The document summarizes key points from the book of Joel. It discusses how national disasters in Judah led to a call for repentance and fasting. God promised to pour out His Spirit, leading to visions and dreams. When people proclaim the Lord's name by holding to His promises and preaching the gospel, it will divide people - those who accept salvation and those who reject it. The world will be judged in the Valley of Decision, but God will protect His faithful people.

1. Lesson 3 for April 20, 2013

2. The book of Joel introduces a series of spiritual consequences that
stem from a grave national disaster. Those consequences are related
to the end time in the history of our world when every person will be
in the “Valley of Decision”.
National disaster
Call to repentance
Rain of the Holy Spirit
Proclaiming the Gospel
The Valley of Decision

3. Locusts
(Joel 1:4)
Two serious
plagues razed
Judah:
Drought
(Joel 1:20)

4. That led to lack of basic food (Joel 1:10-12):
Wheat Barley Wine Oil
Figs Pomegranates Dates Apples
The divine service was affected by the lack of wheat,
barley, wine and oil which were used in the offerings
and libations in the Temple (Joel 1:13)

5. ““Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me
with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping,
and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and
not your garments; return to the Lord your
God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness; and He relents
from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn
and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him—a
grain offering and a drink offering for the
Lord your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a
sacred assembly; Gather the people, sanctify the
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go
out from his chamber, and the bride from her
dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the
Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let
them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord, and do not
give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations
should rule over them. Why should they say among
the peoples, „Where is their God?‟”” (Joel 2:12-17)

6. “Our heavenly Father does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. He has His
purpose in the whirlwind and in the storm, in the fire and in the flood. The Lord permits
calamities to come to His people to save them from greater dangers. He desires everyone to
examine his own heart closely and carefully, and then draw near to God, that God may draw
near to him”
E.G.W. (In Heavenly Places, September 15)

7. RAIN OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit
on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old
men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28)
As a result of fast and prayer with
repentance and a sincere seek for the
divine will, God will pour His Spirit
down on His children.
That happened in Pentecost (the Early
Rain) and will happen again in our
time (the Latter Rain) as it was
prophesied in Joel 2:23.
The difference between both Rains is
that the Latter Rain will come with
more wonders on Earth and in Heaven
because of the proximity of the
Second Coming.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and
pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord”
(Joel 2:30-31)

8. “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as
the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls” (Joel 2:32)
What does “call on the name of the Lord” mean?
 Proclaiming that you are a follower of the Lord.
 Holding on to God’s promises.
 Proclaiming the truths of the Gospel.
Thus, to proclaim the Lord’s name
means both to be messengers of
the glad tidings that God still
rules the world and also to call on
the people of the world to view
everything in the context of God’s
deeds and character. It also
means to tell everyone about
God’s generous gift of salvation
that is offered to every human
being.

9. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the
day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14)
When the children of God seek Him with a humble heart,
hold on to His promises and proclaim the truth of the
Gospel to the world, the heart of the wicked are touched
by the Holy Spirit.
We are called to make a decision: Accepting or rejecting
the salvation Jesus offers.
“The Lord has a special work to do for us individually. As we see the wickedness of
the world brought to light in the courts of justice and published in the daily
papers, let us draw near to God, and by living faith lay hold of his promises, that
the grace of Christ may be manifest in us. We may have an influence, a powerful
influence, in the world. If the convicting power of God is with us, we shall be
enabled to lead souls that are in sin to conversion” E.G.W. (The Review and Herald, April 1 1909)

10. Once the Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit is poured down on the people of God, the
Gospel will be proclaimed like a “great proclamation” and the world will definitely be
divided in two groups of people.
Those who reject salvation will suffer the consequences of their decision when God
will sit down to judge the world in the “Valley of Decision” (Revelation 20:11-15)
Nevertheless, the people of God must not fear His act of
judgment because He has promised to protect them (Joel
3:16). His supreme and graceful acts show that He is a God
Who is faithful to His pact so He will never allow the just to
be ashamed (Joel 2:27)
“Then you shall know
that I am in the midst
of Israel: I am the
Lord your God and
there is no other. My
people shall never be
put to shame” (Joel 2:27)

11. The book of Joel ends with a vision of a transformed world where a river flows at
the middle of the New Jerusalem and the presence of the eternal God is within
His forgiven people (Joel 3:18-21)
“And it will come to pass in that day
that the mountains shall drip with new
wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and
all the brooks of Judah shall be
flooded with water; a fountain shall
flow from the house of the Lord and
water the Valley of Acacias” (Joel 3:18)