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News From Israel MagazineJoel 3:9
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up” (Joel 3:9).
The introductory Scripture is addressed to the Gentiles and is an instruction for preparation of war. There are only two groups of people: Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles stand in opposition to Israel. Here we must quote Isaiah 40:17: “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” This is quite incomprehensible. God considers all of the 200-plus nations of this world as less than nothing when compared to His people, His plan and His land.
In other words, God is saying through Joel, “You want to fight? You want to establish righteousness? You want democracy to rule the world? Go ahead; get ready.”
Actually, Joel 3:10 contains very specific instructions: “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” Here I am reminded of Hitler’s words when he spoke to the German people: “Do you want butter or cannons?” The majority of the German people chose cannons. As a result, the entire world got involved in what became known as World War II.
I do not believe this Scripture was fulfilled during World Wars I or II, nor do I believe it will be fulfilled during a coming war, but rather it is a part of the process of fulfillment that took place during the times of the Gentiles — from Nebuchadnezzar to the Roman Empire.
We must look at Daniel 2: 44-45: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Destruction will come in the days of these kings, and will on one hand result in the complete devastation of the nations, and on the other hand, it will establish the kingdom that “shall never be destroyed.”
Many of my colleagues believe this verse refers to the Battle of Armageddon. I disagree because wars too numerous to count have been fought in the past. All we have to do is read Israel’s history, which includes war after war. What about Europe? The European nations have warred against each other for thousands of years and only the bigger ones have been mentioned in the annals of history. Therefore, I must apply this Scripture to the past, present and the future.
It is not prudent to rely simply on logic when interpreting Scripture. All will agree that war is a virtual impossibility because we have entered the dispensation of grace. True, various conflicts are raging on the earth. But the Bible focuses primarily on God’s people Israel, His elect, and in the rest of the world, which is represented primarily by European nations. Can you imagine England attacking Holland, or Germany invading France? Such thoughts are ludicrous! The people of these countries depend on one another; they become one nation more or less, yet they are distinct from one another.
The European Union insists that every member nation should retain its own culture, holidays, traditions and language. But the nations have become so integrated through global corporations that national borders have been all but eliminated. Europe is leading the way; we will see this development in the rest of the world as time goes by.
Furthermore, 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 states: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape.” The people will live in peace, and they will say “peace and safety” before the day of the Lord comes.
A look at history permits a clearer understanding of Joel 3:10. From the time of Nebuchadnezzar until recently, the nations have been occupied with war rather than with “plowshares” and “pruning hooks.” War has been on equal footing with agriculture. Because of war and the neglect of agriculture, the Europeans discovered, conquered and settled America and Australia. Therefore, I would venture to say that the glory of military conquests belongs to a book written long ago.
But that doesn’t change the nations’ conflict with Israel. Thus God caused Joel to write down precisely what and how things will transpire: “Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to
come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of ehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great” (verses 11-13). Notice the gathering of the nations on the one hand, and the judgment upon “all the heathen” on the other. Again, we must emphasize that this speaks of the heathen, that is, all the nations of the world, because they are ripe for judgment.
It is not a simple matter that the nations have rejected salvation in Jesus Christ and spurned God’s gracious offer of salvation for these two millennia. Instead, they have collectively opposed God’s promises to Israel; they continue to divide the land, divide the city and trample upon the prophetic Word.
The final confrontation between light and darkness will not be limited to Israel and the nations, but it will involve the entire universe: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (verses 14-15). Plainly and simply, the sun, the moon and the stars will participate. This is judgment upon the nations, but this is also judgment unto destruction.
We are reminded here of the judgment upon sin. The earth and the universe were involved at that time, too: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour… And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:45,51).
Doubtless, these verses in Joel 3 speak of the Battle of Armageddon, the confrontation between Jesus, the bright Morning Star, and Lucifer the fallen morning star.
The actual confrontation is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:8: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” In other words, truth is exposing a lie; light destroys darkness. This seems to be the clearest description of the Battle of Armageddon. There is no need for nuclear bombs, planes, tanks or armed forces; this is God’s judgment upon the nations unto destruction.
When we read of God’s judgments being executed upon the world, we see that something very strange happens: “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:15-16). What are they afraid of? The wrath of the Lamb. The world no longer will see Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed for their sins and who is the only way to escape the wrath to come. Instead, they will see the other side of the Lamb of God: His wrath. But then it will be too late. That is why we read nothing about repentance or crying out for forgiveness; they are just hiding behind the rocks and mountains, the materials from which they extracted the minerals used to build their modern society that blatantly rejects the Creator.
This is especially highlighted in Revelation 9:20-21: “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” One of the great endtime sins is a complete reliance upon material things. People from all walks of life have created their own little idols by which they oppose the Creator, the living God of heaven and earth, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no repentance: “neither repented they.” Furthermore, we read in chapter 16:9, 11: “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory…And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Now they actually blaspheme God, who has the power over this place. In other words, they recognize that this is not an enemy who is sending nuclear missiles against them, but this is the judgment of God. Yet there is no room for true repentance.
All the mighty powers on earth that have been so arrogant will now meet Him: “The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel” (Joel 3:16). Judgment will be poured out upon the nations, but hope and strength will be given to the children of Israel.
Finally, the question regarding Judah and Zion will be settled: “So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more” (verse 17). The Europeans, Asians, Africans and Americans will be kicked out of Jerusalem: “no strangers pass through her any more.”
Now the time will have come for the initiation of the 1,000-year kingdom of peace to begin with Jerusalem: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim” (verse 18).
But two more enemies will have to be dealt with in a special way: “Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land” (verse 19). Ezekiel 29 reports the judgment of Egypt: “And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries” (Ezekiel 29:12). Judgment against Edom is described by the prophet Obadiah: “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever…But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress” (verses 10, 12).
Now God turns to the Jewish people and makes this solemn promise: “But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation” (Joel 3:20). This will not take place automatically, because it is the result of God’s unspeakable grace for His people and His city: “For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion” (verse 21).
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can rejoice with Judah and Jerusalem because we are the recipients of unspeakable grace through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and the Messiah of Israel. We are not saved because of our merits, but because of His grace. I close this study with the testimony of John Newton, writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace”: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.”
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