Joel’s End-Times Warning: The Coming Battle and the Hope Fear Cannot Destroy
The first chapter of Joel included an outline of the entire book and a prophetic look into the future of Israel all the way to the coming of Jesus Christ to rule the world.
This outline was given through four locust invasions that came to Israel, each one more destructive than the previous.
The final invasion so devastated Israel, it seemed as if the nation would never survive. The four locust invasions foretold: first, of two coming Assyrian attacks by two different kings; followed by a third future attack by Rome, which would scatter the nation of Israel into the other nations of the world. The fourth attack is yet to come from an international army headed up by the antichrist, named in the Bible as the battle of Armageddon.
The story of the four invasions and God’s ability to protect Israel, despite the size and power of the enemy, told the people God had a future for His people and that no weapon of any size would prosper against them.
Now, beginning with Joel chapter 2, we take a detailed look at Armageddon. The first 14 verses of chapter 2 present a view of the battle of Armageddon from inside the city of Jerusalem. Verses 15 to the end of the chapter move outside the city and tell of the return of Jesus to save Israel from the attacking armies of the world. Jesus will then take His eternal rulership of the world as He sits on the temple throne in Jerusalem. And finally, chapter 3 is a view of the attack of Jesus Himself from outside Jerusalem, in the enemy’s camp.
With all this in mind, let’s take a close look at the first 14 verses of the second chapter of Joel.
Sound the Alarm
“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 is coming, for it is at hand” (Joel 2:1).
“Blow the trumpet in Zion” is a call to battle. It is not a trumpet—this is not an instrument of music—but a ram’s horn, a shofar. Later, in verse 15, Joel says, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly” (Joel 2:15 KJV). In that verse, a trumpet will be a true trumpet.
The shofar of verse 1 introduces an assembly of the troops to fight the battle of Armageddon. The trumpet in verse 15 sounds a call to assemble the elect from the four winds and join the millennial reign of Jesus.
“Sound an alarm in My holy mountain…for the day of the Lord is coming.” The day of the Lord is the day of the second advent, or arrival, of Jesus when He will come from heaven with His saints and angels to bring an end to the battle of Armageddon and begin His 1,000-year reign on earth.
The Approaching Army
Before Jesus leaves heaven to return to earth in glory, several events will take place first. As Joel chapter 2 opens, we find one of these events. Israel is surrounded by her enemies gathered on her borders, like vultures around a dead carcass. The ram’s horn is blown to sound the alarm. The time of the invasion has arrived.
“A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations” (Joel 2:2).
“A people come, great and strong.” In this verse we see an army that covers the land like a plague of locusts coming against Israel. So many are on the land and in the air that the sun is blotted out by their numbers. Like clouds of swarming insects, they come, blanketing the sky and land like thick darkness.
In Joel’s day, locust swarms were commonplace. They were so thick they blotted out the light of the sun at midday, and so noisy they could be heard coming for miles in every direction. So devastating, they struck terror in the hearts of the bravest of men. At the sight and sound of such hordes of devouring attackers, the people shook in fear because there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Joel is saying an attack of locusts is the best comparison to the attack against Jerusalem at Armageddon. This huge and numberless army will descend on the tiny nation of Israel. The people will see and hear them approaching like giant clouds of locusts, laying waste to everything in their path. Never before has such an army existed, and never again in human history will there be one like it.
“Like the morning spread over the mountains.” Isn’t it beautiful to watch the sunrise over mountains? But before the sun makes its appearance over the mountaintops, its light shines through and around the mountains. The rising of the sun can be anticipated before it actually takes place. But what can be done to stop it? Nothing. No matter how mighty or courageous a person or people may be, there is no power on earth strong enough to hold back the dawn.
This is how it will be when this enormous army begins its final assault on Israel. Joel says Israel will look across the mountains outside of Jerusalem and see and hear the marching hordes. Though they can see and hear the armies coming, they will be powerless to prevent the attack on Jerusalem and their own deaths. The army will come pouring through the mountain passes and over the tops of the hills like waves of the ocean rolling in on the beach. As they flood everything in their path, they will be as unstoppable as the sunrise. Nothing will be able to hold them back.
“The like of whom has never been, nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations.” There will never be another earthly army like this one, and for a very good reason. From the view of the enemy, the battle is intended to wipe out Israel forever. From God’s view, this battle will usher in the eternal reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think many inhabitants of Jerusalem, on that day, will remember the prophecy of Joel. Jesus Christ will appear personally to defeat this huge army and deliver His people. I hope this thought crosses your mind too: no matter how big Satan’s attack may be against you, no matter how powerful your situation looks, and how powerless you feel—because God is for you, who can be against you? The God who split the Red Sea to deliver His people and caused the earth to stop its rotation so Joshua could win a battle, is your God too. One Man, Jesus Christ, will win this battle and defeat the giant army coming against His people. He has never failed and will never fail. He is on your side, and you are on His.
“A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is like the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; surely nothing shall escape them” (Joel 2:3).
In front of the invading armies of the antichrist will be huge flames of fire caused by the enemy’s flamethrowers. This creates great explosions and rapidly spreading fire, causing the fields to burn and giving no place for the military of Israel to hide. This is the cause of all the destruction we read about at the end of chapter 1.
“The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them is a desolate wilderness.” The land looked like a beautiful garden in front of the invading armies, but the military burned it all. By the time the armies marched through the field, the field was gone. Now all that was left was bare ground and small fires.
If you go to Israel today you will see the Jewish people have turned what used to be dry, barren land into lush fields of fruits and vegetables. Through creative ways to conserve water, combined with new methods to grow crops, Israel has turned the desert into a garden, an abundant land of crops and vegetation. Fulfilling Isaiah 35:1, the desert now blossoms like a rose. And it will continue to blossom as the rightful owners of the land remain. This is God’s land for God’s people.
But the incoming armies of nations who hate Israel will want to turn this beautiful garden into an ash heap. This is a description of what the land looked like after four invasions of locusts had come through. Joel likens this invading army to the hordes of locusts that blotted out the sun and completely stripped away the land and vegetation.
You can see why Joel described the four locust invasions as plagues, each one worse than the ones before. Perhaps Joel had a vision of this coming destruction and had a limited vocabulary to describe it. These are weapons we understand today, but Joel was looking thousands of years into the future. He did his best, but he had never seen military machines and means of destruction like the armies of the antichrist.
But no matter how good their weapons and machinery are, they cannot beat Jesus Himself, who will conquer them all in a matter of minutes. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—and Jesus—will defend Israel.
Is Jesus your Defender? He must first be your Savior. By accepting Him as the Lord of your life, you belong to God.
And once you belong to Him, He will defend you in the worst of situations.
The antichrist has a plan to take Jerusalem in two days. He successfully makes it through the first day with little to no resistance and plans to finish the job the next day. Even with only one day left, Jesus will stop all of the antichrist’s goals and Satan’s plans. And at the end of the battle, instead of the antichrist seated in the temple of God, Jesus will be there. Remember, if Jesus is your Lord, you can also claim Him as your Defender.
“Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like swift steeds, so they run” (Joel 2:4).
This verse speaks of the precision of this army—an obvious reference to tanks and other armored vehicles. To the eyes of an ancient prophet like Joel, who was seeing all these events ahead of time in a vision, a modern, technologically equipped army must have been beyond his powers of description. The speed and maneuverability of self-propelled war machinery could only be likened, in Joel’s day, to a troop of well-trained and well-armed cavalry operating in unity and precision like never seen before.
“With a noise like chariots over mountaintops they leap, like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array” (Joel 2:5).
Joel is impressed with their precision, and he is also amazed by their agility to leap over mountains in full battle gear. I don’t want to date this book, but this so reminds me of movies such as Star Wars where legions of droid armies march in per-fect order and can jump from the ground to the tops of walls and then run atop the walls with great speed.
AI (artificial intelligence) will definitely increase and continue, and many fears will come to pass. Armies will one day be mostly mechanical and electrical, computer driven. But who knows? What Joel saw was probably far beyond what I can even imagine. But whatever the best and greatest man is able to create, God is still greater.
Joel tried to describe the battle and weapons used and simply said it was like the noise of a flaming fire that will strike terror in the hearts of those who see and hear it.
What Joel saw was simply the first waves of attack from this devouring army as the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem watch in amazement and horror. The stubble was not just the trees and vegetation, but the very inhabitants of Israel. What fear must grip the people as they try to keep their trust in God, whose deliverance is so close.
“Before them the people writhe in pain; all faces are drained of color” (Joel 2:6).
“The people writhe in much pain.” Literally this expression means “to be in anguish.” The anguish of what has been destroyed is mixed with the fear of what is about to happen. The Hebrew literally says their faces are white. They are not just drained of color but are as pale as possible because of fear and anguish.
“They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; everyone marches in formation, and they do not break ranks” (Joel 2:7).
A number of years ago, a popular chorus was sung making us the ones who climb the walls and march in formation with-out breaking rank as the armies of God, declaring His Word. I must point out that, in light of this prophecy of Joel, that just does not make any sense.
The truth is, you and I are not going to be part of the army that will rush on the city and run on the walls of Jerusalem! This is a description, not of “the army that carries out God’s Word,” but of a demon-possessed army that will enter the city to carry out the will of Satan and destroy Jerusalem.
This passage is actually a distress call, an alarm to awaken the people of Israel, to warn them of the destruction that is about to fall on them at the hands of this ruthless and seemingly unbeatable enemy.
“And they do not break ranks.” This will be one of the finest-tuned military organizations in history. Satan will have assembled the most disciplined force the world has ever seen.
“They do not push one another; everyone marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down” (Joel 2:8).
“They do not push one another.” This is really a poor translation. The Hebrew says, “one shall not crowd the other.” This testifies to the discipline and training of the troops involved.
This will be a coordinated attack—a team effort of the highest order. Every man will hold his position. He will march straight ahead, not seeking individual victory or recognition, never crowding or jostling his fellow soldier on either side. This army will present a truly unified front as it marches forward, rank after rank.
“Though they lunge between the weapons, they are not cut down.” This phrase could also be better translated; it should read, “When they break through the defenses, they shall not change their course.”
In addition to firm discipline and coordinated effort, this army will have great advantage—unity of purpose. They will march forth as one man, with one common, demon-inspired objective: the total annihilation of the nation of Israel and God’s chosen people, the Jews who live there.
“They run to and fro in the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter at the windows like a thief” (Joel 2:9).
“They run to and fro in the city.” Despite the best efforts of the defenders, this army will run through the city of Jerusalem at will, wreaking havoc as they go. Before such an army, there will be no hope of escape, no place of refuge. Nothing and no one will be safe from them. The city will be theirs for the taking.
“The earthquakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness” (Joel 2:10).
Just when things are at their worst, something strange occurs. God sends a supernatural earthquake. The sun will not shine, and the moon will be darkened. The stars will not show light, and the earth will be dark for a day. For 24 hours the entire earth will be held captive under a paralyzing blanket of darkness.
During these 24 hours, God is going to give the world one last chance to accept Jesus as their Savior. The last chapter of Joel deals with the great battle that will be fought in the Valley of Megiddo. Joel refers to it as the “valley of decision” (Joel 3:14). For 24 hours the enemies of God will have one final opportunity to decide to accept Jesus Christ and be saved. At the end of that period of darkness—that long night of decision—it will be too late. For then, in a flash like lightning, the Lord Jesus will make a grand entrance to earth. At that point, every eye will see Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
But for those who waited until the 24 hours were over, it will be too late.
Understand the Day of the Lord—and Live with Unshakable Hope in the Last Days.
Are you confused about end-times prophecy, the rapture, and the second coming of Christ? Do headlines stir fear instead of faith? Have you wondered how the book of Joel connects to your life today—and what the “day of the Lord” really means for you?
The answers are not hidden in speculation or sensationalism. They are found in God’s unchanging Word.
Through careful, Scripture-by-Scripture teaching, Bob Yandian unveils the prophetic timeline revealed in Joel—clarifying the difference between the rapture and the second coming, the Tribulation and the Millennium, judgment and restoration. With pastoral insight and unwavering confidence in biblical truth, he shows you that prophecy is not meant to frighten you—but to anchor you in faith.
In these pages, you’ll discover how to:
Distinguish clearly between the rapture of the Church and Christ’s visible return to rule.
Understand the purpose of the Tribulation and God’s mercy even in judgment.
Recognize the signs and sequence of Armageddon and the Valley of Decision.
Replace fear of the end times with faith in the faithfulness of God’s Word.
Live today in the power of the Holy Spirit—the “latter rain” already poured out.
You were never meant to dread the future. The same Jesus who rescues, restores, and reigns is your shelter and strength. Satan’s rebellion has an expiration date. God’s promises do not. The Day of the Lord is not the triumph of darkness—it is the ultimate revelation of Christ’s glory.
