The first 9 verses of Joel chapter 2 undoubtedly describe another army, the second in this short little Prophecy. The army of Joel chapter 1 consisted of insects, “locusts” to be more precise. An “invasion of epic proportions,” they used to say!

But chapter 2 is different. These warriors are human, at least perhaps so! You will soon know why I allow the possibility of supernatural goings-on here.

Now read with me our Text: “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; 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. 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. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 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. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 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: 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. 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.” Again, this is Joel 2:1-9.

There has been some advance notice of the attack. Warning is given, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.” One can just feel the nation-wide “terror.”

But look. The whole event is being labeled “the Day of the Lord!” Always a Bible expression denoting “judgment.” And a term Joel uses at least 5 times! Ultimately, the Hand of God is behind these men, these soldiers!

Next, of the army: “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.” Again I ask, or wonder … “human or otherwise?” We all know that the military firepower of today’s armed forces outdistance those of Joel’s day, and that by an immeasurable margin.

Fire belches both “before” and “after” them! (Reminds me of the demon locust invasion of the Book of Revelation! “And thus 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.” Revelation 9:17, note the similarities.)

Consider also in Joel 2:3 the historical reference to “the Garden of Eden.” (If this amazing Text can reach all the way back to Creation … can it not also reach forward all the way to Armageddon?) One preacher quipped: “Before them it was like Eden, behind them, death valley!”

And while Joel 2:4-5 can certainly be a poetic description of an ancient army … “the appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 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” … so can this be a description of any one of numerous attacks Bible prophecy yet reveals in the future of planet earth.

And what exactitude they display! “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: 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. 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.” And what a writer Joel is, inspired of God of course.

I am beginning to believe that the prophet here is being a bit ambiguous, on purpose. This paragraph certainly can be a depiction of either the Assyrian or the Babylonian invasion of Jewish history … an merciless attack on ancient Israel or Judah.

But it can (equally) I think be a description of a yet future attack in the coming days of antichrist!

Folks, this is the very nature of much Old Testament Bible prophecy. It may have a more local view, a sooner fulfillment … right alongside a more world-wide, long-range view. God knows both the “sooner” and the “later” of all our lives!

Then tomorrow, the Lord willing … I will show you more reasons why Joel chapter 2 may be “Tribulational” in view.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

From ancient history to future acts of God, Joel 2 has it all!

It is an amazing swath of Scripture!

Truthfully, it will take us several days (several lessons) to cover its content.

I at first wanted to say that Joel chapter 2 (at least its first 9 verses) was describing the day either Assyria invaded Israel (721 BC) or the day Babylon invaded Judah (586 BC). BUT … there is more than any one local crisis being described (prophesied) here!

Plus, Joel 2 is quoted in the New Testament. In a unique way too, I might add.

This week I am preaching twice a day. Bible Conference in the mornings and Revival in the evenings. That leaves little time for my studies of Joel. (I have some of my research material in the motel room here, but no opportunity to delve into it!)

So, rather than speculating … I will say no more about Joel 2 until tomorrow morning.

I have several questions about the context concerning which I need to pray and study prior to writing again. I hope you understand. (Concerning Joel 2 there is great variation of opinion, interpretation … even among good, fundamental Bible-believing men!)

As they say, my work is “cut out” for me.

And I am anticipating it joyfully!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

In … Joel chapter 1 … not only has God sent “locusts” to devour the Land of Israel, but also has He withheld the rain! Thus, sort of a double judgment has fallen upon the people! (Yet 90% of the preaching from Joel 1 concerns the insects, seldom the dry skies!)

I base my “draught” conclusion on these verses: “The vine is DRIED UP, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, ARE WITHERED: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn IS WITHERED. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the FIRE (BLISTERING HEAT, DRAUGHT) hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame HATGH BURNED all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for THE RIVERS OF WATERS ARE DRIED UP, and the FIRE HATH DEVOURED THE PASTURES of the wilderness.” Joel 1:12-20, with a few enlightening verbs capitalized.

Therefore, based on a host of Biblical material (but today contextually and primarily Joel chapter 1), I conclude that God not only controls His animal world (as in “locusts”), but His weather world (as in “no rain”) too.

Yes, God can decide not to bless His creation with ample moisture!

In fact, back in Leviticus chapter 26, the Lord forewarns Israel of such a calamity … if she disobeys the Word, the Law of Almighty God! Here’s the exact verse: “And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me (the Lord), then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will MAKE YOUR HEAVEN AS IRON, and YOUR EARTH AS BRASS: and your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.” These being verses 18-20 of Leviticus 26, where an “iron” Heaven and a “brass” earth equate to extreme draught, rainless skies and parched farmland! (Earlier in Leviticus 26 God had already promised His people plenty of “rain” should they diligently obey His Word! “Then I will GIVE you RAIN in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” Leviticus 26:4)

I realize that today so-called “science” has usurped the “throne of God” in many ways. We now attribute to various weather systems what used to be called “acts of God.”

But I still assert … that behind every “high” and “low” pressure front that advances across our land … is the Mighty Hand of a Creator God!

Why, in Numbers 1:3 the “clouds” are said to be “the dust of God’s feet!”

And Psalm 135:7 informs us: “He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.”

And do recall that Elijah prayed … “and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” James 5:17, Elijah’s God thus being the Giver of rain!

And I believe … in 2016 even … that God sill in control of the weather!

The He is yet literally the Chief Meteorologist!

And that sin in the human heart can reap consequences in the world of nature!

“Thus saith the Lord!”

Draught … in Joel chapter 1.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

In Joel chapter 1 the Land of Israel is being ravaged by a giant swarm of locusts.

They are “eating” everything, too, all vegetation.

These little pests are described by Joel as “palmerworms, cankerworms, and caterpillars.” These terms are either slightly different forms of the insects, or maybe refer to different stages in their life cycle, growth.

There are so many of them that God calls them a “nation!” (In fact, they do prefigure a Nation that will some day invade Israel, Judah as well! What Joel here presented as prophecy is now partly history, too!)

But for today (the emphasis for this Lesson) is found in verse 7. “He (meaning the locusts collectively) hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.” God is here talking, Joel 1:7.

Look what God calls Israel, “my fig tree!”

And students reading here today, all the way through the Bible God’s People (the Jews) are symbolized by this special little tree, the fig tree!

It was in fact the only tree mentioned (by name) in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:7. “And the eyes of them both (Adam and Eve) were opened, and they knew that they were naked (having sinned); and they sewed FIG LEAVES together, and made themselves aprons.”

Yes, consistently throughout the Scriptures right up to the Ministry of Jesus … as in Matthew 21 and Matthew 24 and Mark 11 and Mark 13 and Luke 13 and Luke 21.

Wow!

“MY FIG TREE,” says God!

I have some advice for the Nations of the world, do not harm God’s “fig tree!”

The verb “barked” in Joel 1:7 means “splintered, snapped” with the subsidiary meaning “to be angry!”

It’s Genesis 12:1-3 all over again. Where God dramatically promises to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse that little Land and her people.

By the way, in reality I LOVE FIGS!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

When I was younger they called them “calamity howlers!” Or purveyors of “doomsday!” Today, merely “pessimists,” I guess. Or are they “realists?” Those who presciently realize that disaster is rapidly approaching!

Well, the Old Testament Prophet Joel would have qualified on all the foregoing terms!

He, all the way through his short 3 chapter (only 73 verses) Document, WARNS of danger, to the people of Israel, of Judah.

In chapter 1 he cautions about “natural disaster.”

In chapter 2, about “political (national) disaster.”

And in chapter 3 about “global (worldwide) cosmic disaster!”

In other words, an ever expanding circle of calamity!

Today I’ve posed this question, “To whom is Joel writing in chapter 1, the specific people who should respond (in some way) to the literal insect invasion that had recently occurred?

First mentioned … all the citizens of Israel, the “old men” specifically and the nation’s “inhabitants” generally. “Hear this, ye OLD MEN, and give ear, ALL YE INHABITANTS of the land.” Joel 1:2

Secondly … the alcoholics among the Jews! “Awake, ye DRUNKARDS, and weep; and howl, all ye DRINKERS OF WINE, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:5

Thirdly … the farmers of the land. “The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. Be ye ashamed, O ye HUSBANDMEN; howl, O ye VINEDRESSERS, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” Joel 1:10-12

Then, to the priests, God’ s men. “Gird yourselves, and lament, ye PRIESTS: howl, ye MINISTERS OF THE ALTAR: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye MINISTERS OF MY GOD: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord.” Joel 1:13-14

Bottom line, everyone is impacted, suffers, is to grieve.

And these “locusts” are merely a “minor” irritation compared to what is on the horizon for (spiritually lackadaisical) Israel. Remember, Joel chapters 2 and 3 are yet to be studied! And in some ways yet to be fulfilled!

Is there a Lesson for us today, in Joel’s opening Message?

Yes, of course.

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Paul in Second Corinthians 10:11

“All these things,” including that locust plague!

“Them,” as in the Jews of Joel’s day!

“Ensamples” (in Greek “tupos,” or “types”), impressive teaching tools of the Holy Spirit!

“Our admonition,” literally “to put us in mind,” to warn us!

“The ends of the world,” the latter days in which we now live, for sure!

Wow!

More than “locusts” may be invading the United States of America!

At this very moment.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell