will become believers in the Tribulation, but it includes also
believing Gentiles, though the two are distinct national entities.
[Joel 3]