Over the past week or so I've been delving into Joel.
I find these verses in Joel to be interesting:
Joel 2:3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
This particular passage (called the day of the Lord)? It sounds a lot like a "description" of weapons that the prophet Joel didn't quite understand, yet he described them with words such as "as" and "like". I'm not sure if this is helpful for the previous discussion or not helpful.
Hopefully, the more we read on it the more understanding it will bring. Thank you for that passage.
I came across another one and wanted to relay it to the three of you:
Isaiah 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, "saith the Lord, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
A side note in my Bible says: "Swift beasts is Heb. kirkdroth, from kdrar to move in a circle; hence may mean (like English car)any vehicle on wheels. It is never used of animals."
It is interesting that these verses we have discussed all have to do with the end of days.
"28 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. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."
Peter tells us in Acts 2 that this prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
"14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.'"
Peter understood the prophecy as symbolically referring to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the new covenant people of God. The prophet was announcing the "day of the Lord", that is, the end of the old covenant and the beginning of the new. God's people were receiving the blessing of the Holy Spirit, while the Jews who were obstinate and did not follow Messiah would soon be cut off, the "last days" of old Israel.