Exposition on Joel - Introduction - 4

     But Jesus came and spoke But by the inspiration of God’s Spirit, Joel turns the Jewish expectation of the Day of the Lord upside-down—because of their heritage they thought of that coming Day only as a day of salvation and deliverance for them, and a Day only of damnation and destruction for the gentile nations. So instead of allowing the people to continue in that misconception, Joel uses the image of the descending army, a result of their covenant disobedience, to wreak as much havoc on their hearts as it would on the Land. And he uses this imagery as a foreshadowing of that future Day when not only will the unbelieving nations be judged, but the unbelieving Jewish nation as well. It was a warning not to misunderstand the coming Day of Yahweh where His judgment will transcend nations, even that nation He called His own. This was likely a hard pill for them to swallow, as were most of the words of God’s prophets, else why would they need to be sent, if there was no misconception about the nature of God and the nature of man?

     The NT gives us many example of the diversity of the DotL. From Romans 2:16 we hear that on that Day the secrets of men will be judged by Christ. But on that Day, the Day of the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, will also be a Day of final salvation for believers, even the Corinthian believers whose egregious sin Paul addressed (1 Cor. 1:4-9). And those who Paul suggested their bodies be delivered over to Satan, even that was so their souls would be delivered at The Day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:5). According to Paul’s words later in his second letter to the church in Corinth, the Day of Yahweh will be a day where we will boast in one another’s good works (2 Cor. 1:14). And in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he describes the Day of the Lord as a day the coming of which, no one can foretell, a coming day that will likely surprise more people than it will catch waiting for it. Even Jesus mentions its mysteriousness as recorded for us in Mark 13:31. But that Day is not designed to distribute God’s wrath or displeasure to His elect, but only to those vessels for which that destruction has been measured out (1 Thess. 5). And in his instructions to Timothy, Paul speaks of a future Day whereby we will receive God’s mercy and crowns will be doled out (2 Tim. 1:18 and 4:8). Not only Paul, but Peter as well was inspired to describe this coming Day. In his second correspondence he reminds us of the justice that will be exacted on that Day. He also describes the scoffers and mockers that will characterize the end of this present age, but in the same breath he admonishes believers to wait patiently for this Day, for what will sadly be the Day of Judgment for many, is the Day of our salvation (2 Pet. 3). Lest we forget Jesus’ own comments on that Day: He warned, as recorded by Matthew in 7:22, that even some who called Him Lord would be forsaken in judgment on that final Day. And Christ instructed His disciples and us as well to keep the New Covenant Passover meal, that feast we call communion, until the Day of His return when He will supp once again in person with the extended group of OT and NT disciples which He calls His Church and His Bride (Mark 14:25). Christ also devised a couple parables describing both the immense pleasure and horrific terror that will be displayed on the DotL when He spoke of the 10 virgins and the 10 talents and how the unprepared virgins He never knew and the wicked and slothful servant would be cast into outer darkness (Matt. 25).