JOEL LESSON 3


     We will begin this lesson in Joel 3:1 "For, behold, in those
days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of
Judah and Jerusalem,"

     The days that are spoken of, here, are the same as the day of the
Lord in the last lesson, when God would pour out of His Spirit on all
flesh. I believe the time when Jerusalem and Judah were brought,
again, to their land, is in our times. In 1948, Israel became a
nation, and Jerusalem is the spiritual city, again.

     Joel 3:2 "I will also gather all nations, and will bring them
down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there
for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered
among the nations, and parted my land."

     I believe this is speaking of the great battle of Armageddon.
There has never been a time in history before, when all nations were
gathered in battle here in Israel. This is the same as the battle we
dealt with in the 39th chapter of Ezekiel. God fights the battle for
Israel in this valley of Jehoshaphat. Israel was promised this land
back in Abraham's time. It was, also, promised that there would be a
King that would rule on the throne in Jerusalem, who would be like
unto David. The physical house of Israel is, even now, returning to
the land of Israel. They have been scattered in all the countries of
the world. God's plan all along was to restore Israel.

     Joel 3:3 "And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a
boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink."

     The people of Israel have been treated with very little respect,
since the time of the prophets. They went into slavery, and were sold
for a very small amount. The worst thing that happened to them was,
possibly, in Adolph Hitler's time, when he killed so many Jews, and
even made soap out of some of them.

     Joel 3:4 "Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon,
and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and
if ye recompence me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your
recompence upon your own head;"

     II Thessalonians 1:6 "Seeing [it is] a righteous thing with God
to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;"  Vengeance is the
Lord's. Tyre and Zidon, along with the coastal area of Palestine, were
well known for oppressing the people of God. They will, now, taste of
the very same injury they had done to God's people. They had allied
with the evil nations that came against Judah, instead of helping
Judah.

     Joel 3:5 "Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have
carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:"

     They had taken the silver and gold in the temple, and also,
robbed the people of their silver and gold. They worshipped false
gods, and used God's precious metals in that false worship.

     Joel 3:6 "The children also of Judah and the children of
Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them
far from their border."

     They had sold them to the Greeks to get them further away from
their homeland, so there would be less chance of them returning. This
speaks in the past tense, and is not connected to the end time
prophecy, except that God had not forgotten what they had done.

     Joel 3:7 "Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye
have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:"

     God will restore them to their land, and punish those who sold
them.

     Joel 3:8 "And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the
hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the
Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken [it]."

     Whatever they did to Judah, happened to them in return.  God is
just in His judgement. These Sabeans were Arab traders.

     Joel 3:9  "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake
up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come
up:"

     The Gentiles, here, would be speaking of the unbelieving world.
Whatever their rights were before they went to war, is what is spoken
of here. The Hebrews had prayer and made sacrifices to God before war.
Revelation 16:16 "And he gathered them together into a place called in
the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

     Joel 3:10 "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your
pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong."

     This is the opposite of beat your swords into plowshares. They
are to prepare for the great battle. This war would be so great, that
all the farmers and husbandmen would have to fight, too.

     Joel 3:11 "Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and
gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones
to come down, O LORD."

     They are rushing to their doom. The mighty ones could come to
battle, but they are no match for God. God, Himself, fights for
Israel.

     Joel 3:12 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley
of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round
about."
     This is the same battle where 5/6 of Gog in the land of Magog
will die in battle. So many die in this battle, that people on the
Mediterranean Sea must put clothes pins on their noses to stop the
death odor. All Israel will be 7 months burying the dead. Ezekiel
39:12 "And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them,
that they may cleanse the land."  This plainly says, that the deaths
in this great battle are a judgement of God against the heathen
people.

     Joel 3:13 "Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come,
get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their
wickedness [is] great."

     Revelation 14:14 "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and
upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head
a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle."  Revelation 14:15 "
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to
him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the
time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
Revelation 14:16 "And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on
the earth; and the earth was reaped."

     Joel 3:14 "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for
the day of the LORD [is] near in the valley of decision."

     These multitudes are the heathen armies of many nations, that are
judged in the valley, and found guilty as charged. God, Himself,
destroys them. This is speaking of that day of judgement.

     Joel 3:15 "The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining."

     Matthew 24:29  "Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken:"

     Joel 3:16 "The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his
voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but
the LORD [will be] the hope of his people, and the strength of the
children of Israel."

     Zion is the church. When Jesus comes to the earth as King of
kings and Lord of lords, He will set His feet on the mount of Olives,
and it will cleave in two. Zechariah 14:4  "And his feet shall stand
in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on
the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof
toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great
valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and
half of it toward the south."  Jesus will enter the eastern gate, and
set up His reign in Jerusalem. Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation
in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved."  Jesus will reign as King. He is our
Salvation.
     Joel 3:17 "So shall ye know that I [am] the LORD your God
dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and
there shall no strangers pass through her any more."

     Revelation 21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into it any
thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or
[maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of
life." He is LORD, and there is no other. Zion, again, is the church.
This is New Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven. He will
be our God, and we will be His people.  Jesus will reign as King.

     Joel 3:18  "And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the
mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with
milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a
fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water
the valley of Shittim."

     Psalms 46:4 "[There is] a river, the streams whereof shall make
glad the city of God, the holy [place] of the tabernacles of the most
High."  Revelation 22:1 "And he shewed me a pure river of water of
life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb."  This is speaking of that perfect time, when there is perfect
peace, and God provides for all the needs of His people.

     Joel 3:19 "Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a
desolate wilderness, for the violence [against] the children of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their land."

     Egypt symbolizes the evil world. Edom was opposed to God from the
beginning. This is a curse spoken against the enemies of God and His
people.

     Joel 3:20 "But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from
generation to generation."

     Zechariah 8:8 "And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the
midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their
God, in truth and in righteousness." Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is]
with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God."

     Joel 3:21 "For I will cleanse their blood [that] I have not
cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion."

     The world had shed the blood of God's people, and God will punish
them for it. It will be enough when they are destroyed, and Judah
established forever. The LORD dwelleth in His church.






                          Joel 3 Questions


1.  When is the day spoken of in verse 1?
2.  In _______, Israel became a nation.
3.  What does the author believe verse 2 is speaking of?
4.  We dealt with this same battle in what other book?
5.  Who fights the battle for Israel?
6.  How had the people of Israel been treated by the heathen world?
7.  Who did the very worst to the Israelites?
8.  Quote 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 6.
9.  What had Tyre and Zidon done to Israel?
10. What silver and gold had they taken?
11. Why had they sold the children to the Grecians?
12. Who were the Sabeans?
13. Who were the Gentiles speaking of?
14. Quote Revelation chapter 16 verse 16.
15. Beat your plowshares into ___________.
16. Verse 11 tells the heathen to do what?
17. Where were they to gather?
18. What will God do in that place?
19. How many of Gog die in this valley?
20. Quote Ezekiel chapter 39 verse 12.
21. Quote Revelation chapter 14 verses 14, 15, and 16.
22. Who are the multitudes in verse 14?
23. What Scripture, in Matthew, is the same as Joel chapter 3 verse
    15.
24. Zion is the _______.
25. Quote Zechariah chapter 14 verse 4.
26. Quote Acts chapter 4 verse 12.
27. What Scripture, in Revelation, is the same as Joel chapter 3 verse
    17?
28. Quote Psalms chapter 46 verse 4.
29. What happens to Egypt and Edom?
30. Quote Zechariah chapter 8 verse 8.
31. The tabernacle of God is with ______.