End Time Series
Joel 2 New Living Translation (NLT)
Locusts Invade like an Army
2
Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!
Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let everyone tremble in fear
because the day of the Lord is upon us.
2
It is a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.
Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,
a great and mighty army appears.
Nothing like it has been seen before
or will ever be seen again.
3
Fire burns in front of them,
and flames follow after them.
Ahead of them the land lies
as beautiful as the Garden of Eden.
Behind them is nothing but desolation;
not one thing escapes.
4
They look like horses;
they charge forward like warhorses.[b]
5
Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.
Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,
like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,
or like a mighty army moving into battle.
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Fear grips all the people;
every face grows pale with terror.
7
The attackers march like warriors
and scale city walls like soldiers.
Straight forward they march,
never breaking rank.
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They never jostle each other;
each moves in exactly the right position.
They break through defenses
without missing a step.
9
They swarm over the city
and run along its walls.
They enter all the houses,
climbing like thieves through the windows.
10
The earth quakes as they advance,
and the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
11
The Lord is at the head of the column.
He leads them with a shout.
This is his mighty army,
and they follow his orders.
The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing.
Who can possibly survive?
A Call to Repentance
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That is why the Lord says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13
Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish.
14
Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
to the Lord your God as before.
15
Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!
Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together
for a solemn meeting.
16
Gather all the people—
the elders, the children, and even the babies.
Call the bridegroom from his quarters
and the bride from her private room.
17
Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,
stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.
Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
The Lord’s Promise of Restoration
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Then the Lord will pity his people
and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19
The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
among the surrounding nations.
20
I will drive away these armies from the north.
I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”
Surely the Lord has done great things!
21
Don’t be afraid, O land.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
22
Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23
Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.
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The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25
The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26
Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
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Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit
28
“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
30
And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31
The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.
32
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved,
for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
just as the Lord has said.
These will be among the survivors
whom the Lord has called.
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The Coming Day Of The Lord
Blow the trumpet on Zion. Shout a warning on my holy mountain. Let all the people who live in the land shake with fear. The Lord’s special day is coming; it is near. Raise the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear
because the day of the Lord is upon us.
Darkness will over take the world the stars will burn out, the moon will go out and the sun will vanish. It will be a cloudy and gloomy day. At sunrise you will see the army spread over the mountains. It will be a great and powerful large army. There has never been anything like it before, and there will never be anything like it again. People won’t know what’s happening and will have strong fear.
The army will destroy the land like a large fire. In front of them the land will be like the Garden of Eden. Behind them the land will be like a barren desert. No one and nothing will be left from its wrath.
They look like horses. They run like war horses. Listen to them. It is like the noise of chariots riding over the mountains. It is like the noise of flames burning the rubbish. A loud horn that will sound to call on believers. These are powerful people, who are ready for war.
Before this army, people will be shaken with fear. Their faces become sick in fear and doubt and they will become mentally unstable.
The soldiers run fast. They climb over the walls. Each soldier marches straight ahead. They don’t leave where their destination path leads.
They don’t stumble each other. Each soldier walks in his own position and journey. If one of the soldiers is hit and falls down,the others still continue their march. They run to the city. They quickly climb over the wall. They climb into the houses. They climb through the windows like thieves.
Before them, earth and sky shake. The sun and the moon become dark, and the stars stop shining. The Lord calls loudly to his army. His camp is very large. The army obeys his commands. His army will be the most powerful army ever. The Lord’s special day is a great and terrible day. The days is filled in several unknown tribulations. No one can stop iteration change what is happening. The earth will quake as they advance, and the heavens tremble.
This is the Lord’s message: Now come back to me with all your heart. Turn your eyes and hearts toward me. Cry and mourn, and don’t eat anything! Show that you are sad for doing wrong. Tear your hearts,not your clothes. Come back to the Lord your God. He is kind and merciful. He does not become angry quickly. He has great love. Who can survive his punishment, no one it has been foretold.
Who knows, maybe he will change his mind and leave behind a blessing for you. Then you can give grain and drink offerings to the Lord your God.
Blow the trumpet at Zion. Call for a special meeting. Call for a special time of fasting. Bring the people together. Call for a special meeting.
Bring together the old men, the children, and the small babies still at their mothers’ breasts. Let the bride and her new husband come from their bedroom.
Let the priests, the Lord’s servants, cry between the porch and the altar.
All of them should say this: “Lord, have mercy on your people. Don’t let your people be put to shame. Don’t let other people jest about your people.
Don’t let the other nations laugh and say, Where is their God?’”
Then the Lord cared very much about his land. He felt sorry for his people.
The Lord spoke to his people. He said, “I will send you grain, wine, and oil.
You will have plenty. I will not shame you among the nations anymore.
No, I will force the people from the north to leave your land and make them go into a dry, empty land. Some of them will travel to the eastern or western seas. They did such terrible things, but they will rot like a dead and rotting body. There will be such a terrible smell!”
Land, don’t be afraid for be happy and full of joy. The Lord will do many magnificent things.
Animals of the field, don’t be afraid. The desert pastures will grow grass.
The trees will grow fruit. The fig trees and the vines will grow plenty of fruit.
So be happy, people of Zion. Be joyful in the Lord your God. He is good and will give you rain. He will send the early rains and the late rains as before. The threshing floors will be filled with wheat,band the barrels will overflow with wine and olive oil.
I, the Lord, sent my army against you. The swarming locusts and the hopping locusts and the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts ate everything you had But I will pay you back for those years of trouble. I sent them by swarms, so many they covered the sun. But I will repay you for the horrible things you’ve suffered in.
Then you will have plenty to eat. You will be full. You will praise the name of the Lord your God. For you will turn back once again to God. He has done wonderful things for you. My people will never again be ashamed. You will know that I am with Israel. You will know that I am the Lord your God. There is no other God. My people will never be ashamed again.”
“After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Over all nations and generations; over all cultures and races. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants, both men and women. I will work wonders in the sky and on the earth.
There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke. The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon will be as red as blood. Then the great and fearful day of the Lord will come!
And everyone who trusts in the Lord Will be saved.There will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,just as the Lord said.Yes, those left alive will be the ones the Lord has called. They will be his chosen. There is still hope.