Article 44
The Book of Joel depicts the Latter Rain and Loud Cry although no commentary that I know of presents it this way. The natural question: What is the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry, and why does Joel depict them?
God comes to His people with the Holy Spirit which is symbolized as rain. Note: “Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come to us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:3). Here are other texts where God promises the rain, the former and latter rain: Joel 2:23 ; Jeremiah 5:24 ; Deuteronomy 11:14 ; Jas. 5:7, 8; and Acts 3: 19 , 20.
In Elijah’s day, there had been drought; a famine for hearing the word of the Lord (Amos 8:11 ). At Elijah’s word, it had not rained for 3½ years (James 5:17 ) but after the demonstration where fire came down and burned up the offering, and the people said they would serve God, then Elijah prayed for rain. When it came, Elijah ran before Ahab’s chariot to prepare the way (1 Kings 18:45 , 46). As bad as Ahab was, he was still the King of Israel, a symbol of the King of Kings, and it is an Elijah message/messenger that is to go before the coming of the Lord (Malachi 4: 5, 6).
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out for the sowing of the gospel seed. This was the early or former rain. The Bible is clear that the harvest is the end of the world (Matthew 13:39 ). The seeds sown at Pentecost will be harvested at the end of the world. Just as the Spirit was poured out for the sowing, so the Spirit will be poured out for the harvest.
Peter said that Pentecost was a fulfillment of Joel, and quotes 2:28 -32, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh …” (Acts 2:16 -20). Was Peter correct? The Book of Joel has to do with the outpouring of the Spirit. Yes, it does. Peter was correct but not to the fullest extent.
The text clearly states that this takes place “… before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come” (Joel 2:31 [KJV, NRSV]). “… great and dreadful day of the Lord (NIV). “… before the great and awesome day …” (NASV). So these events take place BEFORE the end of all things.
In Acts 2:16-20, Peter adds “last days” and speaks of the “great and notable day” (KJV). “Great and glorious day” (NASV, NRSV, NIV). The Book of Joel is primarily speaking of the outpouring of the Spirit, the latter rain before the end of the world. Since this is abundantly clear, then Peter’s application of Joel must be a partial and preliminary fulfillment, with the final and complete fulfillment to come some 2,000 years later.
John the Baptist went before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17 ). He was a preliminary and partial fulfillment but the final and complete fulfillment of the Elijah messenger/message is to be “… before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”
(Malachi 4:5). Christians have always seen the end as the great judgment day, and the Bible refers to it as “in that day” and “the day of the Lord”.
The outpouring of the Spirit in Joel is primarily about the harvest at the end of the world. In Israel ’s yearly feasts, the Spring ones, beginning around Easter time, pointed back to the Passover and their deliverance from Egypt . Fifty days later, they received the law at Mt. Sinai . Jesus became our Passover at the cross, the first fruits at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 5:7; 15:20) and 50 says later, Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came which writes the law on the believer’s heart.
The Day of Atonement (judgment) and Feast of Tabernacles (last harvest), were of the Fall celebrations. To warn the people, to get the word out and prepare the people that the judgment day was at hand, there was a Blowing of the Trumpets on the first day of the seventh month. Atonement or judgment day came 10 days later. Today Jews celebrate this as New Years Day but Harper-Collins Bible Dictionary says, in the Bible, this day does not appear to have the character of a New Years celebration. It was a “day of (horn) blasts” in Hebrew.
The Blowing of the Trumpets was to prepare a people for the great judgment day, the harvest, and to give the last great message to a dying world. This is a strong point in Joel: “Blow the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm .. for the day of the Lord cometh … a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it … A fire devoureth before them … a strong people set in battle array … They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks; neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path (old denominational differences are forgotten) … the earth shall quake before them … and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army … (whose army?) for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible …” (Joel 2:1-11).
Clearly, this is God’s Army before whom He utters His voice. “The Lord shall roar out of Zion …”. “… there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven …” (Joel 3:16 ; Revelation 16:17 . See, Revelation 9:13).
In Joel 2:15, the command again is to “Blow the trumpet in Zion …”. In verse 23 is the promise of rain, and verse 28 is what Peter quotes about God pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. In Chapter 3, beginning with verse 9, they are to prepare for war, wake up the mighty men, beat plowshares into swords, pruning hooks into spears. Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Clearly end time events found in Joel.
What then is to be the message that the trumpets sound?
“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound” (Revelation 8:13 ).
Now notice the similarity of the language, and that the message of the three angels is the Everlasting Gospel which causes the fall of Babylon , enabling believers to avoid the mark of the beast.
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth … saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him … And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen … and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice …” don’t receive the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:6-9).
The Blowing of the Trumpets is the Loud Cry, the latter rain, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, whose message is the everlasting gospel. It causes the fall of Babylon where God’s true people are in the last days. They come out of her as Babylon falls (Revelation 18:1-4) and blow the trumpet in Zion .
Just as there was a great outpouring of the Spirit at the beginning of the Christian era, so there is to be one at its close.
For more information, see Article #11, BABYLON , and #17, THE BLOWING OF THE TRUMPETS, at christianitysconfusion.com. Copies also available through the mail.