That is the first thing you said on this forum that makes any senseTrumpeter said:
I didn't know you had it in you.
Keep it up
The Fifth Trumpet Plague
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I didn't know you had it in you.
Keep it up
Arnie, this comes right from the Letters, I just paraphrased it for you, something I would rather not do with God's Word.Arnie Manitoba said:
That would contradict our Lord Jesus and His Apostle Paul then. Jesus said we would hear of wars and rumours of wars, but the end is not yet (Matt.24:6). That means for the 'end' there is no war. In 1 Thess.5:5 Paul forewarned of the time when the deceived will be saying, "Peace and safety". That time of peace of safety aligns with the nations giving each other gifts after God's two witnesses are killed in Jerusalem per Rev.11.Brothertom said:
It's all pointing to a period of peace for the tribulation period all the way up to our Lord Jesus' return. In Rev.9 the locusts are told they cannot not kill anyone without God's sealing, but only sting them for five months. And they cannot hurt any green thing. Those are pointers that the locust army working is not about literal war nor literal weapons of war, but a spiritual war with spiritual weapons that cause spiritual death to one's soul. That's what the 1/3 killed is actually about, a spiritual death upon the deceived, not flesh death.
That's simply a lot of hype like the Hal Lindsey books that try to preach all out war for the tribulation period, that actually is not written in God's Word. This is why it's important to study the Book of Joel together with Revelation 9 to properly understand about the locust working for the end. God applies the concept of an 'army' to them, but it's not about literal war, but spiritual war to take over the wealth of His people along with their minds and hearts. The Armageddon event IS about a literal army, the army out of the northern quarters of Ezekiel 38-39 that will come physically upon Israel on the last day of this present world, which is when our Lord Jesus returns to stop that army. But that doesn't happen until the 7th Trumpet - 3rd Woe period and 7th Vial. Notice the locust working of Rev.9 is being described on the 5th and 6th Trumpets, which points to the tribulation time, and the time of God's two witnesses prophesying from Jerusalem.Brothertom said:
Impossible for the coming Antichrist/false messiah to have been Osama bin Laden. He's already dead.Brothertom said:
Your trying to place those Joel prophecies back in history is not... going to work. That's what you're actually up to with trying to say those were about actual locusts bugs.Retrobyter said:
Joel 1:2-7
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
(KJV)
I don't know who you're trying to fool, but God showed at the beginning of that Message in Joel that He was giving an analogy of how locusts work to a literal "nation" that is to do that working. He's not talking about real locust bugs at all, but only using locusts as symbolic for how that "nation" works coming upon His people and His land for the end of days.
Joel 2:25-32
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, That hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed.
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and My people shall never be ashamed.
28 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:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32 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.
(KJV)
In Acts 2 Apostle Peter quoted that latter passage there in Joel 2. It was to reveal how the cloven tongue manifested on Pentecost was an 'example' of that Joel 2 event for the end of this world just prior to Christ's return. Thus the locust working of the Book of Joel is for the end, not some time in past history.
Joel 3:1-2
1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
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.
(KJV)
Joel 3:11-18
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
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.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
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.
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.
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.
(KJV)
Those verses cover the Armageddon battle on the last day of this present world when Christ returns, and then on into His future Milennium reign.
They are among Judah, and among the scattered ten lost tribes. But the greater number with God's sealing are among the Gentiles, which is what the "great multitude" of the Rev.7 chapter is about.Arnie Manitoba said:
The sealing is aligned with The Holy Spirit sealing. It's a sealing in one's mind and heart by The Spirit. And the mark that God has put upon His servants per the Ezekiel 9 chapter example is that of a 'cross' pointing to Salvation through Jesus Christ (from the Hebrew word tau, which in ancient paleo-Hebrew was rendered as a cross, like an X).
So those who believe on Christ Jesus are to have... that sealing mark from God today. By how mixed up many brethren are about the endtime events today, it's obvious not all believers do have it yet. Time is very short, time for those to get crackin' in God's Word for theirselves so as not to be deceived by the events coming in our near future.
Retrobyter
Well-Known Member
Shabbat shalom, veteran.
I'm actually NOT "trying to place those Joel prophecies back in history." I believe the restoration is going to happen in the future when Yeshua` returns. However, I believe that the "years that the locust hath eaten" (etc.) are the two thousand years of the desolation of the children of Isra'el since Yeshua` left.
What I DO deny is your figurative interpretation of these verses. There are pictures that you can find of Isra'el back in the 1930s and 1940s that show the desolation of that Land. The Arabs who inhabited the Land before Isra'el won it back did not take care of the Land. It was mostly a desert with very little vegetation! When it was Isra'el's Land again, they began to flush it with fresh water to wash away the salt that the Romans had used to poison the Land. They set up community farms called "kibbutzim," planted citrus trees and new grape vines, and irrigated the Land. Now, it thrives and is productive. "The desert is blooming like a rose!" But, all that work and productivity is just a shadow of what is to come!
Amos 9:13-15
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
KJV
There's no need to make Yo'el's prophecy figurative. It's just fine the way it is! So, LEAVE IT ALONE!
You're just itchin' for a fight, aren't you? Are you feeling okay? Are you sick? Are you on your meds?veteran said:
I'm actually NOT "trying to place those Joel prophecies back in history." I believe the restoration is going to happen in the future when Yeshua` returns. However, I believe that the "years that the locust hath eaten" (etc.) are the two thousand years of the desolation of the children of Isra'el since Yeshua` left.
What I DO deny is your figurative interpretation of these verses. There are pictures that you can find of Isra'el back in the 1930s and 1940s that show the desolation of that Land. The Arabs who inhabited the Land before Isra'el won it back did not take care of the Land. It was mostly a desert with very little vegetation! When it was Isra'el's Land again, they began to flush it with fresh water to wash away the salt that the Romans had used to poison the Land. They set up community farms called "kibbutzim," planted citrus trees and new grape vines, and irrigated the Land. Now, it thrives and is productive. "The desert is blooming like a rose!" But, all that work and productivity is just a shadow of what is to come!
Amos 9:13-15
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
KJV
There's no need to make Yo'el's prophecy figurative. It's just fine the way it is! So, LEAVE IT ALONE!
I've been in battle against God's enemies for a long time now. No reason to be scared, The LORD is with me.
Then you've made a reversal about that Joel prophecy, because that's not what you said in other threads about it. It's culmination is about the very end of this world, which is why it is directly linked with the locusts in Revelation 9 on the 5th and 6th trumpets, and also the events of the 6th Seal, last Vial, and forward.
Literal desolation began in Jerusalem even before Christ's first coming, don't you remember the Babylon captivity? Desolations in the holy land really began even before that, when God removed the ten northern tribes of Israel and allowed foreigners to be brought to those lands and live there instead. They brought their false idol worship with them, which is why the Jews wouldn't have anything to do with the Samaritans. All these things happened to God's people because of their rebellions against Him.
The desert blooming like a rose prophecy isn't about today's time. It's about the time after Christ's future return and the establishing of His River in that area of the holy land and the tree of life (Ezek.47; Rev.21-22). Little irrigation ditches in the desert isn't a valid comparison to try and prove the fulfillment of that prophecy.
Amos 9:13-15
13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
KJV
You missed those parts in bold. They are not about any event today in the holy lands. The captivity of His people God is speaking of is the gathering of the two sticks of the house of Judah and the house of Israel back to the holy lands of promise, under Christ Jesus. Hint: Christ Jesus' second coming MUST occur for that to be fulfilled. And Israel will certainly NOT then only possess HALF of Jerusalem. Israel won't be lacking in all the lands given to the Palestinians that they possess today also. Any attempted comparison to the layout of all the 12 tribes in their possessions per Ezek.47 & 48 is joke if claimed to already be fulfilled by the small state of Israel in the holy land today! Go ahead; try to post some more misinterpreted Scripture from the OT prophets.
Moreover, I didn't make the locust prophecy in the Book of Joel figurative, our Heavenly Father did. He described "a nation", a people, coming upon His land to rape it, and He used the locust in nature as 'figurative' language to describe them. So His Message is literal, about a certain people and nation. Who is it that now possess half of Jerusalem, and the MAJORITY of the lands which God first promised to Israel? I bet that hurts doesn't it? Will you blame God for doing that, or us Christians? Or will you blame those of your own that have rebelled against Him and His Son Jesus Christ that remain in unbelief? No wonder our Heavenly Father is still allowing Internationalists like the U.N. to chop up the holy land and shrink Israel's possession in the holy land today! You've tried to turn that into a 'growth' view, when those lands are being taken from the modern state of Israel year by year. That's quite a gift, you're turning a desolation of the lands of Israel by the nations into some sort of blessing, just so you can try to claim prophecies still for the future have already been finished. That shows how ignorant your Preterist teachers are.
The Joel prophecy in connection for the end, for those interested...
Joel 1:1-2:32
1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
God tells His people to note if this has happened yet in your days, and keep telling your children about it in warning, and their children's children, until it comes to pass.
4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
God mentions 4 different stages of a natural locust. What one leaves, the next one devours, and so on. It's idea of completeness, a full devouring. God is using it as FIGURATIVE SYMBOL we will later discover.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
The new wine is sometimes used in Bible prophecy for God's Truth (like our Lord Jesus' parable of the old bottles and new wine). God is saying His Truth is cut off from them. Since that is also FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, those of His people are those "drinkers of wine" put in the spiritual sense of not having His Truth. Apostle Paul used this FIGURATIVE idea of being drunken in the spiritual sense about being deceived (1 Thess.5:7, drunken in the night). That is the condition the state of Israel and the unbelieving Jews are in today.
6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
There's the LITERAL meaning of the FIGURATIVE locusts which God describes here. It's not about real locusts, it's about a literal "nation", a strong nation, a people without number. Then He gives the FIGURATIVE idea of their having teeth like those of a lion. Christ gave a direct link to the locusts of Revelation 9 having teeth like lions, hair like women, and breastplates of iron, which also is FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE for this "nation" here.
7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn.
10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
All that is FIGURATIVE language about the wealth and land of God's people being dried up, and ravaged by this "nation" represented symbolically by locusts. It has a literal interpretation too, because the more the state of Israel tries to establish its old habitations, the more of the holy land is taken from them by the United Nations and given to other peoples. They don't even have possession of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem today, nor even all of the city of Jerusalem. One of their own Israeli generals (Moshe Dayan) even gave up possession of half the city of Jerusalem that Israel gained in the '67 war with the Muslims. And today, the Palestinians are very close to having their state established making up lands that per Bible history were ordained for Israel. How blind would a Jew have to be to NOT see this sad condition for Israel in the holy lands today?
What is our Heavenly Father telling them to do about it? Call an assembly of the people to His House and cry to Him about it. In other words, don't put trust in your own selves, or in anything other than Him. Yet He already warned them that if they rebelled against Him, He would not hear their cry (Ezek.8:17-18; Acts 3:18-26).
15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
The day of The LORD is when our Lord Jesus will return, so what's this doing here? It's because this locust working is especially for the latter days, the days just prior to Christ's return. That's when this locust army will be manifested in the full.
CHAPTER 2
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Here our Heavenly Father mentions the day of The LORD once again? Why? It's like He's emphasizing the time of His coming when the land will tremble.
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Now He's going to describe these locusts put for a specific "great people and a strong". Where have we heard that idea of a time on earth that has never been the likes before, nor ever will be again? Our Lord Jesus gave that comparison in His Olivet Discourse of Mark 13:19. That idea is put for the time of "great tribulation" our Lord Jesus mentioned in Matt.24. God applies that concept here to this "great people and a strong".
In Daniel 11 we're shown about the "vile person" coming to power in Jerusalem for the end with a "small people" who forsake the holy covenant. There's a connection with those and these locusts, for they are with the coming Antichrist that will take rule in Jerusalem over God's people there, prior to Christ's return. It's pointing to political power by a certain minority. Are we seeing a political power of Internationalists today with their influence over today's nations? Yes, and they are actually a small number of people that wield the majority of power upon the earth today.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
Nothing can escape their reach, this devouring being put in the FIGURATIVE sense of how complete their power is. It's because our Heavenly Father Himself is Who gives them this power to do this working upon His people for the end of this world.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Here's yet another direct link to the FIGURATIVE locusts in Revelation 9. They ride upon horses to battle, and have the faces of men. It's because they are... men, a certain group of workers upon this earth for the last days.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
Their attack is LIKE the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains, like the noise of dry stubble consumed quickly in a fire. Every heard the sound it makes when you throw very dry kindling in a fire? It's consumed almost at an instant with a crackling noise. God compares them to an army in battal array, same association in Revelation 9 also.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
When they fall upon a sword, they won't be wounded??? By that you should be certain that He is not talking about a literal military army with this, but is giving this in the FIGURATIVE sense about a strong people that overcome by other means. What other means would that be? Could it be an overcoming by POLITICAL POWER? Yes. Could it be an overcoming by FINANCIAL POWER? Yes, most definitely. If God meant a literal army in battle array, these would definitely be wounded if they fell upon a sword. Thus He uses the IDEA of an army for them in the FIGURATIVE sense, same as with their comparisons like how locusts eat up the land, leaving nothing in their wake.
In Matt.24 and Mark 13, our Lord Jesus foretold us about the actual conditions on earth for the tribulation time. He said when we hear of wars and rumours of wars, don't be troubled, because... what? How did He finish that verse? (Matt.24:6). He said, "...but the end is not yet." Apostle Paul remarked in 1 Thess.5 that when the deceived say, "Peace and safety", then a sudden destruction will come upon them. The meaning is that as long as wars are going on today, the end is not yet, meaning the future tribulation He mentioned. Thus the tribulation period is about a time of peace, howbeit a fake peace. That is why these locusts here in Joel are shown to be LIKE an army in battle array, but aren't wounded if they fall upon the sword. It's put for a different KIND of battle, a spiritual battle. And that's the kind of idea Revelation 9 is pointing to with its locust descriptions, which declares their power is in their MOUTHS. What comes out of one's mouth? Words. That's the weapon these locusts use, i.e., words that come of their mouths.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
Whoah! Where have we heard about the thief breaking in, and if we knew in what watch the thief came, we wouldn't suffer our house to be broken up? Our Lord Jesus gave that FIGURATIVE analogy in His Olivet Discourse for the end of this world (Matt.24). He used the idea of a thief breaking in for the day of His coming. He gave that analogy in the watchman sense; it's about staying on watch and remaining sober, waiting for His coming. It's so His coming will not be as a thief to His servants. So who are these that will try to break in like thieves? It's the locust army God is warning us about, and these FIGURATIVE connections HE gives have a strong link to end time events.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
There's another FIGURATIVE link to end time events our Lord Jesus mentioned. The moon being dark, and the stars withdrawing their shinning are events He gave linked to the coming of the day of The LORD when He returns in our near future! So how could anyone claim these events were already fulfilled back in history? That's exactly what Preterists like to do, some of them even falsely claiming Christ's second coming already happened back in the days of His Apostles! Those who think that certainly are spiritually drunken in the night like Apostle Paul declared, aren't they?
11 And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong That executeth His word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
There's no mistaking that specific "day of the LORD" there, for He links it with the day of His return with His army from Heaven. You'll find a more descriptive picture He painted of that in Revelation 19 with His coming on a white horse and a sword that cuts both ways.
12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
The LORD wants us to seek Him and His guidance, rely on Him and not on ourselves nor man. This is His call to His people for that time of the end. In contrast, what will the majority of the world be following instead? They will be bowing to the coming Antichrist/pseudo-Christ instead, and put their trust in THIS world instead.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare Thy people, O LORD, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, 'Where is their God?'"
Why would He declare His servants who seek Him with this particular cry about the heathen ruling over them? This reveals partly the people in power over His people for the latter days, for the end days. When the false messiah comes to take power in Jerusalem for the end, that will be the height of that rule by the locusts what represent the 'heathen'. It is put for foreign nations, Gentiles, but the more accurate meaning is 'pagans'. The pagans worship Lucifer, and they hate anyone devout to Christ Jesus or our Heavenly Father, and that means they hate both devout Jews and devout Christians.
18 Then will the LORD be jealous for His land, and pity His people.
19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
If you'll recall Ezekiel 38-39, God warns there about a great army out of the northern quarters that will come upon Israel on the last day of this present world. The nation alignment on that list is almost complete today, it's lacking the nation of Turkey (Togarmah of old, included with Russia, Persia, Libya, Ethiopia (put for Sudan), Gomer (old Russian Soviet satellites like Georgia, etc.). Russia's new brand of Communist-Socialism is accepted by many Muslims today. It is also accepted by many politicians in the West. No mystery then that this locust working here in Joel has a connection with that army of Ezekiel 38 & 39 for the very last day when Christ returns.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you.
Now God goes back to the FIGURATIVE analogy of the locust working. He calls them His great army that He sends in the last days. The Globalist powers upon the earth that are a minority are setting up their New World Order, or "one world government" and operate like these FIGURATIVE locusts God describes here. They'll climb in through your windows if you allow it, coming in on your TV, in books you buy, newspapers, public education, etc., operating as a thief breaking into your home. Careful you don't get wrapped up in today's world globalist Socialist working, for that's who these locusts, the nation and a strong, represents.
