Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Israel, Prophecy and the "Day of the Lord"

Joel Rosenberg is in the process of writing a series on the book of Joel, which is most definitely worth following.

Today we see his introductory overview of the book and his bible study:

Israel, Prophecy and the Day of the Lord

I believe God wants all of Israel and all of the Church to turn our attention to the Book of Joel in the weeks and months ahead. There is a critically important message there that is on the Lord’s heart and it is deeply relevant for our time. Over the next few days, I’m going to share with you my own personal study and message notes from the Book of Joel. I hope you will find them helpful as you study the writings of this important minor prophet and teach them to others.

The question that might reasonably be asked is, “Why?” Joel is not a particularly popular book of the Bible.

All these are contributing factors. But the reason is more simple and far more profound: the Lord told us to proclaim in 2011 in the message He proclaimed through the Prophet Joel thousands of years ago, and we are being obedient to that heavenly command. There is a message here that is relevant for our time.

There are warnings here that we dare not ignore. There is a sense of urgency in the heavenlies we need to share. This is a book that is near and dear to the heart of the Father…there is a fallen world that is not listening…and a Church that by and large is not proclaiming. May we purpose in our hearts today to change course while we still can.


Below, Mr Rosenberg outlines this study:

WHAT: This small book of the Bible (three chapters in English; four chapters in Hebrew) is a book of End Times prophecy.

WHY: The Book of Joel was written for several reasons. Among them:

To serve as a “wake up call” to the people of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem to prepare for and repent ahead of the coming “Day of the Lord,” judgments that would be similar to but far worse than the devastating plague of locusts Israel once experienced.

To serve as a “trumpet call” to all those who love the Lord and His Word and profess to be the Lord’s followers to prepare for and repent ahead of the coming “Day of the Lord.”

To serve as a warning to the nations that in the Day of the Lord they will face judgment for sins they have committed against Israel and the Jewish people.

To highlight the importance of the “Day of the Lord.” Joel mentions the “Day of the Lord” in each chapter and five times in total (1:15, 2:1, 2:11, 2:30, 3:14). The “Day of the Lord” – and similar/related Biblical references such as “the day” and “that day” and others – are mentioned more than 70 times in the New American Standard translation of the Bible


This should be an enlightening bible study - we'll post it as soon as he produces the subsequent parts.

9 comments:

Expected Imminently said...

Hello Scott
Thats interesting! For the past couple of months I have been 'into' the book of Joel. I have been looking at a variety of commentaries trying to get a better grasp of it.

I can't say I have had any particular insights,other than a desire to better understand the O.T. refs. in Revelation as there are loads of them.

I had one small eureka moment two evenings ago when I realised that, because the Church and the Rapture are 'Mysteries' not revealed in the O.T., then the Posties are dead wrong about the Rapture being in Matt.24:29,30.

These Scriptures are supported by several O.T. verses, and well reported. Matt 24 is NOT a 'Mystery', so cannot possibly be referring to the Church/Rapture.

Just a 'thot' as DrNofog would say!

God bless.
Maranatha!
Sue

Scott said...

Sue
The posties are wrong on every shred of what they believe. At least the pre-wrath, mid-tribbers have a few scriptures to 'hang their hat' on, but I don't see anything even remotely suggesting a post-trib rapture in the scriptures. I put the preterists and the post-tribbers in the same category - its not even worth discussing.

I'm going to be very interested in the next parts of this study in Joel - should be interesting.

Expected Imminently said...

Absolutely Scott!

Postie is pushed because they refuse to see the obvious distinction between Israel and The Church, they are stumbling around trying to explain away SO much Scripture trying to fit a square peg into a round hole!

However, its these errors that have resulted in my searching Scripture and discovering truth I would most likely have missed!

I am really looking forward to reading more about Joel and 'The Day of The Lord'. So a big 'thank you' for posting this.

Sue
x

Scott said...

SUE,

I have also wondered if this is behind the post-trib mindset: (again, just some mental "wandering")

Is it possible that deep down, they really don't believe that something so dramatic as the Rapture can really occur (even on a subconscious level) - and they hedge their bets by agreeing that it could happen....but won't happen until God has already declared Himself (via the Tribulation) and THEN they will believe that God will make it happen.

In other words (and I don;t want this to be too harsh) - God has to 'prove Himself" first and THEN they will believe that He is capable of performing the Rapture.

I honestly believe that this lies beneath the thoughts of a post-tribber. Its the easy out. The inner thought would go like this:

"I don't believe we could see something so "big" and dramatic, in this lifetime. ((IOW, I don't believe God can or would really do this)) - BUT - if I were to see something as dramatic and remarkable as the Tribulation, THEN I would concede that 'yes, God can do this"

"In the meanwhile? No - I don't believe God would/could do this"

I honestly believe in some folks, taking this approach is the easy out and makes them appear more "reasonable"...

Just some random thoughts, and it obviously wouldn't apply to every single post-tribber.....

Scott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
DrNofog said...

...and Scott meant to double-post for added M-phas-sis!
;-D

Anonymous said...

What a difference a year makes! I heard Joel Rosenberg speak at "Preach the Word 2010" Prophecy conference a year ago last April at Harvest Christian Fellowship (Calvary Chapel). He was very circumspect and chose his words carefully regarding how close he thought we were to the gathering up of the church and the tribulation. He taught on Ezekial 38 & 39, but always "hedged his bets" on the timing - even stating that it could be years into the future. Downloading some of Joel's Epicenter 2011 conference and watching it you get a completely different sense from Joel and the other speakers now - that the time of judgment has rapidly drawn near. It's exciting that Joel who has been as "conservative" in his timing of the last days is openly stating the time of judgment is exceedingly near and that it is "at the door".

Susan

Anonymous said...

Thought I'd add a clarification to my last post - while for us as believers the thought of the tribulation is exciting, because it means we will soon be with the Lord, it will be terrifying for those left behind. I didn't mean to sound callous. I've really been convicted to pray for unsaved family members because the time is short and once we are out of here, God will send a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie(because they refused to love the truth) 2 Thess. 10-12. Vs. 12 "and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.", which I've understood to mean that people will be saved during the tribulation (why else would you have the 2 witnesses and 144,000 sealed witnesses), but becoming "saved" will be more difficult than it is now.

Susan

Anonymous said...

The thought of the trib and my currently unbelieving adult children breaks my heart daily!-ally