On Joel (2) - the Content (1)

0:00We praise the Lord for thy great plan, that we might well in place may be." Welcome to Life Study of the Bible, a presentation of Living Stream Ministry. Witnessly, a servant of the Lord for over seven decades, culminated his ministry with a 21-year book by book Exposition of the entire Bible, which he called Life Study. This Life Study is the basis for our program today, and includes short portion of the spoken messages given by Witnessly. Now, let's join today's program. The Book of Joel in the Old Testament contains three main points. The first is the plague of the four locusts found in chapter 1. These four locusts in Joel 1, the four horns in Zechariah, the four beasts in Daniel 7,

1:00and the great image in Daniel 2, seen in four sections, all refer to the four great empires of human history, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greek, and the Roman empires. These four empires representing the totality of human government have been consuming Israel for 27 centuries. The second main point in Joel is the outpouring of the spirit prophesied in chapter 2, and referred to by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. The third main point in Joel is the coming restoration, not only of Israel, but of the whole universe, such a short book, a minor profit in the Old Testament, yet such a great content. Bob Danker is joining us for our second program on the Book of Joel. Couldn't have you back, Bob, but quite a portion before us, isn't it? It really is, Chris. These books of the prophets are truly marvelous because they give us such a view of history and how God's economy is carried out in the midst of human history.

2:04So we do see the human history in the Bible, but this is not the focus of the Bible. The focus is God's economy, and God's economy is related to Christ and the church. And ultimately, God will accomplish His economy. He will build up the church as the body of Christ. This will bring Christ back to the earth and will usher in an age which the Old Testament refers to as the restoration. And in that age, not only the nation of Israel, but the entire universe will be restored. Wow. The New Testament term describing this era is the kingdom. The kingdom period, which we know from Revelation and other places, has a thousand year duration before, ultimately, the New Heaven, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem is ushered in. But as you said, Bob, not just the Israel is restored during this period, the whole universe is in a state of restoration.

3:06Prophecyte here in Joel and many other places in the Old Testament, but I'm really struck. It was this kind of realization, I think, as a very young believer. And I had studied history, was always interested in history, but when you begin to see as a young believer of history foretold in these books, it really has a strengthening effect on our faith in the Bible and also on our faith in God. Without such a person, how could we have such a book? That's right. God is really the author of the Bible. And as witness Lee does say, I think, point out in this broadcast, actually, the Bible contains the history of the universe. There is no other book like the Bible, showing us the origin and the ultimate destiny of the universe, plus all the major historical events that take place throughout human history. Of these references in the Old Testament to four, the four horns, the four beasts,

4:06the four types of locust in Joel that we'll talk about today, of all of these ones, probably the most significant is this image in Daniel, chapter two of the great human image that King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, saw in a dream, and ultimately Daniel interpreted for him and told him, these are the four great kingdoms. And you're the first, the year they head of gold. And then the second is the one that's going to be coming, which is clearly identified as the middle Persian, and followed by the Greek Empire of Alexander, and then ultimately the Roman Empire. And as we'll see in this life study and others concerning the prophets, in a sense the Roman Empire is continuing in some way even through today, isn't it? It surely is, Chris, actually, today's world is a Roman world. And ultimately the Bible prophesies that there will be a revival of the Roman Empire, and then Christ will come to terminate the entire human government on this earth and establish the kingdom of God. All right, let's look at the four locusts that we see in Joel, chapter 1, verse 4, what the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten,

5:10and what the swarming locust has left, the licking locust has eaten, and what the licking locust has left, the consuming locust has eaten. And now to connect that to Daniel, chapter 2, verses 32 through 34, concerning this image, of course, speaking of the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Its head was of fine gold, its breast, and its arms of silver, its abdomen, and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron, and partly of clay. You were watching until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image at its feet of iron, and clay, and crushed them. Of course, this is a clear reference to the Lord's return at the beginning of this age of restoration that is yet to come, and the destruction of all human government, because we will experience a divine government in those days, won't we? All right, here's what in the sleep of. We all have to believe the arrangement of their biblical books is very, very spiritual. Now we come to Joel. Joel is continuation of

6:21Hosea. In this book, you must see three main points. The first main point is the four kinds of locusts. The locust is a big item in the minor prophet. Then the second thing is what? The outpouring of the consummate spirit, which initiated the church life. And the third thing is the restoration, not only the restoration of the children of Israel, but of the entire universe. Now we come to the plague of locusts. If you read Joel carefully, you could see, and Joel considers the locusts as armies, gentle armies. Firstly, you are a crop. The locust comes to cut you. To cut you from blossoming, to cut you from bearing the fruit, and so forth.

7:25Then there will be still some kind of remainder left. Then another can, look us come. My, be the great number. Shraming. And to do what? To do the damage. Then there will still be some remainder. Then the third kind of locusts come. This is the leaching with the tongue. To swallow, then the fourth kind locusts. That is the consuming locusts. The four locusts are the four sections of the great human image in Daniel 2. If you are going to interpret any prophecy in the Old Testament, you must check with the history because the prophecies are concerning the history. In history, there must be such a story. For instance, Daniel 2 tells us Daniel saw great human image with

8:26four sections. The golden head and the silver, brass, and arms and the bronze, abdomen, and size, and the air in legs and feet. The golden head refers to Babylon. The silver, brass, and arms refer to Middle Persia. Then the bronze, abdomen, and size refer to Mastunian, Greece, and Bear. Then lastly, the earth, legs, and the ten toes on the feet. This refers to the Roman Empire. The history fits it exactly. What can correspond with this prophecy of four kind of locusts? Where could you find such a thing in the history? The four kinds of locusts are just the four kinds of gentle nations to come to David's State, Israel. The four locusts

9:29are the four gentle emperors, Babylonian Bear, Persian Mimper, Greece Mimper, and Roman Bear. Bob, it seems very clear now that you really have to view these prophecies together, don't you? The image in Daniel 2, along with these four locusts, the other sets of four, the beasts and the horns, all referring to these four great empires, aren't they? That's right, Chris. It's really quite a picture here. Something is going on in human history. God uses these four great human empires to chastise Israel. Israel is God's beloved, chosen people, but they were unfaithful to God. They were like a wife who loved another man and left her husband. So God had no choice but to come in and to chastise his people. And this he accomplished by using the Gentile nations who surround Israel. These four great Gentile empires throughout history for the last 27,

10:34100 years. This thing has been going on, the chastisement of Israel, by the locusts who have devastated Israel, but God has preserved Israel and has not allowed Israel to be totally annihilated. Of course, God needed Israel and he still needs Israel. God needed Israel initially so that he could be incarnated to become a man, to accomplish his divine economy, in humanity. And then eventually God needs Israel at the end of this age, as we will see. But right now, there's a kind of consuming going on, by the locusts. And while this consuming is going on, God is operating within this kind of human history, this historical picture here, to carry out something hidden and mysterious that will eventually have a climax in the Lord's Second Coming. And at the end of the Bible, we know there will be a new heaven and a new earth

11:38with a new Jerusalem. So God is working in human history and through human history, but here in the prophets, this human history is portrayed very graphically before our eyes. These are very vivid images, aren't they? Of this great dynamic image of this figure, with a gold head and the silver breast and arms and etc., etc., and these leopard and the bear and these four beasts, terrifying beasts and the four horns, which we'll get into more later on. And finally, these four types of locusts. And the one thing that we, as we study history, from Babylon to Middle Persia to Greek to Roman Empire, one thing that these four great empires have all had in common. And that has been that they have all consumed, devoured, brought great suffering upon Israel, haven't they? That's right, Chris. And this is exactly what God prophesied to his people who are unfaithful to him. And this has actually taken place.

12:42I won't take the time to read the verses, but I will give the reference in Zachariah chapter 1 verses 18 through 21. We see these four horns that we have now mentioned, and witness will refer to that in this coming portion. All right, again, your sections you want to be, if you're taking notes to study this yourself, we are obviously in Joel chapter 1, but you want to also make note of Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Zachariah chapter 1. All these sections touch these four great empires. Here's what Nusly once more. Then Daniel. Daniel wrote his book, what, after he was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar. And that was 200 later than Joel. So he wrote Daniel 2 about the human image with four sections, and he wrote Daniel 7 about the four beasts. Then the last one who wrote something like this was Zachariah.

13:42He used horns, four horns. I will tell you all can see the four sections of the human image, the four kind locusts, and the four beasts, and the four horns all refer to the same matter that in history, in God's dealing, which Israel and God punishing upon the Gentiles, these four things are the center. What four things? Just four nations, four empires. And the Bible legend is four empires. Firstly, to what? The locusts. They're by women and army, the person army, the gris and army, and the Roman army, all our locusts, they all come to devastate Israel, the land, the field, and the people. On the one hand, they are locusts. And then there are four nations, four sections. And these four sections are four beasts.

14:45And apparently they are quite human, like a big human image. But actually in God's eyes, everyone is a well-beast. The first one is the land, the Babylon, the second is the bear, that is Persia, and the third one is the leopard, the gris and the bear. It wouldn't fast like the leopard. Then the fourth one, it has no particular name, he is the totalitarian of the three four glimpses. That the Roman Empire, more well done, more devastating. This is history. So all these four are for hordes, used to be seated to devastate God to the people and the whole land. This is history. Bob, we've referred to the fact that in a sense of these four great empires, this fourth one, the Roman Empire, which is the consuming locust. I mean, the other locusts were cutting,

15:46eating, swarming, licking. But it's the consuming of the fourth. It is the most devastating. And in history, we can really say that's been the case as far as Israel is concerned. Why do we say that in a sense, we're still in the vestige, I guess, of the Roman Empire today? Well, even though the Roman Empire, in its initial form, ended a few hundred years after Christ, still the world, as we know it, is basically a composition of all four of those empires. But I would say that today's world is a Roman world. Western civilization has spread and has filled the earth. Of course, the Roman Empire adopted many things from the Grecian Empire that preceded it. And the Grecian Empire adopted things from the Persian Empire. And the Persians from the Babylonians. So in a sense, the Roman culture was a composite culture.

16:47And today, that's the culture that we have. If we look at government today, like the Roman form of government with a Senate and some kind of representation and a leader and so forth, then we look at other aspects of human culture today. And we trace back the history. We can see that today's culture is a composite of all the preceding ones that have gone before, starting from Babylon. And going all the way through the Roman Empire. So there is a very real sense in which we can say that we are still living in the era of Rome, right? In the era of the Roman Empire. Although the Roman Empire in its initial form is not with us today any longer, the whole world we could almost say has become Roman. Of course, at the end of the age, we believe there is this restoration first of Rome, of the Roman Empire in some very identifiable form before the restoration of Israel and the

17:48restoration of the universe comes in. So, and you can see the preliminary, a lot of people believe that what's happening in Western Europe today and even all of Europe today, a kind of more unified Europe is beginning to bring that into a clear review, isn't it? Yes, I believe this is really the case. What we can see is the preliminary things related to the reviving of the Roman Empire. But this will definitely take place at the end of this age and anti-Christ, according to the book of Revelation, will be the last Caesar of the Roman Empire. Well, Bob, we have another great item or important matter that's spoken of in Joel. We mentioned it early on in the program. We want to focus on it. And that's this prophecy in chapter 2, verse 28. And afterward, 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. Indeed, even upon the male and female slaves, in those days,

18:51I will pour out my spirit marvelous. All right, here's what I'm going to sleep with our last section. Joel is a short book only of three chapters, but the short book covers exactly four things. Number one, in Joel, you could see God's chess statement over Israel. God sent the locust to devastate Israel. That is God's chess statement. After we read Hosea, we could see Maya could God's leg, could God's children be dead evil? Yes, the worth and evil, then what should God do? Well, no doubt God had no way but to come in to chess. So, right way to continue Hosea, Joel tells us four kinds of locusts, send back out to devastate Israel. That is

19:54to chaste ties Israel. Then after this God's chess statement, the punishment on the gentle countries, you know, in Decareira for horns, then a craftsman came. He broke the first horn, and he broke the second one, and he broke the third horn, and he broke the first horn. Who is this craftsman? Christ. Then, in Joel, the third thing is the outpouring of the consummate spirit. When the Hosea spirit was poured out under the pentecost, he became no more merely the spirit of God. He became possessed and consummated and compounded. Compounded with God, compounded with Christ's humanity, compounded with Christ's death, compounded with Christ's resurrection, compounded with Christ's

20:58death effectiveness, and compounded with Christ's resurrection power. And this is the Holy Spirit that was proud of their pignons. So the pentecost was the manifestation of Christ. Through that outpouring of the spirit, the individual Christ became a corporate Christ. Today, we are a corporate expression. What are we doing here? We are manifesting Christ. What are we waiting for? We are waiting for that glorious day, the restoration of the entire universe. And that restoration will consummate in the new to do some in the new heaven-y waters. I tell you, this is the Bible and this is the history of the universe. Bob, we've got two and a half minutes. You want to talk about the history of the universe? Why don't we spend a couple minutes here, focusing on this third matter? I'd like to talk about

22:01this outpouring of the spirit because it has such relevance to us today, doesn't it? It really does, because everything actually, all this progress of human history really is for the manifestation of Christ. Christ was incarnated. God was incarnated while human history was going on. These four locus were consuming Israel. And all of a sudden, God became a man and entered into humanity and mingled himself with man. This was an unprecedented event in the universe, a great event. And then this man lived on the earth. As we all know, in the four gospels, he died on the cross and all inclusive death to terminate all the negative things. And he resurrected to become the life-giving spirit. And he ascended to the heavens. Then another great event took place. He poured himself out as the consumated spirit upon all the fallen human race,

23:02all flesh. And this took place on the day of penny-cost. And Peter stood there and proclaimed the gospel on that day. 3,000 people were saved. And the church was formed and produced on that day. That was another great event in human history, although this was somewhat a hidden matter. Right. While the outward history was going on, God was doing something very intrinsic and inward. He was producing a corporate Christ, the church as the body of Christ, which is the corporate manifestation of Christ. So we are living in the church age. And we are here on this earth for one thing. And that is that Christ would be manifested. That is our desire and our interest. It is just the manifestation of Christ. Eventually, this age of the corporate manifestation of Christ will bring in another age, the age of the millennium, the age of restoration. And that age, in turn,

24:04will consummate in the New Heaven and the New Earth with the New Jerusalem. And this is the history of the universe. So what we have got outwardly, the history of humankind has been outwardly going on, working itself out. Behind the scenes in a hidden realm has been this more intrinsic thing that has been happening, including Christ incarnation, as human living, as all redeeming death, as resurrection, as ascension, and as outpouring as the life-giving spirit to produce the church. This has been in the hidden realm, in the not-so-visible realm. Yet the outward as we're coming to see has all the time been used by God to assist what's going on in the hidden realm. Absolutely, Chris. So good to have you back and invite you again soon. I look forward to that. We hope also you will join us. And as you do that, if you have the printed life study with you, I think it would be a big benefit. We'll give you the toll free number so you can call us and find out how to get the printed life study of the minor prophets. That number is toll free,

25:061-888 life study. Join us again for our next program for Bob Danker. I'm Chris Wilde. Thank you very much for listening. Here Lord, we give ourselves to thee. We see the sin to thy mightest. This program is brought to you by Living Stream Ministry, publisher of the Ministry of Watchman Knee and Witnessly. To find out more about these two 20th century New Testament Ministers, we invite you to visit our website, lsm.org. There you'll find more than 600 titles from both authors available online. You can also listen to recordings of witness-ly spoken messages, and see the full array of material that Living Stream has to offer. Again, that's lsm.org. Thank you for listening today.