Judgment

Joel 2:1-11

Joel · ~835 BC · Status: Future · Confidence: 60%
“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;”
King James Version · the opening — all 11 verses are below
More of Joel 2 on this siteJoel 2:12-17 · Joel 2:18-27 · Joel 2:28 · Joel 2:30-31

The Day of the LORD announced with trumpet alarm, the eschatological judgment described in apocalyptic imagery.

Read the whole passage — all 11 verses (KJV)

2:1Blow 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;

2:2A 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.

2:3A 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.

2:4The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

2:5Like 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.

2:6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

2:7They 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:

2:8Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

2:9They 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.

2:10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

2:11And 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?

Fulfillment References

Matthew 24:31 1 Thessalonians 5:2 Joel 2:28

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal'Blow ye the trumpet in Zion... for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand' — a day of darkness, an irresistible army, 'the LORD shall utter his voice before his army.' The day of the LORD is the day of God's own coming in judgment, consummated at the return of the Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 5:2). The same chapter then turns to mercy and the outpouring of the Spirit (Joel 2:28; Acts 2) — judgment and grace from the one God.
JewishA trumpet-alarm summoning Judah to repentance before the day of the LORD, pictured as a devastating locust-like army; a call to return to God.
CatholicThe day of the LORD's judgment, calling for repentance, set before the promise of the Spirit (Joel 2:28); read eschatologically.
ProtestantThe day of the LORD heralded by the trumpet; judgment that calls for repentance, with an end-time horizon (1 Thess. 5).
AcademicJoel's locust plague becomes the lens for the day of the LORD; whether literal locusts or an apocalyptic army is debated.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.