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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Joel – Prophet of the Day of the Lord (3 of 4)
Focus Text: Joel 2.28-32
Joel was not a prophet who sought to be politically correct; we have already established that from our overview of a few of his works and motives. However, neither was he a prophet only of doom and gloom. In fact, the latter part of the second chapter of Joel contains one of the brightest and most exciting prophecies in all 66 books of God’s word! Today’s message will focus on the hope that Joel had and the hope that he imparted to others through his prophetic office.
“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” (Joel 2.28-32).
The language in the quoted text is admittedly difficult in as much as it contains some highly figurative language. However, not all of the text is difficult and the primary promise of the passage is relatively easy to understand. Notice that Joel predicted “…That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.” This promise is the apex of Joel’s work, indeed the apex of the work of all the prophets. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God had superintended the affairs of some in order to bring hope and forgiveness to all. Joel’s prophecy is one which predicts the successful completion of God’s plan and the ability of all men to come to salvation through calling on the name of the Lord.
Were it not for later scriptures we might be left to speculate when and where Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled. However, thanks be to God, Peter nailed down the time and manner in which God’s promise of salvation was brought to pass. On the day of Pentecost, Peter referenced the mistaken ideas of some as to why the apostles were acting in such an unusual manner and he offered this explanation: “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel…” He then quoted today’s focus text from the book of Joel!
From these facts we see that Joel had a prophet’s telescopic view of Pentecost, the Gospel system, forgiveness, and even beyond. Joel saw what all the godly had longed for century after century. The warnings of impending doom from Joel’s pen were followed by the most marvelous view of redemption through Messiah and all the blessing that were attendant to that day. In this case, Joel’s day of the LORD was a wonderful and refreshing prophetic event.
Questions:
1. In today’s focus text, what adjectives did Joel use to describe the coming day of the Lord?
2. What did Joel say regarding who might be saved once the day of the Lord had come?
3. How do we know for sure that Joel’s prediction was of Pentecost, Messiah, and the Gospel?
4. Has Joel’s prophecy been fulfilled? Thought question: Can a prophecy be fulfilled multiple times? If yes, was it really fulfilled (filled-full)?
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