“Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. ‘The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.’” (Joel 2:1-5, 7-11, 23-29 ESV) [bold emphasis mine]
In these passages of Scripture, we have a powerful promise from God. To we, who are living in the last days of Time before the Rapture, the prophet Joel, through a vision, describes what is nothing less than a mighty army moving under the direct supervision of its Commander-in-Chief, God Almighty. He describes a people who are full of the Holy Spirit and who are victorious; a people who are conquerors. Although the enemy has tried to destroy the Church throughout the years, the Church is still the Church Triumphant! Although the enemy has tried to destroy many a Christian, we are still Christian warriors triumphant over the forces of darkness! Let us arise in the power of this promise in Joel 2 and defeat the enemy at every turn. Let us recognize that dominion is ours and ours alone!
The word dominion means to have absolute authority over something or someone. When God created man originally, He gave to man something very special, dominion over all the earth. In Genesis 1:28, God gave to Adam and Eve dominion over every living thing. This was God's plan. But something unusual happened – Adam and Eve sinned. The serpent being used by satan convinced them to partake of the forbidden fruit. And when they did, they lost their dominion authority. Thus, giving the dominion of this world over to satan. That's why Paul called him “the god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4. That’s why even Jesus Himself called satan “the prince of this world.”
For a few thousand years, satan had dominion. He caused sin to abound. He brought forth sickness and disease. He tormented mankind. But then, one day, God looked down from heaven above and said enough is enough. I think I'll send my Son to shed His own precious blood for the remission of their sins and to give them their dominion back. When Jesus died upon that old rugged cross, it was not only an atonement for our sins, it was also a way for man to have dominion back over the earth and over all the powers and forces of darkness. Jesus restored unto man what satan had stolen some 3000 years before. He did this because it is God's will for his people to be victorious; to be more than conquerors; to be more than just overcomers. We're not the losers, we're the winners! We are the Church Triumphant!
Just look at what the Word of God says about our having dominion: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:4-6 ESV). “And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:27 ESV). Dominion has already been restored unto man. Victory is ours. Jesus has won the victory. Satan and his minions were defeated at Calvary!