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But even after the prayer brought by the Prophet, God commands again, as prescribed in the law, to sound the trumpets in Zion, and through the heralds to gather everyone to the mountain dedicated to God; because the time of punishment is approaching, which, without sin, others can call a day of mist and darkness, clouds and storms; because during this time there will be such disasters that no one will feel the light, but everyone will imagine that they live in darkness and darkness. Then the Prophet speaks about the very type of punishment. Joel.2:2. Like the morning, many people and strong people spill over the mountains: there was no likeness to them from eternity, and to them there will not be added to generation and generation. In these words he means both this and that, both prugs and a cloud of enemies; because both of them covered both the plains and the tops of the mountains with multitudes. Therefore, he expressed himself vaguely about the fact that there was no other similar invasion, but about the fact that there would not be, he said with some certainty “it will not happen until the years come.” It also shows that disasters will come like fire and will corrupt everything: they will cause so much harm to the earth that anyone looking at this country until it has experienced disasters will liken it to a paradise of sweetness, and after the invasion - to a devastated and completely useless field. For they will be given over to such final destruction that even those who give themselves up to flight will not find any salvation for themselves. Joel.2:3. And he who is saved will not be theirs: says the Prophet; and this implies an attack by enemies. Joel.2:4–5. They are like their horse-like appearance, and like their cavalry they are married. Like the voice of chariots will rise upon the landmarks of the mountains, and like the voice of a fiery flame that burns a reed, and like many people and strong men taking up arms in battle. Understanding this about the Assyrians and Babylonians, we will understand the phrase “like” (ως) in the sense of not likening, but strengthening speech, as in what was said by blessed David: “if (ὡ ς) is good,” that is, the “God of Israel” is very good (Ps. 73:1); and: “if (ὡ ς) is beloved,” that is, extremely beloved is “thy village, Lord of hosts” (Ps. 83:1); and: “For you have been greatly magnified,” that is, “Your works, O Lord, have greatly magnified” (Ps. 91:6). So here too, taking into account what was said about the enemies, the words: “the appearance of a horse,” we will understand in such a way that they will have many horses and riders, that they will come with many chariots, and the drivers will have so much skill that they will drive to the very tops of the mountains, and in inconvenient places they will begin to drive around, as on the plains. Taking into account what has been said about springs, we will understand the words: “their appearance is like a horse’s,” taking experience as our guide for this purpose. For if anyone carefully examines the head of a locust, he will find it very similar to the head of a horse. You can also see that when locusts fly, they are in no way inferior to horses in speed; conveniently flies over mountains and plains, attacking fields, like a flame consuming straw. Whether it flies or crawls, it is likened to an army marching in battle formation; because everything that the springs do, they do with united forces, representing, as it were, a closed military formation. Joel.2:6. At their face people will be crushed: every face is like the burning of a highlander. People will be brought into such disaster that their faces will become like a mountain blackened by fire, and this destruction will come from hunger and lack. Joel.2:7–8. Like fighters will flow, and like brave men will rise to the fences: each will go on his way, and will not turn aside from his ways. And no one will depart from his brother. And we will understand this similarly to what was said above, applying both to enemies and to enemies. For one can see that the locusts, like enemies, enter the walls, and if they go any way, nothing will force them to disperse, but, as if with some kind of unanimity, they complete their procession. They will be burdened with their weapons, and they will fall with their arrows, and will not die. Locusts have natural weapons, teeth, wings, saw-toothed members; and enemies are weapons given to nature by art. But both of them, says the Prophet, will constantly have their weapons ready; because those who fight in fierce battles have the custom of eating and sleeping with weapons in their hands, awaiting the invasion of approaching enemies. Therefore, what is said: “they will fall in their arrows” means that they will indulge in rest, without leaving weapons. And this: “and they will not die” means that they will not be satisfied with the defeat of their enemies, just as the locust does not know satiety in food. Then the Prophet adds that the height of the walls will not be a sufficient obstacle to their invasion; on the contrary, they will conveniently cross the fences. Joel.2:9. Just like tatie windows will go into houses. And we have repeatedly seen that this is done not only by enemies, but also by locusts, which, not only by flying, but also by crawling along the walls, enter houses through the windows. Joel.2:10–11. Before his face the earth will be shaken and the sky will shake: the sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will not give their light. And the Lord will give His voice in the presence of His strength, for His army is many, This was probably true. The Prophet calls thunder “the voice,” but we have seen eclipses of the sun and moon more than once, and the stars can sometimes become very unclear due to some darkness, and the shaking earth makes one feel God’s wrath. But this can be understood differently; because those who have been subjected to disasters seem to be in a kind of darkness, they do not feel what state the sky is in, they do not imagine that the earth should be motionless, that in the light there would be day and with some kind of proportionate flickering there would be night, but everything seems to them completely wrong. To this the Prophet adds: For the works of His words are mighty: that is, not a single word of God remains unfulfilled in practice; As soon as God speaks, it immediately comes into fulfillment. The day of the Lord is great, great and bright, and who will be pleased with Him? The God of all, says the Prophet, will send such disasters upon you that they will become known throughout the entire universe; for he called the rumor about the calamities that had befallen, spreading among all people, a great and bright day. None of the people can resist the disasters that God sends. After such terrible threats, the Prophet turns to exhortation and advice, speaking on behalf of God: Joel.2:12. Turn to Me with all your heart, not dividing it between pleasures and prayer, but remaining in fasting and tears. Joel.2:13. And rend your hearts, and not your garments, that is, be led by contrite thoughts, soften a rebellious heart, accept useful advice, and leaving the vicious path, immediately enter the path leading to God; because He has abundant sources of generosity and mercy, and through His long-suffering He knows how not to carry out threats. For the Prophet expressed this by saying: “and repent of your evils,” that is, he intimidates with threats of punishment, but with the change of people into a better state, He Himself changes the terrible to the favorable. The God of all is not such as to advise Him sometimes this and sometimes that, and like us to repent of what He has done; On the contrary, He is rich in threatening mercy, which He gives to those who repent of what they have sinned, and promising good things, He knows both the good and those who are unworthy of His gifts, and He gives them to the first, and to the last He gives the opposite of what He promised. And he turns promises and threats to the benefit of people, so that, fearing the latter and lusting after the former, they may love a godly life. Then the Prophet, with some hesitation, promises God's favor, and thereby frightens the insensitive. Joel.2:14. Who will turn back and repent, and leave for Himself favor, and a sacrifice and a drink offering to the Lord our God? Probably, the Prophet says, that, leaving the threats unfulfilled, God will grant us the usual abundance of benefits; why the usual altar service will be performed. For he called the giving of good things a blessing. In this hope, the Prophet continues, Joel.2:15–16. Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate the fast, preach celibacy, gather the people, consecrate the church, elect elders, unite the sucklings of the babies: let the groom come from his bed, and the bride from her palace. Gathering all the people for fasting and pleasing God, so that the whole church would diligently listen to repentance. Let those who have lived longer than others precede, and let every age appear, not excluding infants; and let those who have recently taken upon themselves the marriage yoke, leaving the wedding celebrations, shed tears of repentance with all the people. The assembly of the priests at the gates of the church and before the altar, which is near these gates, lamenting and praying, may they propitiate the God of all, and may they cry: Joel.2:17. Lord, have mercy on Your people, and do not give Your inheritance to reproach, so that the Gentiles do not possess them, and do not say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? Here the Prophet clearly showed that this prayer was performed because of Sennacherib’s invasion, when King Hezekiah asked the great Prophet Isaiah to bring prayer to God for the people. From the following words it is clear that the fruits of the earth were damaged as a result of the executions sent down from God; because the Lord, having accepted repentance, promises to give them wheat and wine and oil, and to give them with the greatest generosity. For the Prophet added: Joel.2:19. And be satisfied with them, that is, you will use them until you are full. And I will not give you to this to be a reproach among the nations. Giving in accordance with the request. since those who prayed said: “Do not give Your inheritance to reproach, lest they say among the nations: Where is their God?” - then God gave an answer in agreement with this petition: I will not allow you to serve as a laughing stock for your neighbors, but I will show My providence for you, so that from what has happened to you, your neighbors will know the strength of your God. Joel.2:20. And I will wrest him from the north from you, and will cast him into the waterless land, and I will destroy his face first in the sea; and its back is in the last pestilence, and its rottenness will rise up, and its stench will rise up, for you have magnified your deeds. God calls the Assyrians the ones from the north, whom at first he did not allow to reach Jerusalem, having slain many of them by the hand of an Angel, and then he made them prey to the Babylonians, and the Babylonians also betrayed them to the Persians. Therefore, he calls the army “seas”: “first” - the Babylonian army, which devastated the capital Nineveh; and “last” is Persian; because the Persians, under the leadership of Cyrus, took Babylon, put many to death, and made others slaves. He called the stench from them after death “rottenness” and “stench”; because this also happened when the bodies, as happens during war, were abandoned unburied. When will this be accomplished by Me, God continues, Joel.2:21–22. Be bold on earth, rejoice and be merry, for the Lord magnifies what He has created. Be bold, you flattering beasts, as the desert fields have vegetated, as a tree has brought forth its fruit, grapes and figs have given their strength. And so as not to prolong the words beyond the limits of the word with a detailed description, I will say that “even the cattle” are also commanded to “dare”; Then it will rain, as usual, and grass will appear, and there will be plenty of food; and the vines and fig trees and other fruitful trees will be laden with all kinds of fruit. It is obvious that God speaks to the earth and to livestock not because they are rational, but borrowing from everywhere that would serve to console the saddened. Therefore, immediately leaving the inanimate earth and dumb generations, he turns to rational nature. Joel.2:23. And children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God; because he will give you everything you need, and the rain will come in time, and “early and late, as before.” There will be such an abundance of fruit that there will be no room for ears of grain on the threshing floors, and (Joel 2:24) “the wine presses will overflow with wine and oil.” And clearly showing that they did not only suffer an enemy invasion, but were punished by locusts and other heavy punishments, he immediately added: Joel.2:25. And I will reward you in lieu of years, in the yoke of the saplings, and the moss, and the weeping grass, and the caterpillars, My great power, which I have sent upon you. He called the caterpillar His great power, not because it has great power, “Despise the earth, and make it shake: Touch the mountains and they smoke” (Ps. 103:32); “Rebuke the sea, and dry it up” (Nahum. 1:4) and so powerful that it can accomplish thousands more great deeds; but since the harm caused to people by the caterpillar was great, he called it great power. Joel.2:26. And you will eat food and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who will do wonders for you. For this is the main thing of blessings - not to enjoy blessings to the point of satiety, but to praise the Giver of blessings. And to those who are so grateful and remember God’s blessings, God promises that “His people will not be put to shame forever.” If now the Jews are in disgrace, then the undeceitful God did not lie in the promises, but the Jews themselves made themselves unworthy of the promises, becoming ungrateful to the Benefactor, calling the Householder Beelzebub, killing the “Heir” and not only not repaying the fruits at the time, but attempting to steal the “inheritance” (Mark 12:7). Joel.2:27. And bear away that in the midst of Israel I am, and I am the Lord your God, and there is no other except Me. From experience itself you will know that, taking care of you, I deign to dwell with you, I, Whose “heaven is a throne, and earth is a footstool” (Is. 66:1); You will know the powerlessness of your idols, you will know that I am the only God, and I can both punish those who sin and have mercy on those who repent. Remaining with these thoughts, you will live in complete fearlessness, no longer subject to the reproaches of the pagans. Thus, having foreshadowed what would follow upon his return, namely, deliverance from slavery, God-given freedom, the blessing of the air, an abundance of fruits, deliverance from error, having also predicted the light of knowledge of God, the Lord also announces those manifold gifts of God’s Spirit, which, after the incarnation, saving suffering, resurrection and ascension into heaven of the Only Begotten, the God of all imparted to the sacred Apostles, and through them to all who believe in the whole universe. Joel.2:28. And it will continue to this day that is, upon returning from captivity and learning the truth. And I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your old men will see dreams, and your young men will see visions. Joel.2:29. For on My servants and on My handmaids in these days I will pour out My Spirit. This was clearly and completely fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the divine Apostles “spoke with other tongues, as the Spirit had given them to speak” (Acts 2:4), and then through them grace was given to all believers, among whom were the Prophets in Antioch, and Agabus, who took “Paul’s belt” (Acts 21:10, 11 ), and the Corinthians, to whom Paul writes: “Even though you all prophesy, someone unfaithful or ignorant will come in, be convicted by everyone and tortured by everyone, and so fall on his face and worship God, saying, “Truly God is with you” (1 Cor. 14:24, 25). And Philip's four daughters received the gift of prophecy (Acts 21:9). What should we say about the divine Paul, who in Miletus said to the Ephesian presbyters: “We know that after my departure heavy oxen will enter into you, not sparing the flock, and men will rise up from you, saying wicked things” (Acts 20:29, 30), and writing to Timothy, he cries out: “for the last days will come when times of cruelty will come: for men will be self-lovers, lovers of money,” and so on. (2 Timothy 3:1); and again: “The Spirit speaks clearly, that in the last days some will depart from the faith, listening to the flattering spirits” and so on (1 Tim. 4:1). But it is unnecessary to attempt to prove the truth of the gift of prophecy; because this gift has been preserved even to us, and there are men in the saints who have a pure eye of mind, who both foreknow and predict much of the future. Thus, having spoken about the gifts given by the Divine Spirit at the first coming of our Savior, God also predicts what will happen before the second coming. Joel.2:30–31. And I will give miracles in heaven and on earth, blood and fire and smoking smoke. The sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and enlightened day of the Lord comes. The Lord also foretold this in the Holy Gospel; for he says: “there will be signs” in the sky, “in the sun and moon and stars” (Luke 21:25). The Prophet calls the Second Coming of our Savior a great and enlightened day; because at his first coming He was born from a poor Wife in a den, upon birth He was laid in a manger, and until He began to work miracles, He was unknown to many; then they will see Him “coming upon the clouds” (Matthew 24:30), ten thousand will precede Him and thousands upon thousands will sing songs to Him, and “every tribe of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth will worship Him” (Phil. 2:10). And the Prophet rightly called this day “enlightened.” Joel.2:32. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. By the way, to repeat here the apostolic saying: “Whatever they call you, you don’t believe in Him? How can they believe without hearing Him? How can they hear without him preaching” (Rom. 10:14)? Therefore, the Prophet rightly added: For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be one saved, as the Lord has spoken, and one who will preach the gospel, as the Lord has called them. Here he depicted for us the sacred Apostles, who were appointed to preach the gospel and proclaim: “The kingdom of heaven is drawing near” (Matthew 10:7). The Prophet says that “in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be one who is saved,” meaning that everyone who believes in the Crucified One who suffered there for us will receive salvation. After predicting spiritual gifts, the Prophet turned to a prophecy of a different content, and predicted about Gog and Magog, which the divine Ezekiel also foretold; predicts that Gog and Magog, upon the return of the Jews from captivity, with a large army will take up arms against Jerusalem, probably prompted to do so by the surrounding peoples. since the Jews, upon their return, became very glorious and famous; because the one who then possessed the universe (and this was Cyrus, the first king of Persia) sent them away with gifts and with all honor, and ordered the creation of the church of God; Then the neighboring peoples, obsessed with envy, gathered countless hordes from everywhere, hoping to take the city with all its inhabitants. But they were deceived in their hope, and suffered final destruction near the city itself, because God fought for it for everyone, and caused them to destroy each other. Anticipating this, the Lord, through the lips of the divine Joel, says: In the Slavic translation “yazhe”, seventy ἀ.