Locusts or nations invading at the Latter Rain event (Amos and Joel)

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

7 February 2010

One of the joys to be a Seventh Day Adventist, is the ability to interpret the Scripture with confessional freedom and yet with careful historicism and multiple-approach for the prophecies. Historicism when historicism is needed by the text and futurism when that is needed and presentism when that is applicable and preterism when that is called for by the text. The Early Rain expression that is used in Joel 2:23 (geshem moreh) is applied by Peter at Pentacost to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the subsequent conversions of thousands that day and since. Canonical biblical theology then expects us to understand the true meaning of Joel's vision in this light. Harmony and consistency expects us to look again at Joel in the light of the Messianic arrival in 31 CE, or His first advent. Of course, He promised to come again.

King of Kings

Christ died on the cross as the King of Kings, to be truthful to Himself. Atonement was accomplished in 31 CE and salvation secured for all humanity, if they accept Him.

Amos and Joel

Amos and Joel were both prophets of the same era. Amos was a farmer and Joel displayed a good knowledge of local farming practices. When Joel started his book, it was not like preterist scholars wish it to be, a mere responding to a local disaster of locusts switching on a desire by Joel to talk about the day of the Lord. Just the other way around: he received a vision of the Day of the Lord and he used farmer expressions to explain that difficult vision. Amos did the same.

Joel 2

Joel spoke of the Early Rain and Latter Rain in Joel 2:23. Since Peter at Pentacost said that the early rain referred to the coming of the Holy Spirit in 31CE, we know have the right to say that a Latter Rain will again fall at the end of times, a second Holy Spirit "infusion" event, with similar results as the Early Rain event.

Amos 7:1-3

The reason of our writing here, is one of three videos (visions) that Amos saw in chapter 7. The first one interest us here since it has overlapping concepts with Joel 2 of the Latter Rain experience to come. In fact, the same root is used by Amos than we find in Joel 2: leqesh = Latter Rain.

King's mowing/harvest

Amos 7:1 tells us of the arrival of the Latter Rain but that the Latter Rain arrived at the end of the King's harvest. Of course preterists will say that it refers to Jeroboam's kingly right to harvest first and then the remainder is left for the population to harvest. But, in the light of Peter's message and in the light of the expression "earth" = haaretz (Amos 7:2), that was eaten by these locusts. It made it global. It cannot be just Israel or Judah or Palestine. Amos' earth is not only limited to Palestine, since he is aware of the "river of Egypt" (Amos 9:5). Rather than getting sidetracked on Jeroboam and his days, it is better to apply the Peter hermeneutics here and suggest that it refers to the Latter Rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our near future. The King's moving, refers to the King of Kings who died on calvary or the cross in 31CE. The moving results after the Early Rain event at Pentacost and the harvest of the Early Rain belongs to that of Christ, or the King of Kings. That is why it is the king's mowing or harvest. We are now in the King's moving and it will continue until the outpouring of the Latter Rain in future.

Locusts arriving at the Latter Rain

In Amos 7:1, the prophet explains that the locusts arrived at the "beginning of the shooting up of the Latter Rain". The harvest that results from the Latter Rain just started to begin to show and the Holy Spirit was just poured out when these locusts arrived.

Locusts are nations not insects

One of the major principles of the Bible and especially prophecy, is the understanding that locusts are not insects but insects denoting nations. Joel 1:6 is evidence of this. Joel was not shocked by a local disaster and then try to daydream a similar situation of nations coming to Israel. Joel saw the vision of the future of nations and speaking to a farming audience, he made it clear that as disastrous as locusts can be, so shall these nations be. Here in Amos 7:1-2, it is the coming of nations that is portrayed here. They will invade and it will be a global event. All over the earth, nations will run too and fro. Psalm 2 is very relevant to this event "Why are the nations in turmoil?" We must remember that God gave a coherent clear message to His people but bits and pieces of the full picture survived and was written down for every generation to be pieced together as one great puzzle project, all linked and harmonized. That is why Psalm can be applicable to something said in Amos and vice versa. Not everything you read in the Bible is for our day and age. One needs to follow rules of interpretation and the Bible is its own interpreter most of the time.

Latter Rain coincide with Persecution

The book of Joel indicates that concurrent with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in future, there will be persecutions (Joel 2:25). The persecutions that coincide with the arrival of the locusts/nations invading over the earth, is described by Joel 2:3-10 as a "fearful army". It is in contrast to the "Lord's army" which will be good (for the faithful) at the second coming of Christ but opposite for the evil ones.

Attempts to identify these nations

It appears from the book of Habakkuk 2:17 that whereas a First World Order is running the show currently, a Third World Order nations will bring turmoil on the globe. Whether one should see the role of BRIC as opposed to the First World countries order as applicable to this trend, remains to be seen. All the ingredients are in the content of the mood, messages, reactions, and suggestions of BRIC whether they themselves are aware of it or not. Someone has recently written a book on "Superfusion" indicating that the economies of the USA and China is fused into each other in such a way that the one cannot continue in future without the other. The future seems to be polarized and yet fused. The whole world will become hybrids?

Remnant of faithful will not be affected

God explained to Amos in Amos 7:3 even if Jacob's faithful are "small" they will not be affected by these events. They will be safe and secure.

Dear God

The prophets were definitely given windows of their times, other times but also our times. We are thankful for the insights which comfort us that history is moving in a direction coinciding with the already known plan of God. The remnant will not be affected as you said to Amos.