Joel 2:1

(Chapter 2 — Verses 1 onwards) Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, a large and strong people appears, such as has never been before and will never be again in generations to come. Before them, a devouring fire; behind them, a blazing flame. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them, it is a desolate wilderness. There is no escape from them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. With a sound like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. Before them, peoples are in anguish; all faces turn pale. They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his own column. They burst through the weapons and are not halted. They run to and fro in the city; they run along the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like a thief. But they will also fall through the windows and not be destroyed, they will enter the city, run on the wall, climb the houses, they will enter through the windows like a thief. The earth shook before his face, the heavens were moved, the sun and moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their brightness, and the Lord gave his voice before his army, for his camps are very numerous, because they are strong and do his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it? LXX: Blow 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 comes, for it is near at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. Before him a devouring fire, and behind him a flame kindled. As a paradise of pleasure is the land before his face; but his latter end shall be as a barren wilderness, and he shall not be saved. As the appearance of horses, so are they; and as horsemen, so shall they run. As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, and as the sound of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before his face the people shall be in anguish; all faces shall be as flames. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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? Again, by the metaphor of locusts, the onslaught of the Chaldeans is described, and the prophet is commanded, or rather through the prophet all who can hear the word of God, to exalt their voice like a trumpet, and to proclaim in Zion, and to sound the alarm on his holy mountain, so that the people of Jerusalem may tremble at the noise of the cry and trumpet. And when, he says, you have sung, say this: Surely the day of the Lord will no longer be delayed, that is, the day of vengeance and retribution; the captivity is near, the army has already come forth from its place in Babylon, the day of darkness and distress is close, a day of gloom and cloud and whirlwind, in which all the light of joy (or rather of righteousness) will be taken away, and all things will be overwhelmed by darkness. Just as, he says, the morning and dawn suddenly dispel darkness, and the sunrise illuminates all the mountains, so the Babylonian army will be poured out over your entire land. And do not think that this is a weak crowd, it is a numerous and strong people, unlike any other nation that has existed in the past or will exist in the future: whatever it touches, it will consume like a voracious flame, and it will leave nothing behind; it is like a garden and paradise, all the land that it does not touch: it is like a desert and wasteland, whatever it has plundered, and there will be no one who can escape its grasp. Their appearance is like that of fierce horses, and they run here and there like horsemen. Not that they are to be compared to Babylonian horsemen; but they are called horsemen because they appear to run here and there like locusts in the movement of the enemy: Just as the sound of chariots and horses, so will be the sound of locusts. They will leap over the tops of the mountains, as if to climb every lofty place; and just as quickly as fire consumes straw, so the sound and terror of their voices will lay waste to everything. And what he brings in: just as a strong people prepared for battle, they bring back to the locusts, so that it seems that they are bringing back not as from enemies, but as from locusts; and yet while we read about the locusts, let us think of the Babylonians. Such will be the terror, that all nations around will tremble, both in spirit and in body, indeed they will be tormented: and by the magnitude of fear, the faces of all will be turned into the likeness of pots, which, when burned by fire, show the blackness and soot of a hideous appearance. He says, 'They move about, as it were, like strong men, no doubt locusts; and, as it were, like warriors, they ascend the wall, so that the height of the walls is unable to withstand the attack of the strong, and they do not enter through the gates but rather through the walls. They will go in their own paths and will not deviate from their tracks. We recently saw this in this province. For when the swarms of locusts came and occupied the space between the sky and the earth, they flew in such great order by the arrangement of God's command, as if they were small tiles laid by the hand of a craftsman on the floor, each in its own place, not deviating even by a point, and, so to speak, not even by a single crosswise slit.' And to make the metaphor clear, he said they will fall through the windows and not be destroyed. For locusts have no obstacle, since they can penetrate fields, crops, trees, cities, houses, and the secrets of bedrooms. However, this is said about locusts in order to be understood about enemies. And what we have interpreted as 'they will fall through the windows and not be destroyed,' the LXX translated as 'they will go heavily burdened in their weapons and they will fall through their spears and not be consumed.' But it seems to me that this does not fit with the order of the explanation, but rather that there has been an error in it, because we understood the Hebrew word Sala as 'spears' and not as 'windows.' And he continues the narrative, saying that they enter the city, run through the walls, climb on the houses, and enter through the windows like thieves, not because they have the fear of thieves who are victors; but just as thieves usually enter through windows and secretly steal, so they, with the doors closed, will burst in fully with audacity through the windows without any delay. The earth trembled at the sight of these locusts, and the heavens were moved, let us understand this hyperbolically stated, not because the force of locusts or enemies is so great that it can move the heavens and shake the earth; but because to those enduring adversity, it seems as if the sky is falling and the earth is trembling due to the magnitude of terror. Finally, due to the multitude of locusts covering the sky, the sun and moon will turn into darkness, and the stars will withdraw their splendor. While the light is placed in the midst of the cloud of locusts, it does not allow it to reach the earth. The Lord will also give his voice before the face of such a powerful army, for his camps are many, and the greatness of his power is demonstrated even in small creatures. But these many camps, and countless strong ones, are too numerous and perform his word. By saying this, it is shown that the Babylonians will come by the will of God, and they will obtain their rule. 'It is a great day of the Lord,' he says, 'when Jerusalem must be taken, and it is exceedingly terrible, and no one will be able to endure it, and will necessarily escape captivity or death.' I did not want to divide the connected and coherent passage, lest what was one in meaning be picked apart in different chapters. Let us move on to spiritual understanding, repeating each and every thing. We read of the sound of trumpets and horns not only in the book of Leviticus and Numbers (Num. X), in which it is commanded that Moses make two silver trumpets, to be played on the first day of each month, on the seventh month, on the day of jubilee, and on other festivals, as well as when going to battle, by those who are assigned to this duty; but it is also written that the walls of Jericho fell at the sound of the trumpets (Joshua VI). And the Lord says that he will send an angel with the blast of a trumpet (Matt. XXIV), and the Apostle preaches that the resurrection of the dead will occur at the sound of the trumpet (I Cor. XV). And in the Apocalypse of John, we read that seven angels received seven trumpets, and as they sounded them in order, the events described in Scripture occurred (Apoc. VIII). Therefore, priests and teachers are now commanded to exalt their voices like a trumpet, and fulfill what is written: 'Go up to a high mountain, O herald of good tidings to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, O herald of good tidings to Jerusalem' (Isaiah XLVIII, 9), so that the trumpet may sound in Zion, that is, in the Church, which is interpreted as a watchtower and exalted place. And on the holy mountain of God, which is Christ, let all the inhabitants of the earth be troubled or confounded, and may confusion lead them to salvation. Understand the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, or the day of the departure of each body. For what will happen to everyone on the day of judgment, is fulfilled in each person on the day of death. It is a day of darkness and distress, a day of clouds and whirlwinds; for it is full of punishments and torments. A multitude of strong angelic people will come to render to each according to their deeds; and just as the morning and rising dawn first occupy the mountains, so judgment will begin from on high and the powerful, so that the powerful may endure powerful torments. There was no one like him before, and there will be none after him, for generations and generations (Wisdom 6). For all the evils that are contained in the ancient histories, whether it be the flood of the sea, the overflow of rivers, the plague, diseases, famine, wild beasts, or the devastation of enemies, cannot be compared to the punishments that will be rendered on the day of judgment. Before the face of this people, who is strong and numerous, there will be a devouring and consuming fire, so that it may consume everything in us like hay, wood, and straw. Therefore, it is said about God: God is a consuming fire, and after Him, a burning flame (Deut. IV, 24); so that He may leave nothing without punishment. Whoever this people does not touch, nor comes into contact with the material of combustion, will be likened to the garden of God and the paradise of pleasure, which in Hebrew is called Eden. But whoever shall have burned him, will reduce him to ashes and embers, and there is no one who can escape his fury, whose cruel appearance will resemble the snorting of raging horses, and thus they will rush to torment those whom they have taken into their power, like horsemen flying here and there: their sound will be terrible, like chariots rushing down steep slopes; and they will leap over the tops of mountains, desiring to torment even those placed in high positions on the pinnacle of the Church. And because before their face there is a voracious fire, and consuming, dry things shall be laid waste, even as tow burnt by the flame: so shall they be in the sight of the punishments, that are to come. They shall be swift in running to and fro like sparks among the reeds. They shall devour diverse things as stubble fully dry. They shall devour the earth and her increase as the standing corn, with the stalks thereof, as the grasshoppers. They shall gather together in the cold time, as the creeping things that live in the desert. The spirit of the Lord is their mouth: and his anger shall burn in their wrath, and his words devour: for his spirit is as fire overflowing, that kindleth the wrath of his enemies, and inflameth his advarsaries in a flame. By this shall they be visited from the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. But they will also enter through the windows, whether they fall or climb; or they will walk burdened with their weapons, and those whom they receive will fall, to be consumed. These are the windows of which Jeremiah also says: Death will enter through our windows (Jer. VI, 21): for the enemy desires to enter all our senses and take possession of the city of good conscience, to run through our defenses, and to destroy the homes that we have built with good works. But they do all things through the windows, like a thief: for they do not enter freely, so as to shoot straight in the darkness with a straight heart (Psalms 10). From the face of this people, who is many and strong, the earth trembled, and the heavens were moved. For the heavens and the earth will pass away, but the word of the Lord remains forever (Matthew 24). But even the sun and the moon will not be able to see such great punishments of the wicked, and they will mourn, not having the righteousness of their duty, and for the bright light, they will be covered with terrible darkness; even the stars will withhold their brightness, while those who are holy will not see the presence of the Lord without fear. In all these things, the Lord will give his voice, before the face of his army. For just as the Babylonians punishing Jerusalem are called the army of God, so too the wicked angels (of whom it is written: They provoked him with their high places, and moved him to zeal with their graven images - Psalms 78:58), are called the army of God, and are referred to as his camps, while they carry out the will of the Lord. Great is the day of the Lord and terrible, of which it is written elsewhere: Why do you desire the day of the Lord? - Amos 5. And here is darkness, and not light; and very terrible; and rare or none will be able to endure him, without offering himself the material of raging.

The terror of the strict inquest, which Zephaniah calls “the trumpet,” blessed Job designates “thundering.” Joel, also viewing it, says, “Let all the inhabitants of the land be troubled, for the Day of the Lord comes; for it is nigh at hand, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of cloud and whirlwind.” For the Day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who shall sustain it? But how incomprehensible and unimaginable that greatness with which he shall come in his second coming! In some degree we estimate correctly if we consider with heedful reflection the momentous circumstances of his first advent. Surely the Lord came to die, and the impoverishment and punishments of our flesh he underwent in his own body that he might redeem us from death. Before he came to the stock of the cross he suffered to be bound, to be spit on, to be mocked and to be beaten with blows on his cheek. Observe to what disgraceful treatment he consented to come for our sakes, and yet, before he permitted himself to be laid hold of, he questioned his persecutors, saying, “Whom do you seek?” To that they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” And when he said to them directly, “I am he,” he only uttered a voice of the mildest answer, and at once prostrated his armed persecutors to the earth. What then shall he do when he comes to judge the world, if by one utterance of his voice he struck down his enemies even when he came to be judged? What is that judgment which he exercises as immortal, that a single utterance of it could not be endured when he was about to die? Who may sustain his wrath when his very mildness even could not be sustained? So then, let the holy man consider it and say, “And while we scarcely hear a little drop of his words, who shall be able to look on the thundering of his majesty?”

The day of the Lord: That is, the time when he will execute justice upon sinners.