The Locusts of Joel One and Two and Revelation 9: 1-5

Posted : 16 Nov, 2012 05:57 AM

The Locusts of Joel One and Two and Revelation 9: 1-5



In 1936, Lewis S. Chafer, a classical dispensationalist, defined

Scofield's literalism as "The outstanding characteristic of the

dispensationalist is ... that he believes every statement of the Bible

and gives to it the plain, natural meaning its words imply."

From: L. S. Chafer, 'Dispensationalism,' Bibliotheca Sacra, 93,

October (1936), pp410, 417.



Following their belief that the Bible must be interpreted in a literal

way, for dispensationalits Israel in scripture must always mean

physical Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham.



So dispensationalism as a man made system of Bible interpretation

starts from, or postulates two main beginning assumptions, that God

has two separate and different peoples, all physical Israel,

and the "church," which in the New Testament is the ekklesia, a meeting, assembly or congregation, not a Body of Christ different from that Israel of God of Galatians 6: 16 and the spiritual house of I Peter 2: 5. See the way ekklesia is used in Acts 7: 38 as the assembly of Israelites in the wilderness. The second major postulate is that the Bible must be

interpreted in a literal way, not by metaphor, or similitudes.



What is a postulate? On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiom they teach

that "In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition

that is not and cannot be proven within the system based on them.

Axioms define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an

axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true. Therefore,

its truth is taken for granted within the particular domain of

analysis, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring

other (theory and domain dependent) truths."



But postulation of starting principles for a system of thought is not

limited to logic or math. A theory in almost any field can begin with

postulates, starting propositions that are not proved, but taken to be

true.



Dispensationalism, or Christian Zionism, starts from the postulate that

the Bible must always be interpreted literally, and not metaphorically. Therefore,

the locusts of Joel 1: 4, the nation of Joel 1: 6, the vine and fig tree of Joel 1: 7, the vine and the fig tree of Joel 1: 12, under Christian Zionism, must be literal locusts who in mass eat up the crops from the vines and fig trees of the Israelites. And the statement in Joel 2: 3 that this army of locusts leave behind them a desolate wilderness is literal, because this literal and physical army of locusts destroy everything in their path.



And the statement about "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness..." (Joel 2: 2) must be literal according to the Christian Zionists. It cannot be metaphoric for the time of the end of the age for those who believe that all scripture is literal. Yet Joel 2: 1, right befoe Joel 2: 2, says "...for the Day of the Lord cometh; for it is nigh at hand."



Zephaniah 1: 15 also says "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,"



The entire text of Joel 1 and 2 is about what is to occur at the time of the end, right before the Day of the Lord.



So, instead of following Christian Zionism and saying the locust army of Joel 1 and 2 is a literal mass of locusts eating up the fruit of the vine and the fruit of the fig tree, lets look at scripture and see what the vine and he fig tree might repesent.



In Matthew 21: 33-41 Christ tells the parable of his vineyard, a field of vines, including grape vines. The owner of the vineyard, called a certain householder, allowed husbandmen to take care of his vineyard. But when the owner, representing God the Father, sent his servants to the husbandmen to collect the fruit of the vineyard, of the vines there, the husbandmen stoned them. Then in verse 37 the owner sent his son, thinking "They will reverence my son" But in verse 38 the husbandmen of the vineyard thought "This is the heir, come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." So the husbandmen killed the son, who in the parable repesents Christ. The husbandmen of the vineyard represent all physical Israel, or their leaders at the time of Christ, the Pharisees, who did act out of their spirit of Death and cause Christ to be killed. Before the transformation of physical Israel in Christ, all physical Israel often sought to kill or did kill those who disagreed with their theology, as they did to Stephen in Acts 7, with Paul in Acts 21 (tried to kill him) and with Jesus.



The vine is used metaphorically in John 15: 1-7. "I am the vine, and my Father is the husbandman." In verse 2 Christ says "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." And in verses 6-8 he tells us "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."



The fig tree in Joel 1 is found in Luke 13: 6-9. God the Father, called here a certain man, in verse 7 says he came several times looking or fruit from this fig tree, but found none, and so why let it "cumbereth the ground?" But Christ, here the dresser of the fig tree, asked the Father to let him dig about it and dung it, that is, give it new nutrients, and then if it still yields no fruit, to cut it down. The fig tree represents all physical Israel.



So in Joel 1 and 2 the metaphoric army of locusts are attacking the vine and the fig tree near the time of the Day of the Lord. This is the time of the end of the age. But the vine as used metaphorically in Matthew 21 and in John 15 is the Israel of God of Galatians 6: 16 and the spiritual house of I Peter 2: 5. And the fig tree of Luke 13 is the same.



The army of locusts of Joel 1 and 2 is attacking the Israel of God and the spiritual house of physical Israel after it was changed in Christ. Before the army of locusts attacks the Israel of God, the spiritual house, in Joel 2: 3, it was like the Garden of Eden. But after that attack by the locusts it was a desolate wilderness. The army of locusts diminish the true Gospel of Christ.



Joel 1: 7 says "He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away: the branches thereof are made white." "Barked" is Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Number 7111, qetsaphah, from 7107, a fragment, qatsaph, to crack off. The locusts took the bark off the vine, laying it waste.



"He" is the army of locusts.



But who or what does Joel's army of locusts repesent? Isaiah 33: 4 uses locusts metaphorically in saying "And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpiller: as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them."



Then locusts are used in a non-literal way in Revelaion 9: 1-3, "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

2. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

3. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power."



In Revelation 9: 1-3 the locusts are also seen as scorpions. Yet in Joel 1 and 2 they are locusts that eat up and attack the vine and the fig tree representing the Israel of God and the spiritual house.



Lets look also for scorpions used meaphorically in scripture. I Kings 12: 11 could be both literal and metaphoric. "And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."



In Looking in Strong's don't forget Revelation 9: 5 on mertaphoric scorpions as well as he important verse of Luke 10: 19, "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy..." Luke is not talking about literal scorpions.



The important verse using scorpions metaphorically is in Ezekiel 2: 3-6, "And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.

4. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

5. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house."



Here the children of Israel, or all physical Israel, are described metaphorically as scorpions, who have transgressed against the Lord, are impudent and are like scorpions.



The metaphorical locust army in Joel 1 and 2 is the locust-scorpions who are said to come out of the smoke from the opening of the bottomless pit. In Revelation 20: 1-3 an angel is said to have the key to the bottomless pit where he put Satan, but afterwards Satan is to be released for a little season.

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