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by Warren A. Henderson (Author)
The twelve Minor Prophets chiefly addressed God's covenant people between the ninth and fifth centuries B.C. One striking feature of their prophecies is how often expressions of God's grace and affection are embedded within scathing denunciations of Jewish stubborn waywardness. Joel's prophetic indictment concisely summarizes God's overall plan to restore the Jewish nation, to judge the wicked, and to establish Messiah's kingdom in the future. Scripture teaches that God's future plan for glorifying the Church is quite different than His agenda for restoring Israel to a position of honor and blessing. Hosea refers to this latter event as "a door of hope" (Hos. 2:15). In a future day, a refined Jewish nation will pass through that door of repentance and will enter the stronghold of God (Zech. 9:12). Conversely, just as Israel yearns for their door of hope, Christians are to love "the blessed hope," the imminent appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:8) Thus, both the nation of Israel and the Church have all their hopes in Christ
