Judgment in Jehoshaphat - The Wrath of God By Dr. David R. Reagan

https://www.massagebook.com/dashboard#/business/426024/scheduling/2022-01-16/week

 

[read in Lamplighter (pdf)]

​

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is mentioned twice in the Scriptures, both times in the book of Joel, chapter 3. Let’s begin by reading those Scriptures from the New Living Translation:

​

1) “At the time of those events,” says the LORD, “when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2) “I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land…

9) “Say to the nations far and wide: ‘Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.

10) ‘Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors.

11) ‘Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.'” And now, O LORD, call out your warriors!

12) “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the LORD, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.

13) “Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.”

14) Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the LORD will soon arrive.

15) The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

16) The LORD’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.

​

Location of the Valley

​

Let’s get into this topic by first of all identifying the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

​

Since the 4th Century, it has been identified with the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, and continues to be until this day. The Kidron Valley runs north and south and separates the Temple Mount on the west side from the Mount of Olives on the east side.

​

But, the Kidron Valley is not a valley. It is what would be properly classified as a gorge or a ravine.

​

I was recently at a true valley when I went to California to preach at a church located in the magnificent Imperial Valley. That’s a true valley! It reminded me of the Valley of Jezreel in Israel, or the Valley of Armageddon, as Christians call it.

​

In addition to the Kidron Ravine, many have tried to identify the Valley of Jehoshaphat with one of the sites where King Jehoshaphat fought one of his battles. But I don’t believe the name has anything to do with King Jehoshaphat.

​

The word, Jehoshaphat, means “Yahweh Judges,” and in the context in which it is used, I think it is an obvious symbolic term for the judgment of God that is going to be poured out in the end times during the Great Tribulation — a judgment that will culminate in the Valley of Armageddon, which Joel also refers to as “the valley of decision.”

​

So, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is a symbolic term for the end time wrath of God during the Great Tribulation that will culminate in the Valley of Armageddon.

​

The Wrath of God

​

But before we consider the judgment of God that the world will experience during the Great Tribulation, we need to first consider the concept of the wrath of God. The reason we need to do that is because I have discovered that most Christians, if not most pastors, do not believe in the wrath of God.

​

If any mention is made of God’s wrath, there is usually an immediate and vehement response that God is a God of love, grace and mercy. And if you point to the wrath of God in the Hebrew Scriptures, as, for example, when He destroyed the world with the Noahic Flood, the response usually is, “But that was the God of the Old Testament. The God of the New Testament is a God of grace, mercy and love.”

 

One of the most memorable times when I encountered this attitude was in about 1995. I was contacted by the producer of a popular radio talk show in Oklahoma City. He said the host of the program had seen an article I had written about the financial accountability of Christian ministries, and he had liked it. He wanted to interview me about it. I agreed to the interview.

​

The host began the interview by graciously giving me the opportunity to summarize the fundamental message of my ministry. I responded by saying that God had called me to proclaim “the soon return of Jesus.”

​

I then explained that this message was like a two-edged sword, with a message for both believers and unbelievers. I pointed out that the message for believers is to commit themselves to holiness and evangelism. I then added, “The message for unbelievers is to flee from the wrath that is to come, by fleeing into the loving arms of Jesus now.”

​

Before I could proceed with my explanation, the host cut me short. “What do you mean when you refer to ‘wrath’?” he asked.

The Imperial Valley of California.

​

“I mean that Jesus is going to return very soon to pour out the wrath of God upon those who have rejected God’s love and grace and mercy.”

​

He responded by saying, “I happen to be a Christian, I go to church every Sunday, and I have never heard anything about God ‘pouring out wrath.’ My God is Jesus, and He wouldn’t hurt a fly!” Then he literally yelled at me, “Your God is a monster!”

​

That was the end of the interview. He hung up on me. I was not given an opportunity to respond to his misrepresentation of our Creator. If I had been given a chance to respond, I would have quoted the warning Jesus gave in the book of Revelation to the church at Thyatira which was tolerating a false prophetess who was corrupting the whole church. Jesus warned:

​

Revelation 2:20-23

20) “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

21) “I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

22) “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.

23) “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” (NLT)

​

These verses pretty well destroy the concept of a meek and mild Jesus who wouldn’t hurt a fly!

​

Of course, I could also have pointed to the fact that the Tribulation begins with Jesus Himself launching the Seal Judgments. In fact, in Revelation 6:16, those judgments are referred to as “the wrath of the Lamb.”

​

Let me give you another example that occurred more recently, in 2005. It is the example of an enraged pastor.

​

I was invited to speak to a large church in the Dallas area where I had spoken several times before. The date of my presentation fell on a Sunday about three weeks after hurricane Katrina had devastated New Orleans.

​

I decided I would speak about the hurricane, with the intention of pointing out that I believed it to be a remedial judgment of God upon this nation for two reasons. The first reason I mentioned was our nation’s strong-arming of Israel to surrender the Gaza Strip to its enemies. I noted that the hurricane had started forming very suddenly near the Bahamas on the last day of the Israeli withdrawal.

 

The second reason I gave was the immorality of our nation and particularly the city of New Orleans, a city that calls itself, “Sin City USA.” The hurricane hit the city just as it was preparing to conduct its annual festival called “Gay Mardi Gras.” The 2005 theme of this sexual orgy was “Jazz and Jezebels.” In 2004, the event had attracted 125,000 revelers who proudly flaunted their perversion publicly in a garish parade. The event was sponsored by a group called, “Southern Decadence.”

​

All hell broke loose during the following week. You see, the pastor was out of town when I delivered the message. When he returned home and watched a video of the message, he went ballistic! He even checked my speaking schedule on our website and called the next church where I was to speak and warned them about allowing me to present my sermon.

​

What was he so mad about? Two things. First, he felt it was wrong for me to attribute a disaster to God when it should have been assigned to Satan. Second, he objected to my characterization of the hurricane as being a manifestation of the wrath of God. He insisted that the “God of Wrath” was the Old Testament God, whereas the God of the New Testament is a “God of Grace.” The idea of God pouring out His wrath was entirely foreign to him.

​

These are only two examples of many experiences I have had where Christians have reacted with revulsion against any mention of God’s wrath.

​

Four points need to be made concerning the modern day Church’s view of God — four very important points:

​

1) We need a balanced view of God.

​

Yes, He is a God of love, grace and mercy. But He is also a God of holiness, righteousness and justice. The prophet Nahum provides us with that balanced view: “The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him” (Nahum 1:7). That is the God of love, grace and mercy.

​

But consider what else Nahum has to say about the nature of God (Nahum 1:2-3):

​

2) The LORD is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose Him and continues to rage against his enemies!

3) The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.

The Valley of Jezreel (Armageddon).

​

2) The second thing we need to keep in mind is that God has not changed.

​

There is no such thing as “the God of the Old Testament versus the God of the New Testament. God has always been a God of love, grace and mercy, just as He has always been a God of holiness, righteousness and justice.

​

God is immutable. And that means He never changes. He declares this in Malachi 3:6 where He says, “I, the LORD, do not change.” The point is reiterated in the New Testament in Hebrews 13: 8 where it says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

 

3) The third thing we need to understand is that because He is a God of holiness, righteousness and justice, He is going to deal with sin.

​

I’m convinced that most people think of God as a Cosmic Teddy Bear who winks at sin. That is not the true God of the universe. The Bible makes it crystal clear that God takes sin very seriously and that He deals with it in one of two ways: Grace or Wrath.

​

Everyone knows John 3:16; few seem to be aware of John 3:36, taken from a sermon of John the Baptist: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

4) The fourth thing we need to understand about God is that He is sovereign.

​

God is on His throne. He is in control. Psalm 2 says he laughs at all the plots and schemes of the world’s political leaders. He is not laughing because He does not care. His laughter is provoked by the fact that He has the wisdom and power to orchestrate all the evil of Satan and Mankind to the triumph of His Son.

​

People like to attribute all bad things to Satan. But the interesting thing is that the Bible never does that because the writers believed in the sovereignty of God. They therefore understood that when bad things happen, God allows them either to discipline us or to refine us in righteousness — or for purposes known only to Him.

​

Satan is not free to do as he pleases. The book of Job makes this clear. Satan could not touch Job or his household or his possessions without God’s permission, and even when that permission was granted, Satan was told he could not take Job’s life.

​

Some people argue that the first half of the Tribulation will consist of the wrath of Man and Satan and that the wrath of God will be manifested only in the Bowl Judgments that occur near the end of the Tribulation. But that is not true.

​

Even during the first half of the Tribulation, when Satan and the Antichrist will be rampaging around the world, they will do so under the sovereignty of God. They will be used by God as instruments of His wrath, just as the Babylonians were used by God to pour out His wrath on Judah (Habakkuk 1:5-11).

​

Types of God’s Wrath

​

One other thing we need to understand is that there are several types of God’s wrath.

​

• Consequential Wrath — This is what might be called “sowing and reaping wrath.” It is the wrath we bring upon ourselves when we reap what we sow through sinful living. Thus, a smoker might be afflicted with lung cancer, and a drunkard may lose his job and family and die of cirrhosis of the liver.

• Cataclysmic Wrath — As evidenced in disasters, either natural or man-made, like the 9/11 attacks. God allows these as a way of calling people and nations to repentance. They are usually referred to as “remedial judgments.”

• Abandonment Wrath — The wrath exhibited by God when He turns His back on a person or a society, allowing self-destruction (Romans 1).

• Eschatological Wrath — The wrath God unleashed on all the world with the Noahic Flood, and the wrath He has promised to pour out on the world during the Great Tribulation that is yet to come.

• Eternal Wrath — The ultimate punishment God will inflict upon those who are consigned to Hell.

 

End Time Wrath

​

The Judgment in Jehoshaphat is going to be the ultimate example of God’s Eschatological Wrath.

​

It is going to be a seven year period of unparalleled violence, misery and suffering from beginning to end — far worse than Noah’s Flood when the suffering ended rapidly as people drowned. God is going to pour out His unmitigated wrath over a period of seven years on those who have rejected His love, grace and mercy.

​

Because the Bible pictures such incredible horror, I am always astounded when people, including pastors, ask me, “Do you think we are in the Tribulation now?” I can guarantee you that once the Tribulation begins, no one will have to ask that question.

 

A Tribulation Myth

​

And that brings me to a myth about the Tribulation that must be addressed. Because Jesus in Matthew 24 referred to the second half of the Tribulation as “the great tribulation,” a misconception has become established that the first half of the Tribulation will be relatively peaceful and that most, if not all, of the horrible judgments described in the book of Revelation will occur in the second half.

 

That simply is not true. Jesus referred to the second half as the “great tribulation” because He was speaking to a Jewish audience — and for them, the second half will be the time of their great travail — what Jeremiah referred to as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). Daniel called it “a time of distress such as has never occurred until that time…” (Daniel 12:1).

 

But the first half of the Tribulation will be a time of peace for the Jews. That’s because the book of Daniel reveals that the Antichrist will make a covenant with the Jews that will protect them during the first half of the Tribulation, even enabling them to rebuild their Temple.

 

This period of peace will end when the Antichrist goes to Jerusalem in the middle of the Tribulation and declares himself to be God. The Jews will reject him and revolt. The Antichrist will be so enraged that he will spend the next three and a half years trying to annihilate the Jewish people.

​

He will do this because he will be possessed by Satan, and Satan is determined to annihilate the Jewish people. Keep in mind that Satan hates the Jews with a passion because:

1. They are the Chosen People of God.

2. Through them, God gave the Bible to the world.

3. Through them, God provided the Messiah.

4. And God has promised He will bring a great remnant of the Jews to salvation in the end times.

 

In fact, Jesus Himself said He would not return to this earth until the Jewish people are willing to accept Him as their Messiah (Matthew 23:39).

​

The Timing of Jehoshaphat

​

This brings us to the timing of Jehoshaphat. When will the Judgment of Jehoshaphat most likely begin?

 

Some believe it will begin immediately after the Rapture of the Church. But I think that is a misconception. I believe there must be a gap between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation.

​

I suspect that two major things will happen during this gap period:

1. The Antichrist will rise to power in Europe.

2. The War of Gog & Magog will occur.

 

Regarding the rise of the Antichrist, it is true that he will rise to power in Europe through diplomacy, intrigue, cleverness and the charismatic power of his personality. He will also have supernatural knowledge that will be supplied to him by Satan. But his ascension to the control of the revived Roman Empire will take some time.

​

And while that is going on, I think it is likely that the Russian invasion of Israel that is prophesied in Ezekiel 38 & 39 (the War of Gog & Magog) will take place.

​

Traditionally, this war has been placed at the beginning of the Tribulation, and for a good reason. Ezekiel declares it will take place at a time when Israel is living in peace, and the Tribulation is going to officially begin when the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel that will guarantee its safety.

​

But the Ezekiel account also says that when the Gog & Magog War is over, the Jewish people will spend seven years burning the weapons from the battlefield. That raises a problem because the Jews are going to be evicted from their land in the middle of the Tribulation when they reject the Antichrist as God and he turns on them in wrath and seeks to annihilate them.

 

Thus, I have concluded — along with Ron Rhodes — that the War of Gog & Magog will most likely begin at least 3½ to 4 years before the Tribulation begins, during the gap between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation.

​

This war will result in the destruction of the military power of the Russians and its Arab allies, including the non-Arab nation of Iran. Ezekiel says the armies will be totally destroyed by the Lord on the mountains of Israel.

​

Ezekiel further states that the Lord’s weapons of destruction will be torrential rains, hail, fire, brimstone, pestilence and a great earthquake — all of which will produce battlefield confusion that will cause the troops to end up killing each other (Ezekiel 38:19-22).

 

Incidentally, regarding the earthquake, Ezekiel says it will be a “great earthquake” that will shake the entire Middle Eastern area, “collapsing mountains and walls” (Ezekiel 38:19-20). I believe this earthquake will destroy the Dome of the Rock and pave the way for the Jews to rebuild their Temple.

​

Once the War of Gog & Magog is concluded, I believe the Antichrist will rush to fill the vacuum left in the Middle East by signing his treaty with Israel. And with that area peaceful, he will then launch his campaign to conquer the world.

​

That campaign will be the beginning of the Judgment of Jehoshaphat.

​

The Need for Violence

Some seem to think that the world will be so entranced by the Antichrist that the nations will be willing to submit voluntarily to his sovereignty. I do not believe that for a moment.

​

For one thing, the Muslim world is not going to bow down to a European ruler who is insisting on a one world religion and who thinks he is god. Keep in mind that although the Muslim nations of the Middle East will be devastated by the War of Gog & Magog, the vast majority of Muslims in the world live outside the Middle East in countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

 

Nor will the nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America rush to submit to him. After all, they have spent the last 200 years fighting to free themselves from European colonialism.

​

So, once the Antichrist has established his power base in Europe, he will have to resort to force — overwhelming force — to conquer the world. And through his maniacal rampage to conquer all the world, God will pour out His wrath.

​

The entire Tribulation is going to be a time of unparalleled violence and death, which is the reason that both Jesus and one of the heavenly elders refer to the entire period as “The Great Tribulation” in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:22 & 7:14).

 

Unparalleled Violence

​

Yes, the Antichrist will have to conquer the world with military power, and I believe that is what the Seal and Trumpet Judgments of Revelation are all about.

​

God will unleash the Antichrist as His weapon of wrath, beginning with the Seal Judgments, which I believe constitute a conventional world war that will result in one-fourth of Mankind being killed (Revelation 6:8).

​

And I believe the book of Revelation indicates that this war will morph into a nuclear one called the Trumpet Judgments that will result in one-third of the earth being burned up and another one-third of Mankind being killed (Revelation 8:7 and 9:15).

 

These are mind-blowing statistics that we need to pause to consider.

​

• The current population of the world is 7 billion.

• Let’s assume that 1 billion are taken out in the Rapture, leaving a total of 6 billion.

• One-fourth of those left behind will die from the Seal Judgments, equaling 1.5 billion, leaving a total of 4.5 billion.

• One-third of those will die from the Trumpet Judgments, equaling another 1.5 billion, leaving 3 billion.

• This means that one-half the world’s population is going to die in the first half of the Tribulation!

 

This is why Jesus said in His Olivet Discourse that the Tribulation would be so terrible that all life would cease to exist if God did not put an end to it (Matthew 24:22).

​

I think it is also the reason that Jesus said that “men will faint from fear over the expectation of the things which will come upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). That sounds to me like a reference to a nuclear exchange.

 

The Jews During the Tribulation

​

Meanwhile, while the Antichrist is conquering the world, the Jewish people will be living in peace, and I believe that will draw Jews from all over the world to return to their homeland, concentrating them for Satan’s final attack.

​

In the middle of the Tribulation, after the Antichrist has conquered the world, and after the Temple has been rebuilt, the Antichrist will come to Jerusalem — probably for the dedication of the Temple. He will astonish the Jewish people by entering the Temple and declaring himself to be God!

​

The Jews will, of course, reject this blasphemy, and the Antichrist will turn on them with a vengeance, determined to annihilate them.

​

The Purposes of the Judgment in Jehoshaphat

​

This brings us to the purposes of the Judgment in Jehoshaphat.

​

Although it will serve to pour out God’s wrath on a God-hating Gentile world and a depraved Muslim world, the main purpose of the Tribulation is to bring the Jewish people to the end of themselves so that they will finally turn to God, repent and accept His Son, Yeshua, as their Messiah.

​

Remember, the seven years of the Tribulation constitutes the last week of Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks of years (Daniel 9:24). Daniel was told that during those 490 years God was going to achieve six things among the Jewish people:

1. “Finish the transgression” — The Jews’ acceptance of their Messiah

2. “Make an end of sin” — The sins of daily life

3. “Make atonement for iniquity” — Repentance for rejecting Yeshua

4. “Bring in everlasting righteousness” — Establishment of Messiah’s kingdom

5. “Seal up vision and prophecy” — The fulfillment of Messianic prophecies

6. “Anoint the most holy place” — Anointing of the Millennial Temple

 

Daniel’s 70 weeks of years was put on hold at the end of 483 years when the Jews rejected their Messiah and demanded His crucifixion. That was when God set the Jewish people aside in discipline and began working through the Church.

 

It was like a timeout in a football game. Well, the timeout is about to end. God is about to send His Son for His Bride, the Church, and then resume the countdown of the final seven years of Daniel’s prophecy, when all the goals will be achieved.

 

Resumed Focus on the Jews

​

Zechariah says that during the second half of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will succeed in killing two-thirds of the Jewish people, resulting in a holocaust greater than that of the Nazis (Zechariah 13:8-9).

​

Many of the Jews will flee to the area of modern day Jordan, perhaps to the city of Petra. Daniel says that the Antichrist will be prevented from entering Jordan in pursuit of them (Daniel 11: 41).

​

Others will evidently flee throughout the Middle East and continue their revolt against the Antichrist. I say that because Daniel says the Antichrist will ultimately gather an army for a major invasion of the Middle East (Daniel 11:40- 45).

​

While he is doing this, the indication of the Scriptures is that many Jews will return to Israel and Jerusalem. Also, a revolt throughout Asia will occur, producing an army of 200 million that will start marching toward Israel to challenge the Antichrist (Revelation 9:16).

 

Daniel says that when the Antichrist arrives back in the Middle East with his army, he will rampage from Syria down through Israel to Egypt and then, according to Zechariah 14:1-2, he will return to conquer Jerusalem. And just as he has conquered half of Jerusalem, he will hear that the Asian army has reached the Euphrates River. This news will motivate him to retreat from Jerusalem to the Valley of Armageddon where he will prepare to confront the invading armies (Daniel 11:14-15).

​

Sometime during these concluding days of the Tribulation, God will pour out His final wrath in the form of the Bowl Judgments which will destroy the European Empire of the Antichrist in one hour of one day (Revelation 16:1-12 & 18:8- 10).

 

The Second Coming of Jesus

​

It is at this point that Jesus will break from the heavens in His Second Coming. Revelation says the Church Age saints in their glorified bodies will come with Him (Revelation 19:8 & 14).

​

He will return to the Mount of Olives from which He ascended into Heaven (Zechariah 14:4). The Jewish people will come out of the city, bow before Him, repent of their rejection of Him and receive Him as their Messiah, crying out, “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai!” (“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” — Matthew 23:39).

​

Then according to the prophet Zechariah, Jesus will strike the Antichrist and all the armies gathered in the Valley of Armageddon with a supernatural plague that will instantly annihilate them, as if a neutron bomb had gone off (Zechariah 14:12). Zechariah says their eyes and tongues will melt and their flesh will fall from their bodies, resulting in blood up to the horses bridles (Revelation 14:20).

 

Incidentally, you and I are going to witness these events of the Second Coming personally because hundreds of millions of us who were taken up in the Rapture will return with Jesus in our glorified bodies. We will fill the Kidron Ravine and the sky above as we watch Jesus replay a day in His life.

​

Once before He came to the Mount of Olives riding a donkey as He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the last week of His life (Matthew 21:1-11). Thousands who had heard of His resurrection of Lazarus filled the Kidron and waved palm branches in worship and cried out “Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David!” A week later many of those same people were crying out, “Crucify Him!”

 

It will be very different when He returns. He will be riding a white war charger, the symbol of a victorious general. After He has spoken the plague on the Antichrist and all the armies gathered at Armageddon, He will ride that horse down into the Kidron Ravine and up to the Eastern Gate which has been closed for over 400 years. And as He approaches it, the Gate will blow open, allowing Him to enter the Temple Mount.

​

That event is described in Psalm 24 in these words:

​

7) Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!

8) Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

 

The Good News

​

In conclusion, I must point out that the Judgment in Jehoshaphat is not all bad news. For the book of Revelation clearly teaches that in addition to the Jewish remnant, a great host of Gentiles will be saved during the Tribulation — so many, in fact, that John says they could not be counted (Revelation 7:9).

​

How will they be saved?

1. Responding to the Rapture

2. Discovering Bibles

3. The testimony of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses

4. The Two Witnesses in Jerusalem (Revelation 11)

5. The proclamation of the Gospel Angel (Revelation 14:6)

6. Responding to the wrath of God

 

Regarding this last point, Isaiah says, “When the earth experiences God’s judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). Although most will curse God for the judgments, some will be brought to repentance and salvation by the judgments.

 

As Billy Graham used to say, “The same sun that melts the butter, hardens the clay.” And thus, while the judgments of God will harden the hearts of most, they will melt the hearts of some, bringing them to repentance and salvation.

 

Conclusion

​

Let’s end where we began by picking up where we left off in our reading of Joel chapter 3. It describes the result of God’s Judgment in Jehoshaphat. And that, of course, is the Messiah’s glorious Millennial reign which will flood the earth with peace, righteousness and justice, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). Here’s how the prophet Joel describes it in chapter 3 of his prophecy:

 

17) “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, live in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again.

18) “In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Water will fill the streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the LORD’s Temple, watering the arid valley of acacias…

20) “Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations.

21) … and I The LORD will make My home in Jerusalem with my people! (NLT)

 

And that, of course, is the reason that Ezekiel tells us that the name of Jerusalem will be changed from Yerushalayim to Yahweh Shemmah, which means “The Lord is There!” (Ezekiel 48:35).

​

I want to end with the cry of Isaiah. It’s a cry he uttered from the depths of his heart at the end of his book (chapter 64) after having been given vision after vision of the Lord’s Millennial Reign —

​

1) “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at Your presence —

2) …to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!”

 

Maranatha! And Hallelujah!