Joel 2:1, commentary and pictures

Blowing the trumpet in Zion is God's solemn call to His people to proclaim an urgent warning that the day of the Lord is coming and is near at hand. All inhabitants of the land are to tremble because that day brings judgment upon the world for iniquity, with woe and destruction upon all wrongdoing. The alarm is to rouse God's people from spiritual lethargy and ease to seek Him with repentance, humiliation, and preparation for the solemn events connected with the close of probation. Those in responsible positions are watchmen on the walls of Zion who must sound the alarm clearly and plainly to gather the Lord's host with sanctified hearts and to set before the people their obligation and duty to God as their owner by creation and redemption. The people thus gathered are to be armed and equipped to stand in spiritual battle against deception and opposition, with assurance that God Himself will work for Israel and victory will attend His commandment-keeping people.

The Trumpet and the Day

Blowing the trumpet in Zion and sounding an alarm in the holy mountain is God's solemn and impressive call to His people to proclaim an urgent warning of the coming day of the Lord. The alarm is to be sounded because the day of the Lord cometh and is nigh at hand, and its approach is cause for all the inhabitants of the land to tremble. That trembling is commanded because the coming day brings the judgments that will fall upon the world for its iniquity. It brings woe and wasting and destruction upon all who do wrong and unrighteousness.

The nearness of that day is announced by signs and troubling conditions in the world. Those signs testify that Christ's coming is near. The warning that the great day is right upon us must be heard by all.

The trembling commanded is the terror of the wicked at the final reckoning, when the day is foreseen under thick clouds with the sun breaking through like an avenging eye. Then there are fierce lightning and thunder and mysterious awful voices declaring their doom. At that time false watchmen who were reckless and boastful and defiant and cruel to commandment-keeping people are overwhelmed with consternation, shuddering in fear and wailing above the roar of the elements. Demons acknowledge the divinity of Christ and tremble before His power, while men supplicate for mercy and grovel in abject terror.

Repentance and Preparation

The trumpet blast in Zion is a solemn and impressive call to God's people in view of the great day of the Lord to arouse from spiritual lethargy and to seek His face with repentance and humiliation. It is a warning to rouse men to their danger and to prepare for the solemn events connected with the close of probation, with all inhabitants of the land called to tremble because that day cometh and is nigh at hand. The same alarm is a call to wake people from ease and warn them that the Lord's day is near.

That urgent warning of the near day calls those who have fallen by iniquity and who look upon themselves as superior to their brethren to return to the Lord with all the heart. The return is to be with fasting and with weeping and with mourning, rending the heart and not the garments. It is urged because He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and turns from anger to heal backsliding and to leave a blessing behind Him.

The alarm applies to the solemn time of judgment, when people must recognize the work of atonement, repent, confess their sins, and be ready to stand in the day of the Lord. The message must retain its power so the church can be prepared. The alarm also sounds among God's people to wake up the mighty men and keep them plainly distinguished from worldlings by following God's plan with character transformed into harmony with His will. It demands removal from the church of all that is offensive to God, especially sowing jealousy and envy, and calls those inclined to such sins to thorough conversion through the new birth Christ requires.

Watchmen and Mission Warning

Those in responsible positions are watchmen on the walls of Zion who must sound a clear, plain alarm among the people to be heard in all the plain, because the day of the Lord is near with woe, wasting and destruction upon all who do wrong and unrighteousness. The trumpet is blown to gather the host of the Lord with sanctified hearts to hear what the Lord will say to His people, for increased and greater light has been given for all who will hear. The call is urgent to seek that light and to prepare for spiritual battle against deception and opposition to God's word.

Watchmen have special duty to place before the people in clear lines their obligation and duty to God, who by creation and by redemption is their owner. His hand will fall with special severity upon watchmen who fail to make that obedience clear. The gathered people are to be armed and equipped by a sanctified ministry and press flashing the light of truth upon this untoward generation, to come up to the battle to the help of the Lord against the mighty. They are to heed His message rather than criticize His messengers, and God Himself will work for Israel, every lying tongue silenced, angels overthrowing deceptive schemes, the bulwarks of Satan never triumphing, and victory attending the third angel's message and His commandment-keeping people.

The alarm calls editors of church periodicals as watchmen to sound the alarm from God's holy mountain, to warn of spiritual failure and to call God's people to action in self-denial and faithful use of resources consecrated to support ministers and missionary work, rather than spending them on ordinary church expenses while people indulge themselves. The alarm also stirs people to work for religious liberty by giving a clear warning that awakens the tranquil from ease, and after doing all they can they are to leave the rest to the Lord. Preparing a people to stand in the great day commands going forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to break up colonization in Battle Creek, to scatter and lift the standard of truth in other localities and plant it as a center in every city where truth has not yet been lifted, instead of holding camp meetings over and over in the same place to save money under human management. The warning to prepare for the great day of the Lord, which is right upon us, must be heard by all, and in southern California the thousands who visit every year in search of health must be reached by various methods, with brave, earnest men and women taking up the work there so the cause advances more rapidly than in the past.