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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. |
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