God’s wrath or his refuge?
Choose wisely.
Joel 2:25 - God says..
"I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
my great army that I sent against you."
Joel 2:28 and God says...
"I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions."
Joel 2:32 And again God says..
"Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved..."
What can be said of all the prophets, the one common theme, is that God is in control; not only of those who recognize him and call upon him, but also of all the nations and generations who have been the enemies of his people Israel. All the evils perpetuated by those various warlike nations surrounding all of Israel has been by his design. These nations are the conduit for God's wrath against his people who had prostituted themselves to the Baals and many other false gods. And it seems very appropriate that the same nations that Israel allowed to pollute their worship should also bring about their destruction.
But all this wrath was designed to produce genuine love. Israel must decide. They are to decide to which side they belong. Too whom are they truly devoted. God says, they are in the valley of decision (Joel 3:14) "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley..."
God’s wrath or his refuge?
If they choose wisely they'll experience the golden age. It will become perfectly clear to them that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Lord and that he is capable of doing all that the prophet claims on His behalf. God shows his great graciousness and his willingness to forgive the repentant people who call upon his name in love and thanksgiving. God gives them his Spirit, by whom he is constantly present with his people. He is within the people causing revelation and inspiration in their dreams, visions, and prophecies. The wicked spirits are defeated and all the warlike nations are completely destroyed. God gives them back the years that the locust took. To everyone who comes before his judgment, and calls upon his name, from love they will be saved.
Hundreds of years later the apostle Peter stands up on the day of Pentecost and announces the fulfillment of this prophecy...
Acts 2:16,17
"This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel."
"And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then..."
God pours himself out upon us by his Spirit, he stirs up in us true images and conceptions of his unfailing love, his beauty, his power, mercy, truth and holiness. And his Spirit quickens our mind and heart so that we'll respond properly to what we've received.
Pray for the fulfilling of Joel 2:28 in your own experience, and set your gaze firmly on God's beauty in Scripture. And the fruit of that prayer will be prophetic inspirations. As you dream, and manifest visions, God is filling your essence with his Spirit. And since the mouth is the pressure relief value of the inner person, your dreams and visions will manifest prophesy. And that manifestation is the evidence of your genuine love and faith, it's the outpouring of God's Spirit at work in you. The Holy Spirit is the evidence of you having chosen wisely.