JOEL
(835 B.C.)
19
Joel 2:18
Then the Lord was roused
On behalf of His
land
And had
compassion
Upon His people.
The Lord
declared:
‘I will grant you the new grain
The new wine,
and the new oil,
And you shall
have them in abundance,
Nevermore will I let you be
A mockery among
the nations…
The dating of Joel is uncertain so I put it last among the
Biblical Prophets.
The above stanza is identified as
relevant to the messianic end of the age by the word nevermore. Only after "the Lord" comes could any such
promise be nevermore. God’s compassion and forgiveness is represented by a new
abundance of crops on a land that was desolate and dry from a drought, which
has already begun in the Middle East and Israel. Faithful Jews will never again
be marginalized or made mockery of other peoples after the forthcoming events
occur.
Joel 2:21 Fear not, O soil, rejoice and be
glad;
For the Lord has
wrought great deeds.
Fear not, O
beasts of the field
For the pastures
in the wilderness
Are clothed in
grass
The trees have
borne their fruit;…
Joel 2:23 Rejoice in the Lord your God,
For he has given
you the early rain in His kindness,
Now He makes the rain fall as formerly –
The early rain
and the late –
This refers to the rain that will fall when Melchizedek comes
and the drought ends. Rain restores the land and mercy restores the soul.
Joel 2:26 My people shall be shamed no more
And you shall
know
That I am in the
midst of Israel:
That I the Lord
am your God
And there is no
other.
Joel 3:5 But everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall
escape;
for there shall
be a remnant on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the Lord
promised.
Joel 4:1 For lo! In those days
And in that time
I will gather
all the nations
And bring them
down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat
There will I
contend with them
Over My own
people, Israel.
Israel and its people have long been persecuted peoples. But
they shall be "shamed no longer." Restoration is at hand. They now
become a blessing to the other people of the world. "Everyone who invokes
the name of" or turns to the Lord (God) shall escape from Jerusalem and be
part of the remnant of Judah. The other part of the Judah remnant survives in
the city itself under the protection of God. Melchizedek, as God’s agent, will
gather and "contend" with "all the nations" regarding the
faithful Israel remnant of God who are "scattered as dew" among these
same nations of contention. As explained elsewhere, Melchizedek will "pay
ransom" for the release and return of the faithful, mostly Christian and
Jewish remnant who have been persecuted and held captive in their respective
nations. Ultimately, Israel comes to mean all those who recognize, love and
respect the one true God of Abraham, Jacob, Jesus and Melchizedek. Anyone who
would come, can come: stranger, foreigner, alien, or eunuch.
Joel 4:11 Rouse yourself and come,
All you nations
Come together…
Joel 4:12 To the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will
sit in judgment
Over all the nations round about.
Saving the
sickle
For the crop is
ripe;
Come and tread,
For the wine
press is full,
The vats are overflowing!
For great is
their wickedness.
Melchizedek is God’s reaper of the evil harvest of bloodshed
and war as well as the good harvest of fruitfulness and love. This bloodshed is
symbolized by the red wine in the overflowing vats. Consider also:
Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the
temple sanctuary, calling with a
mighty voice to
Him who was sitting upon the cloud, put in your
scythe and reap,
for the hour has arrived to gather the harvest,
for the earth’s
crop is fully ripened.
Notice here the confirmation of Melchizedek as the reaper. The
reaper is "sitting upon the cloud," which has previously been
associated with "the Lord’s presence" in ancient Israel, which in
turn corresponds to Melchizedek’s "semi-material presence" there.
Also, remember that "one like a son of man" sits on this cloud in Daniel. This "one like" also
corresponds to Melchizedek because Melchizedek is not a son of man born of
woman’s womb but he is "one like a son of man" who incarnates as a
physical man of the realm.
Continuing with Joel:
Joel 4:14 Multitudes
upon multitudes
In the Valley of
Decision!
For the day of the Lord is at hand…
Sun and moon are
darkened,
And stars
withdraw their brightness
And the Lord
will roar from Zion,
And shout aloud
from Jerusalem.
So that heaven
and earth shall tremble.
But the Lord
will be a shelter to His people,
A refuge to the
children of Israel…
And Jerusalem
shall be holy;
Nevermore shall strangers pass through
it.
The "multitudes" in the Valley of Decision are
probably the leaders of the nations who are gathered into the Valley of
Jehoshaphat for judgment. Or, perhaps these multitudes are people making
choices whether or not to "turn back to the Lord." Note again the
"trembling earth" that conjures up seismic activity. The "son
and moon are darkened" and the "stars withdraw their brightness"
refer again to the dense cloud cover developing during this time, related
probably to volcanic/nuclear activity.
Joel 4:18 And in that day,
The mountains will drip with wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
And all the watercourses of Judah shall flow with
water
A spring will issue from the House of the
Lord…
Egypt shall be a
desolation.
And Edom a
desolate waste,… (4:19)
But Judah shall
be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem
throughout the ages.
Thus I will
treat as innocent their blood
Which I have not
treated as innocent,
And the Lord shall dwell in Zion. (4:20)
This last passage of Joel is chocked full of Messianic
references (see italic phrases). The spring issuing from the Temple (3rd and
last) designated by "the House of the Lord" has already started flowing
recently from the Temple Mount in today’s Israel. Also, again note that the
Messianic "Lord" dwells in Zion as he did before in ancient Israel
before the rejection of God’s laws and way. Again this Messiah/Lord is
Melchizedek, our Planetary Sovereign who may appear to govern Urantia “any day
or hour.” (UB 1251)
The meshing together of the Urantia Book and prophetic scripture is very strong evidence that
the meshing elements are both true, as they are clearly independent sources of
information.
Having finished with the biblical
prophets, we move now to the Teacher of
Righteousness and the Dead Sea
Scrolls.