CHAPTER 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; 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.

And awful tragedy approaches! Sound the alarm!

This tragedy is coming to "Zion" the beloved "city of God." It will come even to God's "holy mountain," Jerusalem! The awful tragedy is "the day of the LORD." It is the day of His visitation for punitive judgment. And Joel says it is "nigh at hand" - just a breath away!

The call of the prophet intones urgency and indicates a need for repentance. For only through repentance may people be saved from His punitive judgment.

There is ANOTHER "day of the Lord" coming! YES! And it is even "nigh at hand." It is the day when the Lord God of heaven and earth will judge all mankind. He will determine their worth. Some shall be saved and enter eternal glory with Him. Some shall be cast out and suffer eternal hell!

Oh! Christian! SOUND THE ALARM!! Sound the alarm even in the "holy mountain," the church; for there are many who sleep in a false sense of security not knowing the Lord Whom they claim.

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.

Joel warns of the army to invade Judah. They come to a land flourishing with crops and produce. But they leave it a "desolate wilderness."

There is coming a day of judgment to the world also. In "that day" the fire from the Lord will burn away all man's self-works. Only those works IN the Lord, and FOR the Lord will remain.

OH! My friend, are you PREPARED to meet "the day of the Lord?"
Christians, have you prepared your loved ones, friends, co-workers, neighbors?

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 Revelation 9, the Bible tells of a swarm of "horsemen" who appear as locusts. They are released from "the bottomless pit" and come to bring awful pain. They move swiftly and the sting of death is in them.

The awesome understanding of this is that they precede the coming of the Lord Himself.

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

Capture the vision with Joel. See the horror of the "army" that is sent by the Lord. He shall send it! The "day" shall surely come! Only those who have prepared their hearts by surrender and repentance shall escape it!

This "army" shall march unimpeded upon the earth. They will not "break ranks," or be scattered by any means or force of men on earth (verse 7).

They will be orderly (verse 8) and cannot be killed.

No place shall be safe from them (vs 9).

The power of them causes the earth to "quake" (Verse 10). And the cloud of their destruction blocks the sun, moon and stars.

The Lord shall order them. He shall "execute" the fierce anger of his wrath against unrepentant mankind (verse 11). God has said it in His "Word" and ALL of God's Word is true!

No man would want to face such agony!

Therefore, hear the following call to repentance.

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: 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. 14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

REPENT! Have a change of heart. Turn to God fully. Demonstrate the change of heart by fasting, weeping and mourning (verse 12).

God is true to His Word. When He says destruction will come, then it will come. But God is also "gracious and merciful" (Verse 12). He will save those who come by genuine repentance and expressed faith in Christ.

Thus we see a twofold message: 1) SOUND THE ALARM, DESTRUCTION IS COMING, and 2) CALL MEN TO REPENTANCE, that they may be saved from such horror!

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 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. 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? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

YES! "Blow the trumpet!" Sound the alarm. Sound it even in "ZION!" Let the church of God bring boldy and strongly the message of the Lord. It is God's people who must warn the public at large.

And God's people must gather with genuine concern for others (vss 16-17)!!

OH! This "Day of the Lord" is an AWFUL DAY! Christians should be concerned enough to fast, weep, and pray! They should be concerned enough to put away worldly desires and beg and plead with God on their knees for the lost of their family and friends!

In order for true and lasting revival to come to the church two things must happen.
1) God's people must repent from worldliness.
2) God's people must have genuine concern for the lost people of the world.

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: 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 savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

HEAR THIS CHURCH! The Lord LOVES His people. And He desires to grant them blessings of fullness.

But unless the church shall repent from worldliness and exhibit genuine concern for the lost, she shall be a "reproach among the heathen."

The only One Who can drive away the devil and his army of stinking corruption is the Lord Himself. And He promises He will do just that. But we must rid ourselves of pride, selfishness, and "please ME" attitudes. And we must exhibit a genuine desire to win the lost to Christ.

Then, God will pour out blessings. Then, God will remove "reproach." Then God will direct the stinking army of the "bottomless pit" to miss the church.

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. 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. 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. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

God CAN do. God WILL do. If our hearts are right!

The "gates of hell" shall NOT prevail against the true church (Matthew 16:18)!

Look at verse 25. It was upon reading this chapter in May, 1979 that my heart became broken for the manner in which I lived. For many years I had lived knowing Christ but with a "self focus" upon life. God broke my heart with the knowledge that 9 out of 10 people who die, die without His salvation. He broke my heart because I was doing very little to change that! My heart was not right with God!!

I got on my knees begging and pleading God to "restore the years that the locust hath eaten" (vs 25). And I begged him to put in their place years of fruitfulness in service to Him and for evangelistic efforts.

Soon, the very next month, our Lord put me in a gospel quartet. Each time we would sing, we would also testify and implore people to be saved. Then, in January of 1981, God called me into the pastoral ministry.

Now, I told you that little part of my life to say the following. If you repent from selfishness and ask God to help you, He will USE you! He will protect you in whatever ministry you are called, and He will bless you with outpourings of grace and mercy.

When our heart is right, God will indeed "restore the years the locust hath eaten!"

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. 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.

You can know God's presence and power when you are surrendered to His SERVICE! One does not have to be a pastor to be a minister. One does not have to be a music director, youth director or even deacon to SERVE the Lord in an evangelistic manner.

When you surrender to SERVING the Lord, you will sense and capture a genuine desire to see the lost saved. Then, you will testify that He has "dealt wondrously with you" (vs 26).

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: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 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.

Peter used this prophecy to preach in Acts 2. Read it!

Peter's point was that the "day" has come! The time is NOW! God is ready to "pour out" His Spirit upon His people. The conditions are simple: A genuine repentance from worldliness, and a genuine desire to see the lost saved.

It is true that "whosoever" begs Christ's forgiveness shall be SAVED! No one is so good that they do not need saving. No one is too bad to be saved! Anyone can come to Christ and receive forgiveness and salvation.

This message, the salvation of the Lord, is in "ZION" (vs 32)!! The message is in the church!

The question is, is the message coming OUT of the church?
Is the message coming out of your mouth to others?

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.