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As I concluded in part three, I can think of two reasons why Joel might say "And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great" when describing the army of the Romans which was encamped around Jerusalem in fulfillment of Jesus' own words. The second reason is very interesting.

If there is one thing that the Holy Scriptures teach us, it is that spiritual forces -- both good and evil -- are real. Spiritual warriors and armies are likewise real. If you doubt that this is so, then please consider the following group of verses which discuss these spiritual warriors and armies in both the Old and the New Testaments. It is mind-boggling to consider what goes on all around us, unseen by human eyes:

"The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name."


"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."


"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."


"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."


"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince."


"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."


"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"


"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."


"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,"


"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."


"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."


So, where am I going with this thought? Well, consider this. If God sent His Angels to assist Joshua and the Israelites in their battle against the city of Jericho; and if Angelic Beings fought as they tried to get messages to the Prophet Daniel; and if Jesus said that He had legions of Angels at His disposal; is it possible that the opposite can occur as well? In other words, instead of assisting the Israelites, what if God also sends His Angels to assist the enemies of the Israelites -- such as General Titus and the Romans -- because they are actually performing God's Will by invading and punishing the Jews? Let's not forget that God called King Nebuchadnezzar "my servant". A heavy possibility, right?

The next big hint which helps us to identify the timing of this upcoming "great and the terrible day of the LORD" -- or "the great and dreadful day of the LORD" as Prophet Malachi referred to it -- can be found in Joel chapters two and three. In the previous set of verses I shared with you in part three, we find the following two significant verses:

"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 and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining."


As I asked you earlier regarding another verse, do these two verses sound familiar to you? Again, they should, because the very same description is used by three different individuals in the New Testament to describe the upcoming "day of the Lord" which occurred in 70 AD. That is right, folks, we are almost done with the Old Testament prophecies which concern the First Century "day of the Lord". The three people who used similar terminology are Jesus, the Apostle Peter, and the Apostle John. Consider the following verses as proof:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:"


"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken."


"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:"


"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;"


It is commonly believed that the terminology which is used in the previous verses is describing a solar eclipse, and a lunar eclipse. While some verses state that the Moon turns into blood, while others say that the Moon shall not give her light, these words are in reality describing the very same phenomenon, because as many of you will know, during a lunar eclipse, the Moon does in fact darken, and during the peak of the eclipse, it turns into a beautiful orangish-red color. Similar to myself, I am sure that many of you have seen it firsthand. It is amazing!

In part three of this series, I pointed out to you that the Prophet Malachi clearly wrote that Elijah -- meaning John the Baptist -- would arrive on the scene in Israel BEFORE "the great and dreadful day of the LORD". In other words, John's appearance did NOT signify the arrival of the day of the Lord just yet. John's appearance was simply a precursor to "the great and dreadful day of the LORD". So we move up a few centuries, and in the Gospels we find Jesus describing the very same astronomical events as the Prophets in the Old Testament. In short, Jesus is clearly confirming that their prophecies have not been fulfilled quite yet, but they are on the cusp of being fulfilled. The time is drawing near.

Then, as if that isn't already enough, sometime after John the Baptist has been beheaded, and fifty days after Jesus has been crucified during the feast of the Passover, and shortly after he and the other Apostles have been filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two, the Apostle Peter himself stands up with the other eleven Apostles and quotes directly from the Prophet Joel. Oh but guess what? Not only does Peter mention the Sun being darkened and the Moon being turned into blood, but look at what else he quoted from the Prophet Joel:

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:"


Now, as I point out in the article called "Are the Gifts of the Spirit for Today?", some modern-day Christians twist and distort the words of the Prophet Joel, and erroneously claim that his prophecy is being fulfilled in our modern day. But that is most certainly NOT what Peter is saying. Just as he and Jesus both said that Joel's prophecy regarding the Sun and the Moon were fulfilled during the First Century, Peter is saying the same thing regarding people being filled with the Holy Spirit, and giving prophecies, and having dreams and visions.

That is why Peter precisely says "this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel". In other words, Peter is saying, "This is happening right NOW! This is what Joel prophesied would happen. What you are now witnessing with your very own eyes is what Joel was talking about!" When did Peter and the other Apostles say this? Right after they themselves had just been filled with the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of Joel's very prophecy.

HOWEVER, the clincher is this: Just as Malachi wrote that Elijah would appear "BEFORE the great and dreadful day of the LORD", and just as the Prophet Joel also wrote that the signs he mentioned would occur "BEFORE the great and the terrible day of the LORD come", and just as Jesus said that the Sun would be darkened and the Moon turned into blood right BEFORE He would return, the Apostles are saying the very same thing. In other words, once again, they are NOT saying that the day of the Lord had already arrived. By quoting Joel, they are saying that these signs would occur BEFORE the great day of the Lord arrives, and THEN the day of the Lord would come.

To summarize, in addition to all of the other signs which Jesus gave in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 regarding the end of the age -- meaning the last days of the Seventy Weeks prophecy of the Prophet Daniel -- and His return, we see this progression of events:

1. The spirit of Elijah appears via John the Baptist during the First Century.

2. God's Spirit is poured out on all flesh resulting in various manifestations including prophecies, dreams and visions during the First Century.

3. The Sun is darkened and the Moon turns to blood.

When do all of these events occur? BEFORE the day of the Lord arrives. So what is the next glorious event on God's agenda after these other things have been fulfilled? Jesus tells us plainly in the Gospels, as do the two Angels in the Book of Acts, as does the Apostle Paul in his Epistles, as does Peter in one of his Epistles, and as does John in the Book of Revelation. Consider the following group of verses as clear proof of this point:

"And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."


"And THEN shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."


"And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."


"And Jesus said, I am: and ye -- meaning the high priest and other Sanhedrin members He was speaking to -- shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."


"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."


"To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved IN THE DAY OF THE LORD JESUS."


"For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours IN THE DAY OF THE LORD JESUS."


"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it UNTIL THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST:"


"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that THE DAY OF THE LORD so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But YE, BRETHREN, ARE NOT IN DARKNESS, that that day should overtake you as a thief."


"But THE DAY OF THE LORD will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto THE COMING OF THE DAY OF GOD, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"


"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: -- meaning the Romans -- and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen."


"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY."


My friends, ALL of the previous verses are talking about the very same wonderful event. It is referred to as the day of the Lord, the day of Jesus Christ, the day of God, and the great day of God Almighty. It is the second coming of Jesus Christ in the company and glory of His holy Father, exactly as Jesus stated in the following verses:

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."


"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


Now it is quiz time, my friends, and there's only one simple question on this quiz: If all of the aforementioned signs were fulfilled during the First Century as the Prophets had written, and as Jesus and the Apostles confirmed, then when was Jesus due to return? Isn't the answer rather obvious? It doesn't take a rocket science to figure it out. But, if you still have doubts about this, and if you want to dig deeper into this subject, and see even more Scriptural proof, along with historical evidence which confirms what the Bible says, then I invite you to read my seven-part series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?". You will find it listed at the end of this same series.

But let me give you one big hint. Please notice that in his Epistle to the brethren at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul very clearly states "YE, BRETHREN, ARE NOT IN DARKNESS". To whom is Paul speaking in those verses? Is it to Christians who are living today? Or is it to the Christians of the First Century to whom he was writing? What are they not in darkness about? The return of Jesus Christ! Why would Paul even say that to them if Jesus was not going to return for another two thousand years?

With these verses, we have now covered every single verse in the KJV Bible where the phrase "the day of the Lord" is used. To my knowledge, I have not missed any of them. And in every single case, we have come to learn that each time this phrase is used, it involves God's divine judgment, chastisement and the destruction of a certain people. Lastly, in every single case, these verses all describe events which occurred in the distant past as fulfilled prophecies. This includes the sad events which occurred in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple compound were destroyed, and 600,000 to 1,000,000 Jews were killed during the First Jewish-Roman War, and many thousands of other Jews were carried away captive to other regions of the Roman Empire. Again, you will find these events explained in more detail in other articles which are listed at the end of this series.

Stated more clearly, my friends, there is not one single case where the phrase "the day of the Lord" is used to describe the return of the Lord Jesus Christ sometime during the 21st Century. Folks, it is just not there, contrary to the rather misguided opinion of the Futurist-leaning Christians who are constantly setting false dates, and continuously shouting "Jesus is coming soon! Jesus is coming soon!" After almost two hundred years of such false predictions, one would think that these foolish people would finally get a clue, and come to realize that there is something very wrong with their understanding.

Sadly, many of these people are so deceived by Futurism, that any time someone tries to explain to them what the Scriptures actually state, their reaction is to immediately accuse that person of being deceived, a misguided teacher, a false prophet or worse terms. In other words, they prefer their deception instead of the Scriptural truth. Hopefully, some of them will eventually come around, just as I did after being a dedicated Futurist for forty-two years of my adult Christian life.

I began this series by issuing a warning regarding those young Christians who, while probably well-meaning and good intentioned, try to teach the Word of God to others, when they really have no business doing so, because they have not yet themselves been properly grounded in the Scriptures. In their pride they may THINK that they are, but going by some of the things they share, it is rather obvious that they are not. Having said that, before concluding this series, let me again emphasize the importance of making sure that we are teaching Scripturally sound doctrine by sharing several more Bible verses with you concerning the subject of misguided, novice teachers who twist and pervert the meaning of God's Word:

"And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."


"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"


"If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."


"From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"


"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."


"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."


"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."


With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Comet Elenin, Hercolubus, Nibiru, and Planet X
Elijah: Where Are the True Prophets of God?
Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers
He That Shall Endure Unto the End
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Modern Deception: Shall a Nation Be Born at Once?
Modern Deceptions: Return to Israel, the Fig Tree and This Generation
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Sex, a Bowl of Soup and the Nature of Angels
The Fruits of Disobedience
The Misguided End of the World Predictions of Harold Camping
The Office of Prophets and Teachers
Who Hindered the Antichrist?

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