LESSON EIGHTEEN

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“Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3

Scripture to read: Revelation 1, Joel 1-3

Verse 1 identifies the entire book of Revelation as "the revelation of Jesus Christ." The word "revelation" is from the Greek word apokalypsis, meaning "a disclosure" or "an unveiling." The association of this term with John's depiction of the end times is one reason we refer to "end of the world" occurrences using the term apocalypse. Scholars differ on whether the book of Revelation should be thought of as a disclosure about Jesus Christ or a disclosure from Him. Likely, it is both as you will find in Revelation that God reveals him as the “mystery of God”.

Revelation is John's fifth and last New Testament book. Revelation reveals how prophetic passages in the Old Testament that foretell yet future events will be fulfilled. It also shows how the events predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24 and Matthew 25 will come to pass. The book of Revelation begins with John's declaration that God had given him the revelation of Jesus Christ, and he extends a greeting like the apostle Paul's greeting in his letters. John greets his readers with grace and peace from Jesus Christ, whom he identifies as trustworthy, eternal, and sovereign.

In the first chapter of Revelation, we read that Jesus appears to the apostle John, who was banished by Rome to the Island of Patmos because of his faith. Jesus tells John to write about what he saw, about the present, and about what will take place in the future. This writing unveils the opening of the scroll with seven seals revealing future events such as two series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the rapture, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' return with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. 

Also, you will find several chapter-breaks that bring to life the characters who play a role in the story line of the Great Tribulation: 144,000 sealed servants, two witnesses, a dragon, two beasts and their kingdom. Not all the descriptions in Revelation are meant to be understood in absolute literal terms; not all are meant to be understood symbolically. In some cases, it seems John is describing literal events using dramatic, poetic language. Context and caution are useful in knowing which passages fall into which category.

"Alas for the day! for the DAY of the LORD is at HAND, and as a DESTRUCTION from the ALMIGHTY shall it come." Joel 1:15

In the book of Joel, God shares with him a similar vision of what is to come upon the earth before the day of the Lord AND after. It includes the same mix of literal and symbolic terms, but his prophecy is written as more of a short story. This vision Joel receives is very graphic and doesn't need much of an imagination to comprehend how horrific this time of judgment will be. Joel also describes how the earth will become once again like the garden of Eden after God's judgment.

I want to caution you that there are some who believe Joel's vision was just a warning to the Jews back in 33AD because they believe what Joel wrote in chapter 2 verse 28 is pertaining to the Pentecost. In verse 28 Joel specifically states, "afterwards" but Apostle Peter states in Acts 2 that Joel's prophecy says "last days". 

"And I will POUR upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the SPIRIT of GRACE and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Zechariah 12:10

We find additional proof in Zechariah that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place during the time of Christ's return and the battle of Armageddon to ALL people. During the Pentecost only followers of Jesus received the Holy Spirit.

BOOK OF JOEL

“The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: Hear this, you ELDERS, and LISTEN, ALL INHABITANTS of the LAND. Has anything like this happened in your days, Or in your father’s days? Tell your sons about it, and have your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation.” (GREAT TRIBULATION)

“What the gnawing palmerworm has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping cankerworm has eaten; And what the creeping cankerworm has left, the stripping caterpillar has eaten. AWAKEN, ye DRUNKARDS, and WEEP; And WAIL, all ye WINE DRINKERS, Because of the sweet wine, for it has been ELIMINATED from your MOUTH. For a NATION has invaded my LAND, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the TEETH OF A LION, and it has the jaws of a lioness. It has made my VINE a WASTE and my FIG TREE a STUMP. It has STRIPPED them BARE and cast them away; Their branches thereof have become white." (TRUMPET JUDGMENTS)

"Wail like a virgin clothed with sackcloth for the groom of her youth. The MEAT OFFERING and the DRINK OFFERING have been CUT OFF From the HOUSE of the LORD. The PRIESTS MOURN, The MINISTERS of the LORD.” (ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION)

“The FIELD is RUINED, the land mourns; For the GRAIN is RUINED, the NEW WINE has DRIED UP, Fresh OIL has FAILED. Be ashamed, you farm workers, Wail, you vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley, Because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, ALL the trees of the field have dried up. Indeed, JOY has DRIED UP from the SONS of MANKIND.” (TRUMPET JUDGMENTS)

“Put on sackcloth and MOURN, you PRIESTS; WAIL, you MINISTERS of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my GOD, For the MEAT OFFERING and the DRINK OFFERING have been WITHHELD from the HOUSE of YOUR GOD. CONSECRATE a fast, PROCLAIM a solemn assembly; GATHER the elders And ALL the INHABITANTS of the land to the HOUSE of the LORD your God, And CRY OUT to the Lord."(5TH TRUMPET)

“WOE for the day! For the DAY of the LORD is NEAR, and it will come as DESTRUCTION from the ALMIGHTY." (FIRST WOE)

"Has FOOD not been CUT OFF before our eyes, and JOY and REJOICING from the HOUSE of OUR GOD?" (NEW WORLD ORDER)

"The SEEDS have DRIED UP under their shovels; The STOREHOUSES have become DESOLATE, the grain SILOS are RUINED, Because the grain has dried up. How the animals have groaned! The herds of CATTLE have WANDER aimlessly Because there is NO PASTURE for them; Even the flocks of SHEEP have SUFFERED. To You, Lord, I cry out; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has BURNED up all the TREES of the field. Even the animals of the field pant for You; For the STREAM BEDS of WATER are DRIED UP, and FIRE has DEVOURED the pastures of the wilderness." (BOWLS OF WRATH)

"Blow a trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Indeed, it is near, A Day of darkness and gloom, A Day of clouds and thick darkness. As dawn is spread over the mountains, there is a GREAT and MIGHTY people; There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations. A fire consumes before them, and behind them a flame devours. The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them. Their appearance is like the APPEARANCE of HORSES; And like WAR HORSES, so they run. With a noise as of CHARIOTS They leap about on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people drawn up for battle. Before them the PEOPLE are in ANGUISH; All FACES turn PALE. They run like warriors, they climb the wall like soldiers; And each of them marches in line, nor do they lose their way. They do not crowd each other, Every warrior of them marches in his path; When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks. They storm the city, they run on the wall; They climb into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. Before them the EARTH QUAKES, The HEAVENS TREMBLE, the SUN and the MOON become DARK, And the STARS lose their BRIGHTNESS. The Lord utters His voice before His ARMY; His CAMP is indeed VERY great, For MIGHTY is ONE who CARRIES OUT HIS WORD. The DAY of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it? But I will remove far from you the northern army (Babylon-KON), and will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, and his foul odor will rise, because he has done monstrous things. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show 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 coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." (SECOND COMING)

"And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls." (JUDGMENT OF THE JEWISH REMNANT)

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I  will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine  that they may drink. Indeed, what have you to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against me? But if you retaliate against me, swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; Because you have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My prized possessions. Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their borders. Behold, I will raise them out of the place to which you have sold them, and will return your retaliation upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off; For the Lord has spoken.” (SHEEP AND GOAT JUDGMENT)

"Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—For their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." (ARMAGEDDON)

"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; for the open pastures are springing up, and the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—The former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. THEN I will COMPENSATE you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping cankerworm, the stripping caterpillar, and the gnawing palmerworm— My GREAT ARMY which I sent among you. You will have PLENTY to EAT and be satisfied, and you will PRAISE the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; Then MY people will NEVER be put to shame. So, you will know that I am in the MIDST of ISRAEL, and that I am the Lord your God And there is no other. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again. And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Acacias. Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah ,for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion.” (CHRIST’S KINGDOM)