¹The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. The Lord giving His message to Joel.

 ²Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Listen to this message because nothing like this has ever happened before.

 ³Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Tell this to your children and pass it down generation after generation. (Psalm 145:4).

 ⁴That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. There are four Hebrew words here (gazam = gnawer, yelek = devourer, arbeh = swarmer, and hasil = consumer), respectively rendered the palmer-worm, canker worm, locust, and caterpillar, denote four different species of locust, or the four stages of the destroying agencies. (Revelation 9:3-7).

 ⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. Wake up and weep all you drunkards. "Those who are in confusion with false teachings and the cares of this life." (Luke 21:34-36).

 ⁶For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. This brings to our attention the invading locust army (Arbeh are the Arabs), of the end times. (Revelation 9:3, 7-9), They are swarming around the world today setting up their terrorist training camps.

 ⁷He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. They ruined the fig trees just like the locust destroying everything they come upon leaving the land bare. This should bring our attention to the "parable of the fig tree," (Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-32, Luke 21:29-33), and the "parable of the tares." (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).  

 ⁸Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. Weep like a bride dressed in black, mourning the death of her husband. (James 4:8-9).

 ⁹The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn. The offerings are cut off and the priests and ministers of the Lord are in morning.

 ¹⁰The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. They are all dried up like the land. Why? Because they are ashamed. The priests and teachers that have been teaching false doctrines and traditions of men.

 ¹¹Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. They are ashamed because they have no truth in them. The seeds they planted never took root. (Isaiah 17:11, Jeremiah 9:12).

 ¹²The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Everything has dried up and the people's joy has dried up with them.

 ¹³Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Dress up and weep you priests! Wail, you who serve before the altar. There is nothing left to offer at the temple of your God.

 ¹⁴Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD. Announce the time of fasting and call the people together into the house of God and repent to the Lord there.

 ¹⁵Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. The day of the Lord is near. Judgment day! (James 5:9, Revelation 6:17). God is not mad at you if you are following Him. Judgment day for the "evil ones" will be terrible, but judgment day for the good people will be rewarding.

 ¹⁶Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? No more sacrifices or joyful celebrations are held in the house of God. (No more meat for the enemy)! However, those who seek the Lord can rejoice in their hearts. (Psalm 105:3, Isaiah 62:8-9).

 ¹⁷The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. The seeds die in the parched ground and the crops fail. Remember the good seeds will take when planted with truth. The bad seed will not survive.

 ¹⁸How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. A famine in the land of confusion. In the future sense, the famine of end times is for hearing the Words of the Lord. (Amos 8:11).

 ¹⁹O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. (Jeremiah 9:10).

 ²⁰The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Even the wild animals cry out because the streams have dried up consumed by fire. "Remember that God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:29), His fire can destroy all evil, but can warm the hearts of His elect followers. God is not after you, if you are a believer. His fire will destroy everything evil in the end times at His return.

 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. Sound the alarm in Jerusalem and raise the battle cry on Mount Zion (God's holy mountain). (Zachariah 8:3), The day of the Lord has come. (James 5:8).

 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. Just like a cloud of locust a great mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again. (The great northern army), of the end times in the day of the Lord. (Isaiah 5:30, 8:22).

 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. Stripping the land as they move ahead. Nothing but desolation is behind them. (Zachariah 7:14).

 ⁴The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. They have the appearance of horses and charge forward like warhorses. The locust army of (Revelation 9:7-9), the Arbeh, (the swarmers).

 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. They make the noise like the rumbling of chariots and fire sweeping across a field of stubble. (Revelation 9:9).

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

 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. They march like warriors and scale the walls like soldiers. (Proverbs 30:27, Jeremiah 5:10).

 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. They never even break rank and they break through defenses without missing a step.

 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. They swarm the city and run along it's walls. They enter the houses like thieves through the window.

 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. The end time coming day of the Lord. (Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24-25), These stars that fall from heaven will be Satan and his band of fallen angels when they are cast out by Michael the arch angel. Literally the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Ephesians 6:12).

 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? The Lord is head of the army and they follow His orders. The day of the Lord is an awesome and who will survive. (Revelation 6:17), God is not after you, only the evil people. We as Christians look forward to the "Day of The Lord."

 ¹²Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. Seek the Lord while there is still time. "Give your hearts to Him." (James 45:8-9).

 ¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Repent and turn to the Lord. He is merciful and compassionate.

 ¹⁴Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Who knows if God will send you a blessing instead of this curse. (Jonah 3:9).

 ¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem to announce the time of fasting to the Lord. (Jeremiah 36:9).

 ¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Gather all the people and the elders. Call the bridegroom fro His quarters. This should bring our attention to what Christ said about the bridegroom. (Matthew 9:15), Jesus was explaining to them that God was with them and there was no need to fast. He also told them that the time would come when He would be taken from them and then they shall fast. God was right there with them, but they did not get it. God is with us today in spirit until His return.

 ¹⁷Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Let the priests, who minister in the Lord's presence stand and weep between the entry room to the temple and alter. Let them pray to the Lord to spare your people. Don't let your special possessions become an object of mockery and a joke for unbelieving foreigners. "Like they did in the days of Ezekiel when they worshipped to the sun. (Ezekiel 8:16). 

 ¹⁸Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Then the Lord will pity His people for He is jealous for His land. Reference to the concluding words in the song of Moses and the outcome of events in the day of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 32:36-43).

 ¹⁹Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen. All these things will be added to you if you first seek the kingdom. You will no longer be a mockery among the surrounding nations. (Matthew 6:33). 

 ²⁰But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. I will drive away the armies of the north and send them into the parched wasteland. Speaking of the locust army of the end times. (Joel 1:4-6).

 ²¹Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Nothing to worry about. "God is in control."

 ²²Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Don't be afraid you animals of the field, because your pastures of the wilderness will soon be green. The trees will all be loaded with fruit again. The good fruit of the end time is the Word of God and only God gives the increase. (I Corinthians 3:7), all the credit goes to God.

 ²³Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. Rejoice, because the Lord sends the former rain and the later rain will come to show His faithfulness. (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28-31), referring to the pouring out of the Spirit in the end times.

 ²⁴And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. A pouring out of blessings from the Lord. (Malachi 3:10).

 ²⁵And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. Restoration of the house of Judah from the destroying locust army which the Lord has sent among you in the end times. (Zechariah 10:6).

 ²⁶And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. Again they will have all the food (Spiritual food) you want and will praise the Lord your God without shame. (Psalm 37:19).

 ²⁷And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. Then you will know that I am among My people Israel and there is no other. My people will will never again be disgraced. (Isaiah 45:21-22), and so it will be at Christ's return in the end times.

 ²⁸And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. A pouring out of His Spirit (The Holy Spirit), among all those who believe in Him, and they shall prophesy. (Galatians 3:28), we are all one in Christ.

 ²⁹And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. In the end times His Spirit will be poured upon all people. Servants, men, and women alike. (I Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11).

 ³⁰And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. There will be wonders in the Heavens in the end times and fire and columns of smoke. (Acts 2:19-20, Revelation 6:12-17).

 ³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. (Matthew 24:29), After the tribulation at the Lords return.

 ³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And the remnant (Gods elect), will be delivered just as the Lord has said. (Acts 2:39, Romans 9:27, Romans 11:5, Romans 11:7).

 ¹For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. At the time the Lord will restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem. This word captivity here is "shbuth, shbiyth" Strongs H7622 meaning a "former state of prosperity." In other words, a good captivity of the Lord in their own land. (Ezekiel 39:28, Amos 9:14).

 ²I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. I will gather the armies of all the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat and judge them for harming and scattering My people among the nations. (Ezekiel 35:10, Zephaniah 2:8-10).

 ³And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Threw dice to see which of My people would be their slaves. Traded boys for prostitutes and sold girls for a little wine. (Amos 2:6), "This should also bring to out attention how they cast lots for the robe of Christ."

 ⁴Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head. What do you have against Me Tyre and Sidon and cities of Philistia? Are you trying to revenge Me? Watch out! You will be repaid for everything you have done. (Isaiah 34:8, Luke 18:7, II Thessalonians 1:6), At the same time as you suffer, God is preparing judgment and punishment for those who are hurting you. God always takes care of His own.

 ⁵Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things. They took the silver and gold and carried them off to their pagan temples. (Daniel 5:2-3), Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver cups taken long before from the temple in Jerusalem during Nebuchadnezzar's reign. Party time! There going to have a little wine tasting here. He ordered that these sacred cups be brought to the feast and they drank from them. 

 ⁶The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. You sold the children of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks so they could take them far from the land. (Ezekiel 27:13).

 ⁷Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head. I will bring them back from all the places that you sold them and you will be paid back for what you have done. "Judgment day." (Revelation 19:2). 

 ⁸And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. I will sell into slavery your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia. (Job 1:15, Ezekiel 23:42).

 ⁹Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Get ready for war and call on the best you have. This word Gentiles as used here is "goy goy" a heathen nation, figuratively a flight of locust. "The locust army of the end times." 

 ¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Train even your weak to be warriors because you will need them. (Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3).

 ¹¹Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Gather them to the valley of Armageddon. The mighty angels of the Lord will defeat them. (End times prophecy). (Zachariah 14:2-3, Revelation 16:14-16, 19:19-20), this heathen nation is led by the false one (antichrist).

 ¹²Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Judgment time for the heathen nations and all those who follow anti-Christ. (Psalm 96:13, Ezekiel 30:3, Micah 4:3, Revelation 19:11).

 ¹³Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Harvest time has come for the wickedness of these people. (Isaiah 63:3, Revelation 14:17-20). This should bring our attention to what Christ said about the harvest in the end times. (Matthew 13:39), Satan (the devil) is the father of the "Kenites," or son's of Cain. The harvest is the end of this world age, and the reapers will be the angels.

 ¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The day of the Lord. Judgment day! (II Peter 3:7), By the same Word, the present Heavens and Earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for judgment day, when the ungodly people will be destroyed.

 ¹⁵The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. Again we have signs in the heavens for the end time tribulation. (Matthew 24:29), These stars that fall from heaven will be Satan and his band of fallen angels when they are cast out by Michael the arch angel. Literally the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Ephesians 6:12), We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers of the unseen world. Mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. When does all this take place? At the sixth trump. (Revelation 6:12-13).

 ¹⁶The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. God will be our strength in the tribulation when we stand for up for Him. (Don't fall for false doctrine).

 ¹⁷So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. Mount Zion, God's favorite place.

 ¹⁸And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. A pure river of living water proceeding out of the throne of God. (Revelation 22:1-2).

 ¹⁹Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. Edom refers to the elder brother of Jacob which was Esau. (Amos 1:11-12, Malachi 1:3-4).

 ²⁰But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Judah will be filled with people forever and they will dwell in the land that the Lord has given to Jacob, and the descendant of David (Christ), will be their prince forever. (Ezekiel 37:25).

 ²¹For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. Again, one of Christ's favorite places Mount Zion, He will make His home forever. (Joel 3:17, Revelation 21:3), Eternal life right here on earth with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Yahweh Shammah), "The Lord Is There." (Ezekiel 48:35).