A Brief Critique On The Book Of The Prophet Joel
Posted: Monday, December 07, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
Although the book of Joel does not contain a date within itself and there are no others which contain dates for it recorded, by simple references from it, and from other writings, most scholars concede that it was somewhere between 900 B.C. And 600 B.C.
Not a lot is known of the man except what is contained in his book. It is certain however, that his work was by inspiration from God. Not only because it says it is, but it is referred to several times by the inspired apostles of Jesus Christ in the first century A.D.
Joel 1:3, although referring to a devastation of locusts, gives an admonition for parents to pass God's commands and give them instruction as to what has occurred in biblical history for those who do not obey. "Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation"
The entire book of Joel contains prophecy of calamity facing the Israelites because of their disobedience and of the coming and triumph of the messiah, that he would establish his kingdom, the new Jerusalem, where there would be no difference between Jew and Greek, male or female. The book uses much symbolism and poetic prose, yet the meanings are evident, especially when compared to other scriptures and by references made concerning them by the inspired writers of the New Testament Observe one of the best examples by comparing the following portions.
After telling in the symbolic style of the horrible destruction and subjection of the last of the nation Israel (Judah) here is the prophecy of His coming Kingdom:
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (Joel 2:28-32)
Now, we fast forward to the New Testament, where indeed all of Israel is under Roman rule and their sovereignty is totally gone. Jesus Christ is born as prophesied, of a virgin, He lives and spends some 3 years in His personal ministry and teaching His 12 appointed apostles. He instructs the apostles that He must die and will send them another "comforter", the Holy Spirit. He will bring to their remembrance all things which He had taught them (John 14:26) and guide them into all truths (John 15:26). Notice the first few phrases of the quote from Joel above and you will see where this come to pass.
In addition to the promises to the apostles of the coming of the "comforter" he also told them of the establishment of His kingdom which would occur simultaneously with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. (Mark 9:1)
After Jesus was crucified, arose and was ready to ascend into heaven, He instructed His apostles to go into Jerusalem and wait until they be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:9)
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Acts 1:7-9)
It would be wise for the reader to read the entire second chapter of Acts. But, in short it explains the coming of the Holy Spirit and setting upon the apostles, which enabled them to speak in languages which they had not studied or learned and were able to preach in all the dialects of those gathered there that day. Peter's sermon is recorded and here is what he had to say concerning the prophesy of Joel.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: (Acts 2:14-22)
The apostles were empowered to perform miracles and many other supernatural acts and they were able to lay their hands upon those who were added to the Lord's kingdom and impart certain miraculous gifts to them. But the ability to pass these on to others was given only to the apostles. When the Jews were told that they had crucified and slain the Son of God, and they asked, "men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter added the following to his sermon which reveals more of what the prophet Joel had foretold.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts: 2:37:38)
His last phrase concerning the "gift" of the Holy Spirit, meant that they would lay their hands on those who rendered submission to Jesus here and they would receive some gift. Some could speak in foreign tongues as the apostles did, some could prophesy, some could discern whether others were peaking the truth, some could interpret foreign languages, and some were given gifts to become teachers, preachers, etc. These gifts were necessary for the beginning of His church since there were no books His, or the apostles doctrines, and therefore to spread the word as well as confirm it to unbelievers, they miracles were given, "until that which is perfect" was come. (referring to the perfect law of liberty-the New Testament) (1 Corinthians 13:10)
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)This article came rather quickly following the great piece on Elijah. How do you compose this high caliber of theological writing so fast? You have contributed to the reservoir of online biblical education. Of course, you are aware that some Bible students differ with you that the apostolic gifts have passed away, as stated in your last paragraph. Some testify that the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit is being often experienced by those who take the Gospel to unreached people groups. That besides, you've posted good scholarly work here, and you are to be commended. ~mogama~Hi Mogama and thanks for reading and commenting...and for the compliments. As I mentioned before, I had read the book of Joel several times...in fact I've been through the entire bible 7 times and I've read it by subjects many times. I also have a sizable library with commentaries and other helps. And besides that. There are worlds of reference books online which I have many links saved to them. So I can usually get up a lesson rapidly if I try. I've built many class lessons from most subjects contained in the bible.As to the miraculous age, yes I am very aware that many differ with me on that but Paul tells us they will cease. Plus...The miracles performed by these people were instantaneous and done in the open where many witnessed them. I've heard many claim all types of miracles, even raising the dead, but I have yet to see one.
Hi Joel, very well laid out. I love your style and appreciate your knowledge and study of the Scriptures. I agree with Mogama, that many see until "that which is perfect" has come is not the ending of the New Testament, but rather the coming of Jesus Christ. For the word says that we will know as we are known. The Scriptures do not know me, but Christ alone knows me. Also Ephesians talks about the gifts being in effect until the church is in unity. We all know this is not the case this day.I have been a part of and witness to the workings of the gifts of the spirit as defined in Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians. They are real, not congured up. Though I agree there is much abuse and false signs and wonders, but it does not negate the outpouring of the Spirit. Also, the last part of Joel has not come to pass. It says, then they skys will turn and the moon...etc. We are still waiting for that to happen. Many of us believe we are still in the part where the outpouring of the Spirit is still happening and will not cease until Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign for the 1000 years. I also agree that the apostles had a special, once in a life time calling, but in order for the church to continue and for Christians of today to serve, we cannot do it without the gifts of the Spirit which are cleary taught that their purpose is to edify the body of Christ. And dear Lord, we do need that. I guess we have already covered this ground before :-) With respect, you have to remember, just because you haven't seen it, doesn't mean it is not happening. I guess it depends on which commentaries we are reading :-)The great news is, no matter what side we see this from, it doesn't take away from the fact that we serve a risen Savior, and by His grace we are saved and that salvation is evidenced by our obedience as a child of God. And yes, we must heed the admonishment to teach our children about the things of God. So again, Great lesson. Blessings, TeresaI agree with Teresa and have seen miracles (no one raised from the dead though) on the mission field and at home - ones that defy medical explanation for sure.. There have been times when I was healed miraculously (the doc has the before and after photos on my chart - I haven't written about that yet because it was a female issue and not sure how to get the point across without being too graphic....) and there have been times when I had to do what the MD said down to the last pill in the bottle...Thanks for writing this piece and Bible study. I always enjoy reading your writings - and this time we just have one little area where we might agree to disagree. HE is able and I am glad that you make time and take time to dig and help your readers dig into the Word. MarijoI do know that many feel as you, Teresa, and apparently Mogama, does and I do not believe it is an issue that will make or break our chances for eternity with Him. But, I still say, no one can find a man, crippled from birth and say-pick up your bed and walk, and he'll do it. Or a leper cleansed before your eyes, or a man, blind for years, eyes opened. To say someone got well from an illness even though the doctors cannot figure out why, I do not accept that as a miracle. I've seen that happen myself. In fact the doctor told my mother when I was born, that I would die and for her to just try and get well herself. I'm sure my people prayed for my survival. But, I did not get well on the spot, right then. There is a difference. I'm not even saying God does not heal in those circumstances. But that is providential healing, not miraculous as were those healings in the bible. Thanks for your understanding.Hi Teresa, I realize your views on this matter and I respect them, please read the answer I gave to Marijo, below. Thanks much for reading and commenting.Hi Joel, thank you. As always, I appreciate each of our perspectives. But again, just because you haven't seen a miracle healing or haven't received one, doesn't mean it doesn't happen today. In our prayer group, our pastor annointed one of our friends with oil and prayed for healing. She had full blown ovarian cancer and was scheduled to start chemo therapy. That night we prayed as a group seeking God's hand of healing, another in the group received a word that she had been healed. She called her doctor and requested another scan and second opinions before chemo was to start. She was completely clean- it is on record. Then another friend, slipped and fell on his butt bone. They heard it crack. They had no insurance and were small time ministers with no money - she laid hands on her husband and prayed for healing. The ambulance came, saw the obvious break, she told them they had no money to pay for an ambulance but they insisted on taking him to the hospital. She continued to pray - so did he. By the time they got into the ER and they took ex-rays, he was healed. He walked out of the ER without any sorness at all. As if he never fell. The second great thing about God's amazing provision and Spritual gifts is that no one knew this happened. They had not even had time to tell anyone and she received a call from one of the members of the church they were ministering to at the time, and he said that he received a word from the Lord that he was to give them a certain amount of money. That amount of money was exactly what they needed to pay for the ambulance and the ER visit. Being raised from the dead, or a leper being cleansed, or a blind man receiving sight are not the only miracles. Besides, miracles of healings are not the only gifts of the Spirit. God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever more. He still works through his children to perform his good and perfect will. Please don't discount other's experiences just because you have not experienced them yourself. Thank you for your understanding dear brother.I have seen many instantaneous healings like this too Teresa - the most outstanding one was in Guatemala at a children's home - a little 4 year old had asthma and pneumonia - I was the RN and my roommate a respiratory therapist - the doc who ran the home was in the US. The little guy's lungs sounded like a waterfall on each side.We all prayed. The next AM I was again doing "grand rounds" and asked where Jose was. they told me "you already saw him" No, way because I hadn't listened to any little lungs with pneumonia that AM never mind ones that sounded like a waterfalls - they brought him over and both my roommate and I listened and they were clean and clear lungs - even if we'd given IV antibiotics he wouldn't have cleared that fast and we did not. Dr. Jesus had visited this little tyke in the night and totally cleared him up.My female healing was sort of like that too - the doc was totally amazed and said I looked "like a brand new baby girl inside" - docs since then thought I had cryotherapy and I never did = they had never seen skin looking so clean and pink and healthy without the cryotherapy (freezing).... thank you, Jesus!
Joel,You are a blessing through your faith, teaching, and writing. Thank you and God bless you and your work!JeanThanks Jean for your nice comment.
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