Albert Barnes Commentary Joel 2:10

"The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining." — Joel 2:10 (ASV)

The earth shall quake before them - “Not,” says Jerome, “as though locusts or enemies had power to move the heavens or to shake the earth; but because, to those in trouble, from their great terror, heaven seems to fall and the earth to reel. But indeed, because of the multitude of the locusts which cover the heavens, sun and moon shall be turned into darkness, and the stars shall withdraw their shining, while the cloud of locusts interrupts the light, and does not allow it to reach the earth.”

Yet the mention of the moon and stars suggests rather that something more is meant than the locusts, which, as they do not fly by night (except when they cross the sea), do not obscure them. Rather, as the next verse speaks of God’s immediate, perceptible presence, this verse seems to pass from the image of the locusts to the full reality, and to say that heaven and earth should shake at the judgments of God, before He appears.

Our Lord gives the same description of the forerunners of the Day of Judgment: “There shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring, people’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Luke 21:25–26).