Let's look at the second chapter of Joel, shall we?

Joel 2 is a prophesy of “the day of the Lord”. But is it still to come, or has it already happened? I would like to hear other opinions on this.

Let's look at Acts for a minute. Peter refers to some of Joel 2 in a speech given on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:17-21. We should look at all of Joel 2 in this context. Based on Peter’s use of Joel 2 I would conclude that this chapter is a prophesy of the coming of Jesus and the destruction of Israel and Jerusalem in AD70.

Joel 2 is divided into several parts.

Verses 1-11 talk about the coming army of the Lord. This may actually be the Roman army under Titus, shortly before AD70. This is the "Day of the Lord". The army devours everything in its path. This destruction is going to come as a response to the rejection of Jesus.

Next in 12-17 the Jews are told to repent and return to the Lord. Really meaning to follow Jesus, and there would be a reprieve from this destruction. V16 mentions the bridegroom and the bride - foreshadowing of Jesus and the new covenant. V14 mentions a meal and drink offering - foreshadowing of the Last Supper. But we know that they do not repent and follow the Lord Jesus.

V18-27 talk about the great things God will accomplish. Be glad for what the Lord has done. These things are accomplished through Jesus.

Finally in V28-32 we get to the part Peter quotes about the outpouring of the spirit, prophesy, relavatory dreams and visions. A remnant will escape the destruction. These are the Christians who escaped Jerusalem.

Joel's prophecy has two purposes. First, Joel wrote to call the nation to repentance. (2:12) on the basis of it's experience of the recent locust plague. The recent disaster was but a token of a more devastating judgement to come. Yet that judgement could be averted by sincere and humble repentance (2:13,14) In this, Joel shares a common message with other prophets. In the light of impending judgement, there is always a message of hope for those who will return in faith to God. Second, the prophecy was intended to comfort the godly with promises of future salvation and blessing. (2:28-32 and 3:18-21) Should the national disaster occur, Joel offered hope to the true believers that all was not over. God would keep His promise; the Savior would one day reign.

So, no takers yet? For what it's worth, here's my take on this. I was asked if my list of things regarding end times was in order. I figured we would take them one by one, and everyone can decide for themselves. Part of the book of Joel has already happened, part is yet to come. Many believe that the day of Pentecost was the fulfilment of the pouring out of His spirit. I agree to an extent. However, I believe there's more to this. Right now we are seeing a weeding process going on. God is preparing for the harvest. The ones who are faithfully seeking Him are growing stronger. Those who have been sitting on the fence, the lukewarm, are going farther from the truth. Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken, and there's a whole lot of shaking going on right now. You can feel it in the spiritual realm.

I'm sure many of you have watched or heard about these last day revivals. Many believe this is what Joel prophesied about. I would caution everyong though in regards to this. Jude exhorts us to "contend earnestly for the Faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Contend earnestly against whom? Not against godless enemies outside the body of Christ, but rather the warning concerns those who are within: "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed" (Jude 4). "Crept in" can only mean those who are inside the visible Body of Believers.

Paul confirms the words of Jude when he addressed the Ephesian elders: "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20:29-30). Paul affirms that spiritual deception would arise within the Church.

In Luke 18:8 we read this, "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

1 Tim. 4:1-2 has this to say, "the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the Faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience"

With all these scriptures telling us there's going to be a great falling away, which I believe we are seeing now, and that many will come to decieve, which again, we are seeing now, we're going to need the guidance of the Holy Spirit more than ever. What better time for the Holy Spirit to pour out His blessings on His children?

Have we reached that part yet? Have we reached the part of the latter rain? I don't think so, but I think we're close because of the falling away we're seeing. But know this, Satan is a counterfeiter. He is not a creator. He will have a duplicate, a fake, of what God does. I believe we're seeing the counterfeit right now with these revivals. That means that God has the real thing somewhere. This is why it's so important to listen to the Holy Spirit, which was sent to lead us into all truth. Satan will try to decieve us, but as long as we test the spirits to see whether they are of God, we'll be ok. One day soon the visions will be given, the dreams will come, but for now, let's be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves.

Katrina,
Right now I am playing "catch up." So far, I agree. I will have to open my Bible up and re-read Joel 2 and some of the Scripture references that are given concerning Joel 2. This is very interesting. I was also going to take a closer look at the Scriptures in Ezekial chapter references. I never paid all that much attention to those references until I started reading Joel Rosenburg's book. Some of the more (or what I consider to be more obscure) references to the Last Days, are usually packed with a wealth of info.

I too am trying to catch up,maybe I will get it done today. It's raining here and that limits what I can do.

Like many of the things in the Old Testament it is something that has already happened, but it's also a type and shadow of what is to come.

In recent times, the crops were great --they had plenty of grain, corn and wine and oil. They didn't want for a thing. Yes, sometimes they would go to the temple to offer the sacrifices that were required. They showed up on Sunday, so to speak, and went through the motions, but it didn't really mean much to them.

And in the middle of all their good times, and taking God for granted, what happened? A terrible plague of locust swarmed into the land and nothing was left in the fields--once overflowing, they are now empty of crops, a complete and utter loss.

There's nothing left, it's all gone.

Scripture points out here that it wasn't just a plague of locust, but wave after wave of different locusts. And what the swarming locusts didn't ruin, the other types did. In the King James Version they are called by 4 different names: the locust, the cankerworm, the palmerworm, and the caterpillar. They represent destruction of different types--stripping, cutting, swarming, and hopping. When one locust gets taken care of, the crops get hit from a different direction. What each of the locust groups leaves behind, the other eat

Does that help clear it up any for you?