Beyond the Battle

Beyond the Battle

Joel 2:17-21

Last week we saw God summon the nations before Himself to prepare for battle. Joel looked far into the future to see the great day of judgment. We sometimes refer to this day as the battle of Armageddon. But as we looked at the text, we saw it wasn’t much of a battle at all. The Lion of the tribe of Judah roared and His enemies were defeated. At the end of verse sixteen we saw a ray of sunshine for the people of God. This Lion, who was a threat to the ungodly, was the hope and strength of His people. This morning we finish the book. Joel shows us what happens beyond the battle.

The context of Joel 3:17-21 is the millennial reign of Christ. Joel has already visited this truth in chapter two. If you remember, the millennial reign is a period of 1,000 years in which Christ rules this earth from Jerusalem. It will be a time of peace and prosperity like we have never known. After the millennial reign of Christ, the Bible teaches that the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. It is here that God and His people will dwell together forever.

With that in mind I would like to point you toward the eternal state that all believers look forward to. There are five truths I want to show you that every believer can expect. This morning we will get a glimpse of glory. What will heaven be like?

Joel has preached on hell, now he will preach on heaven.

He has preached on judgment, now he will preach on reward.

He has warned the ungodly, now he will comfort the righteous.

1. The personal presence of God in His fullness (17).

If you will notice, you’ll see the phrase “the Lord dwelling in Zion” twice. It is in verse 17 and in verse 21. Zion refers to Jerusalem. God is omnipresent. That means His presence is everywhere simultaneously. But that’s not what Joel means here. Joel is talking about the fullness of the presence of the Lord.

It’s clear that at this point the Lord’s people have seen Him. He has descended with the clouds. He has gathered the armies of the world before Him. He has gathered His people behind Him. He has judged the earth in the presence of His people.

Notice the beginning of verse 17,” So shall you know that I am the Lord your God”. That refers back to the great battle the people of God witnessed in 3:1-16. God has not sent locusts this time. He has not sent an invading army from the North to bring judgment. He has come Himself.

When John saw the glorified Christ, he said

He was clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.

When John saw the glorified Christ, it scared him to death. But what happened next to John is encouraging. The Bible says

And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The Lord calmed Johns fears by reminding him that He is the same Christ who went to the cross for John’s sins. Isn’t that good news?

Is He overwhelming? You bet!

Is He brilliant in His glory and holiness? You bet!

But He is the same One who went to calvary for us. When we see the Lord, we won’t just be reminded of how powerful He is. We will also be reminded of how much He loves us.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. That is not a threat. Jesus didn’t say that to invoke fear. He said it to invoke joy. As believers we should anticipate the day in which we see God in His fullness. Because of Jesus we can do that. There is no condemnation awaiting those who know Christ.

I want you to notice the word “dwell” used in verses 17 and 21. That word communicates the continual presence of the Lord. In heaven the Lord doesn’t make an appearance occasionally. He lives among His people. In fact, the Bible says in Revelation 21:27 that Christ is the only light in heaven. By Him we see everything else that is there. There is no sun or moon in heaven. The only source of light is God. If He were not there, heaven would be as dark as hell is. What will heaven be like? We will have the opportunity to look upon God in His fullness forever. Ultimately the day of the Lord is about God dwelling with His people.

2. Heaven will be a place of perfect holiness (17).

Holiness is mentioned twice in verse 17. Both the mountain and Jerusalem will be made holy. Mountains or cities cannot sin so obviously Joel is referring to people in the city.

In the book of 1 John, John the Apostle deals with the issue of sin extensively. One of his major points is that those who truly belong to Christ will not live a life of sin. John encourages his readers in 1 John 3:2 with these words

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, we shall see Him as He is.

Everything in heaven is like Jesus. Jesus is without sin. When we see the Lord, He will completely transform us by removing our sinful nature.

You can’t sin in heaven. If that disappoints you, don’t worry about it because you’re not going there. If you belong to Christ that truth fills you with joy. I am a sinner and that grieves me to the core. I don’t want to sin. I am so glad that I will be transformed by the Lord of glory to such a degree that I will never sin again.

There is no repentance in heaven.

There is no conviction in heaven.

There is no guilt in heaven.

Friend, we have not lived a single day as a Christian without conviction. Daily we have felt the guilt of falling short of the glory of God. Our prayers have been filled with confession. We don’t know what it feels like to have no sin to confess or forsake. We have no idea what that feels like.

The joy of perfect holiness is a real part of heaven. Not only will you not be able to sin, you won’t even be able to be tempted to sin. We will know what it feels like to be perfect and without sin.

To the believer this is one of the most glorious things about heaven. When you think of heaven do you think of this? When you find yourself wrestling with the flesh do you long for heaven?

Paul the Apostle did. I Romans 7:24 he said “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death!” Paul called himself the chief of sinners and the least of the Apostles. He hated sin. He looked forward to the day of perfect deliverance from sin.

Only God can do that for us! We don’t have the power. If you don’t believe me:

Try it with your husband. Go ahead, try to get him to quit sinning.

Try it with your children. Promise them things, discipline them, threaten them. Do whatever you wish.

Try it with your coworker. Get them to quit sinning at work.

Try it with yourself.

God is able. He will do it. One of these days we will be glorified, unable to sin. We will be perfectly holy.

3. Heaven will be a place of perfect fellowship (17).

The strangers Joel mentions in verse 17 probably refer to Gentiles. These were people outside of the covenant of God. They were the enemies of Judah. In heaven the people of God will have no enemies.

You will like everyone in heaven. Some you may not like until you get there, but when God glorifies you, you will love everyone there.

When you are in heaven you will never look at a person and wonder “Do they like me?”

In heaven there will be no one you are afraid to approach. No one will intimidate you. There is only one bigshot in heaven, and He is on the throne.

There no alarms in heaven.

There are no locks on the doors in heaven.

There are no watchdogs in heaven.

No one in heaven threatens you.

Have you ever seen two people together and wondered “What are they doing together?” You won’t do that in heaven.

One of the glories of heaven will be getting to know the other people who are there. There are more than you can number. Every day you can meet someone new and learn about them. Everyday you can worship with a saint you have never worshipped with before. And because you are in a glorified state you will never forget that person. You will remember their name. You will remember details about them. Have you thought of that? We often think of the friends and family we have that have gone on to heaven. But how often do we think of all the friends we will make in heaven? Heaven will be a place of perfect fellowship.

4. Heaven will be a place of absolute abundance (18).

Joel promises an absolute reversal of all that Judah was currently experiencing.

In 1:7 he said that there was no wine because the grape vines had been destroyed by the locusts. In 3:18 he promises an abundance of wine. The wine symbolized joy and prosperity.

In chapter 1:18 he said the cattle were all dying. In 3:18 he says there will be an abundance of milk. If there is milk, there must be cattle.

In 1:20 he said the rivers were dried up. In 3:18 he says all the rivers will flow with water.

He says a fountain will flow from Jerusalem and water the valley of Shittim. We’re not sure where this is. But the word “shittim” is the plural form of the word for the acacia tree. The wood from this tree was used in the construction of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10). Zechariah 14:8 says that the fountain of the Lord will flow to the Dead Sea making those waters living waters. The point is that God Himself will water the earth bringing life and abundance to places that had been dead and barren.

Revelation 22:1 says “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb”

There is no drought, famine ore even lack in heaven. There is only abundance. Joel was preaching to an audience that was hungry and thirsty so this would be appealing to them. Years of devastation from the locust plague had affected them. I’m sure their children were malnourished. We know that their animals were. Joel’s words would have created a hunger for his audience.

It’s difficult for me to describe this to our culture because we know so little about lack of food or water. I will try to give you an idea of how wonderful the abundance in heaven will be. Have you ever noticed that on earth we are constantly running out of things? In your home you probably see this. Regularly someone is saying to the person who does the shopping:

We’re out of ___________.

We’re out of milk!

We’re out of bread!

We’re out of chips!

Even now in this pandemic we have felt the sting of running out of things. Who would have thought in the USA you would have to go to several different stores to find something as simple as toilet paper? As we grow closer to the end of days, we will see shortages of the things we need to live.

For the believer, one day there will be no shortage. No one in heaven will go to the Lord and say, “We’re out of…!”

We see this illustrated in the life of Jesus. Jesus first recorded miracle was turning water into wine. There was no wine at the wedding. Jesus had them fill up six water pots with water. They took the water pots out and began filling the cups of the people. When it came out it had been transformed into wine. There was more than enough.

We see this in the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread. He gave each disciple a basket with a little of the food in each of the baskets. He told them to feed the people. All the people were fed and there was food left over.

In heaven no one has to go to the grocery store. No one has to pay a light bill. No one has to worry about the well drying up. Heaven is a place of absolute abundance!

5. Heaven is a place of eternal safety (19-21).

Joel mentions two of Judah’s enemies in verse 19. The Egyptians and the Edomites would no longer be a threat to God’s people. Josiah, one of Judah’s godly kings was killed by a Pharaoh (2 Kings 23:23-24). The Edomites had a history of making life difficult for God’s people (Numbers 20:17). These evil nations had shed the innocent blood of God’s people and the Lord would execute justice against them.

Look at verse 20. “But Judah shall dwell forever!”

In this world there is always a threat to be concerned about.

There is the threat of people who want to make our life miserable.

There is the threat of debt.

There is the threat of loss.

There is the threat of sickness.

There is the threat of suffering.

There is the threat of death.

In heaven there are no threats. There is only safety. Do you know that one of the biggest things that keeps us from resting is the threat of something awful happening? It keeps us up at night. It keeps us on edge during the day. The threat of calamity robs us from rest. Heaven is a place of eternal rest. We can rest eternally because we know there are no longer any threats to keep us from resting.

John Owen was a great puritan preacher from the 1600’s. He had a difficult life. He had a wife and eleven children. Sadly, his wife and all eleven children died through the years. He died at the age of 67. On his death bed he was dictating a letter to a friend through his secretary. She had written “I am still in the land of the living.” John Owen told her to stop and rewrite the line. He said to write “I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.”

Folks, heaven is the land of the living.

Revelation 21:1-4 says

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Eternal safety. Eternal rest. Eternal life. That’s what lies beyond the battle for the believer. Joel ends this powerful book with hope. Do you have that hope? It only comes through Christ. Surrender to Him and all of these blessings are yours.