Joel 2:30-31

30, 31. Wonderful indications of the approach of the judgment.

Show Literally, give.

Wonders Hebrews mophethim. “Any object of significance which surpasses expectation or the ordinary course of nature, and excites wonder in consequence”; here extraordinary phenomena on earth and in the sky.

Blood… fire… pillars of smoke If the phenomena mentioned in this verse are such as take place upon earth, these words point to the terrors of war, bloodshed, violence, and the columns of smoke rising from burned cities. Wars will be on an unprecedented scale, and thus may well be regarded as portents of the day of Jehovah (Isaiah 13:6; Zephaniah 1:7). Some commentators, however, prefer to connect this verse more closely with Joel 2:31, and to interpret the phenomena mentioned in 30 in the light of those in 31. They see in the fire, blood, and pillars of smoke “abnormal atmospherical phenomena”: blood the blood-red color of the moon; smoke the smoke clouds filling the air as a result of volcanic eruptions; fire lightning, since “thunderstorms often accompany earthquakes.” The former interpretation is to be preferred. In 31 the phenomena in the sky are mentioned. “The darkening and extinction of the lights of heaven are frequently mentioned as harbingers of approaching judgment, or as signs of the breaking of the day of judgment” (Joel 2:2; Joel 2:10; Joel 3:15; Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4; Jeremiah 4:23, etc.; compare, in the New Testament, Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Revelation 6:12).

Sun… darkness,… moon… blood The figures may have been suggested by eclipses of the sun and moon (Amos 8:9), or by strange obscurations caused by other disturbances (Joel 2:2; Joel 2:10), or as described in the following account: “A dreadful whirlwind occurred here (in Allahabad) on June 2, 1838. The whole sky was blood-red, not with clouds, for there was not a cloud to be seen. Overhead moved immense masses of dust, but below there was not a breath of wind. Shortly after the wind arose, carrying with it sand and dust. It soon became extremely dark, although the sun was still up. The darkness was not only visible but tangible” (Driver, quoted from Asiatic Journal, Nov., 1838). These phenomena, according to the declaration of the prophet, will announce the approach of the great day, just as previously the locust plague pointed to its coming.