Judgment · Judgment of the nations

Joel 3:9-21

Joel · ~835 BC · Status: Future · Confidence: 60% · Payne §Joel 19–20

“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: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.”

King James Version · the opening — all 13 verses are below

More of Joel 3 on this siteJoel 3:1-8 · Joel 3:2

Joel's oracle of the nations gathered to the valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment on the Day of the LORD, followed by blessing for God's people.

Read the whole passage — all 13 verses (KJV)

3:9Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

3:10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

3:11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

3:12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

3:13Put 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.

3:14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

3:15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

3:16The 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.

3:17So 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.

3:18And 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.

3:19Egypt 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.

3:20But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

3:21For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

Fulfillment References

Revelation 14:14-20 Zechariah 14:2-3 Matthew 25:31-32 Revelation 16:16

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe LORD who judges in the valley and dwells in Zion is Jesus; the same Joel prophesied the Spirit's outpouring (Joel 2:28; Acts 2).

JewishThe judgment of the nations in the valley of Jehoshaphat for their treatment of Israel — a vivid Day-of-the-LORD oracle awaited at the end.

CatholicThe final judgment of the nations, harmonized with Christ's judgment of all peoples (Matt. 25).

ProtestantA picture of the final Day of the LORD and the judgment of the nations gathered against God's people.

OrthodoxThe eschatological judgment and vindication of God's people, the LORD dwelling in Zion.

DispensationalA literal future gathering of nations for judgment (often linked to Armageddon) before the millennial blessing of v.18.

AcademicScholars note Joel's reuse of holy-war traditions, reversing Isaiah/Micah's 'swords into plowshares.'

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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, D.Min. · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.