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Joel
Joel 1
Joel predicted a terrible plague of locusts. The locusts
would destroy everything, and the people would go into mourning and
depression. The vineyards would be destroyed, so the
alcoholics would suffer withdrawal. God called upon all the people to
mourn, including the farmers, the priests, and the elders.Joel 2
Then Joel's prophecies reveal even further calamities. In the
near term, the Assyrian army would punish the people, and in the long
term (the end times), the Great Tribulation will precede the Second
Coming of Christ. God calls upon the people to
repent. A small number of people do respond, but the rest feel the wrath of God's
judgment. In the near term, Assyria would not prevail, but in
the end times, another nation from the north would threaten
Israel. God will defeat that enemy as well, and Israel will be restored as a land of milk and honey.
Joel 3
In the end times, during the Great Tribulation, the peoples of the
nation of Israel will be re-gathered from across the world, and they
will return to their homeland. Many nations of the world will
attack Israel at the battle of Armageddon. Then Jesus Christ
will return in His Second Coming--this time as a King (a lion) instead of as
a servant and sacrifice (a lamb). He will deliver the nation
of Israel from her enemies, and He will establish His millennial kingdom
upon the earth. The nations of the world will be judged
according to the way they had treated Israel, still God's chosen
people. Finally, the wars of the earth will end, and swords will be made into ploughshares.
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