A Possible hint of the rapture of the Church saints before the Tribulation appears in the following passage: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah doth call" (Joel 2:32).

This verse must be studied in the light of its immediate context in order that it might be properly evaluated. All Bible students realize the importance of this rule of logic, for a text apart from its context is simply a pretext. I shall therefore present it in its proper setting.

21 Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for Jehovah hath done great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of Jehovah your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be put to shame. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.

But your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit 30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.

I wish that my readers would compare this quotation from Joel, chapter 2:21-32, with the same passage in the American Standard Version in the 1901 edition--since I have rearranged one verse. In the 1901 edition, a new paragraph begins with verse 28; but, in the quotation above, I have taken the first part of verse 28 and have made it the last part of the paragraph consisting of verses 21-28. Moreover I have started a new paragraph with the Hebrew word which may be translated either "and" or "but." A new thought, and something very definite, is begun in the statement "and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." A careful perusal of verses 21-27 shows that the lifting of the curse from the ground and the restoration of Edenic conditions to the world are the things discussed. Moreover we see in verse 27 that Jehovah will at that time dwell in Jerusalem as the King of the Jews.

Let us briefly look at verse 28. The first statement, "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh," refers to a converted world, the world of the millennial age. But with 28b-- "and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions ..." --a new subject is introduced, a promise connected indissolubly with the rest of the chapter. Hence this statement is the introduction to the following prophecy.

Someone who does not understand the technique of translating and editing said translation, however, might think that, by doing as I have done, I have tampered with the Word of God. But I have not. All the punctuation, and the paragraphing of the American Standard Version, 1901 edition, were done by the men who translated the Scriptures, and who edited their translation. There was no paragraphing of the original text; neither was there any punctuation. These aids are modem devices that enable us to express ourselves in writing more clearly and accurately than the ancients were able to do. From my analysis of the two paragraphs, I am convinced that I am correct in changing the place where the paragraph starts.

Having called attention to these facts, we are now ready to start an investigation of the development of the thought in the part of Scriptures now before us for consideration. These two paragraphs have to be taken together because they are vitally connected, the one with the other. This fact becomes obvious immediately when we study carefully verse 28a: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." Here we are told that God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh after a certain event has occurred. "After what event?" one asks. We must study verses 21--28a in order to see and understand everything that is implied and included in the adverb afterward.

In verse 21, the land of Palestine is addressed as if it were a person and is admonished to fear not, but to rejoice. The occasion for its rejoicing is that "Jehovah hath done great things." If the oracle stopped there, we would not know the things to which he refers. We would, however, gather from that statement that he is talking about some mighty, marvelous, stupendous works of God, which would be the occasion of rejoicing for the land of Palestine. But, when we read verses 23-25, we learn some of the things concerning which the prophet is speaking.

In verse 22 the prophet speaks to the beasts of the field as though they were intelligent and could understand his message. Hence he says, "Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth its fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength." In this address to the animals, the prophet simply is announcing for our benefit what God will have done at that time, namely, that He will have lifted the curse from the earth. Here the prophet sees green pastures covering the waste places of the wilderness. The fruit trees are yielding their full strength. Before the fall of man, all vegetation was bringing forth its full strength. Never since the time that sin entered the world and the curse fell has anything yielded its full strength. Here then is implied a prophecy that the curse will be lifted from the earth at the time which the prophet foresaw in vision.

In verse 23, moreover, he tells us that the climatic conditions of the land will be perfect and ideal. The seasons will be in their own time, and there will be the proper amount of rain and moisture to grow and mature the crops. Hence the Jewish people of those days are called upon to rejoice in Jehovah their God, who will be giving them "the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month." Early rains occur in the fall; the latter in the late spring. Here is a prediction that God will restore the ideal normal rainfall and will send it at its proper time--when it is needed most for the production of the right kind of crops. (I am aware that this passage has been interpreted figuratively and has been understood to refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit. In regard to this position, let me say that we are never to interpret a passage figuratively unless the factors of the context indicate such a meaning--a departure from the literal significance of the words. There is nothing in this context to indicate a departure from the literal meaning. We, therefore, cannot afford to force upon this passage a figurative meaning.)

Next, in making this revelation, the prophet promises the Jewish people that God will restore to them the years that the locust, the cankerworm, the caterpillar, and the palmer worm ate. He will also restore that which was devastated by His great army. The army here referred to was probably the Assyrian forces that devastated the country far and wide in the days of Hezekiah.

When God does all of these things, His people will eat in plenty and be satisfied. This fact is shown in verse 26. Moreover they will praise the name of Jehovah their God, who will have dealt with them most wondrously. From that time onward, the Jewish people will never be put to shame. They will be in fellowship with God. All their expectations will be in Him, and He will never disappoint them. In other words, their land will be "Paradise Regained." It will be a modem Utopia.

Why will it be "Paradise Regained"? That question is answered in verse 27: "And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else." According to this promise Jehovah, the God of Israel, will be dwelling in the midst of His people. That the God of Israel in the person of King Messiah will dwell in the midst of His people is asserted by practically all the prophets. For instance, in Zephaniah 3:14-16, we have words to this effect:

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; O Zion, let not thy hands be slack.

When we interpret these verses in the light of related passages, we see that what is implied in this passage is the lifting of the curse from the material universe and the establishment of the kingdom of righteousness by King Messiah, who will reign in Mt. Zion.

When Messiah returns at the request of Israel, who will acknowledge the national sin, will repudiate their iniquity, and plead for Him to return, He will do so. Hosea, on one occasion impersonated the Messiah at His first coming, and speaking for Him, said:

14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver. 15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face; in their affliction they will seek me earnestly (Hosea 5).

When Messiah comes at first, Israel rejects Him. Then like a lion He tears the nation limb from limb, figuratively speaking. The prophet continues his prediction by quoting the Messiah as saying, "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face ..." This confession they will make in the time of their affliction, the time of Jacob's trouble--that is the Tribulation period. In Zechariah 12:10 we see the nation of Israel under deepest conviction looking to Him, Jehovah, whom their ancestors pierced, confessing their national sin, and pleading for Him to return and to bring deliverance. The Apostle Peter in his second recorded sermon, found in Acts, chapter 3, called upon the nation of Israel to:

19 Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus: 21 whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old.

When Israel sees the facts and are brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit regarding the national sin, the entire remnant of the nation will at that time plead for Messiah to return and to save them. Thus, as Paul tells us in Romans 11, all Israel at that future time will be saved, because they will turn to their Redeemer, and then He will come to Zion and turn ungodliness away from Jacob (Romans 11:25-27).

When Israel is thus converted, he will evangelize the tattered remnants of the nations that survive the Tribulation and will lead them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. When these Gentiles are converted, the Lord will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in their hearts, for God gives the Holy Spirit to those that obey Him (Acts 5:32). This experience is that which Joel, in 2:28a is talking about and is that which will take place after Messiah has returned, has taken up His abode in Zion, and is reigning over the world. Converted Israel leads all the nations to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and these nations are then filled with the Spirit of God.

As stated before, the Hebrew conjunction translated in the American Standard Version, 1901 edition, as "and" means also "but" and is translated in hundreds of instances by this disjunctive conjunction. Moreover when we see and use the word but as introducing the second part of this block of Scripture under consideration, we see that the prophet is talking about something entirely different from what he has been talking about and discussing in the verses already examined. Since the prophet was talking to the Hebrew people, the sons and daughters and old men and young men are Hebrews. To put a different construction upon these words is to do violence to the language of the prophet.

According to verses 28b and 29 there is to be a revival in the ranks of Israel. It will break out in connection with the working of great miracles and wonders in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, for the prophet declares:

30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh (Joel 2:30,31).

According to this prophecy the sun will be darkened and the moon will become as blood. There will be blood and fire and pillars of smoke. When we read in Exodus that Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood, we believe the account literally. Why not put the same construction on the same words in this prophecy? Especially should we take this prediction literally when we read the Book of Revelation, chapter 16, and see the duplication of the same miracles that will be performed in the Tribulation. Thus, according to 28b-31, there will be a mighty revival in Israel in connection with God's performing mighty wonders in the heavens above and in the earth beneath.

When will this revival occur? Verse 31 gives the desired information. These miracles will be wrought "before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh." The great and terrible day of Jehovah is none other than the great Tribulation, a period of seven years' duration, during which God is pouring out His judgments upon the world in punishment of its sin and wickedness. Since this revival in Israel breaks out in connection with the supernatural wonders in the heavens above and on the earth beneath and occurs before the Tribulation, the great and terrible day of the Lord, we may be certain that this entire prediction of these unusual events will transpire before the Tribulation. This interpretation is beyond all contradiction.

According to verse 32, "it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call" (Joel 2:32). Since this verse is connected with the mighty movements in the spiritual realm as well as in the physical sphere, all of which occur before the great and terrible day of the Lord, before the Tribulation, it is quite evident that whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord will be delivered--from what? From the dangers which are confronting them, the Judgments of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. Here is therefore a definite promise that the Lord will deliver all who believe before the great and terrible day of the Tribulation begins.

When we read this passage in the light of the teaching of the New Testament, we see that it is in perfect alignment with the doctrine set forth that the Church will be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out upon the world. A passage which clearly teaches this doctrine is I Thess. 1:9,10:

9 For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come (I Thess. 1:9,10).

In the light of all the facts of this context, we come to the conclusion that all who believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ before the Tribulation begins will be delivered--delivered out of this present evil world--by means of the rapture. Praise God for such a wonderful promise as this one.

As we see in Acts, chapter 2, the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost explained to the audience the unusual spiritual phenomena which were in evidence on every hand. The Holy Spirit came upon the twelve apostles in fulfillment of the promise that Jesus had made to them. When the Spirit came upon them, there was the sound of the rushing of a mighty wind. Then tongues parting asunder like as of fire sat upon each of the apostles, and they, the apostles, began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The people soon gathered in great excitement and wanted to know what was the cause of all these unusual phenomena. Some in mockery said that the apostles were drunk with new wine. Peter showed that this opinion was untrue and then made a striking declaration: "... but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel ..." (Acts 2:16). Following this statement Peter quoted Joel 2:28-32, which appears in Acts 2:17-21. Peter made this observation, "This is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel." In other words all that the people saw and heard was mentioned in Joel's prophecy. But Peter did not say that they were experiencing on this occasion all that was mentioned in the prophecy. May I illustrate the case this way? We say that all people who live in Los Angeles live in California. This statement is true. But this proposition is not a convertible declaration. I cannot say that all people who live in California live in Los Angeles. Peter declared to his audience that what they were seeing and hearing was mentioned in the prophecy, but he did not say that all which was in the prophecy was being fulfilled on that occasion.

Thus we see that the events on the day of Pentecost were only a partial, limited, incomplete fulfillment of the prediction. We may be certain that, since God carries out every utterance that He makes, He will at the proper time fulfill this prophecy exactly as it is written. According to the original prophecy, when will this prediction be completely fulfilled? The answer is, "Before the day of the Lord come, that great and notable day."

As an illustration of another partial, incomplete fulfillment of prophecy, note that in Acts 4:25,26 we have the first part of Psalm 2 quoted. When we look at the original text of the Psalm, we see that it foretells an international, atheistic, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, politico-religious convention--a world convention of atheists, anti-Semites, and anti-Christian people. Nevertheless the apostle, guided by the Spirit, used that passage and applied it to what was done by Herod, Pontius Pilate, and a minority of the Jewish leaders. Thus there was a partial, incomplete fulfillment of Psalm 2:1-3 in the case of the action taken by Herod and Pilate and the Jewish minority against Christ. They did not take any action against God, as the psalmist foretold. The prophecy was only partially fulfilled. It therefore awaits its complete fulfillment.

In our study of fulfilled prophecy, we must look carefully at all the elements of a given context, both in the Old and in the New Testaments, and interpret the prediction according to the facts of both contexts.

Joel's prophecy will be completely fulfilled both as to the spiritual revival in Israel and as to the blackout with accompanying wonders in the material realm before the great and terrible day of the Lord come--before the Tribulation--as stated by the prophet.