Joel 2 · The Lantern

The Army of Locusts

Blow the horn in Zion, and raise a shout on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming — for it is near:

a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness. Like dawn spread over the mountains, a people many and mighty; there has never been the like from of old, and after it there will not be again, to the years of generation after generation.

Before it a fire devours, and behind it a flame scorches. Like the garden of Eden is the land before it, and behind it a desolate wilderness — and there is no escape from it.

Like the appearance of horses is its appearance, and like horsemen, so they run.

Like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap, like the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble, like a mighty people arrayed for war.

Before it peoples writhe; all faces gather a glow.

Like mighty men they run; like men of war they climb a wall. And each goes on his ways, and they do not swerve from their paths.

And one does not press his brother; each goes on his highway. And they fall among the weapons — they are not cut off.

They rush into the city, they run on the wall, they climb into the houses; through the windows they come like a thief.

Before it the earth trembles, the heavens quake; sun and moon are darkened, and the stars gather in their brightness.

And the LORD gives his voice before his army, for his camp is very great; for mighty is the one doing his word. For great is the day of the LORD and very fearful — and who can endure it?

But since these are light perceived by the senses, which are said in Moses to have come into existence on the fourth day, they are not the true light because they enlighten the things on the earth. The Savior, on the other hand, is the light of the spiritual world because he shines on those who are rational and intellectual, that their mind may see its proper visions.

He also very cleverly called one day not the first; for the following second, and third day, and thereafter the rest, he could have called the first: and this seemed to be an order, but he established a law, that only twenty-four hours of daylight and darkness should be defined by name for one day, so that if he were to say: "The measure of twenty-four hours is the time of one…

When a maidservant is rebelling but then sees her master coming, she grows humble and returns to her good behavior. So too the paralytic's body had revolted like the maidservant, and this caused the paralysis. But when the body saw its master coming near, it returned to its good behavior and resumed its proper discipline. And the word of Christ accomplished all this.

Return with All Your Heart

And yet even now — the utterance of the LORD — return to me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with lamentation.

I, the messenger of repentance, say unto you, Fear not the devil; for I was sent to be with you who repent with all your heart, and to make you strong in faith.

(Verse 12 and following) Now therefore says the Lord: Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and tear your hearts, not your clothing, and turn to the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and relents from punishing.

Our Lord and Savior exhorts us through the prophet and advises us how we ought to come to him after much negligence, saying, "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord who made us"; and again, "Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." If we notice carefully, dearest brethren, the holy days of Lent signify the life of the p…

And rend your heart and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God — for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loyal love, and relents over evil.

Let each one confess his sin, I beseech you, brethren, while he who has sinned is still in this world, while his confession can be admitted, while the satisfaction and remission effected through the priest is pleasing with the Lord. Let us turn to the Lord with our whole mind, and, expressing repentance for our sin with true grief, let us implore God's mercy.

"Rend your hearts, not your garments," that is, have recourse to thoughts of compunction, soften the obduracy of your thinking, accept beneficial advice, abandon the way of vice and travel by that way which leads directly to God.

How well does the holy prophet teach that the seeds of good works must be watered by a river of tears! No seeds germinate unless they are watered; nor does fruit come forth from the seed if deprived of the aid of water.

Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him — a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God.

Blow the horn in Zion; sanctify a fast; call an assembly.

Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children and those nursing at the breasts. Let the bridegroom go out from his room, and the bride from her canopy.

Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, and let them say: Have pity, LORD, on your people, and do not give your inheritance to reproach, for nations to rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, “Where is their God?”

Restoration Promised

And the LORD was jealous for his land, and he spared his people.

And the LORD answered and said to his people: Look, I am sending you the grain and the new wine and the fresh oil, and you will be satisfied with it; and I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

And the northerner I will remove far from you, and I will drive him into a land of drought and desolation, his face toward the eastern sea and his rear toward the western sea. And his stench will go up, and his foul smell will go up — for he has done great things.

Do not fear, ground; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.

Do not fear, beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness have sprouted; for the tree has borne its fruit, the fig tree and the vine have given their strength.

David said that "the Lord would reign from the tree." Elsewhere too the prophet predicts the fruit of this tree, saying, "The earth has given its blessings"—of course that virgin earth, not yet irrigated with rains or fertilized by showers, out of which humanity was of old first formed, out of which now Christ through the flesh has been born of a virgin.

For the fig tree, on account of its sweetness and richness, represents the delights of humankind, which they had in paradise before the Fall. Indeed, not rarely, as we shall afterwards show, the Holy Spirit takes the fruit of the fig tree as an emblem of goodness.

(Verse 22 onwards) Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.

And sons of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the LORD your God — for he has given you the early rain for righteousness, and has brought down for you rain, early rain and latter rain, in the first month.

And the threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and fresh oil.

And I will repay you the years that the locust ate — the young locust and the stripping locust and the cutting locust, my great army that I sent among you.

And you will eat, eating and being satisfied, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never be ashamed.

And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is no other; and my people will never be ashamed.

I Will Pour Out My Spirit

And it will be afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your elders will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

But that the Spirit is the Arbiter of the Divine Counsel, you may know even from this. For when above we showed that the Holy Spirit was the Lord of baptism, and read that baptism is the counsel of God, as you read, "But the Pharisees despised the counsel of God, not being baptized of Him," it is quite clear that as there can be no baptism without the Spirit, so, too, the couns…

"I will pour out my spirit on all flesh." In the first instance he talks about Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah and other prophets whose names are not mentioned. In addition, "your daughters" will sing and intone psalms in happiness, as well as the rest of the people. This means I will openly reveal to you my fondness and will largely pour it onto you.

And also on the male servants and on the maidservants in those days I will pour out my spirit.

And I will give wonders in the heavens and on the earth — blood and fire and columns of smoke.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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 moved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn (24, 29—30ᵃ).

For just as man is said to perish, according to the text, "The just perishes, and no one takes it to heart," and this is said, though the resurrection is expected, so we look for a resurrection of the heavens.

The people, then, call this day "the new sun," and although they say that it is new, yet they also show that it is old. This world's sun—which undergoes eclipse, is shut out by walls and is hidden by clouds—I would call old. I would call old the sun that is subject to vanity, is fearful of corruption and dreads the judgment.

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the day of the LORD, the great and fearful one.

And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will escape; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be an escaped remnant, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors whom the LORD is calling.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep?

Return, then, to the Church, those of you who have wickedly separated yourselves. For He promises forgiveness to all who are converted, since it is written: "Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved." And lastly, the Jewish people who said of the Lord Jesus, "He hath a devil," and "He casteth out devils through Beelzebub," and who crucified the Lord Jesus, ar…