Revival
Joel
Holy Spirit: Today’s cancel culture comes from Judeo-Christianity theology created by Jewish theologians Richard L. Rubenstein et al.. This theology is unbiblical, but was sponsored by all Jews and is now the mainstream of Christian society worldwide. Any interpretation that was critical of the Jews was labeled antisemitism. Some modern versions of the Bible have even deleted the words Jews and Pharisees and renamed them religious people. Today, if we only dare to preach grace and comfort, but dare not “blow a loud voice” (verse 1) and make people “tremble,” we will not be able to truly “tear their hearts” and make them repent and be blessed. It’s no coincidence that freedom of speech has been suppressed bit by bit since 1945 globally, during China’s Cultural Revolution, to today’s America’s Black/ Blue Lives Matter and Antisemitism Awareness Act.
2:1 Blow （Jer. 4:5; Joel 2:15; Zeph. 1:16） the trumpet in Zion, And （Num. 10:5） sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For （Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; (Obad. 15); Zeph. 1:14） the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand:
The Holy Spirit: “Darkness, gloom, clouds, black days” (verse 2) is a prophecy of God allowing Satan to cover the sky with locust swarms. It is also a prophecy of Jewish theology covering Christian theology.
2:2 （Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:15） A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. （Joel 1:6; 2:11, 25） A people come, great and strong, （Ex. 10:14; Lam. 1:12; Dan. 9:12; 12:1; Joel 1:2） The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
Holy Spirit: The prophet compared locusts to human beings, destroying things that are important to the world, so the people should repent quickly. Jewish theology also originated in the Garden of Eden, but in all its theology and interpretation it misinterpreted the meaning of God and became a form of Antichrist. “The Lord speaks before his armies” (verse 11), indicating that Jewish theology uses the same God as the symbolic language, but the theology is completely inverted from Christian theology. Jewish theology often says in the Talmud and other rabbinical teachings that “God admits that he was wrong”, which is blatant disobedience to God.
2:3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like （Gen. 2:8; Is. 51:3; Ezek. 36:35） the Garden of Eden before them, （Ex. 10:5, 15; Ps. 105:34, 35; Zech. 7:14） And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.
2:4 （Rev. 9:7） Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run.
2:5 （Rev. 9:9） With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array.
2:6 Before them the people writhe in pain; （Is. 13:8; Jer. 8:21; Lam. 4:8; Nah. 2:10） All faces are drained of color.
2:7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break （Prov. 30:27） ranks.
2:8 They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down.
2:9 They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They （Jer. 9:21） enter at the windows （John 10:1） like a thief.
2:10 （Ps. 18:7; Joel 3:16; Nah. 1:5） The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; （Is. 13:10; 34:4; Jer. 4:23; Ezek. 32:7, 8; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Matt. 24:29; Rev. 8:12） The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
2:11 （Jer. 25:30; Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2） The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; （Jer. 50:34; Rev. 18:8） For strong is the One who executes His word. For the （Jer. 30:7; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:15） day of the Lord is great and very terrible; (Mal. 3:2)） Who can endure it?
Holy Spirit: God brought the remnant of Israel to the end (circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles who believed in the Lord Jesus) in order for people to see the opportunity for salvation (the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross). While declaring judgment, God also announced the promise of salvation; before executing punishment, God first pointed out the way to salvation. God’s call to the people to “return to the LORD your God” (v. 13) actually reminded them of God’s self-revealed character when He made the covenant: “YHWH, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in abundance love and truth” (Exodus 34:6). “Rend your hearts but not your garments” (verse 13), which means that inner repentance is more important than outward pain, and circumcision of the heart is more important than circumcision of the penis, because “the sacrifice that God requires is contrite spirit.” (Psalm 51:17). Therefore, God does not like the concepts of “being born pure” and “absolute free will” in Jewish theology. Under the concept of Jewish theology: Man has no original sin at all, and the salvation of Jesus Christ is considered meaningless. Man also becomes arrogant because he does not need the gift of God to repent. In fact: God is omniscient (Psalm 139:16). He already knows who will return to Him (Hosea 3:5) and who will not return to Him (Hosea 5:4). He does not need to rely on people’s reactions to adjust the intensity of discipline.
2:12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord , (Deut. 4:29); Jer. 4:1; Ezek. 33:11; Hos. 12:6; 14:1） “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
2:13 So (Ps. 34:18; 51:17; Is. 57:15)） rend your heart, and not （Gen. 37:34;2 Sam. 1:11; Job 1:20; Jer. 41:5） your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is (Ex. 34:6)） gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
Holy Spirit: If a person who receives grace neglects his relationship with God, grace will lose its meaning and sooner or later he will lose grace. There will always be only a remnant of those who are saved and obey Jesus Christ. God wants relationships, not religion. God wants obedience, not sacrifice. This is clearly revealed in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Why were modern people brainwashed?
2:14 （Josh. 14:12;2 Sam. 12:22;2 Kin. 19:4; Jer. 26:3; Jon. 3:9） Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave （Hag. 2:19） a blessing behind Him— （Joel 1:9, 13） A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?
2:15 （Num. 10:3;2 Kin. 10:20） Blow the trumpet in Zion, （Joel 1:14） Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;
Holy Spirit: Law of Moses stipulates that the “groom” (verse 16) can be exempted from military service and public office for one year (Deuteronomy 24:5), but God requires the “groom and bride” to also walk out of the bridal chamber, regardless of whether the people are obligated or guilty, for all must confess their sins and repent before God. Today, if there is a breach in the church, everyone must repent. No one can be alone and claim to be righteous, because “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27). What God wants is to “edify the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12) and express the testimony of unity. Only followers of Jesus Christ can fulfill the law through Jesus Christ. On the contrary, Zechariah, the son of the Jewish Jehoiada, was stoned to death here (2 Chronicles 24:21). Before the destruction of Jerusalem, the people worshiped the sun here (Ezek. 8:16). When the Jews were in the Second Temple, they also killed their own God, Jesus Christ. After the destruction of the Second Temple, it became apparent that it was impossible to keep the Mosaic law because of the impossibility of being kosher. But in order to persist in rejecting Jesus Christ, they invented oral laws and unbiblical rabbinic myths to replace Christian theology. And after that, the Jews always wanted to build a third temple, raise an Antichrist and false moshiah to fight against God, and in Middle Ages did not hesitate to help the Islamic kingdoms in Middle East to fight against the Christian kingdoms in Europe. Because of these disobedience, the Jews “became a laughing matter among the nations.” In fact, as it is true for Gentiles, it is even more true for Jews: “God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9).
2:16 Gather the people, （Ex. 19:10） Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; （Ps. 19:5） Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
2:17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord , Weep （Matt. 23:35） between the porch and the altar; Let them say, （Ex. 32:11, 12; (Is. 37:20); Amos 7:2, 5） “Spare Your people, O Lord , And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. （Ps. 42:10） Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
Holy Spirit: God will surely “be zealous for His land and have mercy on His people” (verse 18), and will not allow the enemy to question “where is their God” (verse 17; Psalm 42:10; Psalm 79:10; Micah 7:10)? Although God allows his people to suffer for the sake of discipline, in his heart he is more willing to “be zealous for his own land and have mercy on his people” so that his glory can be displayed. How to do it? The only answer is Jesus Christ. God will always allow Jews to believe in Jesus Christ, even if Jesus Christ was killed by the Jews. In fact, because of the saving Grace, God wants the Jews to admit their original sin, repent, and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the education that American theologians in the 20th century called “not evangelizing the Jews” is actually completely unbiblical. They did this to please the Pharisees and Scribes, but to offend God and stumble our Jewish brothers and sisters. Amen. As Paul said: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Isn’t it because you don’t preach the gospel to the Jews because of the pride and jealousy in your hearts?
2:18 Then the Lord will (Is. 60:10; 63:9, 15)） be zealous for His land, And pity His people.
2:19 The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you （Jer. 31:12; Hos. 2:21, 22; Joel 1:10; (Mal. 3:10)） grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
2:20 “But （Ex. 10:19） I will remove far from you （Jer. 1:14, 15） the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back （Deut. 11:24） toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.”
The Holy Spirit: “What they ate in those years” (verse 25) shows that the Jewish Pharisees and scribes ravaged the churches around the world for many years after 1945. In modern society, we are not allowed to criticize specific races, but we are allowed to criticize the European Christian Crusaders. Judaism, Islam, and all religions must be tolerated, but Christianity cannot be tolerated. People are too blind to see the fact. However, before the people repented, God declared twice, “My people will never be ashamed” (vv. 26, 27), clearly demonstrating the power and sovereignty of Jesus Christ from the Father: no matter how disobedient the people are, God calls them “my people”; no matter how far the people have fallen, God can save them through Jesus Christ; because God does not allow the enemy to question the power of Jesus Christ (verse 17), the salvation plan of Jesus Christ. Regardless of human circumstances, Jesus Christ will never fail His chosen people. Therefore, “the people chosen by Jesus Christ will never be ashamed.”
2:21 Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the Lord has done marvelous things!
2:22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For （Joel 1:19） the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
2:23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, And （Deut. 11:14; Is. 41:16; Jer. 5:24; Hab. 3:18; Zech. 10:7） rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He （Lev. 26:4; Hos. 6:3; Zech. 10:1; James 5:7） will cause the rain to come down for you— The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.
2:24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
2:25 “So I will restore to you the years （Joel 1:4–7; 2:2–11） that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
2:26 You shall （Lev. 26:5; Deut. 11:15; Is. 62:9） eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to （Is. 45:17） shame.
2:27 Then you shall know that I am （Lev. 26:11, 12; (Joel 3:17, 21)） in the midst of Israel: (Is. 45:5, 6)） I am the Lord your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
Holy Spirit:
Circumcised Jews and uncircumcised Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ belong to the remnant of Israel and receive the Holy Spirit. Prior to this, the Holy Spirit only descended on a few people who were used by God, such as Gideon (Judges 6:34), Samson (Judges 14:6), Saul (1 Samuel 10:6) and David (1 Samuel 16 13). However, after the great discipline of the locust plague and the complete conversion of the people, God not only wanted to “repay” the people materially (vv. 18-27), but also poured out the Holy Spirit to all the fleshly remnants of Israel, giving them the ability to rebuild a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6), just as Moses longed for: “If only the Lord’s people would be inspired to speak! May the Lord put His Spirit on them” (Numbers 11:29)
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (verse 32) is the promise of Jesus Christ to the “escaped ones” in Jerusalem (verse 32) and the “remnant” in Israel (verse 32). Whoever calls on the name of the Lord through the Son of Man will be saved. The word YHWH itself means “I am”, which is why Jesus repeatedly emphasized “I am” and said that he is the will of the Father. God will only save the remnant of Israel (Zech. 13:9), and “calling on the name of the Lord” through faith is the only way for people to be saved.
2:28 “And （Ezek. 39:29; Acts 2:17–21） it shall come to pass afterward That （Zech. 12:10） I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; （Is. 54:13） Your sons and your （Acts 21:9） daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
2:29 And also on My (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28)） menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
2:30 “And （Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25; Luke 21:11, 25, 26; Acts 2:19） I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
2:31 （Is. 13:9, 10; 34:4; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12, 13） The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, （Is. 13:9; Zeph. 1:14–16; (Mal. 4:1, 5, 6)） Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord .
2:32 And it shall come to pass That （Jer. 33:3; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13） whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For （Is. 46:13; (Rom. 11:26)） in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among （Is. 11:11; Jer. 31:7; (Mic. 4:7); Rom. 9:27） the remnant whom the Lord calls.
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Acts
1:8 (Acts 2:1, 4)） But you shall receive power （Luke 24:49） when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and （Luke 24:48; John 15:27） you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and （Acts 8:1, 5, 14） Samaria, and to the （Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:23; (Rev. 14:6)） end of the earth.”
If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
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