Joel 2:30

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, &c. Whoever will be at the pains to compare this prediction with the prophecy of Christ, Matthew 24., and Luke 21., will have no doubt concerning the application of it. It principally and evidently refers to the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, and the desolation of Judea by the Romans; a judgment justly inflicted upon the Jewish nation for their rejecting and crucifying their Messiah, resisting the Holy Spirit, contemning the gospel and the means of grace connected therewith, and persecuting the apostles and God's other messengers. Thus Malachi, after he had foretold the coming of the Messiah, preceded by that of his forerunner John the Baptist, (chap. Joel 3:1,) immediately adds, that his coming should be attended with terrible judgments upon the disobedient, Joel 3:2, and chap. 4:1. The prophet in the next clause predicts also the extraordinary signs which were to be forerunners of that destruction, by blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke, meaning probably the great slaughter which should be made of men, and the burning of the towns and cities of Judea, events which preceded that last and finishing stroke of the divine vengeance, the destruction of Jerusalem. He may also refer, perhaps, in the last expression, to the comet which hung over their city, and the fearful sights seen in the air some time before, which are mentioned by Josephus, and were foretold by Christ, Luke 21:11; and of which the reader may see an account in the note on Isaiah 66:6.