joy cometh - in the 'morning'

"...the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds

and of thick darkness,

as the morning spread upon the mountains:

a great people

and a strong;

there hath not been ever the like,

neither shall be any more after it,

even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them;

and behind them

a flame burneth...."

The above passage is from Joel chapter 2, verses 1a thru 3a (without any omissions).  I stylized the text in the fashion shown, in order to make the reading - and thus the meaning - of the passage clear.  It is best thought of as though there were two different voices: one speaking the words in the left-justified margin, and the other speaking the words which are right-justified (and less visible).  An analysis follows:



In what way is the "day of the LORD" (signifying the time of God's judgment and wrath) like "a day of darkness and gloominess, ...as the morning spread upon the mountains"?

Though the simile is dark (difficult), yet the meaning is clear: the day of God's wrath shall appear at a time when the world is immersed in gross spiritual darkness, a time of pervasive moral corruption.  There is an old saying, a truism, which states: 'It is darkest just before the dawn'.  That idea is useful for understanding the simile used in the above passage of Scripture, where is says: "...as [like] the morning spread upon the mountains".  In other words, the Word of God thus sets the stage (identifies, by characterizing, the precise time period) when there shall suddenly appear - like the sudden breaking of the dawn's light - "a great people and a strong [people]"; before whom "a fire devoureth", leaving in their wake a burning, "desolate wilderness" (v. 3b).

1) Who are those people?  2) Where do they come from?  3) What is the meaning of the fire which proceeds from themselves, to devour everything in their path?  4) Why do they appear - on earth - precisely when they do (at a time of overflowing iniquity)?

1. They are the then-glorified saints of God (after the Rapture);
2. They come from heaven;
3. The fire is the manifestation of God's judgment and power, which shall be committed to the glorified saints;
4. They appear on earth to "execute the judgment written" (Psalm 149).

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,

it is nigh at hand !!