Joel Chapter
One
(Verse Seven)
“He
hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean
bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.”
(Joel 1:7)
We clearly see from this verse alone what
the future of God’s eternal Word is here on this earth. God’s Word is the SAME yesterday, today, and
forever Scripture tells us. However,
with regard to God’s Word being sustained in the world; it is not here
forever. There will come a time when the
forces of Satan will be victorious in their battle against God’s Word. No, Satan will never have the victory over
God, yet God tells us that His Holy Spirit will not always dwell with man. As we are witnessing in today’s word – the
true doctrines of God’s Word are being destroyed at an alarming rate. The organized church does not want the true
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as such are eliminating or replacing it at every
opportunity. When Joel 7:1 states that “he has laid my vine waste” it is
referring to the “nation” in verse six that has “come up upon my land.” As we saw in our last study, this nation is ultimately,
and without question, all those who oppose the Gospel of Christ.
He Hath Laid My Vine Waste
Let
us look to another portion of Scripture that speaks of God’s vine being
destroyed.
_______
Isaiah
24:5-12 –
5 - The earth also is defiled under the
inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed
the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
<The everlasting covenant is the covenant
established by God first with the nation of
6 - Therefore hath the curse devoured
the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
<Burned, and few men left? Yes!
The earth will be burned with fervent heat. The earth and the works therein shall be
burned up, 2 Peter 3:10. Few men
left? How can the earth be burned and few men
left? How can one survive such a catastrophe? The only way is to hold a true and genuine
relationship with Jesus Christ. The few
men left may signify those who are born of the Spirit of God through
Christ. They are those who will survive
the destruction of the earth through the resurrection at the last day. Many are called, but few are chosen, Matthew
22:14.
7 - The new wine mourneth, <Joel 1:5: Awake,
ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your
mouth.> the vine
languisheth, all the merryhearted <glad,
rejoice, joyful> do sigh.
8 - The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the
noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.
9 - They shall not drink wine with a
song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.
10 - The city of confusion is broken
down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in.
11 - There is a crying for wine in the streets; <Joel 1:5: Awake, ye drunkards, and
weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine,
because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. Joel 1:10: The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for
the corn is wasted: the new wine is
dried up, the oil languisheth.> all joy is darkened, the mirth of
the land is gone.
12 - In the city is left desolation, and
the gate is smitten with destruction. <More than likely this is in reference to
the Abomination of Desolation.>
_______
The enemies of God have “laid my vine waste”
Joel 1:7 tells us. What is the true
biblical vine that God so often speaks of in both the old and new testaments?
John
15:1 - ¶I am the true vine, and my Father is the
husbandman.
John
15:4 - Abide in me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine; no more can ye, except
ye abide in me.
<Jesus Christ is our one and only true
vine.>
John
15:5 - I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
Jeremiah
2:21 - Yet I had
planted thee a noble vine, wholly
a right seed: how then art thou
turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
<God addresses the rebellion of Old
Testament
And Barked My Fig Tree
The
word barked is used only once
in the Old Testament Hebrew (Joel 1:7) and is defined as: a fragment. The enemies
of Christ have barked (fragmented,
splintered, divided, split) the Word of God.
While Old Testament
It
is believed by many that the biblical fig tree is fulfilled in both national
A Brief
Look At The Biblical Fig Tree
Habakkuk
3:17 - 18:
17- Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the
vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat;
the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
18 - Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I
will joy in the God of my salvation.
In
the above verses God speaks of a time wherein the fig tree shall not
blossom. We know from ancient history
that Old Testament Israel, as a nation, endured vast spans of time where they
failed to blossom both spiritually and physically as a nation. As God’s portrait of ancient Israel
transcends from Old Testament literal
Israel (God’s outward congregation) to New Testament spiritual Israel (God’s outward
congregation via the Church), likewise the term “fig tree” appears to be representative
of both ancient Israel and the New Testament Church. In stating this case we quote from Proverbs
27:18:
ҦWhoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on
his master shall be honoured.”
To
“keepeth the fig tree” seems to be a statement concerning one’s faith in
God. In this verse it is parallel with the
results of keeping the fig tree: “he that waiteth on his master shall be
honoured.” To keepeth the fig tree is tantamount to
waiting on one’s master, who is our heavenly Father. Thus the fig tree in this particular passage is
not Old Testament
The
following is a complete list of all passages throughout Scripture that speak of
those that “keepeth” God’s doctrines. Notice carefully that ALL are in reference to
being in God’s grace, including the above verse of Proverbs 27:18.
1 Samuel 16:11 - And Samuel said
unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the
youngest, and, behold, he keepeth
the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not
sit down till he come hither.
Proverbs 2:8 - He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way
of his saints.
Proverbs 19:16 - ¶He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but
he that despiseth his ways shall die.
Proverbs 27:18 - ¶Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit
thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
Proverbs 28:7 - ¶Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of
riotous men shameth his father.
Proverbs 29:18 - ¶Where there is no
vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth
the law, happy is he.
Ecclesiastes 8:5 - Whoso keepeth the commandment
shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and
judgment.
Isaiah 26:2 - Open ye the gates, that the
righteous nation which keepeth
the truth may enter in.
Isaiah 56:2 - Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand
from doing any evil.
Isaiah 56:6 - Also the sons of the stranger, that
join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to
be his servants, every one that keepeth
the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
John 7:19 - Did not Moses give you the law, and
yet none of you keepeth
the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
Revelation 22:7- Behold, I come
quickly: blessed is he that keepeth
the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
In
conclusion, whoso “keepeth
the fig
tree” (Proverbs 27:18) is a
reference to one who loves God with all his heart and soul. It appears to be a reference to the saints of
God, both old and new testaments. Let us
now consider a passage in Haggai:
Haggai
2:18-19 -
18 - Consider now from this day and
upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day
that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it.
19 - Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as
yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought
forth: from this day will I bless you.
From
the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple (Old Testament era) was laid
(verse 18), the seed was then in the barn, spiritually speaking. This seed is the spiritual seed of salvation
and is allegorically referenced as a vine, a pomegranate, the olive
tree, and the fig tree. In studying these symbols one will discover
their spiritual significance as being fulfilled in the Word of God and/or the true
elect of God. This seed is the grain of
mustard seed that Christ alluded to in Mathew 13:13; 17:20; Mark 4:31; Luke
13:19 and Luke 17:6. The olive tree, the
fig tree, and vine, etc. all
are symbolic and parabolic terms defining the spiritual seed that God uses in
converting man’s heart from spiritual death to spiritual life; this seed is
God’s Word that brings fallen man back into the fold of the Creator.
Matthew 24:32-34 -
32
- ¶Now learn a parable of the fig
tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know
that summer is nigh:
33 - So likewise ye, when ye shall see
all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 - Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Just
as the nation of Old Testament
“He hath laid my vine
waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare,
and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white,” Joel 1:7
Christ,
as we have stated, is the VINE and His followers are the branches (John 15:5).
In these last days the VINE is being laid to waste, divided, splintered,
and cast away. Be assured that God’s
Word can NEVER be destroyed! All of this destruction of God’s Word is in
perfect accordance to His divine will.
God will be victorious and His Word will atone for all of the lost sheep
of the house of
“According as he hath chosen us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love,” Ephesians 1:4.
Joel 1:7 tells us
that the branches of God’s vine and fig tree are barked or “splintered,” made
bare, cast away, and made white. When
Scripture speaks of white it is usually in reference to the pureness of Christ
and those believers who dawn His spiritual white robes. In the case of Joel 1:7, the branches are
made white as a result of being stripped of their bark; they are made bare,
thus they are white. Joel chapter one
and verse seven speaks of the time of the end when the Word of Christ will be
laid waste throughout the world. Yes, it
may carry Old Testament history of
II
Thessalonians 2: 5-12
5 - Remember ye not,
that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 - And now ye know
what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 - For the mystery of
iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 - And then shall that
Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,
and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 - Even him, whose
coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders,
10 - And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received
not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 - And for this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 - That they all might
be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
END OF STUDY