The Day of the Lord Cometh, Joel Chapter 2

For several days I have been reading and studying Joel.  What a voluminous wealth of information is contained in these three short chapters of a minor prophet.  I am again splitting this writing in to parts so that you don't get lost in my jumble!

Sorrow that has filled my heart this week as the Lord took another brother in Christ home is replaced by rejoicing in realizing that home is where he now is.  Absent in the body is to be present with the Lord.  What greater hope can we, as believers, have?  Here's to you, Ken!

THE DAY OF THE LORD COMETH
JOEL CHAPTER 2

In welcoming the New Year, my first post of 2014 quoted from Joel chapter 2.  The disciple Peter in Acts 2 links Joel 2:28-32 as fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, thus making Joel one of the most fascinating minor prophets to the church, but what about the preceding verses (1-27) of Joel chapter 2 (quoted in red below) - are they also likewise fulfilled? When was and what is the significance of the Day of the Lord? and why would Peter connect verses 28-32 to the birth of the church if the rest did not apply?  Here are my thoughts, which again, I urge you to use as a prompt to your own study as this is not intended to "teach" but create a desire to study yourself! I do not claim to understand the complexity of historical fulfillment and eschatology, nor the nesting of prophecy within prophecy like a Russian matryoshka, but am sparked to study!  Joel 2 is quoted in red.

[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;
[2] A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness,

In "Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Pt. 1" I wrote that Ezekiel, the watchman, and John the Baptist, the herald, when they each respectively saw the sword and (Spirit)Word come upon the land, blew the trumpet call to repentance; John the Baptist prophesying after a 400 year gap of prophetic silence that was begun by Malachi.  Malachi, whose name coincidentally means messenger, confirmed the enormous importance of the Day of the Lord that another messenger would herald.  Malachi 3 announces John the Baptist's future role: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come....  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire...."  After a 400 year silence, the arrival of Jesus to the temple was indeed sudden - the only preparation had been - a messenger.  Malachi 4 continues, "For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven...and the day that cometh shall burn them [the proud, the wicked] up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch," and ends with, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord…."  I think Malachi thus offers a clue to the "Day of the Lord" and its purpose, to cleanse and purify. 

Amos 5:18 is thought to be one of the first mentions of the "Day of the Lord," preceded by verses 4-15 with the same warning of Ezekiel and John:  to repent; and if the warning is not heeded, the Day of the Lord is a dreadful day to look forward to.  Amos 5:18-20 states, "Woe to you who desire the Day of the Lord!  For what good is the Day of the Lord to you?  It will be darkness, and not light.  It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him!  Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him!  Is not the Day of the Lord darkness and not light?  Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?"  Amos tells us then that the "Day of the Lord" will be a horrifying day.

Zephaniah 1:7 perhaps offers the greatest clue: "Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the Day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests."  Zephaniah says the "Day of the Lord" involves a sacrifice and an invitation.

My thinking then is that one nest of the Day of the Lord specifically relates to Christ's death when, according to Matthew 27:45-53, darkness was over the land from the sixth through the ninth hour, the earth quaked and the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom and the graves opened.  This crucifixion being the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God, satisfying God's righteous judgment upon sin, a sacrifice not only clearly depicted by the feasts and requirements of the Levitical system, but the complete fulfillment of the Law, a terrifying day for all creation as complete darkness set in, with no light at all.  The centurions guarding Jesus during the tumult of His death, “feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” [Matt. 27:54].  Indeed, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God - but a freeing thing to those bound by sin and death! Satan and his kingdom judged at the cross, as spoken by Jesus in John 12:31-36  "'Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This he said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, 'We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?'  Then Jesus said to them, 'A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light.'"  Jesus certainly knew the impending darkness of his sacrifice and beckoned those who would believe: "write this: blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" [Revelation 19:9].

Our blessed hope is not to remain under the dark condemnation of judgment, but rather rejoice that judgment has been satisfied, and we who were held in bondage to sin and death have been released.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ happened just as He said it would, His own death purposed by His will: "I WILL destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands,” a clear reflection back to Daniel 2:45 “…a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands…” [Mark 14:58], and "I lay down My life for the sheep....No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" [John 10:15, 18]. 

During my studies, the following blew my mind.  The next Jewish feast after Passover would be Shavuot. Shavuot takes place 50 days after Passover, coinciding with Pentecost.  I quote from chabad.org, 

“The Torah was given by G-d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3300 years ago.  Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we renew our acceptance of G-d’s gift, and G-d “re-gives” the Torah.  

“The word Shavuot means ‘weeks.’  It marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot.    

“The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event - one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times.  Our sages have compared it to a wedding between G-d and the Jewish people.”

While the Rabbis were verbally performing the “Counting of the Omer”, a countdown of 49 days from the barley offering (first fruits) to the wheat (beginning the wheat harvest), from the Passover to Shavuot, waiting for this next feast where the Torah would be “re-given”, Jesus was fulfilling the Law and offering the first fruits; He then re-gave the law in the fullest depth of its meaning, to a cleansed people of circumcised hearts, the beginning of the wheat harvest. Is it any coincidence that the blessing recited with the Counting of the Omer reads, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to count the Omer?”  

Peter, in declaring the coming of the Holy Spirit as fulfillment of Joel, also spoke to the hearts of the Jewish people by saying, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.  Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne….” quoting and interpreting Psalm 16:10. On this day of Pentecost, Peter would quite naturally bring up David’s sepulcher, because Shavuot is also the day David died - and why Jewish people commemorate Shavuot by reading from the book of Ruth, David’s ancestor.

[vs. 2 continued] 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. 

This great people, unique and uniquely forgiven, strong and lasting through many generations....could this be then His sheep? the Church? The morning, the resurrection, the birth of the New Covenant of Grace? Peter’s discourse in Acts 2:39 concludes with, “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”  The veil, torn from top to bottom, represented the debt that had been satisfied and those who believe as purchased by the ransom, sealed in the deal.  

Interestingly enough, John 13-14 tells what took place during the Passover meal prior to Christ’s crucifixion.  Jesus begins by washing the feet of his disciples, “if I do not wash you, you have no part with me!” then commanding his disciples to follow His example in action (be doers of the word and not just hearers).  “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them!” then leaves them with an exposition on how we could possibly keep the commandments when generations under the Law couldn’t: our baptism into His body by the coming of the Holy Spirit.  New wine in new wineskins. “If you love Me, keep my commandments (referring to 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you….”), And I will pray the Father and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of Truth” [John 13:15,17, John 14:15]. 

[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.

Why would Joel say a fire devours before them and behind them a flame burns, if not to identify this people with the believer who has passed from death unto life, his own works devoured and judged, baptized into Christ's own death and resurrection.  Fire throughout the Bible represents judgment. We find in Acts 2 tongues of fire settling upon believers' heads on the day of Pentecost - the identification of believers with their own judgment settled at the Cross.  Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-nego of Daniel are perfect examples of the divine protection (having been judged already) of fire (Daniel 3:27) - Nebuchadnezzar cast them into a fiery furnace, heated seven times its normal, so hot it killed those tossing them in, yet the three believers were not even scorched, nor bore the aroma of fire.  Peter says Pentecost commences the coming of the Holy Spirit and John 16:8-11 clarifies the role of the Holy Spirit as "convicting the world of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  Again, a call to repentance and walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. Jeremiah 23 appears to tie in to Joel so well - he prophesies woe to the false words of misguided shepherds and the coming of the Branch of Righteousness, who in verse 5 executes judgement and righteousness in the earth.  Jer. 23:29 reads, "Is not My word like a fire?" and Jeremiah 20:9 proclaims, "His word in my heart is like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not."  Thus His word continues to purify through its proclamation.  Remember that when Adam and Eve were banished, "cherubim were placed at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." [Genesis 3:24].  What incredible imagery of judgment through Jesus Christ, the very word of God, the sword of the Spirit,  the way to eternal life.

[4] The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. [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. 

In depicting the churches' appearance with horses AND horsemen, we have another incredible picture of of our complete identification with Christ, sinners saved by grace. They appear as horses, who in Psalm 32:9 are said to "have no understanding...they must be led by the bit," yet as horsemen they run, controlled by the reins of the Holy Spirit.  The believer is suited up spiritually, wearing the full armor of God spoken of in Ephesians, bearing the Sword of the Spirit, which is His word.

[6] Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

And his word, we saw in Jeremiah, is like a fire.  The conviction of the Holy Spirit through the word causes a man to rejoice or howl in pain and disbelief at his need of salvation.  It is like entering the bright outdoors after a dark theater, the brightness of the light stinging one's eyes and John 3:19 says men love the darkness because their deeds are evil.

[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: [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. 

Again, this mighty army shall not be wounded by the sword (remember it is the Spirit+word, S+WORD), as they have already been judged; the second death shall not harm them.  

Thus, specifically, the Day of the Lord can be seen as the judgment that took place on the cross, is ongoing in the the hearts of the believers through the refining fire, and then finishes with the last judgment day when no more room for repentance takes place. Perhaps this continuum is why Peter can say, "one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day" with the Lord.


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