Mike Bickle emphasizes God's desire to bless His people both physically and spiritually, as illustrated in Joel 2:18-27. He explains that fasting and prayer can invoke God's zeal for the land, leading to material blessings and spiritual outpourings. Bickle highlights the continuity between the blessings of the Millennial Kingdom and what believers can experience today, urging them to seek God's extravagant blessings in their lives. He reassures that God's heart for restoration and provision is unwavering, and that the faithful can expect pockets of mercy and blessing even in challenging times. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a wholehearted response to God through prayer and intercession to release His blessings in the present age.

Because verse 12 to 17 is the come have a solemn assembly, pray and fast. Verse 18 to 27 is the next portion of scripture. And where, and the highlight of this passage, or the theme of this passage, is the material physical blessings that God releases. In other words, God changes the condition of nations physically. And then the verses right after that, the famous one, and I will pour out my spirit, He changes the condition of the nation spiritually. So first, fasting and prayer, it does make an actual impact on the physical, the financial, the agricultural, the animals, the atmosphere, all of it is impacted to the covenant people living obedience to God and being in their priestly role of intercession. And so what happens sometimes when people read the book of Joel is they skip verse 18 to 27, the passage immediately after the call to prayer. And they think, well, that doesn't really matter. It totally matters. It's part of the forerunner messenger calling to put this part in that nations are impacted in the natural realm. Now the two principles that I'm going to repeat over and over, but I'll just give them to you on the front end, is that first I'll just say this, that this passage, Joel 2 verse 18 to 27, is talking about physical blessings to Israel in the age to come, the Millennial Kingdom. That's what it's talking about. The physical blessings that come to Israel when Jesus returns. Now session notes 15, I give a overview of the that's a new idea. That Jesus is literally coming back, physically coming back to the earth with a physical material body, a resurrected one, but a physical body to rule on a physical earth. And He is going to literally restore all the nations of the earth. I'm talking about in the natural arena, He's going to restore them. Every realm of society is going to be brought to full obedience and full righteousness. And what He's going to do in the age to come, in that thousand year kingdom, has dynamic continuity with what is happening in this age. That's a very important reality. What we're doing today actually has continuity with what happens in that age. Now I'm not going to develop that right now, but that's for another time. But here's the two principles that I want to lay out right from the beginning, is that the principles of, I mean the extravagant blessing, natural and supernatural blessings. I mean natural, I'll say it differently. Blessings in the natural arena of agriculture and economics. That's what I mean by natural realm. And then the blessing, the spiritual blessings is what I'm trying to say. Prophecy, dreams, visions, power. Both of those dimensions that are very extravagant in the age to come. Here's the principle. Whatever happens in the age to come in fullness, we can believe God for it to be released in part in this hour. Let me say that again. Whatever happens in the age to come in full blessing, we can believe for it to be released in part in this age. Why? Because if it's in God's heart to release it anytime, we know it's in His heart. If it's in His heart and He never changes, it's in His heart. If God cares about economics, agriculture, animals, and atmosphere, if He ever cares about it, then He always cares about it because God never changes. And if God thought to ordain blessing, extravagant blessing in those arenas in the age to come, then you can be sure the God who never changes is thinking about those blessings in this age right now. And of course, there's many Bible verses from Genesis to Revelation that prove He's thinking about them in this age as well. But we study this passage and we see how extravagant God is going to release His power and His blessing on the natural realm, on agriculture, atmosphere, healing the land, economics, rain, animals. And we can say, Lord, if it's in Your heart to do that in extravagance in that time when Your Son returns, we know that it's in Your heart to do it in part now and far more than it's happening right now. So when I read these promises, I don't just think, well, when I get a resurrected body in the age to come, it's going to be great. I go, no! This is what's in your heart. This is what you're like. This is who you are. This is what you gave Joel as a motivation for prayer and fasting. He was to tell the people to pray and fast so that this would happen. And so every one of these realms of blessing, we can believe for them to be released in this age in part, but far beyond what we experience them now. And so where these pockets of mercy are, what, again, that's not a theological term, wherever these areas, these geographic areas, whether they're five miles or 500 miles in diameter, nobody knows, I'm believing God that through fasting and prayer and wholeheartedness, it's really wholeheartedness, there and then that priestly role of intercession to release the angels, to release the blessings of the spirit realm and to bind the work of the enemy, we're believing God for the healing of the land, even in this age, because whatever's in his heart for the age to come, we know because he never changes. It's in his heart for now. So when you read these, don't put these all off for the future. Because God gives a grand description of where they're going. Let those resonate in your heart even now. And we're believing God for a release of these in part, even in this age, while we're waiting for the fullness of the age to come. So that's principle number one. What is released in part in the, in fullness in the age to come will be released in part now, even in physical, natural realms of blessing. Number two, and I say, again, I say this a number of times in the notes, so I'll skip it when we get to the notes, that I call it a like, kind, and different degree though, that whatever blessing God gives Israel, God gives Israel greater blessings and greater judgments. All the other nations will have the same blessings in like kind, but just a lesser degree. The blessings won't be as extreme and the judgment and discipline will not be as extreme. They will still be significant, but they will not be to the same measure. So I'm reading about Israel in the age to come. What does a Gentile in this age care about what's going to happen to Israel in the age to come? Well, because the king of the nations is talking to us about how he views the earth and he's saying, whatever I will do to Israel in judgment, watch out because I will do the same to the Gentile nations. Lesser, but in like kind. Whatever I will do to Israel in blessing, Gentile nations, believe me for them because you will get them in your nations because I do not change. I'm the God who blesses. Whatever I will do in fullness in the age to come, I will do in part now in every arena of life. So when I read these, I translate these promises into our time and in our day for individual life, as well as corporate geographic regions. What God says about geographic areas here in this passage, he feels the same way towards individuals. If God thinks this way about collective groups, then he thinks this way about individuals because he never changes. God never changes. He has the same heart. So that's the, that's the, how we approach this very relevant passage. And again, we're looking at God's blessing in the natural arena. Then the next passage, verse 28 to 32 is God's blessing in the spiritual arena, dreams, visions, prophecy, signs, and wonders. Both of the natural and the spiritual blessings are the fruit of solemn assemblies. They are the byproduct of the people who cry out to God with wholeheartedness and they take their place and in intercession to loose the blessing of God. And so we're going to believe God for natural blessings and for spiritual blessings as well as so, so that's how we're reading this passage and that's how we apply it. He says here, I'll just kind of read it through real fast here just to kind of give you the feel of it because I'm assuming some of you've maybe never ever read this passage before. So you can kind of know where we're going and then I'll just kind of give some abbreviated comments because again, most of the notes you could just read on your own. He says, then, verse 18, then the Lord will be zealous for the land. Now when is that? After you fasted and prayed and cried out to the Lord and asked Him for blessing and to relent of judgment, then the Lord will be zealous for the land. Then He will have pity or another translation says compassion on His people. Fasting and prayer releases God's zeal for His land and it releases His compassion on His people. It causes the release to increase. Now He goes on to say, verse 19, then the Lord will answer. That meaning answer the fasting and prayer of verse 12 to 17 and He will say to His people, I'm going to send you grain. This is agricultural blessing. Now some people want to spiritualize all this and we don't need to spiritualize it. He's talking about real grain. He's talking about food and the reason they spiritualize it because they're trying to make sense of this passage like who wants real grain? People that are hungry want real grain. Most of the earth is hungry right now. Literally most the planet is hungry. They don't have a surplus and where we're going in the generation the Lord returns, there will be great famine all over the earth and this these passages will really, really matter in the days to come. Even to the countries in the west. When famine and drought begin to happen, a lot of believers will start pulling these verses out, dusting them off and they won't symbolize them and spiritualize them away. Grain will really mean grain and the good news is it does. Behold, I will send you grain. I will send you the new wine and the oil. You will be satisfied. He's talking about physically, meaning you're going to have enough to eat. You're going to have supply, physical supply for your family because the war that the Babylonian army brought, brought devastation and famine all throughout the land and hunger and desolation. So this is not a small thing to a war torn nation or to a land with famine and drought. This is a huge problem that's being answered. Your families will have plenty to eat is what he's saying. Now if we know that God thinks about this enough to tell a prophet about it and of course he tells many prophets about it, we know it's on his heart. So as we get closer to the hour where things become more desperate and more difficult, like God did you remember that people are hungry? Oh yeah, I remember. I've put it in my prophets many times. It's on my mind. It's in my heart. I did not forget. Good. Now people again in western affluent nations when things are going well, these verses don't mean much but they will mean a whole lot in the days to come. And again for individuals, not just geographic areas. You know that God cares about food. He cares that you eat. Matthew 6. He feeds the the birds of the air. He will feed you. He cares about you. And so he's telling it the prophet Joel here, this is on my mind. This is part of the, this is part of my mindset. When I think of you, I think of your physical needs. Behold I will send you grain and new wine and oil. You will be satisfied. In other words, physically hungry, your hunger will be satisfied. Then he says I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. Now he's going to move to a military political scenario. He just went from an agricultural and economic scenario. Now he's moving to a political and a military one. He goes, I will remove far from you the northern army. There is a northern army that attacked Israel. Of course it was Babylon in Joel's, you know in Joel's context. But there's a northern army. The Antichrist army is coming again from the north to attack Israel. This is going to apply again. But that northern army is not just going to attack Israel. He's going to, that army is going to attack many nations of the earth. So this promise isn't only for Israel. Though again, like kind but lesser degree. What God does in Israel, the blessing we get, the nations of the earth get the same sort of blessing, just a lesser measure of it. But the judgment and the discipline, the same kind, just a lesser measure. So what do you want? More blessing and more discipline or less blessing and less discipline? You know, if you're a normal America, you say I want more blessing and less discipline. I want the high of the one and the low of the other. It doesn't work that way. Okay, verse 20. I will remove from you the northern army. Again that northern army is going to rise up against the nations of the earth. And you will, and I will drive that army into a barren and a desolate land. I'm going to defeat the Antichrist armies. What are you saying? And his face will be towards the eastern sea. That's the Dead Sea. And his back will be towards the western sea. That's the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will come up and his foul odor will arise because he's done monstrous things. What that means from Ezekiel 39, we'll look at it in a few minutes, that God is going to kill so many of their army that they will lay on the land, the ground for seven months unburied. And the stench of the rotting corpses of the millions of this hostile army that God supernaturally destroys, that stench will arise and it will be, it'll be a horrible thing. But what God is really telling them through Joel is that I will utterly defeat the armies in the Antichrist and they will have no honor. Because in the ancient Israel, the Israel's mindset to be, to lay on the open field with no graves is an insult and a mockery and a reproach even worse than losing in battle. So they're going to be reproached openly and utterly destroyed. And the reason why? Joel says because he has done monstrous things. The point being there is a monstrous army that's going to rise up attacking Israel. That's the point here. But we know he's going to attack many nations of the earth. That monstrous army is already defeated. He will terrify the nations, but he will not terrify the people of God. We will take him seriously, but we will not be terrified of him. He's already lost. We can begin to decree these prophecies against him as he rises up in the earth. And if you, if you see him in your lifetime, and I believe that many of you will, you will, these prophecies will really matter. But remember, these prophecies are in context of solemn assemblies of fasting and prayer. Because remember the very first verse 18, then after you fast and pray, then all of this stuff happens. He goes on to say in verse 21, fear not O land, be glad and rejoice. For the Lord has done marvelous things because the land was thinking we are barren, we are burnt, we are destroyed. What do you mean fear not? Don't worry. God has already has marvelous plans in store for healing the land entirely. Do not be afraid you beasts of the fields. For the old open pastures, instead of being barren and you're starving to death, they're going to spring up. And the trees are going to bear fruit and the fig tree and the vine will yield their strength instead of the drought and the famine. Don't worry beasts of the field, there will be food for you as well. There'll be food everywhere. Now again, if God will do that in fullness in the age to come, we know He will release this even now in a time of famine, in a time of difficulty. But it's related to the people who seek Him with all their heart and they rise up into that priestly position of intercession to release blessing and to stop the work of the enemy. Verse 23. Be glad you children of Zion. Rejoice in the Lord for He has given you the former rains faithfully and He will cause the rain to come down for you. The former rain and the latter rain in the first month. So He's telling the children of God, be encouraged. Rejoice in the Lord. Even though you see the opposite for a season, don't worry. Full blessing is in God's heart to release. And again, God will release pockets of blessing, pockets of mercy all over the earth even ahead of time to the people that believe Him for it. He goes on in verse 24. The threshing floors will be full of wheat. Again, this is food. Verse 25. I will restore to you all the agricultural damage that the locusts have eaten and the crawling locusts and the consuming locusts. Whatever was destroyed in your past, God says, I'm going to make it up to you. Even though it's generations in the past, God says, my accounting is up to date and I see the judgment that came on you and I'm going to actually make it up to you as a nation. I am the God that restores. Now you might say, why do you care if God is going to make up to Israel a locust plague that destroyed the land? He's going to make it up to them generations later. Why? Because He's the God who makes things up to people. That's why. He's the God that restores. He's the God that receives pain and destruction. He sees it. And when He sees wholeheartedness, then He takes that pain and destruction and He restores it. And He multiplies the blessing. That's why you would care about that just in your own individualistic way. Now you care about it as well because we love God's purposes for the nation of Israel. That's another subject. But say that you don't even get that yet and you're reading this saying, I don't get the Israel thing. Why do I even care about this passage? Because God is the God who restores. When He sees humility and meekness, even destruction that was years ago, His accounting is up to date. He will make it up to you. If you will respond to Him because He has so much mercy and so much kindness, that's the kind of personality that He has. Now He goes on to say, verse 26, You will eat plenty and be satisfied. Again, He's talking about physically. You'll praise the Lord. This will, this provision of the Lord will touch your spirit. Instead of making you greedy, instead of making you go away from God, it's actually going to energize your worship life because you're going to interpret it in the right way. And He goes on to say that God has dealt wondrously with you. It's in God's heart to deal wondrously with all of His people. He wants to deal marvelously and wondrously are the two terms. This is in His heart for you, for Israel, anybody that will come. He has wonderful plans, marvelous plans if we will say yes to Him. And even if we've come under judgment and discipline, if we repent, He says, I can restore it all back to you. I absolutely can. It's in my heart to do this. This is the kind of God that I am. And then look what it says here at the end of verse 26. My people shall never be put to shame. Didn't you know that I'm in the midst of Israel? I am the Lord, your God, and my people shall never be put to shame. Twice He makes this point. I don't want my people in shame. Did you know that He cares about you being in shame? Did you know that twice He told Israel, He goes, you think I don't care that you're in shame and in need? It bruises my heart, even though I've allowed it to happen. And in some cases I've sent the destruction myself. And in other cases, it was the enemy. In some cases there was an overlap. But He goes, I care that you're in shame. It, it touches my heart that you feel shame. I don't want you in shame. I want you confident. I want you bold before me. I want you filled with honor. The God of judgment is the God that does not want shame on His people. And matter of fact, He releases His judgment to awaken love so that His people could walk in agreement, so shame and lack would be far removed from their life. That's what He is saying in this book here. That's what He's saying, I mean, in this session here. Okay, let's go. And we're just going to just touch a little bit of this, because I was just supposed to just read that to you, but I got so excited about it, I kind of explained the whole chapter. So I'm just going to say a few of the points again, and a few of them I'll just skip. Okay, middle page 91, paragraph 8. The transition in Joel occurs. Right here with this little verse 18. Then, then the Lord will be zealous. When is then? I'm repeating myself by the way. When is then? When the people cry out with all of their heart and fasting and prayer, God will be zealous. B. God's zeal is aroused when the people come before Him in wholeheartedness. It really does make a difference if we do this. It really matters that we'd go into IHOP, in our little world here, and do our sacred trust and come before God and talk to Him, the invisible God. It really matters. It really, really does matter. I want to encourage people, when you're in the prayer room, don't do the little video games, Facebook, this, that, and the other. Talk to God. Get in His face. Put your face before His. Really, get rid of that stuff. I really mean that. Get rid of that. Get rid of the games in the prayer room. And the reason I'm saying that, because it's not a game what we're doing. It's not just, well, I'm at IHOP, you know, six months or a year or two, three years, then I come back home and I have to be in this prayer room. Forget all that stuff. You've got a couple hours. You're before God. Talk to Him. Get before His face and talk to Him. It is not a game. It's not something you're biding time. It really matters when weak and broken people sit in a room and talk to God. It really does arouse His zeal and release His blessing. Paragraph B. The first half of Joel, which we've looked at, is the crisis and the call to wholeheartedness, so the crisis can be fixed. The second half of Joel, which we begin right here in Joel 2.18, we've now begun the second half. It begins with, then, it is God's blessing. Again, this blessing that happens in fullness in the age to come, it reveals what God's heart is like when He thinks about His people. So we know that God thinks about these things in our life, because this is what He thinks about when He considers His people. Top of page 92. Paragraph D. Joel describes God's salvation and deliverance. Salvation, meaning the release of blessing. Deliverance, the removing of the negative. The releasing, the imparting of the positive, the removing of the negative. Okay, I just say in D&E, what I've already said, that what happens to Israel happens to all the people of God in the nations. It's the likes, it's a similar kind of blessing, because it reveals the nature of God. It's what He's like. It's what He does for His people. It's just of a lesser degree. What He does in the land of Israel, in the Millennial Kingdom, that will be chief among all the nations. It will have more blessing, more authority, more power, because God wants it that way. And all the other nations will be blessed beyond measure, beyond anything they can imagine, but it will be second to the capital city of the earth, which is called the city of the great King, Jesus' own city. Let's look at Romans 2. Joel 2, 18. Let's just look at this phrase, then the Lord will be zealous for His land. Well, fasting and prayer awakens God's zeal. He, the Bible says that a number of times, that His zeal is aroused when His people respond. But I'm going to make a second point, very important one. God is zealous for the land of Israel. That's a point that is new to some of you. God is zealous for this little piece of geography. He wants it. He chose it. He chose Jerusalem as a city and the land of Israel before anything ever happened in history. He picked it and then built history around it. He didn't pick Jerusalem when He picked Abraham. He picked Jerusalem long before He picked Abraham. Matter of fact, Abraham had to walk a long way from the Ur of the Chaldeans, which is modern day, which was Babylon or modern day Iraq. He had to leave Iraq to go to Israel because God says, I've chosen you, but you're in the wrong piece of real estate. You got to go over there because that's the land I picked. And He goes, where am I going? He says, well, it's not on the map yet. So He led Abraham where Abraham did not know. He says, Abraham went forth not knowing where he was going because there wasn't a city there. It wasn't on the map yet. There was no land of Israel there. I mean, the land was there, but there was no nation. So he wandered around. He couldn't go ask somebody, hey, where's Jerusalem at? Oh, you know, it's right here and that's the city of the great King. So he was led by the Lord and didn't even know where he was going. And the Lord says, I chose this land. I mean, the testimony of scripture makes clear. He chose that land long before anything else. I mean, before he even raised up Moses or David, he already had chosen the land of Israel. B, Jesus chose the land He would be born in, He would live and die in. I mean, Jesus back in Genesis 1, He chose, He goes, when I become a man, I'm going to live in this land. He chose the land He would make His grand entrance back into the human race at the second coming. He chose the land that He would have as capital city of the earth. He chose Jerusalem. And again, the rest of world history was built around that plan. This is a very dear piece of land to Him. And it's very, very important to the devil. He wants to destroy it. He wants, no, He wants to rule it. And if He can't rule it, He wants to destroy it. Paragraph C. Now this is a, again, this might be new to some of you, but it's a revelation of God's heart. Zechariah 1 14, thus says the Lord, I am zealous for Jerusalem. God really, really cares about that city. I mean, He cares about all cities, but He cares about, He has plans for Jerusalem second to no other city in the earth, because it will be the city that Jesus will rule from forever. He really is zealous for that city. And for Zion, by the way, Jerusalem and Zion is the same. Technically, Zion is a little subunit of Jerusalem. It's a little, it's where David lived, a little, a couple acres. Zion is a little sub, you know, like a little subdivision in Jerusalem, using a funny language. But, but from the biblical point of view, you know, you take a step back when God says, I love Zion and I love Jerusalem. It's often synonymous, talking about physical Jerusalem. Yes, in Hebrews 12, the people of God, we are part of the Zion, the capital city of God. We're all part of Zion in the spiritual sense. But He's talking about physical Jerusalem, physical Zion. It's the same place. And God says, I'm zealous for it. And I, I tell other believers just around who, who don't think much about it. I go, if God is zealous for a city, you want to at least ask the question, why and should I be? Should I be zealous for that city? And of course, if you stay with that question long enough, the Lord will begin to impart some of His passion for that city, because He wants us all involved in what's going to happen in the great drama surrounding that city in the end times. Look at Zechariah 8, verse 2. Thus says the Lord, I am zealous for Zion. Just put the word Jerusalem there. With great zeal, with great fervor, I am zealous. How could He say it stronger? With great zeal, with great fervor. So again, and I get, and I get the question, because I had it for a number of years. What's this Israel deal? You take someone to Zechariah 8, 8-2 and say, well, I don't know everything that's going to happen, but I know this. The man I love with all my heart, fully God, fully man, his name's Jesus. He is really captivated by this city with great zeal and great fervor. So that's a beginning point. And they go, huh, hmm, wonder what that means. Maybe that just means he's zealous for the church. No, that's not what he's talking about. He is zealous for the church. But that, when you read Zechariah 8, he's talking about the city of Jerusalem specifically. You don't want to spiritualize it. And he has great zeal. And again, the enemy will rise up and attack this. And in some of the other sessions, we're going to look at this, the attack that the enemy has planned for the city of Jerusalem, to annihilate the city of Jerusalem. But the Lord is going to draw the nations to the city of Jerusalem, not to annihilate it, but to cleanse it. God's drawing the nations to cleanse Israel. Satan's drawing the nations to destroy Israel. Who's going to win? What's going to happen? Well, we already know who's going to win and what's going to happen. The city is going to be saved and purified as all the nations gather around the city of Jerusalem. But I'm getting ahead of myself. That's in the next couple sessions. Okay. Look at paragraph D. The whole earth is the Lord's, but He has one city that's called the city of the great King. And Jesus said it Himself in Matthew 5. When He talked about Jerusalem, He called it, He said, this city is my city. This is the city of the great King. I am the great King and this is my city. And this city does not love me right now, but this city will before it's over. You know, He's going to have His throne there. He's going to bring the new Jerusalem down to natural Jerusalem in the millennium. And He will rule in the city of Jerusalem on the earth forever. It's the capital city forever. He has chosen a place to rule forever. Look at Psalm 132. The Lord has chosen Zion. He desires it. I mean, He's chosen a geographic area as His central place of government. Paragraph E. Jerusalem is the center of the earth. From God's point of view, it's where three continents join, Europe, Asia and Africa. But apart from that, I mean, God organized the earth around the city of Jerusalem. Look at this. Ezekiel 5, 5. Thus says the Lord, this is Jerusalem. I have set her in the midst of the nations. But then the NIV and the New American Standard in many translations don't put the word midst. I have set Jerusalem in the center of the nations. And I believe that's what God's intent is. And the countries all around her. Jerusalem is the center of the earth from my point of view. And I built history around it. F. Satan wants to rule Jerusalem. Satan knows or believes, I'm saying this kind of tongue-in-cheek, Satan believes Jesus backed Himself into a corner when He prophesied in Matthew 23, 37. Right before Jesus went to the cross, He gave this prophecy. And I believe Satan liked it. He went, ah, now I got you. Jesus said when the scribes and Pharisees rejected Him and He would go to the cross right away, I mean, days later and be killed. He looked at them and He said, they said, we don't want you. And Jesus said, well, I'm, I'm finished with you right now. I'm leaving the city and I'm leaving this place to you desolate. But He says, here, here it is. He says, I don't have the whole verse here, but you can read it on your own. He goes, you will not see Me again until you say, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. So what Jesus did is He bound Himself. He said, Jerusalem, I won't come back to you again, which means the second coming, until you as a city call Me your King. And, and I believe the enemy, the devil went, I got you. I got you. You can't come back to Jerusalem until the Jews say, Jesus of Nazareth is God. Awesome. That means you can't come back. Because I'm going to see to it, the devil would say, they will never say that Jesus of Nazareth is God and their Messiah. He'll never say, because I'm going to completely annihilate the Jewish race. There will be nobody who will be there to receive you. And if there are some, they will be so offended at Christianity. They will never, ever take the Jesus of Christianity. And so the enemy has been on a 2000 year, a strategy to try to annihilate. That's what was happening with Adolf Hitler. It was the devil was trying to annihilate the Jewish race is what was going on. That wasn't about Hitler being anti-Semitic because he had a racial problem. It was a religious issue. It was a satanic plot to annihilate the Jewish race. That's what was on Hitler's mind. I believe, I believe that it was much more than political or economic or just hatred. He had a satanic plan involvement with Satan in the annihilation of the Jewish people and the antichrist will have the same one, but he will go further than Adolf Hitler made it, but he won't complete it at all. And all the nations will gather around to nearly bring Jerusalem to extinction, but it won't happen. Joel 2 tells us the whole story. That monstrous army will be destroyed. The drought will be reversed. All the economics will be restored and it will be the city of their king and the world will be filled with the glory of God from that city. I mean, it's Joel 2, Joel lays it out. One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, all the points one after the other. Throughout history, Satan has tried to destroy the Jewish people because if the Jewish people don't exist, then Jesus is a liar. If he comes back without the Jews receiving him, if there are no Jews in the earth, how can they receive him in Jerusalem? And if Jesus comes back and violates his own prophecy, if Jesus says, well, Satan, you killed them all. So, I mean, you cheated. So, uh, you know, I'm just going to come back anyway. The devil would say, you're a liar. You, your own prophecy didn't come to pass. You can't judge me as a liar. If you're a liar, I mean, Satan is really taking this thing to task. Satan really wants the Jews to hate Jesus. That that's his, because if Jesus is received in Jerusalem, then Jesus will return. And then what happens to Satan next? What is the next thing on God's agenda? When Jesus returns to Jerusalem related to Satan, he is sent to prison for 1000 years. And I tell you that is on his mind. Satan does not want to go to prison for 1000 years. And his only way out of prison in his mind is that the Jews don't receive Jesus and he can't come back. And it is a, he is creating a havoc worldwide to destroy the nation of the, the city of Jerusalem and the body of Christ is God's answer to be the messengers and the intercessors in the battle for Jerusalem in the end times. Well, anyway, it's a lot bigger story. I just kind of snuck it in there. That's not even really my point here. I have several teachings on this. And if you've never heard this, I've got a lot of quite a bit of stuff on this on the internet, but it's a fast subject, but it's all related to a praying and fasting people. The point I'm making is this great reversal and this great turnaround in Israel is going to be related to Gentile believers in the earth, fasting and praying Jewish believers as well. But I'm talking about a hundred million Gentile believers in the earth, fasting and praying and engaging in the battle for Jerusalem and crying out according to these promises of Joel for Israel, but also for their own nations as well, that God released the same blessing, but in like kind, but in lesser degree. So let's, let's look at where am I at? I'm out of time, but I'm happy. Okay. I mean, I love this stuff. Let's look at Roman numeral three. Okay. I've already said that a couple of times each point. Let's look at, let's go to top of page 94, Roman numeral four. And I realize, you know, some of you, it's first time you ever read the book of Joel. You think, you know what? I think that you're really excited about that last 10 minutes. I don't get any of it. And I get that. I really do understand that because it's the ideas are just so dramatic. And if they're new, what I'm asking you to do, take a little bit of time, read through the notes, get with a few friends, talk about it and say, what do you, what, what does this mean? Does that make sense to you? And once you start talking about it, you get a few Bible verses out, you'll start getting familiar with the ideas. And then when you become familiar with the ideas, it's like putting on a new set of glasses. You find them everywhere. Once you, once you kind of become familiar with the ideas, you read the Bible, you find them from Genesis to revelation. You said, I never knew those verses were in there where they always were there. But once your paradigm shifts, you find this drama everywhere. It's the praying, fasting people engaged in the battle for Jerusalem, defeating the enemy, prophesying ahead of time of the victory that's coming and receiving some of the blessing ahead of time. That's kind of the whole storyline we're talking about. So even though we're laboring for our own city, we're also laboring for Jerusalem and we're believing for the age to come, but we're receiving some of the benefits of it even now ahead of time through a wholeheartedness that is strengthened through fasting and prayer. And then our intercession flows out of that wholeheartedness and we are opening gates, shutting and opening gates in the spirit, releasing angels and stopping demons. And these blessings are multiplying related to our activity on the earth. I mean, it's really dynamic what we're about. Little weak, broken little human beings like us. But because of who we are in Jesus, our words matter and who we are together matters. And prophesying these truths ahead of time and believing for a, even a down payment of them now in our life, in our region, they're very dynamic truths. They really are. That's why I'm zealous that we would get a hold of them and really latch on to them. I mean, you want to read Joel, it's only three chapters. It's the mini book of revelation. You want to read it over and over and over. You want to really get this in your spirit. Okay, let's look at Roman numeral four. He says now he's talking about, again, it's the Antichrist army. I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. I will remove far from you the northern army. I will drive him away into a barren and desolate land. His stench will come up again. It's the, it's the odor of millions of decomposing soldiers because so many of millions were killed. His foul odor will arise because this, the Antichrist, the northern army, he has done monstrous things to Israel. But beloved, he will do monstrous things to other nations across the earth. He will not conquer every nation. He will conquer a number of nations, but he will be resisted by a number of nations. Yes, he will have a stronghold in every nation because the Bible says that he'll have authority in every nation. It doesn't mean he will rule them in complete way. He'll have a beachhead in every nation, but not at all will he control every nation. It's my opinion, but I base it on several things I don't want to go into right now. I believe that in that day, the Antichrist will make inroads in America, but will never conquer America. That's just a very strong feeling I have. I believe that part of America's role is to be an intercessory nation, not just in the natural by giving supply of food to other places, which I think that's going to happen as well, but as an intercessory nation in the Spirit, prophesying and houses of prayer and engaged in the battle of Jerusalem. We will be under the onslaught and the attack of this world government, but they will, in my strong conviction, they will never ever conquer America. We will resist it and he will come up short before he takes it over. He'll try, but he'll fail, but this will happen in many nations. He will not take over many nations, but many nations he will. So when we read about this monstrous, this monstrous army, it is personal to all of us because we will all be affected by it. Though Israel will have the most severe attack and assault, but the nations of the earth will have a like attack, but of a lesser measure. So we care about the ultimate destiny of this army being destroyed. So what God's telling Israel, paragraph A, He's saying, Jerusalem, look at this Jeremiah 3 17, Jerusalem, you'll be the capital city of the whole earth. Look, at that time, Jerusalem will be called the throne of the Lord. All the nations will be gathered to the city of Jerusalem to the name of Jesus in Jerusalem. So here this northern army is assaulting Jerusalem, but Jerusalem is the throne of the Lord, which means the capital city where the throne of Jesus will be. And all the nations of the earth will stream to that city as the capital city is the chief governing city of the earth because Jesus is there. So look at the great reversal. This northern army will be destroyed, wiped out, the land will be cleansed, and Jerusalem will be strong and the evil will be driven off the land. But again, if that's going to happen in an extreme way in Jerusalem, the same sort of victory will happen globally. When the Lord returns, the enemy's kingdom will be driven off the earth completely. And even the victories we gain in this age will have continuity to the age to come. Again that's a subject for another time. So let's look at paragraph E. Joel highlighted an important detail of the end time drama. He wanted us to know that God is going to remove this northern army. He's going to remove them. He's going to drive them away into a desolate land. He's going to, he's going to drive this northern army into a barren and desolate land with his face again towards the eastern sea and his back towards the western sea. That's the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean. And he will destroy him in that part of the earth, which we know is around the city of Jerusalem. Paragraph F. Now the northern army in Joel's day, like when Joel was giving this, the people of his day would have understood that was Babylon. That was the near prophecy that in a few decades or whenever, we don't know for sure, Babylon came from the north. But now 2,500 plus years later, we say with all the other prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah and the book of Revelation, we go, no Babylon wasn't the fullness of the northern army. That was only a down payment. That was only a picture of a far more severe northern army that's coming at the end of the age. So not only was Babylon destroyed eventually, but we know as surely as Babylon was destroyed, this monstrous army will be destroyed one day completely. Top of page 95. Let's go down to paragraph I. I'm going to read the verses. I don't have them there in your notes, but I'll just read them to you. I have the reference in your notes, but I don't have the text there on the notes. Ezekiel 39, 12. Here's what it says. Ezekiel 39, 12. For seven months, the house of Israel will be burying this dead army in order to cleanse the land. There will be so many soldiers of this wicked army destroyed, it will take Israel seven months to bury the dead soldiers. And again, it's not just that the enemies are defeated. They won't have the honor. Not their graves will be desecrated, but what I'm trying to say, they will have the dishonor of not being buried, which in that culture was a huge dishonor. And that was meant to be understood, the dishonor, not only defeat, but open reproach and dishonor this Antichrist army would have. So Ezekiel 39, verse 12. For seven months, they will be burying these. Now look at Isaiah 34. Again, I have that verse on your notes, but I don't have the text actually printed out for you. Isaiah 34, verse 2 and 3. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations. Isaiah 34, verse 2 and 3. The indignation, which means the anger, the anger of the Lord is against all nations and His fury is against all of their armies. The Lord's going to be angry against all the armies that join with the Antichrist. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to the slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out into the open streets, is the idea. Their stench will rise from their corpses and the mountains will be filled with their blood, is what Isaiah is describing. So Isaiah 34 is describing the same thing that Joel is. And again, the point of it is, when we see the Antichrist's army rise up, if you see that in your day, you don't go, oh no. You look at it, you take it seriously, but you begin to prophesy what's going to happen to this army. This army, the people of God, Jews and Gentiles alike that love Jesus, they don't draw back and give up and give in and go, oh fear, fear, fear. They take a stand. They go, this will be a tough hour. We are going to win. We already have victory assured. And we begin the people of God to declare and prophesy where this is going, to release the destruction and the spirit on them ahead of time. And these are all passages that the people in the solemn assemblies, the prayer gatherings, they will use these verses, these promises like missiles, like a holy arsenal against the kingdom of darkness. And so this book is loaded with promises that we will strike back as the people of God against the kingdom of darkness. Now the rest of the passage, paragraph Roman numeral five, I'll just sum it up to you and just end with that. It's talking about don't be afraid and be glad. It says it over and over. Don't be afraid, oh land. Don't be afraid, oh beast. Don't be afraid, people. Be glad, people. Be glad, land. It says it over and over. Land, beast, people. Be glad, don't be afraid and rejoice in the Lord. Now they are told to rejoice in the Lord and not be afraid before the victory is manifest openly. So when the trouble is all around, they are supposed, they are meant to see that victory is sure, ultimate victory, to see there will be pockets of victory even ahead of time as well. And there could be huge pockets of victory. Because the victory won't just be come when Jesus returns. There will be all kinds of victories happening against the Antichrist throughout the entire years leading up to the return of the Lord. We don't draw back in fear. We rejoice in the Lord. We press in, the people of God do. We prophesy. We stand strong. Some will die. Many will not die. Many will walk in victory. The nations will be fainting for fear, Jesus said. Where's this verse at? I have it here. Look at, where is it at? Oh, I think I lost it. Somewhere. It doesn't matter. It's Luke 21, 26. I have it in the notes. Jesus said the nations will faint for fear in that day. But the people of God will be rejoicing. Not, not a, you know, a cavalier kind of superficial rejoicing, like we're out of touch with what's going on. We will have a profound anchor rooted in the Word of God, in confidence in Jesus. We will be rejoicing, not in a glib kind of superficial silly way, but a profound confidence in that hour. The people of God will rejoicing in the Lord and glad and not fearful while the nations are failing for fear. Their hearts will fail for fear, because we will be prophesying, the people of God, ahead of time. And they will, they will be bold in their spirit. Not again, I mean again, not just for victory when the Antichrist is defeated when Jesus returns, but knowing we will have even pockets of victory ahead of time, substantial pockets of victory over the Antichrist. So we will be believing for the ultimate victory, but also believing for the temporal victory ahead of time. And if this is happening in geographic areas, it's also happening in your individual lives. Because these are not just promises to apply to geographic areas. You can believe God for every one of these promises for your life. That you can, you know these things are in God's heart for you, for His people. You know that He wants you to do not fear, to be glad and to rejoice. Even before the victory is manifest, He wants you bold. We know that He wants you free from shame. We know that He wants to make provision for us. All of these promises are here clearly in Joel chapter 2. But it's the people that are moving into His heart, that are seeking Him with all of their heart and pressing into Him. He's in control. That's the message of Joel chapter 2. This passage verse 17 to 27. He's saying, I'm in control. I'm in control. Victory is assured and you can have it now in measure. Even in the geographic areas of your life, I mean of the nations, you can have victory even now in different measures. Like it's going to be fully manifest when the Lord returns. And so we read this passage. Our spirit is bolstered with strength as it gets into us. As we pray and fast, we speak these truths. Now we don't speak them right now against the Antichrist at that time. But we can believe these truths now for an application of them in our lives in part. But there's coming a time when the Antichrist will actually be on the earth. Where we will actually, the people of God will prophesy these things in prayer rooms all across the earth. And this is like a prayer manual written ahead of time that have prophetic promises which are the arsenal of the end time church. So amen and amen. Let's take a minute here. Let you catch your breath. Which translates me. Okay. What I want to do. It's 435. I want to have everybody stand. If you would. I want to go ahead and free anybody that wants to slip out. But I just ask you to slip out back there. Just because a lot of you have a meeting here at 6. And so I want to give you a chance to get out and get, you know, move around a little bit. But I want to have a question and answer time. I wonder if we have our mics. Do we have our mics down there? Whoa. We don't have our mics down there. We'll get them there in a second. Oh here they are right here.