The Prophet Joel The timeline of God from

The Prophet Joel The timeline of God: from the beginning of the last days to the great and notable Day of the LORD!

Preview of Joel • Immediate day of the LORD - Joel 1: 15 – Plague of locusts – Proposed plan of action for revival • Judgment of Captivity - Joel 2: 10, 11 – Great and powerful enemy from the north – Even now return to God • Final Judgment - Joel 3: 14 -16

Flow of Joel • Acts of nature, acts of God “For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and without number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines, and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. ” (Joel 1: 6, 7 RSV) • Judgment on a nation “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been from of old, nor will e again after them through the years of all generations. ” (Joel 2: 1, 2 RSV) • Judgment on the world “And the LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. ” (Joel 3: 16 RSV)

Outline of Joel • • Plague of locusts -- Joel 1: 1 -12 A Plague Portending Doom -- Joel 1: 13 -20 Coming Day of the LORD -- Joel 2: 1 -11 A Call to Repentance -- Joel 2: 12 -17 The Answer to Prayer -- Joel 2: 18 -27 Future Blessings -- Joel 2: 28 -32 The Valley of Judgment -- Joel 3: 1 -12 Judgment and Promise -- Joel 3: 13 -21

Plague of locusts Joel 1: 1 -12 • A disaster on the land from the locusts. • A similar plague in 1915, and in 1865 • Solomon was told that God might send locusts -- II Chronicles 7: 12 -14

Sudden Disaster can Come ! Joel 1: 13 -20 • • • Brushes with disaster are reminders The whole creation groaneth The wages of sin is death Eating, marrying, giving in marriage Significance of a deeper meaning on two levels

Coming Day of the LORD Joel 2: 1 -11 • An Army like locusts will come from the Northeast: Assyria • Nineveh and Assyria noted for fierceness • Assyria took Israel captive in 722 B. C. and all but Jerusalem in 701 B. C. • The historical locust plague and the allegorical one of the army would provide background for Revelation 9: 1 -10

Prayer and Repentance Joel 2: 12 -27 • Only a remnant was left in Judah • King Hezekiah accepted the call of Joel, and sent for Isaiah • An angel of God slew the army of Sennacherib: Isaiah 37: 36 -38 • God gave the reason for this rescue in Isaiah 37: 35

Was Judah any more Righteous than Israel? • Samaria and Israel destroyed 722 B. C. by Assyria • Most of Judah taken captive, all except Jerusalem, by 701 B. C. • In spite of the warnings from Joel, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah, Israel remained unrepentant.

Future Blessings Joel 2: 28 -32 • With the doom was a message of hope that Peter quotes on the day of Pentecost • Things are changing for Israel as a chosen nation of God – Obviously God chose them initially – Warned them often of the consequence – The covenant broken during Hosea’s time – Peter’s quote of a more individualistic blessing

The Valley of Judgment • • Joel 3: 1 -12 The valley of Jehosaphat The destruction of Sennacherib’s army The valley of Hinon The valley of decision of Revelation

Judgment and Promise • • • Joel 3: 13 -21 The ultimate Day of the LORD The shaking of heaven and earth The sun, moon, and stars darkened The new heaven and the new earth The tree of life