As we continue our study of the terrible, awesome Day of the Lord, we will find references and warnings throughout the Bible. One such OT Book is Joel, which is often quoted and even misquoted. We will try and gain a more accurate, biblical understanding in the next few lessons.
Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, 2:2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
This is a very serious and terrifying warning. God has been warning the world for thousands of year. The end of His warnings is fast approaching as the warnings are close to turning into reality.
2:3 A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them.
Fire always figures importantly in His prophecies of the soon coming end of this age. It will also be prevalent at the close of the Millennial Kingdom when the heavens and earth are totally destroyed by fire.
2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run. 2:5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
Who are these warriors? Are they men, demons, unclean spirits? What ever they are, they are fearsome, deadly, and evil. Who can escape from these beasts?
2:6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.
2:7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths.
2:8 They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks.
2:9 They rush on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.
2:10 Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
Clearly they are supernatural and demonically inspired, directed, and controlled. We will search the Scriptures to see if we can come to understand this better next time.
2:11 The LORD utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word.
The LORD’s army cannot be defeated. The LORD’s army will not be deterred nor frightened. The LORD’s army in actuality does not even enter into the fight or battle. More next time, but first another reminder that God has been warning us clearly and repeatedly.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?We just studied this in Matthew 24, but will tie it together with a few verses.
Matthew 24:21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 24:22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.