Chapter III.
"Verse 1: "In those days, and in that time, [In what days, and in what time? — The time brought to view in the preceding verses
(Joel 2:30-32), when "the sun shall be turned into darkness . . . before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come."] when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." All those who under the new covenant belong to Judah and Jerusalem. (See Heb. 8: 8.)
Verse 2: "I will also gather all nations, . . . and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel." This proves that when God speaks of Judah and Israel, He refers to " His people." To " bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem," is to raise up in these last days His elect from the greatest of all captivities,— the grave. Therefore:
a. The mighty voice of the Lord sounds forth. Joel 3: 16.
b. Those in the graves hear His voice. John 5: 28.
c. "The heavens and the earth shall shake" (Joel 3: 16), whereby the graves are opened.
d. The reapers go forth to the harvest, which "is the end of the world. . . . The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend." Matt. 13:39, 41.
"And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat."
a. Into that valley, by the brook Kedron, Asa (1 Kings 15: 13), Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30: 14), Josiah (2 Kings 26: 6, 12), brought and burned the idols of Judah.
b. Through that valley they dragged Jesus to judgment and crucifixion. On the farther side stood the Mount of Olives, from which He ascended, and where the angels proclaimed His return from heaven. Acts 1: 11.
c. In that valley, when Edom, Moab, and Ammon assembled to cast God's people out, God turned their swords, every one against his fellows, and none escaped. 2 Chron. 20: 22-25. Then, on the fourth day, God's people assembled there, and called it "Berachah,"— the valley of blessing.
d. Joel sees these scenes re-enacted on a grand scale, before the end of the world. All the nations of the world, to the last impenitent and unregenerated, and united under Antichrist, planning to sever God's people from His worship and to disperse them. Their motive is religious hatred.
e. In that valley God will plead with these nations for His people. Terrible will be that pleading.
It was terrible on Pharaoh and his host, on the antediluvian world filled with violence, on Sodom and Gomorrah, on the four world empires. But now, in the time of Antichrist, the tribulation shall be without precedent. Dan. 12: 1."B.G.Wilkinson/1928
"Verse 1: "In those days, and in that time, [In what days, and in what time? — The time brought to view in the preceding verses
Verse 2: "I will also gather all nations, . . . and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel." This proves that when God speaks of Judah and Israel, He refers to " His people." To " bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem," is to raise up in these last days His elect from the greatest of all captivities,— the grave. Therefore:
a. The mighty voice of the Lord sounds forth. Joel 3: 16.
b. Those in the graves hear His voice. John 5: 28.
c. "The heavens and the earth shall shake" (Joel 3: 16), whereby the graves are opened.
d. The reapers go forth to the harvest, which "is the end of the world. . . . The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend." Matt. 13:39, 41.
"And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat."
a. Into that valley, by the brook Kedron, Asa (1 Kings 15: 13), Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30: 14), Josiah (2 Kings 26: 6, 12), brought and burned the idols of Judah.
b. Through that valley they dragged Jesus to judgment and crucifixion. On the farther side stood the Mount of Olives, from which He ascended, and where the angels proclaimed His return from heaven. Acts 1: 11.
c. In that valley, when Edom, Moab, and Ammon assembled to cast God's people out, God turned their swords, every one against his fellows, and none escaped. 2 Chron. 20: 22-25. Then, on the fourth day, God's people assembled there, and called it "Berachah,"— the valley of blessing.
d. Joel sees these scenes re-enacted on a grand scale, before the end of the world. All the nations of the world, to the last impenitent and unregenerated, and united under Antichrist, planning to sever God's people from His worship and to disperse them. Their motive is religious hatred.
e. In that valley God will plead with these nations for His people. Terrible will be that pleading.
It was terrible on Pharaoh and his host, on the antediluvian world filled with violence, on Sodom and Gomorrah, on the four world empires. But now, in the time of Antichrist, the tribulation shall be without precedent. Dan. 12: 1."B.G.Wilkinson/1928