Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

This is what you will see prior to the Day of the Lord

Joel 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear 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?

If you are going to be watching for the day of the Lord then I think you have to pay attention to Joel. He tells you what you will see to alert you to sound the Trumpet that the day of the Lord is at hand. What you will see is something that has never happened before in history. That is weird since “pattern is prophecy”. By that we mean we can see a pattern, not the same but similar in history. But anyway, what great, worldwide event, unique in human history are we going to see?

3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That 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.

This is a comprehensive attack on the economy by an army of insects. The palmerworm is the larvae of a moth, it feeds on leaves. Locusts are like grasshoppers and they will eat every green thing in the field. Think wheat, corn, lettuce, etc. The cankerworm also eats leaves, but whereas the palmerworm likes fruit trees like apples, the cankerworm likes hardwood like maple. Finally the caterpillar will eat just about anything, but they really like leaves. For an agricultural society this is an all out assault on their economy. However, every farmer has heard of these pests so based on the context that this is something that we have never seen before in history, he is using this insect army as an analogy.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

Again, remember the word the Lord and the apostles shared about watching. Some of those who were not watching were drunk, or they were not sober, or they were eating and drinking with the drunkards or they were asleep. The purpose of this unique attack on the economy by this “insect army” is to wake you up and to sober you up by cutting off the wine.

6 For 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 is a different analogy, he is now comparing this “insect army” to a nation without number. That doesn’t make sense. Every army numbers their men. Even China with 1.2 billion people numbers their men. And this army is strong, they can kill and conquer, and their teeth are like a great lion. Obviously if little tiny insects without number, most of which you can’t see, have “teeth like a lion” it means they kill and devour.

7 He 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.

But this army is destroying the vine and fig. They aren’t killing people so much as killing the countries GDP.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

People will be shocked, young men will be keeling over dead. Healthy, athletic, young men, just dying in their sleep.

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

The churches and the synagogues will be shut down.

10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

This word wasted means to be assaulted, destroyed, devastated. Imagine you have started a new restaurant, you are doing very well, but you are in debt and have to work very hard for the next five or ten years to really be successful. Then they shut you down because of the pandemic. It is too dangerous for people to come to your restaurant even though you have put tables outside. However, in the parking lot next to your restaurant they have set up large tents to feed everyone involved in shooting a movie. It is very clear that your arrangement is safer than theirs, but they are exempt from the rules of the pandemic because they are shooting a movie. You aren’t just going bankrupt, you are being assaulted, destroyed and devastated by this pandemic. I saw exactly this situation on a youtube video from a restaurant owner in LA.

11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 12 The 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.

This word means to be put to shame or to act shamefully. The only way I can explain this is to share what happened during the pandemic. People became illogical, they mocked the president of the US for saying that you could use HCQ, something that had been used safely for 50 years and which is about as cheap as anything you can possibly get. Two years later we have many studies proving that HCQ is an effective way to deal with this. They screamed that you need to respect the science, yet two years later you can see that everything they did was not supported by science and in fact caused more harm than good. They mandated an experimental vaccine even though that was illegal. People who didn’t want to get the vaccine thinking it was “my body my choice” they castigated, fired, and forced out of their jobs. In other words it was their hysterical and illogical behavior that destroyed the economy.

13 Gird 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.

This hit churches especially hard. If people don’t come to the church they don’t offer money for the offering. Up until this pandemic have we ever seen a global shutdown of churches like we did then? I thought such a thing was unconstitutional and yet 98% of the pastors and priests all went along with this. The purpose was to cause you to pray, to humble yourselves, and to prostrate yourself before God.

14 Sanctify 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, 15 Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

When they shut down the world’s economy it was God saying to “sanctify ye a fast” and to call a solemn assembly because the day of the Lord is at hand. What you are seeing happen during the pandemic is an appetizer for what is about to happen.

16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

You could not have public gatherings. You couldn’t have a wedding. You couldn’t have graduation parties.

17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

Now what are we seeing? Countries are going bankrupt like Sri Lanka because they stopped using fertilizer. A barn full of seeds is like a bank filled with money. However, now we have ten countries on the verge of bankruptcy and China has a real estate bubble that is about to collapse in a matter of days.

18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

They are perplexed because of ridiculous green laws that essentially bankrupting farmers so that their farms will be bought up by huge corporations.

19 O 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. 20 The 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.

This is where we are today. There is food in the grocery store, but the pastures have been devoured, herds have been culled, harvests are down significantly, and everyone is projecting major famine next year.

Go back to the beginning of this chapter. We have seen famine many times in human history, we have seen bankruptcies many times, we have seen plagues and pests many times, and yet we have never ever seen what we witnessed these last two years. Never has the entire world acted so shamefully, foolishly and self destructively. It was as though they were so terrified of this tiny “insect army” that they burned the entire economy to the ground.

How should we respond to the pandemic? Joel 2:1-17

In chapter 1 we learn there will be an event that takes place which has never happened before in human history. He likens it to an insect army that is too great to number, but we have had a plague of locusts before, so that is not what it is, only an analogy. He describes them marching in a line without anyone pushing anyone else, just like we saw during the pandemic with social distancing and six feet apart. He says they climb up into the windows, that they are unseen and get everywhere, so again, these aren't locusts but just like them. He likens their teeth to a lion, so we know that this army kills and devours. However he says that the primary attack is on the economy. Again, we have had famines, plagues and economic collapses in history, not that often but certainly that is not unique. He also says that He will cut off the offerings to the churches and priests. Now that is unique in US history, but not for Russia or China. But then he shares that everyone will be put to shame with their response to this. Their actions in this shutdown, whether saying "respect the science" or mocking the use of HCQ, or claiming that Cuomo is the gold standard, or DeSantis is sponsoring superspreader events, or saying there was no evidence of this coming from the Wuhan lab, or saying the vaccine is safe and effective, or that you should be masked, or shut down schools, or whatever. In every case the people acted like fools, like sheep without a shepherd. For years they boasted that only the weak need religion for a crutch. This event shows them how lost they are without a shepherd.

2 Blow 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;

This is the proper response. Jesus said the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. The watchmen on the wall are supposed to be watching for this thief and to blow the trumpet when they see him. The pandemic is a man made plague, as is the vaccine, and they are doing this to steal. What did Nero do when the people wouldn't sell their land to him? He burned it down. First you burn down the world's economy and then they will be willing to submit to the AntiChrist rule. Just like in the movies, Satan is going to give you an offer you can't refuse: serve and worship him or get your head cut off. To convince people you are serious you need to cut a few heads off first.

2 A 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.

The pandemic was an army that we have never seen before and it was a warning of what is to come, an army that no one has ever seen before on the earth, neither before this nor after this. We are not talking about the Chinese or Russians. This army is something you have never seen before. Are they giants, are they robots, are they cyborgs, are they run by AI? We'll find out soon enough.

3 A 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.

There are a lot of believers who are "preppers". They are stocking up on food, gold and silver. They think that having a shotgun in the woods will keep them safe. They are thinking about the army they are familiar with, not the one they are going to see. "Nothing shall escape them". They have the tracking ability of a bloodhound, and the sight of elite super soldiers with night vision and infrared vision that can see through walls. They will have a tracking device in every person (the mark of the beast) and they will hunt down and find every person who doesn't have that tracking device. No one will escape them, that is the word of God and that is God's will.

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Forget trying to outrun these guys. Can't do it.

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

Weird, just a few years earlier they were saying that religion was for the weak and they weren't weak.

7 They 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: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

This is a highly trained, very disciplined army and you can't kill them with the sword. The military is designing these in secret bases. Think of something like these children's cartoons with people driving giant robots, or like the terminator, or Robocop, or a dozen other movies.

9 They 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. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And 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?

Do not think this is "the enemy". This is God executing His word. In the book of Job it is Satan that attacks Job, but it was done under the authority of God and based on God's criteria. If you think you are so strong you don't need God, you don't need the church, fine, let's see how you do. When you are ready to repent let the Lord know.

12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And 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.

This is the path that leads to salvation. Buying up food and converting your cash to silver will not save you. All you will do is attract the thieves.

14 Who 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?

The people who are caught up in this can also repent. Do not treat them as your enemy, treat them as gospel prospects.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather 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. 17 Let 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?

Prophecy club has set up a weekly fast to pray for our land. This is the appropriate response. This morning I was in a weekly prayer meeting with the Gideon's for our city, that is an appropriate response. All over the internet the believers are stunned and dismayed that the heathen are ruling over them, use that to motivate you to fast and pray.

How will we be delivered from the tribulation? Joel 2:18-32

18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, 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: 20 But 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.

The purpose of what is coming to the US and to the Earth is to turn us to the Lord, to fast and pray and trust in the Lord, and to see that we need God. Therefore the sooner the believers respond the sooner they will be saved.

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.

Amen, do not focus on this army of super soldiers, rather focus on the Lord who will do great things.

22 Be 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. 23 Be 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. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

In chapter 1 and chapter 2 we are told we will see things that have never been seen before. But all of these things are to turn us to the faithfulness of God, something we have seen in every generation.

25 And 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.

After the tribulation we will be fully restored.

26 And 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.

Only, just like Job, after the tribulation we will be stronger in our faith, stronger in our understanding and appreciation of the Lord.

27 And 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.

The reason people acted so shamefully during the pandemic is they allowed the thieves and crooks to train them and teach them. Going forward we will not make that mistake again.

28 And 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: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

For some reason many Christians are distrustful of people with dreams and visions. If we didn't have dreams and visions then that is what we should be distrustful of. Since we can see that the day of the Lord is at hand then we should also see this prophesy fulfilled as well.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.

We have already had amazing signs in the heavens from the Revelation12 sign to blood moons, and truly bizarre cloud formations. However, if those signs have not waken you up don't worry, the coming signs will be enough to shake anyone out of bed.

32 And 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.

Even if you are martyred it is still the best life possible

Wisdom to perceive the words of understanding

Discerning between God's word and man's opinion is not usurping the Lord's position on the throne. Liars will accuse you of all sorts of foolish things.

Proverbs 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

For example, the word of God is likened to fine gold whereas man's opinion is a counterfeit, it is fool's gold. It is easy to discern fine gold from pyrite (fool's gold). If you hit gold with a hammer it is malleable, you will hammer it into very fine sheets. However, pyrite will shatter. Another difference is if you burn pyrite it will smell like rotten eggs (it is composed of sulfur). The way I understand that is that if you question someone who is trying to pass off fool's gold for the real thing they will shatter with the smell of rotten eggs (the old phrase something is rotten in denmark). Think of Fauci saying to question him is to question science. Now if he was really giving you gold he would have given a very fine explanation and gone into great detail just like gold being beaten into very thin sheets. Also, pyrite is made of iron, like an iron rod. An iron rod signifies authority, like when you ask someone a question and they say "because I said so".

Another thing about Pyrite it will form big crystals in the form of a cube. Yes, gold is a cube form, however, it never forms in big crystals. That would be exceedingly rare. So, very often lies will be presented as a "special case". Again, think of the way they handled this last pandemic. Everything they did was contrary to what we teach kids, it was contrary to biology 101, so everything about it was "a special case".

Luke 16:13-31 Everyone witnessing for the Lord is forcing their way into it

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

There are many reasons why someone is not faithful to the Lord. Maybe you just need a push, or maybe the real problem is that you love money and have become a servant to money. In that case your pretense at serving the Lord is only lip service and not genuine.

14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

We need this vision. We have had many examples of those who justify themselves in the eyes of others. That is a terrible example for someone trying to learn how to minister. To elevate yourself above others is detestable in God’s sight, but all too common.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

This is another one of those “say what?” verses. If you want to serve the Lord you need to “force your way into it”. There is going to be resistance. Your family will resist, your friends will resist, maybe even the government will resist. No one serves the Lord without having to deal with persecution. Not only so but Satan is the “accuser of the brethren”. Imagine Paul forcing himself into ministry after having aided in the stoning of Stephen and also in the arrest of the saints. Imagine Peter forcing himself into ministry after denying the Lord three times. Satan wants to sift us as wheat. We are sinners, we are dishonest, we are unrighteous. But, we overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony.

18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This is simply one tiny example of the law that is not going to disappear. The word of God convicts us of sin. But the same word confirms that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that His blood washes us as white as snow. So then if you believe you are a sinner you also need to believe that you have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb.

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

In this story you are that rich man. It is so easy for us to point our finger at some other person, condemning others. This chapter is not about others. We are the unjust manager of the Lord’s business. We are the ones who need to make friends with the gifts the Lord has given us while we were on this earth. We are the ones who need to force our way into ministry despite the accuser of the brethren holding up all our sins. And yes, we are the rich man. Dressed in purple means we are royalty, son of the king. Fine linen indicates we are clothed in righteousness. Lived in luxury means we had all the riches of the word, and the Holy Spirit every day. At our gate is laid a beggar means the Lord has sovereignly arranged that a person in need of our help is right there, at our front door. The dogs licked the sores indicates that even the dogs are helping this beggar, where are you?

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

Say what? We are born again Christians, redeemed by the blood of the lamb. This cannot possibly refer to us! First of all Hades is not Hell. Hades is where you go when you die. Second of all I have experienced something similar to heartburn every time I missed an opportunity to help someone. There is a regret in the pit of my stomach, and I am in agony. That was my experience for months till I finally decided to start speaking in the meetings regardless of whether or not it was perfect.

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

Abraham calls him “son”, so he is a child of Abraham. He received good things in this life, don’t many Christians teach that “receiving good things” means you are blessed? Why would you think this person does not depict a Christian, of the household of faith, a person who was “blessed”?

26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

OK, fair enough, this chasm is a pretty good indication. There is a very clear separation between the two. But I don’t see any reason to conclude that he depicts an unbeliever.

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

The gospel of Luke is not a hodgepodge of disconnected stories. Within the context of chapter 15 this refers to a believer who has received the treasure of eternal salvation. It is our job, like the manager who is being audited, to share this gift with others. You will have to force yourself into this because we all are sinners, and yes, Satan desires to sift us like wheat. But there will not be room for any excuses. You cannot claim you didn’t have an opportunity because when you appear before the Lord you will learn that there was a person right at your gate who needed salvation.

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Ouch. We often think “if I saw this” or “I saw that” then I would believe. If I saw the Red Sea parted, or if I saw Jesus rise from the dead. But it turns out that is not true. There were lots of people who saw each of those events yet they didn’t believe. The good news is this, you can get all the faith you need from the Bible. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God.

Elul

We are in the month of Elul, based on the religious calendar of the Jews it is the sixth month, but based on the civil calendar where the year begins with Rosh Hashanah, the birthdate of the world, this is the 12th month.

1. This month requires an accounting of the soul.

This is what we see in Matthew 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

This word reckoneth means to settle accounts. The word is only used three times in the Bible, every time it is with the Lord settling accounts with his servants.

If you look at the three parables in this section of Matthew describing the Lord's return, the first has them in the field and grinding at the mill. These are agricultural laborers. The second has the Bridegroom coming in the night for the Bride and the best day for that in the year is the 15th of Av. The third has the Lord reckoning accounts. This is after the harvest.

As a teacher we used to have an end of the year "settling of accounts" with our principal in June. The problem was there was no way to "settle accounts" at that point because the results of the Regent's exam were supposed to be 40-50% of our score. So it was really an end of year interview, we got our scores in the fall of the next school year during the week prior to school starting. That also took place during the month of Elul.

After the exam was over I would spend quite a bit of time doing data analysis on the results. The rabbi's call this "becoming aware of what you were not aware of". Overtime I became quite good at using this analysis to plan out the coming year and to adjust my approach.

"Why do you teach the book of Revelation? It isn't for us."

A question many Christians will ask. He answers it.

The book of life is the eternal list of truth lovers.

2Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

This makes sense of Revelation 3:3-5

3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Why was their name blotted out? First, it was in the book of life because years ago they did have the love of the truth but somehow they have forgotten that. So unless they repent and return to when they did have a love of the truth their name will be blotted out.

Joel 3 -- Behold that time

3 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I 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.

So yes, we have had several pandemics in the past, perhaps not like Covid19, but without a doubt it isn't the first pandemic. However, Joel makes it clear he is talking about the time when Israel is returned to the Jews. So we can ignore the Spanish flu and the Bubonic plague, no we are focused on the time period after 1948. But Joel doesn't stop there, God will also, after bringing back the captivity deal with the fact that Israel is divided and will give Jerusalem back to Israel. So Joel is quite specific, the extraordinary "insect army" he is talking about comes after the Jews return to Israel (1948) and regain control of Israel (1967) and after He pleads for the heritage of Israel (God pleaded that the nations would recognize that Jerusalem belongs to Israel which the US finally did in 2017). Pretty extraordinary, Joel is talking about a worldwide shutdown of the economy, particularly of restaurants, gatherings, church services and celebrations, this is due to an "insect army" that is too numerable to count, and it takes place after 2017 when the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. All the believers were supposed to see the Pandemic in 2020, be woken up from sleep, sober up, pray and proclaim that the day of the Lord is at hand.

3 And 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.

The day of the Lord is the Lord's judgement on the sinful world and what is preeminent of those sins? Human trafficking, Epstein island, the Kazarian mafia in Ukraine, Moloch and Baal worshippers, Biden's open border, these are the sins that we will be held to make account of.

4 Yea, 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;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8 And 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.

This is the judgement that God has proclaimed. We may not know or be fully aware of all the sins he is referring to but you can be sure the deep state, the Moloch and Baal worshippers, and all the various cartels involved are aware.

9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

Whoa, so after this pandemic in 2020 the next thing we will see is all the nations prepared for war and the focus will be on the Moloch and Baal worshippers who are centered in Kazakstan and Ukraine? OK, and then after that they will be drawn down to the valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem. So it sounds like the Ezekiel 38 war does take place next.

13 Put 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.

This is the end of the age, we have already been told that "the day of the Lord is near" and the end of the age is a harvest. We are always looking for the rapture which is the harvest, but here Joel is talking about the harvest of the wicked. Remember, the Lord said first the angels would gather up the tares into bundles to be burned. These big armies that are being gathered in Ukraine and ultimately in Israel are being gathered to be burned.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The 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.

A lot of amazing earth shaking things are about to happen like the rapture, the dead in Christ rising, etc. Did you ever think of the tribulation as "the valley of decision"? Who will you serve, Jesus or the Antichrist. That is what it all boils down to.

17 So 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.

The purpose for Armageddon and the great tribulation is so that everyone will know that Jesus is the Lord God dwelling in Zion.

18 And 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.

The millennial reign of Christ is going to be a wonderful time for the earth.

19 Egypt 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.

The world's economy is Egypt and Edom is Hollywood. Egypt is not Jewish or Christian in flavor, it is secular. However, Hollywood is often claimed to be run by Jews, this is not true, they are Edomites. Edom is also the banking system. The Rothschilds, "red sign", are bankers who control the fiat currency.

20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.

Conclusion -- The amazing prophecies in Joel

1. An army that is innumerable will come, he describes it as an insect army, but this army will kill and devour like a lion. This army is like a thief sneaking into windows and climbing up walls, he sees people doing the social distancing marching six feet apart and no one is pushing on another. He says it will shut down the world's economy, it is God declaring a worldwide fast, and in particular it will shut down churches and schools, restaurants and public gatherings and celebrations. The description is exactly like the Pandemic we saw in 2020.

2. He says that this will come after the Jews return from captivity to Israel (1948) and after Jerusalem is returned to the Jews (1967) and after the US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (2017).

3. After the pandemic He will gather the nations to war because of the sin of child trafficking and moloch and Baal worship. The center for the cartels that specialize in human trafficking are in Kazakstan and Ukraine. So all the nations will be gathered to war there and then brought down to Jerusalem for the Ezekiel 38 war.

These events are designed to wake up those who are sleeping and sober up those who are drunk and the people of the Lord are supposed to proclaim that the day of the Lord is at hand and they are to prostrate themselves and pray to the Lord repenting for the sins and things that they should have done and have not done.

The Age of Grace

Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Noah in Hebrew means rest, but if you read it backwards it means grace. Noah was 600 when the flood came. Jesus said that the end of the age would be "as the days of Noah". So let's look at three of those days.

1. His birthday. Surprisingly the account in Genesis does not talk about his birth other than his genealogy. What it does say is that in those days man was completely focused on the flesh and they were mingled with fallen angels. It was an evil, demonic, fleshly time. If we go back 600 years from today that would be 1422. Can we see anything happening in 1422 that would indicate this evil, demonic world? Yes, 1422 is the year Count Dracula was born.

2. The day that Noah got the vision and blueprint that the age would end with a flood and the plan on building an ark to save mankind and the animals alive. Again, Genesis doesn't tell us the year this took place but it does say that Noah had three sons at that time. If I were God and were going to give Noah the blueprint for this huge construction project I would want his youngest son to be at least 13, this way he would have a four man crew, probably the bare minimum necessary to do this job. Since there is no high school or college at that time you can assume that Noah was married early, and that the kids came one after another. So I am going to guesstimate that Noah was 20 when his youngest was born and 13 years later he is 33. This is obviously just a guess, but gives us a ballpark. If he was 600 when he entered the ark, subtract 33 and you get 567 years earlier he received this vision and blueprint. This is 1455, did anything happen around that time? Yes, the Gutenberg Bible was first published.

3. The day Noah began to preach. The Bible also says that Noah preached for 120 years. If the printing of the Bible so that everyone could read it started this "age of grace" then did anything significant for the preaching of this word happen 120 years ago? Again, yes, in 1899 Gideon's international was founded. This is a ministry to distribute Bible's free throughout the world, and since their founding they have distributed over 2 billion bibles, they are in 180 countries and have over 260,000 members. Hold on, 120 years after 1899 is 2019, according to the Bible, that is when the flood comes. What happened in 2019? That was when the Pandemic hit. The calendar at the time of Noah has the year starting on Rosh Hashanah in September, and going to the next September. The very first cases of Covid19 hit right after the new year began according to this calendar. (BTW if you are not aware Covid19 stands for Certificate of Vaccine ID, AI. The 19 stands for the first letter of the alphabet and the 9 stands for the 9th letter).

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Behold, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Fascinating prophecy concerning what we will see prior to the rapture

Luke 17: 20 And having been asked by the Pharisees, When is the kingdom of God coming? he answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation;...26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

According to this the people won't see anything. That is fascinating when you consider all the signs that we are told about that will precede the day of the Lord.

According to Joel there will be a worldwide pandemic along with a worldwide shutdown of the economy that leads to a great depression. According to the Lord you will see signs with the Earthquakes and volcanoes and even the sea having great storms. The fig tree and all the trees will put forth new leaves after a two thousand year winter. There will be great signs in the stars, the moon and the sun. There will be a sign of Jonah given to the adulterous generation. There will be great world wars as nation fights against nation and kingdom against kingdom. We will see the emergence of one world order to replace the nations. Even the Lord said that as you see these things take place look up for your redemption draweth near.

So how can the Lord tell us on one hand that there will be many signs that you can see and on the other that everyone will be clueless? That is a fascinating prophecy. He will give us fantastic, incredible prophecies fulfilled right in front of our eyes straight out of the most widely published book on earth and yet everyone will be clueless? How?

Paul tells us that because they did not love the truth God sends them a great delusion.

Think of how many false predictions of the Lord's coming have been made since Israel was reformed as a nation. Since 2000 we have had four major predictions of doomsday events:

1. May 28, 2015 predicted San Andreas earthquake
2. 2012 Mayan calendar doomsday event
3. 5/5/2000 Ice age prediction
4. Y2K prediction

As a result people are jaded with the "end of the world" predictions. Ironically this also was a prediction that there would be many false Christs that the Lord warned us not to run after.

So the prophecy is very clear, everything is fully laid out so that all those who love the Lord's appearing and are watching for Him will see and yet all those who do not love the truth will be blind and unable to see anything. I find this fascinating. He saw this, He told us, it is written in black and white in the Bible, and yet they are still blind to what is going on.