The Day of the Lord is at Hand (Joel 1-3)!
“Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come as destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:15)…“For the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand” (2:1)…“For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion” (3:14).
Critics of preterism[1] sometimes use these passages (above) to explain away the timing indicators in the New Testament about the second coming. As the argument goes, Joel uttered these statements in around 600 BC or earlier (see below), yet these prophecies were not fulfilled for centuries. Therefore, since these kinds of “at hand/near statements” in the Old Testament can equate to centuries, then so can the time statements in the New Testament about the second coming (see Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:37; James 5:8; Rev. 22:7, 10, 12). In other words, timing indicators such as “soon,” “at hand,” or “near” can equate to hundreds, if not thousands—or millions—of years!
But is this a sound argument? To start with, theologian Don Preston[2] has pointed out that the three time statements in Joel 1–3 (above) refer to two different judgments. The first two passages, Joel 1:15 and 2:1, refer to a judgment that happened shortly after the time of writing. So the “at hand” statements fit nicely.
As for the third time statement, Joel 3:14: While it’s true this prophecy wasn’t fulfilled for many centuries, the context shows this isn’t a straightforward time statement. Rather, it is a “when/then statement.” A when/then statement means: When X happens, then Y will be at hand.
The dating of Joel is difficult to determine. Some commentators say it was written just prior to 800 BC, while others say it was written just prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. If it was written around 800 BC, then the first two “at hand” statements, Joel 1:15 and 2:1, refer to the locust plague against Jerusalem around that time period.[3] However, if Joel was written just prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, then these first two “at hand” statements refer to that event.
Then, in verse 2:28, Joel transitions to another further-off event: “It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.” Notice the word “afterward.” Joel has transitioned to a different event. Joel then describes the sun turning to darkness and the moon turning to blood, and the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord (v. 31). And we know this event came to pass in the first century for two reasons:
First, Peter quoted this passage in its entirety on Pentecost and said, “This is what was spoken by Joel” (Acts 2:1–21). In other words, what Joel had prophesied was finally coming to pass in Peter’s day (in the first century)!
Second, Jesus likewise alluded to Joel’s prophecy in the Olivet Discourse, and he said it would happen within a generation. Just like Joel, Jesus mentioned the sun and moon turning to darkness” (cf. Matt. 24:29 and Joel 2:31) and the great and awesome day of the Lord (cf. Matt. 24:30 and Joel 2:31). Then, Jesus said this event would happen within a generation (Matt. 24:34), which refers to forty years.[4] In fact, Jesus specifically linked this event to the destruction of the temple (v. 2, 34), which historians affirm happened in the year AD 70—approximately forty years later!
So both Jesus and Peter confirm that Joel 2:28–32 was fulfilled in the first century.
Then, in the next chapter—Joel 3—Joel continues talking about this same event/time period: “In those days and at that time, when I [God] bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and I will enter into judgment with them there…For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:1–2, 14; italics mine).
This is that third time statement (Joel 3:14). And while it is true that this prophecy was not fulfilled until at least six centuries after Joel uttered it, it is equally clear that Joel did not mean it was near at the time he spoke it. What Joel meant was that it would be near when God poured out his spirit on all flesh (2:28)…“in those days” (3:1)—not before! This is a “when/then prophecy.” What Joel essentially meant was: When the Lord pours out his spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28)—which happened at Pentecost in AD 33 (Acts 2)—then the great day of the Lord would be near.
And it was! This judgment happened a short time later. According to the first century historian Josephus, Jerusalem and the temple were laid waste by AD 70. More than 1.1 million Jews were killed, and another 97,000 were taken into slavery. This was the fulfillment of the great day of the Lord, prophesied by Joel!
Preston sums up Joel 1–3 nicely: “The dating of Joel is not certain, but what is certain is that there were two different Days of the Lord predicted. One was near, the other was not. In chapters 1–2, the author [Joel] speaks of the Day that was near. However, he also speaks of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord that was to come ‘afterward…in the last days’” (2:28f).[5] And we know Israel’s last days were in the first century, per the New Testament writers (Heb. 1:2, 9:26; 1 Pet. 1:20, 4:7; 1 Cor. 10:11; Acts 2:15–17; 1 John 2:18).
One final comment about all this. Even if there were a few legitimate examples of Old Testament “at hand/near statements” that were not fulfilled for centuries—as opposed to when/then statements—that still would not explain away the many time statements in the New Testament about the second coming because Jesus didn’t just say the second coming was “at hand” or “near.” He specifically said it would happen within the lifetimes of the people he was speaking to in the first century (Matt. 16:28)…before his apostles finished preaching throughout the cities of Israel, a country about the size of New Jersey (Matt. 10:23)…and within a generation (Matt. 24:34), which the Bible defines as forty years. So even if the “at hand” statements could legitimately be explained away, these other statements cannot!
For more information about the topics discussed in this article—as well as answers to other commonly used arguments against preterism—check out my book The End Is Here: How the New Testament Prophecies Were Fulfilled, available NOW on Amazon.
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled, 5/2/25
[1] Preterists (aka full preterists) hold that the prophecies in New Testament about Jesus’ second coming have been fulfilled, based on passages such as Matt. 10:23, 16:27–28, 24:30–34, 26:64; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:37; James 5:8; Rev. 22:7, 10, 12.
[2] Don Preston is the president of the Preterist Research Institute and the author of many great books on eschatology.
[3] Preston, The Elements Shall Melt with Fervent Heat, 93.
[4] A biblical generation equates to around forty years (see Heb. 3:8–10, Num. 14:30–34, and Neh. 9:21).
[5] Preston, Like Father, Like Son, 39.
