The day of the Lord.
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand – a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and blackness.” Joel 2:1, 2. Prophet Joel uses the locust metaphor, a common problem for those who work the land for a living. The imagery of locust destruction illustrates the consequences of apostasy and God’s judgment against the rebellious nation of Judah. Because of Judah’s apostasy, the enemies of Judah would turn the land of milk and honey into an uninhabitable place, unsuitable for comfortable living (Joel chapter 1).
Joel’s warning to Judah encompasses the four consecutive kingdoms that ruled over Judah: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Satan used these four powers in a coordinated effort to block God’s plans for humankind and, if possible, prevent the birth of the Messiah. The fiercest effort occurred during the Greek rule, when, with help from the corrupt priesthood, there was pressure to Hellenize the Jews and thus eliminate the nation of Judah. But the God of Israel is Sovereign. Therefore, His plans cannot be thwarted by any power.
Satan used the worst kind of evil to prevent the birth of the Messiah because he knew that if the Messiah came, he would never succeed in becoming the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). God loved the rebellious nation of Judah, so he called them to return to him. “Even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart….” Joel 2:12. God promised to bless them as before and to give them the autumn rains in righteousness (Joel 2:23). The rains in righteousness also refer to the righteous Teacher, or the Teacher in righteousness. The verse above points to the Messiah, the Savior of the world, through whom God would remove the sin that separated humankind from Him. God accomplished this on the dreadful day of the Lord. “For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.” Joel 3:14, 15. The prophet Isaiah, almost two hundred years earlier, said the same thing (Isaiah 13:10).
Joel described the day as dreadful and asked, “Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11). The dreadful day of the Lord occurred nearly two thousand years ago on a Friday, when the righteous Teacher, the Savior of the world, was made to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21. The Gospel of Luke confirms this description of the dreadful day. “It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.” Luke 23:44. The darkness on that day cannot be explained. On that day, God was in Christ, doing what humanity could not do for itself—reconciling rebels to Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19. “Who can endure it? And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Joel 2:32. What God accomplished at Golgotha on the cross is beyond all human laws. Salvation belongs to the Lord and is offered unconditionally to everyone!