Joel Sounds the Trumpet as Locusts Darken ZionBible World
2:31Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
The sun is to be darkened and the moon made to look like blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, as signs in the heavens warning that Christ's coming and that day are near. That foretelling was fulfilled on May 19, 1780, in the Dark Day over New England, when the sun was hidden by black clouds and brassy gloom deepening to midnight darkness at noonday, and the nearly full moon that night had the appearance of blood. Its appointed time was in those days after the tribulation of the 1260 years of papal persecution from 538 to 1798, after persecution had nearly ceased and before that period ended. It stands joined to the promise that afterward God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, which began only in part at Pentecost and is to be fulfilled in fullness in the last days with prophesying, dreams, and visions. With the signs stands the assurance that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered among the remnant, urging trust in God, urgent missionary work, and preparation for the great and terrible day.
Signs Before the Day
The sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood stand before the great and terrible day of the Lord as heavenly signs and warnings that His coming and that day are near. They are precursors placed in sequence before that day, with the outpouring of the Spirit and the promise that those who call on the Lord will be delivered. Their time was fixed to fall in those days after the tribulation of the 1260 years of papal persecution, after persecution had shortened and almost wholly ceased and before that period ended in 1798. They have occurred in the Dark Day over New England on May 19, 1780, twenty-five years after the great earthquake of 1755 and twenty-five years before the close of that period, while the day itself and the deliverance of the remnant remain still future.
The darkening and reddening belong with wider wonders in the heavens and in the earth, described as blood and fire and pillars or vapor of smoke. God shows wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, with the sun made dark and the moon made like blood or bloody before the great and notable day of the Lord comes. This belongs to the last-days promise that afterward He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, and servants and handmaids receive the Spirit.
The prophecy was not all fulfilled at Pentecost or at the beginning of the gospel era. Only the part about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit began then, when the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, while the signs in the sun and moon were not seen on that day. The whole prophecy is to be fulfilled in the last days, extending from Pentecost through the days leading up to the great day.
The prophecy therefore spans the whole Christian age and reaches fulfillment at its close, when the latter rain is poured out and the day of the Lord is near. These heavenly signs mark the near approach of that day and belong to the prophecy's fulfillment at the close of the Christian age, not solely to Pentecost. Although the signs have occurred, the day of the Lord and the deliverance of God's remnant are still future.
Fulfilled in the Dark Day
The time appointed for the darkening of the sun and the reddening of the moon was in those days after the tribulation, after the 1260 years of papal persecution reckoned from 538 to 1798, when persecution had been shortened and had almost wholly ceased and before that period ended in 1798. It fell twenty-five years after the great earthquake of 1755 and twenty-five years before the close of the period. In that interval the sun was to be turned into darkness and the moon into blood as a token that the coming of Christ and the great and terrible day of the Lord are near.
What was foretold took place on May 19, 1780, known as the Dark Day over New England. That morning the sun rose clear or shone pale yellow, then was overcast and hidden by black ominous clouds and heavy mist, and earth and sky turned brassy and then dark as a summer evening by nine o'clock, deepening to most dense darkness shortly after eleven and to midnight darkness at noonday. The darkness continued fourteen or fifteen hours about Boston, so that candles and hearth-fires were needed for work, meals, and telling time, animals kept the behavior of night while people knew night had not come, and fear filled minds as a token of the consummation.
The change was in appearance only, not the sun literally becoming darkness or the moon becoming literal blood. Toward evening the sky partly cleared yet the sun stayed obscured, and after sundown clouds and fast-growing darkness returned. The first half of the following night was hideously dark with no light from moon or star, and though the moon was nearly or almost full no object could be seen without artificial light through an impervious gloom. After midnight, when the darkness lifted and the moon became visible, it had the appearance of blood, like a ball of blood.
The darkness stretched east to Falmouth, west to Connecticut and Albany, south along the seacoasts, and north as far as the American settlements. Since the time of Moses no darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has been recorded, and it remains most mysterious and unexplained. The darkening of the sun by day and the moon by night stands just before the revelation of the Son of man in the most solemn and momentous period of earth's history, and it has already taken place while the church and the world remain wholly unconscious of their condition and peril.
Spirit, Deliverance and Warning
The promise belongs to the time afterward when God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, and servants and handmaids receive the Spirit. It is given for the benefit of the church in the last days, when amid great dangers it will need spiritual guidance, encouragement, and protection. It is to be kept in mind by those who love God.
Peter quoted this prophecy in his Pentecost sermon to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. That outpouring came with a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, with cloven tongues like fire sitting upon each one, and with speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. Those not under the influence of the Spirit did not recognize God's work in His own way and mocked the disciples as men full of new wine.
Only the part about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, for the signs in the sun and moon were not seen on that day. The outpouring then only began the fulfillment in the days of the apostles, while the whole prophecy extends from Pentecost through the days leading up to the great day and is to be fulfilled in the last days and even more clearly now. In that fuller fulfillment God pours out His Spirit so fully that His people become a light amid moral darkness and great light is reflected in all parts of the world.
The grouping of the outpouring of the Spirit and prophesying with disturbances in the sun and moon and stars shows that the revival and manifestation of the spirit of prophecy in all its fullness is among the especial and most noted signs of the approaching end. Dreams and visions are among the signs that precede that day, and since those signs have been and still are being fulfilled, the time has fully come for God's children to expect dreams and visions from the Lord. The gift of prophecy is interwoven with the closing message from its commencement and cannot be separated from it, and without it the work would lack one of the tests proving it is the work of the last generation.
With the signs stands the assurance that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, with deliverance in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and among the remnant whom the Lord shall call. That promise is for all whom the Lord shall call as the gospel is taught to all nations. These signs are warnings that the coming day is near.
The promise teaches trust in God instead of trusting in human power. It has special bearing upon God's people at this time, urging urgent self-denying missionary work for souls near and far because the judgments of God upon the earth are certainly not far off. Its fulfillment calls for increased faith and for ministers, medical and educational institutions, and churches to seek the Holy Spirit in a thorough, living experience so the Lord can work mightily with His people. The warning voice of the Third Angel's Message joins it in calling all who are willing to hear to prepare for the great and terrible day, while those who refuse to arouse from careless security will face Christ coming upon the unwatchful, and a present manifestation of the Spirit would be mocked in the same way as at Pentecost by those outside its influence.
The sun is to be darkened and the moon made to look like blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, as signs in the heavens warning that Christ's coming and that day are near. That foretelling was fulfilled on May 19, 1780, in the Dark Day over New England, when the sun was hidden by black clouds and brassy gloom deepening to midnight darkness at noonday, and the nearly full moon that night had the appearance of blood. Its appointed time was in those days after the tribulation of the 1260 years of papal persecution from 538 to 1798, after persecution had nearly ceased and before that period ended. It stands joined to the promise that afterward God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, which began only in part at Pentecost and is to be fulfilled in fullness in the last days with prophesying, dreams, and visions. With the signs stands the assurance that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered among the remnant, urging trust in God, urgent missionary work, and preparation for the great and terrible day.
Signs Before the Day
The sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood stand before the great and terrible day of the Lord as heavenly signs and warnings that His coming and that day are near. They are precursors placed in sequence before that day, with the outpouring of the Spirit and the promise that those who call on the Lord will be delivered. Their time was fixed to fall in those days after the tribulation of the 1260 years of papal persecution, after persecution had shortened and almost wholly ceased and before that period ended in 1798. They have occurred in the Dark Day over New England on May 19, 1780, twenty-five years after the great earthquake of 1755 and twenty-five years before the close of that period, while the day itself and the deliverance of the remnant remain still future.
The darkening and reddening belong with wider wonders in the heavens and in the earth, described as blood and fire and pillars or vapor of smoke. God shows wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, with the sun made dark and the moon made like blood or bloody before the great and notable day of the Lord comes. This belongs to the last-days promise that afterward He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, and servants and handmaids receive the Spirit.
The prophecy was not all fulfilled at Pentecost or at the beginning of the gospel era. Only the part about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit began then, when the Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, while the signs in the sun and moon were not seen on that day. The whole prophecy is to be fulfilled in the last days, extending from Pentecost through the days leading up to the great day.
The prophecy therefore spans the whole Christian age and reaches fulfillment at its close, when the latter rain is poured out and the day of the Lord is near. These heavenly signs mark the near approach of that day and belong to the prophecy's fulfillment at the close of the Christian age, not solely to Pentecost. Although the signs have occurred, the day of the Lord and the deliverance of God's remnant are still future.
Fulfilled in the Dark Day
The time appointed for the darkening of the sun and the reddening of the moon was in those days after the tribulation, after the 1260 years of papal persecution reckoned from 538 to 1798, when persecution had been shortened and had almost wholly ceased and before that period ended in 1798. It fell twenty-five years after the great earthquake of 1755 and twenty-five years before the close of the period. In that interval the sun was to be turned into darkness and the moon into blood as a token that the coming of Christ and the great and terrible day of the Lord are near.
What was foretold took place on May 19, 1780, known as the Dark Day over New England. That morning the sun rose clear or shone pale yellow, then was overcast and hidden by black ominous clouds and heavy mist, and earth and sky turned brassy and then dark as a summer evening by nine o'clock, deepening to most dense darkness shortly after eleven and to midnight darkness at noonday. The darkness continued fourteen or fifteen hours about Boston, so that candles and hearth-fires were needed for work, meals, and telling time, animals kept the behavior of night while people knew night had not come, and fear filled minds as a token of the consummation.
The change was in appearance only, not the sun literally becoming darkness or the moon becoming literal blood. Toward evening the sky partly cleared yet the sun stayed obscured, and after sundown clouds and fast-growing darkness returned. The first half of the following night was hideously dark with no light from moon or star, and though the moon was nearly or almost full no object could be seen without artificial light through an impervious gloom. After midnight, when the darkness lifted and the moon became visible, it had the appearance of blood, like a ball of blood.
The darkness stretched east to Falmouth, west to Connecticut and Albany, south along the seacoasts, and north as far as the American settlements. Since the time of Moses no darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has been recorded, and it remains most mysterious and unexplained. The darkening of the sun by day and the moon by night stands just before the revelation of the Son of man in the most solemn and momentous period of earth's history, and it has already taken place while the church and the world remain wholly unconscious of their condition and peril.
Spirit, Deliverance and Warning
The promise belongs to the time afterward when God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters prophesy, old men dream dreams, young men see visions, and servants and handmaids receive the Spirit. It is given for the benefit of the church in the last days, when amid great dangers it will need spiritual guidance, encouragement, and protection. It is to be kept in mind by those who love God.
Peter quoted this prophecy in his Pentecost sermon to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. That outpouring came with a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, with cloven tongues like fire sitting upon each one, and with speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. Those not under the influence of the Spirit did not recognize God's work in His own way and mocked the disciples as men full of new wine.
Only the part about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, for the signs in the sun and moon were not seen on that day. The outpouring then only began the fulfillment in the days of the apostles, while the whole prophecy extends from Pentecost through the days leading up to the great day and is to be fulfilled in the last days and even more clearly now. In that fuller fulfillment God pours out His Spirit so fully that His people become a light amid moral darkness and great light is reflected in all parts of the world.
The grouping of the outpouring of the Spirit and prophesying with disturbances in the sun and moon and stars shows that the revival and manifestation of the spirit of prophecy in all its fullness is among the especial and most noted signs of the approaching end. Dreams and visions are among the signs that precede that day, and since those signs have been and still are being fulfilled, the time has fully come for God's children to expect dreams and visions from the Lord. The gift of prophecy is interwoven with the closing message from its commencement and cannot be separated from it, and without it the work would lack one of the tests proving it is the work of the last generation.
With the signs stands the assurance that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, with deliverance in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and among the remnant whom the Lord shall call. That promise is for all whom the Lord shall call as the gospel is taught to all nations. These signs are warnings that the coming day is near.
The promise teaches trust in God instead of trusting in human power. It has special bearing upon God's people at this time, urging urgent self-denying missionary work for souls near and far because the judgments of God upon the earth are certainly not far off. Its fulfillment calls for increased faith and for ministers, medical and educational institutions, and churches to seek the Holy Spirit in a thorough, living experience so the Lord can work mightily with His people. The warning voice of the Third Angel's Message joins it in calling all who are willing to hear to prepare for the great and terrible day, while those who refuse to arouse from careless security will face Christ coming upon the unwatchful, and a present manifestation of the Spirit would be mocked in the same way as at Pentecost by those outside its influence.