In the Old Testament, Joel is one of the 12 minor prophets along with Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Micah and others. The Book of Joel is about the “great and terrible day of the Lord†[Joel 2:31] whereby he talks about the Day of Judgment for the whole earth if Israel doesn’t change its present course of wrong-doing and return to God. Joel states that “all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved†[Joel 2:32]. Nonetheless, God (while “slow to angerâ€) still plans some mighty big judgments on the non-repentant. Joel details that the sun will turn black, the moon to blood and locusts will swarm and destroy. Not exactly the kind of news the Israelites probably hoped for. Joel does dangle a bit of good news in all this doom-and-gloom: “Who knows? He may relent and have compassion, and leave behind a blessing†[Joel 2:13-14].
