THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
When the Lord arrives, He will not be limited in His ability to act, but His power will be fully demonstrated. The proclamation was made from the judgment throne, announcing that the day of the Lord is imminent. The sun and moon will be obscured, and the stars will withdraw their light. Yet the Lord will summon from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble at His command. He issued a call, as though with a trumpet, summoning the neighboring nations of Judah to gather in the valley of Jehoshaphat, including the Arabs, Tyrians, Hittites, Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, and Girgashites, as if they were to face imminent judgment and accountability before their Sovereign.
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He instills in the Israelites an unstoppable fervor and steadfast valor, urging them to confront the assembled foes. He encourages even those who are terrified by the horrors of battle, who would otherwise remain passive, to engage; in contrast, they prioritize a life of comfort and revelry, delighting as if reaping a bountiful harvest of grapes. Thus, He declares: “Let the sickles be put forth, because the grapes are to be plucked” (the term ‘put forth’ used instead of “stretch forth,” as commonly done by grape harvesters); for they are ripe for destruction and will be cut down. He instructs to let the enemy be crushed like a bunch of grapes, to be trampled underfoot. “Enter in,” He commands, “trample down as the fulfillment of an axe,” meaning that multitudes of nations are gathered for their demise, and nothing restrains them beneath your feet. “The winepresses are poured out” refers to the countless nations destined for destruction; indeed, when grapes are plentiful, wine is often poured directly from the press. Therefore, by stating “the winepresses are poured out,” it signifies the throng lying trampled.
What does this signify? Typically, holy prophets foretell of future events and foresee occurrences about to unfold, allowing them to witness and hear such events. As with Nebuchadnezzar in battle, where there was great slaughter, Jeremiah, in a vision, glimpsed the horrific scenes of war and saw the countless dead; he lamented, “Woe is me, for my soul is anguished over the slain” (Jeremiah 4:31). A similar experience may have befell Joel, who perhaps perceived the tumult of war through his senses; he articulates, “The voice was heard on the field of judgment.” He refers to the field of judgment as that battleground, for nations are gathered there solely to face severe punishment. He delineates that voices are heard and the cries of the fallen resonate there; for amidst battle, the defeated groan while the victors celebrate triumphantly, boasting over their foes. “The sun and moon,” he states, “shall be darkened,” and even the stars will lose their shine—not because the elements are inherently subdued, but as if the nature of war creates a shroud of darkness and fear, particularly for the defeated, whose terror brings a profound mental and spiritual obscurity akin to the dimming of the sun in the face of immense suffering.
He proclaims that the Lord will call out, appearing to engage with them in battle, like a commander rallying the Israelites to face their adversaries. It is particularly fitting to assert that at the moment of the general resurrection, the Lord will summon from Zion, as Paul articulates, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). The Mosaic law prefigured this calling, for it instructed the Israelites to blow the trumpet at the beginning of each month; such a new month serves as an emblem of the coming age and the new era following the first. The trumpet signals the penetrating sound of the archangel’s call and the call from God, awakening all who lie in the earth with a loud and far-reaching sound. It is known that the Lord Himself, raising Lazarus from the dead, entered the tomb and, as the Evangelist records, “with a loud voice He called, ‘Lazarus, come forth’” (John 11:43), though through the prophet it is indicated, “He will not raise His voice” (Isa. 42:2). Therefore, the act of the Savior raising Lazarus with a mighty voice stands as a sign of the trumpet echoing far and wide, resonating from heaven to the ends of the earth.