Mike Bickle emphasizes the significance of understanding military invasions in God's end-time plan, particularly through the lens of the Babylonian invasion as a foreshadowing of future events. He explains that the terrifying imagery of the Babylonian army serves as a model for the ultimate invasion led by the Antichrist, highlighting the need for spiritual preparedness and a call to repentance among God's people. Bickle stresses the importance of prophetic preaching that creates urgency and awareness of the coming judgment, urging believers to respond with prayer and fasting. He underscores that God is sovereign over all events, using even evil forces to fulfill His divine purposes, and calls for a clear and courageous proclamation of the truth to awaken the church and the nations.

of clouds and thick darkness like the morning clouds spreading over the mountains a people or a nation come great and strong the like of whom has never been nor will there ever be such a nation like this even for many excessive successive generations verse 3 a fire burns before this advancing army and behind them the fire burns so the fires in front of them and behind them and the land of Israel was like the Garden of Eden it was plush and and fruitful and with vegetation so we know it sometime after the locust plague has happened some years later the land of Judah and Jerusalem is like a Garden of Eden before them another the vegetation is all returned but behind this army it leaves the land desolate like a wilderness surely nothing will escape the onslaught of the Babylonian army coming against Israel the appearance of this army is like the appearance of horses like a swift steeds they're coming rapidly they run these soldiers they come like the noise of chariots over mountaintops leaping the sound of war is like the noise of flaming fire devouring like a big forest fire the the sound of war the noise is like that it's like a strong nation or people set in battle array verse 6 before this army the people of Jerusalem they will writhe in pain the victims in the city of Jerusalem all their faces are drained of color for they run like mighty men this hostile Babylonian army they climb like men of war they climb the wall Jerusalem had walls around it they break in over the wall everywhere everyone in this army marches in formation it's a disciplined army they do not break ranks they do not push each other even under the heat of battle they march in order in columns though they lunge between the weapons they're not cut down they run to and fro across the city of Jerusalem they attack and go over the wall and once they get into the wall they climb into the houses and they enter into the windows like a thief I mean imagine soldiers entering into a city and all of them breaking into the homes I mean how terrifying is this picture this is an absolutely terrifying picture let's look at Roman numeral one the background to this Babylonian invasion paragraph a just before Israel entered the promised land now we're talking about 1,500 years BC that's Moses 1,500 years BC David's a thousand years BC and Joel is 600 years BC so Moses was about a thousand years before him just to kind of give the context he prophesied Moses before they actually entered the promised land they came out of Egypt they've been in the wilderness 40 years they're about to enter the the land of Canaan the promised land and Moses gave him a prophecy because if you sin when you get in the land in a few minutes when Joshua brings you to the land because Moses died and Joshua took him in the land this was his last kind of a message to them after 40 years of being in the wilderness he goes there's terrible things will happen to you as a nation if you get into that land and you break your covenant with God because the blessings are so great with the covenant the consequences for violating them are great because God is zealous for the relationship for which the covenant stands here's what he told him he said a locust plague will come after you I mean Moses said that years ago I mean almost a thousand years before Joel he said the locust plague will come after you I mean Solomon said the same thing we looked at it in the in the last class where Solomon said if the locust plague comes and you cry out unto the Lord then the Lord will heal the land God sends locusts as his judgment then he said well things will get worse there will be a nation from afar he's talking about the Babylonian army they will come after the locusts that's exactly what's happening in the book of Joel paragraph B the Babylonian invasion occurred over a 20-year period 606 to 586 now I told you a couple sessions ago that 586 that was the that that was the height of it that was the the most horrifying year 586 if you just remember 586 that will be that again is one of the most important dates in Old Testament history the city was decimated the city of Jerusalem there were three stages three waves of attack about every ten years the Babylonian army came for another wave now that's what Moses said in Deuteronomy 28 verse 64 he goes the Lord will scatter you he'll he'll bring you captive to nations all around you it's gonna happen now this happened three different major times in Israel's history three times and this is important if you're gonna understand the Old Testament prophets you need to understand these three because Babylon was a real serious one but there was the Assyrians attacked 721 and took the nation of Israel into captivity then about a hundred years later the Babylonians did it and then 600 700 years later Rome did it right after Jesus in 78 three major times in the last you know several thousand years they've been attacked I mean they've been attacked many times those are the three big ones the ones that that are referenced by the prophets paragraph C but all three of these big attacks against Israel over a you know a thousand year two thousand year period actually of these three big invasions paragraph C the ultimate invasion that Moses was talking about was when the Antichrist comes at the end of the age when the ultimate enemy comes all the other ones are down payment so to speak they're they're pictures of how bad it will be when the most evil man that ever walked the planet will lead armies against the nation of Israel to discipline them for their sin now again the devil just wants to destroy him but God is allowing this to happen to discipline them that a remnant would be saved and then call on Jesus and the King would come and the Millennial Kingdom would happen and all those things top of page 64 paragraph D now why do we want to understand this Babylonian invasion in Joel chapter 2 we're in paragraph D here's why if we understand what happened in Babylon and this invasion that equips us to understand the future one coming when the Antichrist comes against Jerusalem but the Antichrist isn't only going to come against Jerusalem he's going to come against many Gentile nations as well so we say well what will it be like we study Joel 2 to see how severe it will be and what God wants so the model of Joel 2 the Babylonian invasion gives us insight to the Antichrist invasion against Israel and also the Antichrist invasion against other nations of the earth we understand the severity of it and we understand what God requires to alleviate the trouble so Joel 2 is an important very critical passage of Scripture to let us see what God wants what God's after in the midst of all of this crisis that yet future so I study the past to gain insight on what how to interpret what's happening in the days to come so I read the other passages about the end time events but I read them through the grid of understanding the trouble in the past because we look at the past as a picture of how to interpret the future so that's why I care about understanding Joel chapter 2 I want to know what God's thinking I want to know what God wants us to do in that hour and so it's like if you study Joel 2 you'll know what to do in a future crisis when a nation is being disciplined by the Lord or attacked by the devil either one because often they will go hand-in-hand it will be God's discipline but the devil's rage along with man's sin Roman numeral two Jesus prophesied military invasions now the reason I'm saying this is this is a new idea to some people some people when they think about the future they they're in the events related to the coming of the Lord they're not thinking of military invasions of nations let me tell you Jesus is returning the second coming is actually in context to a military crisis around Israel he's not coming just in a vacuum in the sky he's coming as a military leader to deliver Israel and even to deliver the nations from this evil military man Jesus is coming in context to a military conflict now this is new to some people they're just thinking well things are going to kind of get better and better or maybe worse and worse but Jesus is going to come and rapture's out we're all going to be gone and it doesn't matter anyway no that's not what's going to happen we will see the military conflicts I'm talking about the body of Christ and Jesus will rapture the church but in the context of this global scenario of crisis that's developing and we need to know how to interpret the crisis and respond to God in the midst of it and what to tell the nations is happening in the Spirit so that's why we want to understand this right in down the notes Luke 19 verse 43 and 44 Jesus prophesied the military invasion of Jerusalem in Luke 19 verse 43 and 44 you can read that on your own my point is that Jesus of the New Testament prophesied military invasions some people have this real confused idea that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament only one God he never ever changes one God in three persons fully loving in the Old Testament and fully holy fully loving and fully holy in the New Testament absolutely not one variance of change of his personality at all the God that had military invasion to discipline a nation in his plan of the Old Testament is the same God who's leading the nations in the New Testament his name is Jesus and he prophesied it in Luke chapter 19 verse 43 and 44 paragraph B he prophesied at a second time in Luke 21 verse 20 to 24 he said a military invasion is coming now Jesus goes to the cross about 30 AD but Rome comes 40 years later he said Rome is coming they will surround the city it will be a military invasion it will level the city we're talking about tender loving Jesus is prophesying a military destruction of the city of Jerusalem it didn't happen for 40 years but it happened and sometimes because the Lord delays and he gives people a chance to respond people think well I guess it's not going to happen but even that even that prophecy that Jesus gave for Jerusalem it has two fulfillments like many prophecies in the Bible there's double fulfillments there is a near fulfillment that happens within a generation or so and then there's a far fulfillment that happens at the end of the age one prophecy two fulfillments the near fulfillment is a partial fulfillment the far fulfillment means at the end of the age is a long time away from when the Prophet gave it it has a complete fulfillment and here even in Luke chapter 21 Jesus has it's a has double fulfillments he said Jerusalem you will be surrounded that happened 40 years later in 70 AD but 2,000 years later it will happen even in a more severe way beloved it's yet coming again Jerusalem will again be surrounded by nations I want to give you a verse to write down your notes Zechariah 14 verse 2 to 4 Zechariah 14 verse 2 to 4 one of the clearest descriptions it says that God says that all the nations of the earth will gather against Jerusalem to battle against her beloved that's yet to come this is far more intense than even what happened in 70 AD when Rome did it far more intense than when Babylon did it I mean the nations of the earth every nation of the earth is going together there's never been a time when every nation of the earth gathered against Jerusalem this is yet a future prophecy and look what it says in Zechariah 14 it says the city shall be taken the city will be captured by the bad guys the city of Jerusalem will be captured again it's gonna happen and God's wanting to wake up the nation it's not surprising God the devil wants to destroy the nation and God wants to wake the nation up paragraph C John prophesied it and I have the verses there in the book of Revelation he said the red horse talking about the generation the Lord returns the red horse of the four horsemen the red horse has been released he will take peace from the earth Revelation 6 4 he will take peace and many will be killed by a great sword that's military conflict it's yet ahead military conflict now John prophesied it but who is the man who is releasing the red horse Jesus is Jesus is the one releasing the red horse you read the book of Revelation chapter 6 he's the one releasing it it's not surprising him he understands what's happening he knows that there's a greater good coming out of this global conflict there's something that will result from this conflict that would not happen without this conflict so again though it's Satan's rage and desire to destroy it's God's discipline the desire to wake up to righteousness and love and truth paragraph D Paul warns us about military conflicts he said there's going to be a time where there's going to be peace and safety and that's that's a false peace and safety it will be a delusion there's yet a time in the future where all the nations will say peace and safety and Paul said don't believe it it's the Antichrist is orchestrating it it's a false it's a counterfeit peace it's not safety it's temporary it's only a minute it's false anyway till he pulls his mask off and you know that he's not the Prince of Peace he's a God of Wars what he is or he's dealing with the gods of wars what it says in the book of Daniel he makes the gods of war the God of war his God Paul said when they say peace and safety don't believe it because suddenly there will be destruction in other words war the opposite of peace and safety military conflict is coming on a global level paragraph E so the Old Testament prophets and Jesus and Paul and John they all prophesied in time military conflicts it is in the future of the planet and we need to be prepared we need to be able to interpret what's happening in the spirit why it's happening what role God has what role the devil has what role the church has and how we're supposed to respond and how we're supposed to interpret it and the book of Joel equips us for that okay let's go to page 65 Roman numeral 4 he says blow the trumpet Roman numeral 4 Joel chapter 2 verse 1 or 2 blow the trumpet in Zion or in the city of Jerusalem and in Zion can because it's the covenant peoples he's talking about now today the covenant people Zion is still the city of Jerusalem but this application is to all the covenant people in the earth those that are in covenant to God through Jesus they are to apply this in their context as well though it has a particular application to the city of Jerusalem but it's also has a broad application to any of the people in covenant to God through Jesus which is the only way you can be in covenant with God he says blow the trumpet and this was a guy was really blowing a real trumpet I mean not that at all I mean he actually blew the trumpet in the temple and the way we do it is that we our trumpet is a prophetic message we make known the trouble that's coming and that day because they were all in one city when that particular trumpet blast was heard everybody knew an emergency was around the corner today we don't blow a trumpet because we're not all in one city I mean we might but the big point is or the application is the trumpet is the prophetic preaching that alerts people an emergency is coming blow the trumpet in Zion sound an alarm in other words the sound must be clear enough that the people are alarmed if it does not alarm the people the sound has not gone forth in a clear way and here's the next thing that God wants he wants all the inhabitants of the land to tremble he wants an alarm so clear the people tremble meaning they get it it's not so vague like well in God's own way in his own time one of these days it's gonna get harder but hey it'll all work out no we're not talking about a a passive kind of well I snuck it in there somewhere I said trouble was coming in there I put it in the message that's not gonna alarm anybody and it's gonna make nobody tremble we're talking about clear precise prophetic preaching now what we have is just the script we have the scripture but as we get near to the time of more global conflict the Spirit will be speaking in very precise ways of how to apply these scriptures to nations and so my point here is that we're girding ourselves to prepare ourselves for this kind of message to declare for the day of the Lord is coming it's still future there's still time to change the future the day of the Lord the trouble isn't here but it's coming it's right around the corner is the message you don't wait till the day it rains before you tell the people a flood is coming Noah was telling them for a hundred and twenty years he didn't wait till the day the rain says guess what it's gonna rain they said I know it's raining now you tell them for time for enough time to where people can receive it and Noah told him for over a hundred years and God's raising up preachers that will talk about the trouble for some decades before it even mounts up it prepares the other generation to respond to it as well as it gives people in the nations of the earth a chance to hear it and make sense of it we don't wait till the troubles at a full crescendo and then we start saying it there's nothing prophetic about telling people in the middle of a war a war is started prepare for the war they got already started we be prepared it's too late to prepare and the way that we prepare is by understanding and by our heart and a vibrant spirit with God we're preparing in context of our relationship with God it's not like we're storing guns and storing this and storing that so we can you know we can eat and everybody else starve it's not that kind of thing the preparation here that Joe's talking about a spiritual preparation it's it's understanding it's having understanding as well as having a vibrant spirit with God he says a day of darkness a day of gloom a day of gloom people say I don't like doom and gloom you need to line up with the Bible the Bible has a day of gloom and God's not asking the human race for their approval on it we announce it we don't announce only gloom but if you're not announcing the gloom you are not preaching the whole counsel of God it's very popular to say you know I'm not really in that doom and gloom well then you're not really into the whole counsel of God you're picking and choosing what is popular and what is is and and and that which is pleasing to the people which is good popular pleasing things aren't necessarily bad God loves you as popular and it's pleasing I love that message but the whole message is God loves you so he's gonna wake up the earth because he loves so much it's a day of gloom don't apologize that you have doom and gloom because that again that's it's a caricature people will say it to dismiss you to ridicule you the idea you'll back away say if God says it I agree with God I'm his ambassador I don't originate it I just agree with him because he's wise and he's good and he's powerful and I'm going with him besides that he's the judge you stand before at the end and that's the only one that I care about in terms of my messaging is that if at the end he says hey that was good that was clear stuff down there Mike I go yes yes that's what I'm going for the Lord will hear every one of our here's every one of our messages if he likes them when we meet eye to eye at the judgment seat of Christ your your teaching was good if he goes you know now you missed the mark on so many things like ah can I have another chance the answer is no one Bible one lifetime on the earth and one shot at it there you have so I want to I want to my goal is it to be positive or negative my goal is to be accurate to be faithful that's the goal and the faithful message is positive and negative it has both dimensions so let's look at top of page 66 paragraph three God gives warnings of judgment and he tells you can read the passage on your own Ezekiel 33 he says if the watchman if the prophetic preacher sees trouble and doesn't tell the people that he sees it from the word and he sees it in the spirit meaning maybe the Lord even speaks to them the watchman the preacher dreams visions whatever or shows it to him in the word if he's if I show him this and they see it and they do not make it known and the people die the blood is on the hands of the preacher it's on the head of the preacher I will require it at the preacher's hand is what the Lord's telling because the watchman was a preacher was it was there it was a prophet a messenger Roman numeral five it's a day of darkness gloom clouds thick darkness a Joel describes this day in frightening languages four different words darkness gloom clouds thick darkness the ultimate expression paragraph B to this darkness is the Antichrist invasion of Israel but again the Antichrist doesn't only invade Israel with this a passage I don't have the notes here Daniel 11 verse 40 to 45 Daniel 11 40 to 45 Daniel in these six verses describes the Antichrist military attacks to the Gentile nations six verses give us insight on what the Antichrist is going to do militarily against other nations not just Israel so this though Joel is talking about Jerusalem in Babylon prophetically we see what happened in Jerusalem and Babylon back in 586 BC we look it's what's gonna happen to Jerusalem in the future but not only Jerusalem to other Gentile cities and nations as well but the storyline is the same meaning we respond to God in a certain way and the devil has a certain agenda and God has a certain agenda the storyline is is the same of what's happening in the Spirit Roman numeral six this army is coming like the morning clouds spreading over a mountain that's an army or a people coming that's great and strong a Joel compares this army to the morning clouds over a mountain like you wake up early in the morning and you saw the cloud the morning the Sun rising over the horizon there the clouds are rising with the light of dawn of a new day the idea that Joel is saying is this army is coming like the morning clouds they are sure to come they're gonna come progressively like the day it gets brighter and brighter you know it's five in the morning that's six it's a little bit lighter seven sooner or later it's midday it's noon and the brightness he says this army will start slow but it will be like the dawning of a new day it's sure to come and nobody will escape it meaning when the Sun shines it affects everyone this army is coming like a rising Sun this is not good for the rebellious all through a page go to page 67 I talked more about that phrase you can read that a little more on your own go to Roman numeral seven like a morning cloud we'll look at it again a people come this this Babylonian army great and strong the like of whom has never been seen Joel 2 2 we're in Roman numeral 7 middle of page 67 like the morning clouds this army is great and strong this army is like is the like of whom has never been nor will there ever be an army like this even for many successive generations so right here even here Joel is talking about more than the Babylonian army there have been stronger armies than Babylon what happened when Rome came in 70 ad was actually more severe than Babylon meaning Joel is already reaching to the final conflict at the end of the age he's already has in time overtones right here in this verse we know even from this verse alone that there's a bigger storyline than just the Babylonian invasion paragraph a Joel's continues to describe the army they will be unsurpassed in size they'll be great and strong they'll be unsurpassed in might in fierceness paragraph B the army will be great vast numbers it will have a geographic reach that will be unprecedented again the great army is not the Babylonian it was the great army of that day it was the most powerful army in the earth in that that time frame there was no army in the earth more powerful in that day but it's a prototype of the greatest army evil army in all of human history which is the Antichrist army it will be a great army meaning this is not the sword of Christ as well it will just take care of itself and go away Joseph's it won't just go away this is a great army in the negative sense this is a this is a terrifying reality that we need the favor of God to stand strong in that day because some of the people Jerusalem they're going well you know maybe we can negotiate with them maybe they won't really be so strong maybe we'll beat them maybe we'll get an alliance with Egypt or Syria and together we can fight them off that's what they tried actually and Joel says don't try it this army is great it's bigger than all of your political maneuverings and all of your coalitions it's a great army it's a strong army and the Antichrist army at the end will not be triumphed over by any human army no army will defeat it there will be nations that will resist him it's important to know that the Antichrist army though he will have a stronghold in every nation he'll have a presence in every nation but he will not dominate every nation there will be a number of nations that will resist him till the end but there will be no army that will be able to overthrow him there's only one man in his army that will beat this this end time army his name is Jesus he's coming back as the captain of the host of the armies of heaven he's coming back literally as a military commander the greater David the greater Joshua he's coming back as the greater Joshua the greater David in the military sense he's coming back as the greater Moses he's coming back as the fullness of all the types and shadows top of page 68 a fire Roman numeral 8 a fire will devour them look at this a fire goes before the army a fire and behind them burns a fire so they will send fire ahead of time and then they will send fire on the way out we find those I got some illustrations in history particularly World War II where the Nazis they would send they would bomb an area before they actually invaded it they would send fire on the front end and then they went in to invade and then when they were retreating they burned the land they called it scorched earth so that nobody could use the resources of the land against them they called it the scorched earth policy but the point of this description in Joel 2 verse 3 it will be a destructive brutal army I mean it will have no mercy it will destroy everything it touches that does not serve it he'll burn it beforehand before they attack they'll send fire bombs and after it attacks and it moves on to retreat they'll just burn cities and they'll burn areas so there none of the resources can be used and marshaled against them very brutal very destructive is the idea top of page 69 Roman numeral 10 their appearance he talks about there it's a terrifying scene the appearance of this army their appearance is like of these military these soldiers it's like horses running swift like swift steeds they're running with with speed and efficiency and boldness they're running into battle is the idea in other words this army will not cower it will not draw back for anything there will be it will have a noise like chariots over mountaintops when they leap all the military machinery of the of the sounds of war just a terrifying scene that's going on here it will be like the noise of a flaming fire like the noise of a of a city on fire I mean in again in World War two they have examples of various cities several examples that were firebombed and the horrific sounds that took place when an entire city was firebombed I mean we're we're just massive areas were were burning all at the same time is is a horrific description and then it goes on in verse 6 he says before them the people talk about the victims in the city of Jerusalem the face Joel's describing the face of the victims in the city of Jerusalem they will writhe in pain just looking at them they will writhe in pain when the army is coming they will be they will have no color because they'll be drained of color it says here they'll be just fear stricken in the face of this army it's a brutal army when you read the whole story of the end what the Bible says about the Antichrist armies and it's again it's coming it's Jerusalem it's its main target target but it's also coming against other nations of the earth what what happens in the midst of this what do we do Joel tells us how we're to interpret it and what what we're to do and respond to the Lord in the midst of it Roman numeral 11 these men of war this is a total assault this Babylonian army they will come fierce fearlessly aggressively look at this they it says in Joel 2 verse 7 this army will run like mighty men they will climb the walls in other words the protective barriers like men of war in other words no obstacle will keep them out every one of this army marches in formation they're a disciplined army they won't break ranks because typically in the heat of battle many armies break ranks under the in the heat of battle because of fear or disorganization but they keep ranks a disciplined armies a very very terrifying army they won't push one another though everyone marches in his column that means in the heat of battle they are disciplined they have good communication they're trained and they and then they're aggressive that's a terrible description of an enemy army if that's if that's the describing an army attacking you don't like that you want the army to be fearful and chaos and you know running around without any direction top of page 70 paragraph C they're disciplined they march in formation they're trained they're seasoned D they're courageous they lunge it says in the heat of battle instead of retreating in fear they lunge they go forward they attack E it's an invincible it's an aggressive army they run to and fro through the city there they they have a mission they're focused they're aggressive they won't be denied no obstacle will stop them no resistance will stop them is what is the picture Joel is describing of the Babylonian army which is a prophetic picture of the end time demonic army of Satan which is the Antichrist army this is a real army by the way it will really attack nations it will be real F I mean more terrifying than anything they climb into the houses so the people are hiding in their houses and these evil guys break through the windows they have this kind of aggression to have to have take personal violence and cruelty on the individuals in the house it's not enough to win the city or or to win the you know a neighborhood and put the flag on it they want to break in house by house and plunder the house and show cruelty to the individuals that's it that's a terrifying one I mean maybe they could hide away you know the the victims and tell the Babylonian army past that may they sneak away late that night but no they break in house by house to get everybody they're comprehensive and their desire to bring destruction to Jerusalem which was their enemy well then suddenly Rome in Roman numeral 12 Joel changes the subject he goes right into verse 10 the earth quakes before this army it does the earth didn't quake before the Babylonian army the heavens tremble the sun and the moon grow dark the stars diminish their brightness the Lord gives his voice before his army for his camp is very great for strong is the one who executes his word for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible who can endure it so right in at the end of this description of verse 1 to 9 the Babylonian army though in the midst of it there are some hints that it's an army that's bigger and stronger than the Babylonians it there's hints of the end-time army but now Joel makes it very clear he sets this military attack in context to the end-time events it's more than Babylon there's an eschatological dimension and you know eschatological is a fancy word which means in times there's an end-time dimension to this battle now a lot of commentators will read this and make it all poetic they'll see it only as Babylon and they'll say well you know Joel now kicked out of the literal now he's into the poetry beloved verse 10 is not poetry there are many passages of Scripture by the prophets by Jesus himself that the solar system the the cosmic disturbances related to the end-time drama paragraph a there will be a supernatural demonstrations there the overall context of the whole planet will be dramatic in time eschatological events there'll be dramatic things happening in the cosmic in the sky dramatic things in the sea and the land and the army I mean the whole earth will be in a drama so intense along with the greatest revival ever in history far beyond the book of Acts all happening simultaneously what Joel's saying here is not only is are the is Jerusalem being shaken and not only will the cities of the earth be shaken by this evil army the earth itself will be shaken and of course the verse here that you want to add to the notes is Hebrews I mean Habakkuk nope starts with H not Hebrews or Habakkuk Haggai there you go get excited Haggai chapter 2 verse 6 and 7 it says God will shake the land and the sea and the sky he will shake everything that can be shaken so this Antichrist army is shaken cities the outpouring of the Spirit is shaking cities the solar system is shaking the sea is shaking everything is shaking in context it will be the most dynamic and dramatic time of human history to be alive paragraph B why does God suddenly talk about cosmic signs while describing an evil Babylonian army for two reasons number one he wants to tell us the evil Babylonian army there's more than meets the eye it's an end time army that's being pictured by Babylon Babylon's the near fulfillment the Antichrist army is the far fulfillment and secondly God wants to say not just that there's a bigger storyline than just Babylon in 586 BC also God is saying I am in total control I said it all in advance and look at this I'm shaking the heavens the earth the ocean I'm shaking everything and I can shake this evil Empire the minute I'm finished with this shape Empire Antichrist I will shake it and break it I have power over everything I'm in total control that's what Joel is saying through this God gives a power a heavenly power display in the hour that this wicked army is aggressively moving into Israel and across the nations God flexes his muscle and gives a power demonstration in the sky and he's telling the Saints have no fear that little guy is nothing compared to me trust me so we have this backdrop of this heavenly display of power in the sky while this evil army they think they're unstoppable there's none that's unstoppable but the Lord Himself he's saying that he has paragraph C he's saying that I have power over all the armies on the earth I have power over the Sun I have power over the stars I have power over heaven and earth Matthew 28 verse 20 I have Matthew 28 verse 20 I have power over everything in heaven and earth that's what Joel is saying here top of page 71 paragraph D interesting he says this is my army he's talking about the Babylonian army we've given these verses earlier in the earlier sessions where he called Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar my servant he goes he is my servant yes I will deal with him severely when I'm done using him but he is the rod in my hand it's what he says actually in Isaiah 10 against the Assyrian the wicked Assyrian king Sennacherib he's my rod in my hand and when I'm done with him then I will break him the Antichrist and the Babylonian army and the army the Antichrist it's they're under God's control yes they're motivated by demons and their own evil decisions but they're playing into God's bigger picture and when God's done with them he will deal with them and discard them they are his instrument to discipline rebellious Israel and to even wake up the nations of the earth they are his I have at the end of paragraph D the Lord himself will bring this vile army he will bring them into power in other words he will he will allow them to come to prominence and he will even provide the overall direction for what he wants the Antichrist to do meaning the Antichrist is moved by his own evil but he plays into a bigger storyline that he doesn't even recognize they will fulfill God's purpose that's the most majestic thing about God God can use the evil to discipline evil or he can use evil to discipline even his people who are in compromise and he can wake up nations and then without ever violating the evil army that he uses their freewill they're choosing evil each step of the way but falling into his overall purposes top of page 72 it says this the Lord gives voice before his great army Joel 2 verse 11 top of page 72 Roman number 13 the Lord gives voice before his army for his camp is very great again he's talking about Babylon right now because in a minute he's gonna say I'm gonna fulfill my purpose wait and see nobody is powerful like me I will execute the prophecies I gave ahead of time I will bring them to pass precisely who can endure this terrible hour unless they're walking with me in a right way that's what he says in verse 11 and of course you know what Joel 2 12 the next verse is turn to the Lord in all your heart call us all of assembly fast and pray that's the only way to endure the day of the Lord is to be in right relationship with God let's go on to the session notes 8 we're just gonna touch it just a little bit top of page 73 it's the same subject we'll just touch a portion of this and then let you read the rest on your own it's the necessity of the day of the Lord preachers let's read Joel 2 verse 1 again just to kind of get our mind around the key verse on this topic blow the trumpet in Zion sound an alarm let the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day the Lord is coming paragraph a I call it day of the Lord preaching is to create an alarm in God's people there to blow the trumpet in Zion amongst the covenant community the people who have relationship with God tell them sound an alarm yes there are many verses where we talk about the revival there's plenty of verses that's not what he's saying right here it's not either or it's both and but here he's but most most people are inclined towards the positive which is good positive is important positive a very important part of God's in time message but positive isn't the only part of the message he said sound an alarm create alarm paragraph a and the people of God cause their heart to tremble number one to create an alarm unsettle them with the reality of the coming events unsettle them don't leave them business as usual alarm them one guy told me once he goes what you're saying seems like so something so dramatic and so intense it's gonna happen I said you're listening good I made it clear he goes that's ridiculous because if I thought that way I would just be like oh a mess between now and then I go no that's a wrong response just to live a mess you press into God which is Joel chapter 2 verse 12 the next verse after the the great who can endure turn to God with all your heart walk right with him have clarity of what's happening have favor of God in your life and walk fearlessly with boldness and clarity in your life that's what you do you don't give way to fear but God's raising up preachers that will make cause an alarm number two they will cause the people to tremble hearts engaged in the fear of God they will be alarmed and they will tremble in the fear of God paragraph B I like I've said this through the years when's the last time you heard a message that made your spirit tremble what's the last time you heard a message that made you a lot that alarmed you that went whoa tense well let's not pick on all the preachers you've listened when's the last time you preached a message that made anybody tremble when's the last time you've had a conversation in a coffee shop that made somebody tremble with what you were saying from the scripture so don't just pick on all the preachers that aren't moving you who are you moving number number one paragraph B many message messages today make people just rejoice that's good our primary message is the good news of rejoicing but part of the good news is God is going to deal with the evil and the oppressors of the earth who are using their good their free will to come against the kingdom of God and part of the good news is God is going to confront the misuse of free will to resist God that's part of the good news actually if God did not resist that which was against his kingdom the good news would not fully be able to be walked out without the confrontation of those that use their free will to say no to his goodness because you know when somebody says no to God they don't just evaporate they don't disappear they have an eternal spirit they live forever they're made in the image of God evil people don't just go away they live forever that's part of the dilemma that God created man in his own image with an eternal spirit and he won't violate their free will so he has to create a situation where he confronts those who misuse their free will and they will not repent that is part of the good news is the point there's a murder in your neighborhood and the police catch him that's good news for the neighborhood that's what I'm trying to say that is part of the good news because people some people in a very shallow way they'll see the negative of God confronting evil as bad no if there's a murder in your neighborhood you want them to be stopped you really do some only declare the positive and I don't even mean they just declared a good news they only declare the positive part of the good news because both dimensions are part of the good news the policemen stopping the murder is part of the good news Romans 11 22 Paul said behold both the goodness and the severity of God Romans 11 22 he said understand the goodness and understand the severity don't choose between them understand there's no contradiction between them a couple more verses I want to give you Acts 20 verse 27 Paul said he preached the full gospel I mean the full counsel Acts 20 verse 27 the verse before Acts 20 verse 26 he goes I'm innocent of the blood of everyone because I told the whole message the whole message I didn't tell part of the message I'm not he was quoting or referencing the passage I mentioned a minute ago in Ezekiel 33 where if you don't tell the whole message the blood is on your hands and he said I'm innocent of the blood of everyone I told you the positive and the negative I'm free of the blood of anyone who does not answer to God I mean who does not receive my message that's Acts 20 verse 26 and verse 27 he says I told you the whole counsel the same passage Acts 27 verse 20 back up a few verses he goes I didn't draw back saying anything I said the hard stuff as well as the pleasing stuff I did not draw back on any point and many draw back today because they want the applause and they don't want the hassle of the bad beloved we can't draw back on anything that doesn't mean you say everything you know in every conversation some people because they they get a hold of the bad they think to show forth their faithfulness and courage they have to work it into every conversation no you want to be slid by the Spirit you don't have to tell everybody everything you know every time you talk to him and I'm saying that actually to be nice to you so that you don't feel this a wrong pressure to be faithful so therefore you've got to somehow sneak in the bad stuff every time you get a chance just to prove you're faithful so that God goes well I see you're faithful he goes I'd rather you be obedient flow with my heart agree with me middle page 73 day of the Lord preachers I've said all this stuff I like it how many of you know like I like one of my main gifts is repetition I'll give you a verse that I saw I looked at all that I've already said it like four times today I love repetition I'm gonna give you a verse that you don't have on the notes Micah 3 8 Micah 3 8 Micah said this he said I am full of the power of God by the Holy Spirit to declare the truth about Israel sin I mean what a statement he goes I am full of the power of God by the Spirit to make known Israel sin to them in other words to make it clear so they can get away out of it he didn't make known their sin just to say bah humbug there you have it so they could get rescued from it Micah 3 8 it takes the power of God to declare sin in a right way it takes revelation and it takes power matter of fact Micah says more than that in Micah 3 8 he says I'm full of the power of God and he adds two more words I'm full of the justice and the might of God by making no known Israel sin you want to be a justice preacher you have to tell the patient that has cancer they have cancer we can't tell the cancer patient they're well we have to tell them they have cancer but there's a solution but you have to admit you have cancer to get the solution we want it's part of the good news by getting people to line up with truth but Micah said I'm full of the power of God to tell cancer patients they have to deal with their cancer to tell Israel they're their sins so they can repent of it and come into that covenant relationship and receive the blessings of the goodness of salvation so it takes the power of God's my point it's paragraph D there actually it takes the power of God to cause men to tremble it takes the revelation of the Spirit it's much more than just communication skills it takes the power of God to operate in this paragraph Roman numeral three preaching that produces trembling middle page 74 Roman numeral three we'll just end with this three three dimensions of trembling a the day the Lord preachers they cause the heart to tremble in three different ways be they tremble with anguish I mean the preacher trembles and the people tremble anguish over the trouble that's coming we make clear to the cancer patient how serious cancer is so they deal with it they go to the physician to get it healed and the in the using just the natural physical reality analogy here Jeremiah had anguish he had compassion anguish but he had anguish and he preached with tears he was known as the weeping prophet we don't preach on judgment apart from tears it doesn't mean you cry every time but your heart is sad over this you're not just venting you're not getting something off your chest like the old preacher said you're not shaking them over hell on a rotten stick kind of hoping the stick breaks I mean some people preach on the negative kind of hoping somebody gets a taste of it no no it's it's with a with anguish a trembling heart and it causes the people to tremble I mean with anguish over it that's a part of trembling that's not the only part see Jeremiah preached trembling even with the reality of the persecution he would bear you read the Jeremiah had several different biographical kind of discussions where he talked about what was happening in his heart and the persecution is real and Jeremiah said I I can't I'm not gonna preach this anymore I mean he trembled in another sense he goes this is intense meaning it's not just kind of bravado it's not proving you know your courageous spiritual one-upsmanship it's it's real this is real stuff and out there it's real when you say it the the negative is real and number three paragraph D we tremble in the sense we're awestruck our spirit trembles in the fear of God there's a trembling at the majesty and the awesomeness the bigness the terrifying beauty and glory of the whole reality it's terrifying in the good sense E trembling that comes from prophetic preacher preaching when people's spirits tremble a little bit what I mean by tremble they feel the weightiness of the message that's what I mean by trembling they feel the weightiness of the message I'm not even talking about physically trembling I'll talk about the weightiness hits them in their spirit I mean they're preoccupied with it for you know the message preoccupies them in periods of time meaning they take it seriously and they weigh it seriously E trembling that comes from this kind of day the Lord preaching produces a desire in the people to walk out the fasted lifestyle when people hear this kind of preaching it creates urgency in them to fast and pray it's this kind of preaching that's necessary if you're gonna call the inhabitants of the land to a solemn assembly if the inhabitants of the land know nothing about this they won't gather to the prayer gatherings to the solemn assemblies it actually takes this kind of sowing of the word for people to respond in regions so whatever region God sends you to make sure you're part of the solution that you're you're somewhere contributing to this you don't have to have a public preaching gift but somewhere you're contributing to the message becoming clear so when the call comes to gather to fast and pray it makes sense to the people to do it it's a great gift to the body of Christ this kind of day the Lord preaching though it's not popular and many won't like it it creates urgency and it actually creates the situation where there's a reversal of spiritual passivity there's a reversal of a spirit of fear and cowardice this that's in this so much today it's a spirit opposite of a spirit of selfishness and just living in the flesh even claiming the name of Jesus it is an offensive message just know that but the Lord has called us to that amen and amen let's end with that let's stand I want us just to respond to the Lord instead of question and answers today we're just gonna wait on the Lord for a few moments I'm gonna ask Misty to come up I'm not gonna go real long because I realized that you got another meeting coming up in just a short amount of time but even when you're sitting in the prayer room and other meetings I want to encourage you to read through some of these verses let's just lay everything down just for a moment we're again we're not gonna go real long let's just open our heart we're saying yes Lord I want to be a day of the Lord preacher and you may not ever preach on a microphone that's not what I mean you may do it by blogs you may do it on the internet you may do it by podcast you you don't know how you might do it you may do it in drama and music and art may do in the courtroom you may do it in the media department but you're one of these day of the Lord preachers you're saying to the Lord I want to do this I don't want to draw back in fear I want to be part of the solution I don't want to dole the spirit of the people by just man pleasing preaching I want their spirit to be sharpened with clarity and revelation I don't want them doled beloved we need day the Lord preachers to reverse the dullness in the land in the body of Christ today so you're just saying yes to the Lord right now just for the next couple moments I encourage you just to close your eyes for just a moment so you're not distracted yes Lord I say yes to you ties my with your Lord I want to be a day of the Lord preacher I want to speak about the day of the Lord ties my heart with your fire Lord I want clarity I want courage I want to speak ties my heart with your desire I'm against you I want to be with you where you are So I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus, and I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb, yeah. And I pledge my allegiance to Jesus, to Jesus, and I pledge my allegiance to the Lamb when it's all coming down. Lord, here we are. We say yes to you, Lord. Lord, release your spirit right now. Release your presence in this room right now, I ask you. Lord, release your fire right now. Here we are, Lord. Release your glory. Some of you are making decisions right now. You're saying, you know, I want to do this. I want to go on this journey to get ready for this. It's not the sort of thing you learn in three months. It's a marathon pace. You set your heart to go after this. You say, I want to be a day of the Lord preacher. Again, whether it's through media or electronics or the courtroom or the office, all manner of ways to manifest this calling. You may do it in your neighborhood as a homeschooling mom. Some of the greatest forerunners are those training their children, the children in neighborhoods. Forerunner spirit. Lord, release your power right now. Your knees. I want to go deep, Lord, in your heart. I set my face to seek you. I say yes to you, Lord. Even in my weakness. Even in my brokenness, I say yes to you. I want ears to hear. I want to go deep. Give me a heart of understanding. I want to stand and listen. I want to be a friend. I want to be a friend of the bridegroom. John the Baptist was a friend of the bridegroom. I want to be your friend. He stood in the Lord's presence. I want to be a friend of the bridegroom. He eagerly listened to the Lord. I want to stand and listen. Meditated on the Lord's word. I want to be a friend of the bridegroom. Searched out the scripture. I want to be a friend of the bridegroom. Father, we just thank you now. Lord, we thank you for the invitation. We thank you for the grace to go forward. We say yes to you, even in our weakness. Amen and amen. Everybody's weak.