Time For A Decision

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem. I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have also divided up My land. They have cast lots for My people, have given a boy as payment for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.” Joel 3:1-3

I can imagine some people saying, “Wonderful, the captives are returning to Jerusalem!” But others questioning, asking, “What Lord? You are gathering the nations at our doorstep?” And the Lord saying to them, “Don’t panic! I’m gathering them to enter into judgment with them.” Their captors had used them as gambling chips... casting lots for them. Then, the winners used stolen Jewish boys to pay for the services of harlots. They used stolen Jewish girls to pay for alcohol beverages. Are there governmental leaders doing these kind of crimes today?

God promised to lead the offenders into the valley of Jehoshaphat where He would judge them. Jehoshaphat means “Yahweh has judged.” Once upon a time, this valley was called Berachah. In 2 Chronicles 20:26, in the days of King Jehoshaphat, his valley was called Berachah meaning “the valley of blessing.” This valley is situated between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.

In Zechariah 14:2-4, the Lord promised, “I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city shall be taken... Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations... in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.”

In the days of King Jehoshaphat, in 2 Chronicles 20:22, God overthrew Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir in this valley. Here in Joel 3, God promised to overthrow the Tyrians, Zidonians, Philistines, Edom, and Egypt in this valley. He fulfilled this promise. These events foreshadow the future. The Mount of Olives is likely the place where He will return. Zechariah 14:4 says, “Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations... in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. In Acts 1:11, an angel said to the disciples, “this same Jesus ... shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.”

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; because you have taken My silver and My gold and have carried into your temples My prized possessions. Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks, that you may remove them far from their borders. Behold, I will raise them out of the place to which you have sold them and will return your retaliation upon your own head. I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off; for the Lord has spoken.” Joel 3:4-8

The Lord promised swift retaliation on Tyre, Sidon and Philistia for transferring His silver and gold to their idols. They had also sold God’s people to the Greeks. God promised to sell these nations to the Judeans who would in turn sell them to the Sabeans.

“Proclaim this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. Let the nations be wakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.’” Joel 3:9-13

The Lord dared the nations to come against His people. In Joel chapter one, God’s people experienced one wave of locusts after another. Then, there was drought. Their orchards, vineyards, flocks and herds were decimated. In Joel chapter two an army came against them, but then, God spoke of pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. Recipients of His Spirit shall have divine visions and dreams. Their sons and daughters shall prophesy. Now, here in Joel chapter three, the Lord knows His people are ready. They are abiding in Him. With God nothing is impossible!

In Joel 2:28-29, the Lord promised, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

Peter quoted this passage on Pentecost Day to explain to a crowd why tongues of fire rested on their heads and he and the other apostles were speaking in tongues. In Acts 2:8-11, the names of 16 nations are listed. People from 16 different nations wondered how Galilean men could speak each of their languages simultaneously. It was a miracle! God did not give the gift of tongues to the apostles so they could enjoy an ecstatic experience like being drunk as some naysayers falsely assumed. God gave them the outpouring of His Spirit and this divine language to help people of every language to clearly hear the Gospel.

When I proclaimed the Gospel to people in Hong Kong and Guangzhou City, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me speak Cantonese and Mandarin. What did He do for me? He filled my heart with love for them. Love for them proved to be a powerful incentive for me to study Chinese. I also noticed that when I proclaimed the Gospel, the Holy Spirit brought the right words to my remembrance and helped me to speak above my normal level. Little by little with the help of a brother and sister in Christ, I also learned to read Chinese characters. I was like a Galilean – a simple day laborer – whom the Spirit of God helped to speak another nation’s language for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel. Praise the Lord!

However, the disciples were speaking a divine language on Pentecost Day. Everyone heard them speaking in their own language at the same time. Some attributed this phenomenon to intoxication, because no one can speak 16 languages at the same time. Peter affirmed that they were not drunk. No, the Holy Spirit gave them utterance so that everyone in their audience understood what they were saying in their own language. They were speaking in tongues.

What about prophesying? The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophesying to people. This type of prophesying is not referring to being a composer of new books of the Bible. The gift of prophecy does not carry the same authority as Scripture. 1 Corinthians 14:32 says that the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets meaning that true prophecy always aligns with the Bible. The Lord warns us at the end of the Bible in Revelation 22:18-19, not to add to the Bible. The Bible is complete. True prophecy will always align with the Bible.

In 1 Corinthians 14:4, the Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophecy to build up the church, draw believers closer to God, and console them in times of need. In Acts 11:28, the Holy Spirit warned God’s people to prepare for a famine via prophetic utterance. In Acts 13:1, He called Paul and Barnabus to missionary service. In Acts 15:28, He helped Church leaders to conclude that new Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised. In Acts 16:10, He directed Paul and his ministry team away from a certain direction. In Acts 19:21, He gave Paul “resolve” to travel to Jerusalem. In Acts 21:8-9, He gave the gift of prophesying to four daughters of Philip the evangelist. The gift of prophecy is explained in detail by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14.

In 1 Corinthians 14:39, the Apostle Paul instructs believers to “desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:20, he wrote not to “despise prophecies.”

The Bible is filled with testimonies of divine miracles. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus testified that the Spirit of the Lord anointed Him to proclaim good news to the poor and freedom to captives, to heal broken hearts, and give sight to the blind. In Romans 8:11, Paul wrote that if the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, He will give life to your mortal body. He is speaking of the life that Jesus and His servants lived. In Numbers 11:29, Moses said he wished that “all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His on Spirit on them.”

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again. And it will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; a fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord and water the Valley of Acacias.” Joel 3:14-18

The Lord gave Joel a vision of many nations congregating in the valley of decision. This is where they meet their doom. Thus, it is a day of darkness and a day of shaking for them. “The valley of decision” and “the valley of Jehoshaphat” are one in the same.

Praise the Lord for Evangelist Billy Graham. The Holy Spirit led him to gather the nations around the preaching of the Gospel. He once preached to over 1 million South Koreans at one time. He gathered them to valley of decision where many were slain. How so? They died to sin and came alive to Christ. Billy believed the Gospel had the power of God to save souls, and he preached the Gospel with power and anointing from God.

In the Joel chapter 3 prophecy, nations gather against God’s people to destroy them. The Lord roars and they are defeated. God’s shield around His people is impenetrable. His people will know Him. Their gatherings are holy.

Mountains dripping with new wine, hills flowing with milk (from the herds) and brooks overflowing with water contrasts with the previous season of drought and pestilence.

“A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord” is a reference to the Holy Spirit. In John 7:37-39, Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” The Spirit of God never stops flowing for those who open their hearts to Him.

“Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.” Joel 3:19-20

Empires built on military exploits and bloodshed disappear, but God’s kingdom of love is forever. He fights and wins the battles for us. He calls us to rest in His love and to testify of His goodness.