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Scripture Reading: Joel 1:2-20; 2:1-11
The book of Joel contains three main points. The first main point is the plague of the four kinds of locusts (the nations) or of one kind of locust in four stages. The second main point is the outpouring of the consummated Spirit. This outpouring initiated the church life, which is the content of the age of mystery. The third main point is the restoration not only of Israel but of the entire universe. This restoration will consummate in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem. In this message we will consider the first of these three main points.
The plague of the locusts (the nations) is covered in 1:2—2:11.
Joel 1:2-4 shows us the seriousness of the prophecy.
The elders among the people should hear this message, and all the inhabitants of the land should give heed to it. They should tell their children about it, their children should tell their children, and their children should tell the next generation (vv. 2-3; Psa. 78:6).
Joel 1:4 says that what the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; and what the swarming locust has left, the licking locust has eaten; and what the licking locust has left, the consuming locust has eaten. Four words for locust are used in this verse, probably referring to one kind of locust in various stages of growth. As we will see, this one kind of locust in four stages corresponds to the four sections of the great human image in Daniel 2, to the four beasts in Daniel 7, and to the four horns in Zechariah 1. The cutting locust refers to the Babylonian Empire; the swarming locust, to the Medo-Persian Empire; the licking locust, to the Grecian Empire; and the consuming locust, to the Roman Empire.
Joel 1:6a speaks of the coming up of a nation, mighty and without number, against the land of Jehovah.
The coming of such a nation is likened to one kind of locust in four stages: the cutting locust, the swarming locust, the licking locust, and the consuming locust (v. 4; 2:2, 4-11). The four successive kinds of locusts refer to the nations which devastated Israel in four consecutive empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
This mighty nation is further likened to the great human image in four sections: the golden head — Babylon; the silver breast and arms — Medo-Persia; the bronze abdomen and thighs — Greece; and the iron legs with the feet — Rome (Dan. 2:31-33).
The coming up of a nation, mighty and without number, is further likened to four beasts: a lion, a bear, a leopard, and the one who is the totality of the first three (Dan. 7:2-8; Rev. 13:2a).
This nation is likened ultimately to four horns (Zech. 1:18-21). The four horns, the four beasts, the four sections of the great image, and the four kinds of locusts all refer to the same four empires. Throughout human history, in God’s dealing with Israel and in God’s punishment upon the Gentiles, these four empires have been and still are the center.
The nation mentioned in Joel 1:6a came to devastate the land of Jehovah, devouring and breaking the people into pieces and making the land a desolation (vv. 6b-7a; 2:3; Dan. 7:7; Isa. 10:3; Jer. 25:11). Because of this desolation, there were no food to feed the people and no wine to cheer the people (Joel 1:5, 7, 10-12, 16a, 17), no meal offering and no drink offering for the priests to offer to God in His temple (vv. 9, 13, 16b), and no pasture for the beasts, herds of cattle, and herds of sheep (vv. 18-20).
The empires that have devastated the land of Jehovah include the empires from Nebuchadnezzar, the first king of the Babylonian Empire, through the Medo-Persian Empire and the Macedonian and Grecian Empire, to the last Caesar (Antichrist) of the Roman Empire (Dan. 7:2-8; 8:3-14; 11:2-45; Rev. 13:1-18; 17:11-14; 19:19-21). Babylon actually began with Babel, which was founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:8-10), the first type of Antichrist.
The Bible likens these four empires to locusts. A plague of locusts is terrible. In just one day an entire harvest can be consumed; nothing can stop the devouring locusts. The armies of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome were like locusts coming to devastate Israel totally, devouring their people, land, fields, produce, food, and drink and cutting off their offerings.
Apparently, these four empires are human like the great human image representing the totality of human government. However, in the sight of God they are beasts. Babylon is the lion; Medo-Persia is the bear; Greece is the leopard; and Rome, being the totality of the first three, is the most wild and devastating beast of all. Ultimately, these four empires are four horns used by Satan to devastate God’s chosen people. The prophecies concerning this are now history.
Daniel 7:12 says, “As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for a season and a time.” This indicates that as each empire was defeated, although its dominion was taken away, its culture was adopted by each succeeding empire. Thus each empire continued to live. The culture of Babylon was adopted by Medo-Persia; the culture of Medo-Persia was adopted by Greece; and the culture of Greece was adopted by Rome. From this we see that the Roman Empire inherited the cultures of the three foregoing empires. The dominion of the Roman Empire is over, but its “life,” its culture, continues. In a sense, we all are Roman citizens, for we are under the influence of the spirit of the Roman Empire, especially in the matters of politics and law. Today the world’s culture is Roman, yet, being an accumulated culture, it contains the cultures of the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks.
The Bible covers four things: God’s chastisement on His elect people, God’s punishment of the nations, the manifestation of Christ, and the restoration. These four matters are covered in Joel, a short book of three chapters. First, God sent the locusts to devastate Israel. This was His chastisement for Israel’s great evils. Second, this book reveals that God will punish and judge the Gentile nations. Third, Joel speaks concerning the outpouring of the processed, consummated, compound Spirit, the Spirit of God compounded with Christ’s humanity, Christ’s death and its effectiveness, and Christ’s resurrection with its power. This is the Holy Spirit who was poured out on the day of Pentecost, and this Spirit is the consummated Christ for the manifestation of Christ. This manifestation began with the incarnation of Christ and has been confirmed and strengthened by the outpouring of the Spirit because, through that outpouring, the individual Christ became the corporate Christ, initiating the church life and the church age. The church is the great mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15-16). Hence, we are the manifestation of Christ. Now we are awaiting the fourth matter revealed in the book of Joel — the glorious day of restoration, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. This is the revelation of the Bible, and this is the history of the universe.
The four empires signified by the locusts are very worldly, but they are used by God’s Craftsman (Christ — Dan. 2:34-35) as His instrument to chastise Israel and punish the nations. In this way God is accomplishing whatever is needed for Christ to be manifested in full, that the entire universe may be fully restored.
