INTERESTING FACTS : Matthias Burnett, Pastor First Baptist Church in Norwalk [1803]

 

"Consider well the important trust . . . which God . . . [has] put into your hands. . . . To God and posterity you are accountable for [your rights and your rulers]. . . . Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you. . . . Loo well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. . . . Think not that your interests will be safe in the hands of the weak and ignorant; or faithfully managed by the impious, the dissolute and the immoral. Think not that men who acknowledge not the providence of God nor regard His laws will be uncorrupt in office, firm in defense of the righteous cause against the oppressor, or resolutely oppose the torrent of iniquity. . . . Watch over your liberties and privileges - civil and religious - with a careful eye."[1]

 

Daily Reading : Joel

 

TEXT : Joel  2:13 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.  2:14 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?  2:17 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?  2:18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.  2:19 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:  2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.  2:28 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:  2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.  2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.  2:32 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.

 

THEME : Eschatology

 

Joel 2:1-32

 

Contents: Day of vengeance upon Israel. Invading hosts and awful scourges. Repentance of the Jewish remnant and Jehovah's response and deliverance.

 

Characters: God, Holy Spirit, Joel.

 

Conclusion: There is a great and terrible day of the Lord coming upon the world, to be ushered in with wonders in heaven and earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. Woe to those who are not prepared for that day when it comes unawares upon them. Those who are able to pass through it will be given a change of heart through the universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and God will reign gloriously in all the universe, restoring to great favor in the earth the remnant of Israel.

 

Key Word: Day of the Lord, Joe_2:1, Joe_2:31.

 

Strong Verses: Joe_2:10, Joe_2:28, Joe_2:29.

 

Striking Facts: Joe_2:28. This has a partial and continuous fulfillment during "the last days" (Heb_1:2), which began with the first advent of Christ (Act_2:17), but the greater fulfillment awaits the "last days" as applied to Israel, when Christ shall come to be recognized as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. [Summarized Bible][2]

 

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "THE ONLY SAFE PLACE ON EARTH IS IN THE LORD!"

 

The Book of Joel, as with other prophetic portions of Scripture has a near and far fulfillment. Prophesying to Judah [as Hosea did to Israel], Joel tells of judgment and of salvation to come. Israel [ten northern tribes] as you know was conquered by the Assyrians never to be completely restored to the land again. Judah [two southern tribes] on the other hand, was taken captive by the Chaldeans [Iraq], restored to the land, and then banished for nearly 2,000 years.

 

With respect to future a fulfilment of judgment and salvation to the Jews [and Gentiles], we read in the New Testament -

 

Act_2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: Act_2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [a direct quote from Joel]

 

And also -

 

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

 

These two New Testament portions of Scripture alone demonstrate a fulfilment of Joel's prophecies beyond the captivity of the Jews by the Babylonians. They also show the salvation of Israel and of the Gentiles through Christ.

 

The apostle Peter, quoting from Joel in the Book of Acts, stated that their speaking in tongues [an indication of the fullness of God's Spirit coming on "all flesh;" that is, - all people, not just Jews] was the beginning of the Last Days. Therefore, the Last Days - now stretching over two millennia, has been ongoing. As the Jews, for the most part, and for the moment, have rejected the Messiah so the Gentiles can be brought to salvation, the Jews will once more be brought to salvation as Joel and the New Covenant state.

 

We live in unprecedented times. World population, technology, archeological discoveries, and various other considerations make our generation unique from all others. The words of Jesus, when asked what would be the sign[s] of His Coming and of the end of the world said -

 

Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Mat 24:4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. Mat 24:5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Mat 24:6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Mat 24:7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Mat 24:8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

 

It is plain to the student of Scripture we are living in the Last Days and Christ will come to redeem His own and judge the Living and the dead. Therefore, what should you do? The Word of God tells us.

 

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

 

Be found walking in Christ, for there is no safe place on earth except in the LORD.