The third chapter of Joel speaks of the final judgment of nations at the end of the age—that is, in our time. This should not be confused with the great White Throne judgment at the end of the millennial age a thousand years from now.

The judgment in our time is the judgment of the nations in existence at the end of the Pentecostal Age, whereas the White Throne judgment is directed toward all of humanity since the beginning of time. The judgment of the nations does not judge the people of past generations; hence, it is limited.

Joel 3:1-3 says,

¹ “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, ² I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land. ³ They have also cast lots for My people, traded a boy for a harlot and sold a girl for wine that they may drink.”

Judah and Jerusalem

The Old Testament prophets do not distinguish between the two Jerusalems, even though Yerushalayim is a dual that means precisely TWO. This is clarified by John in Revelation 21 and by Paul in Galatians 4. Again, Paul shows the difference between the two definitions of Judah in Rom. 2:28, 29, where we find that only believers in Christ are the true members of the tribe of Judah who praise God.

So when God speaks through Joel about “the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,” we must again interpret these names according to God’s definition. As I said earlier, none of the Old Testament prophets make clear distinctions, because this is a progressive revelation.

When God restores the “fortunes” of Judah and Jerusalem, He is not promising to restore the flesh to prominence but to restore by means of death and resurrection. It involves the death of the flesh and the resurrection into a spiritual body that is no longer “perishable” but is immortal (1 Cor. 15:2).

Who is God’s Inheritance?

Zionists normally interpret the term Israel in fleshly terms, because the fleshly nation, birthed out of Egypt (or “Hagar”) was called to be a son of God (Hosea 11:1). Yet being called is not the same as being chosen.

In Matt. 22:14 Jesus said,

¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.

This statement was the conclusion of Jesus’ commentary on the parable in Matt. 22:1-8, which tells how the people of Judah were invited to the wedding feast. Those invited, or called, refused to come. So Jesus says in verses 8 and 9,

⁸ Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.”

The moral of the story concludes in verse 14, telling us that “many are called, but few are chosen.” It is clear that the people of Judah were called, but not chosen. Paul tells us in Rom. 11:1-7 that the chosen ones are the remnant of grace, those who have faith in Christ. Being chosen is not dependent upon one’s fleshly biology.

Therefore, when God tells the prophet Joel that His inheritance is Israel, He was using His own definition of Israel—not man’s fleshly definition. This, of course, is unclear in Joel’s revelation, but that is why we need the New Testament for clarification and to reveal the mind of God.

Under the Old Covenant, God gave the fleshly nation of Israel a land inheritance in Canaan. But under the New Covenant, the inheritance is greater than this. It is “eternal life,” that is, life in The Age (Matt. 19:29). The Kingdom we inherit comes with “the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8:23). We end up with the type of glorified body that Jesus received when He was raised from the dead.

Paul speaks of our inheritance in 1 Cor. 15:50,

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

He says this on the heels of verses 47-49,

⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

The name Adam is derived from adama, “earth,” so Adam literally means “earthy.” Those born naturally in the flesh are earthy, not heavenly. Only the heavenly are inheritors of the Kingdom of God, Paul says. The apostle takes this a step further in Rom. 4:14,

¹⁴ For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified.

“Those who are of the Law” are those who have Old Covenant faith (in their own vows to God). Such believers have faith in their own ability to keep their vows, thereby nullifying the promise of God. One cannot base salvation on one’s own vow and at the same time base salvation on the promise of God. The two covenants are mutually exclusive.

The inheritors are the overcomers. Rev. 21:7 says,

⁷ He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

In the message to the Seven Churches, it is only those who overcome who are the actual inheritors. Believers are not refused a place in the Kingdom, but they are citizens, not rulers or inheritors. Most believers are Old Covenant believers, having faith in their own promise/vow to God, rather than in God’s promise. Hence, they will be given land that is of the earth, in accordance with their level of faith.

We are fellow heirs with Christ, because, like Him, we are sons of God, having been begotten by the same Spirit that begat Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary. Paul says in Rom. 8:14-17,

¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…

To be an heir of God is to be a fellow heir with Christ. No one can claim to be such an heir apart from having New Covenant faith in Christ. Therefore, these are the only true heirs of the Kingdom, and their “land” inheritance is an immortal body.

The precise nature of that body is defined by the feast of Tabernacles, which allows us access to the heavenly garments that Adam and Eve lost through sin (2 Cor. 5:1).

Dividing Up My Land

Joel 3:2 scolds the people saying, “they have divided up My land.” Zionists today, including Christian Zionists, interpret this as a reference to Palestinians wanting a two-state solution, which was established in Resolution 181 on Nov. 29, 1947 and implemented in 1948.

In those days the church rejoiced at this division of the land, but once the Jewish state was entrenched, they began to take more and more chunks out of Palestine. Then the Zionists induced the church to interpret Joel 3:2 in a way that would expel all Palestinians and give the entire land to the Jewish Zionists.

Who is it that divided up the land? First, we can say that it was the UN that caused this problem, and so the UN will have to undo its foolish decree if peace is ever to come.

But Joel does not identify who are the ones dividing up the land. It is assumed by most that the Palestinians are doing it, but that is not so. The land was theirs for more than 1500 years. The Palestinians did not go to Europe and take land that was owned by Jews. It was the Jewish Zionists who divided up the land among themselves.

Whereas Joel is unclear, Ezekiel 35 tells us specifically who has divided up the land. This is a prophecy about Edom, whose inheritance was in Mount Seir (“goats”). Edom means “red,” and blood is red. The prophet uses this to indicate that Edom was bloodthirsty. Ezekiel 35:6 says,

⁶ “Therefore as I live,” declares the Lord God, “I will give you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you; since you have not hated bloodshed, therefore bloodshed will pursue you.”

Bloodthirsty people are those in violation of the law forbidding them to “eat” blood (Lev. 17:12). Edom’s desire for bloodshed and violence is God’s chief complaint against this nation. Hence, God vows to bring judgment upon them in Ezekiel 35:7, 8,

⁷ “I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it the one who passes through and returns. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with its slain, on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain by the sword will fall.”

Then God says this in Ezekiel 35:10, 11,

¹⁰ “Because you [Edomites] have said, “These two nations [Israel and Judah] will be mine, and we will possess [yarash] them,” although the Lord was there [to witness their actions], ¹¹ therefore as I live,” declares the Lord, “I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them, so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.

Hence, it is Edom that is motivated to “possess” the lands formerly inhabited by Israel and Judah. The word yarash means “to seize, dispossess, take possession of, inherit, disinherit, occupy, impoverish, be an heir.”

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3423/nasb95/wlc/0-1/

Esau-Edom wanted to possess the land but did not want to change his bloodthirsty character. So there was “bad blood” between Edom and Israel/Judah for many centuries, until finally the issue was resolved (temporarily) in 126 B.C. This was when Judah, under the leadership of John Hyrcanus, conquered Edom and forcibly converted the Edomites to Judaism.

This is recorded by the first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, XIII, ix, 1. Here we read:

“Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would be circumcised, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision and the rest of the Jews’ ways of living; at which time therefore, this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.”

On page 587 of The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, edited by Dr. Cecil Roth and Dr. Geoffrey Wigoder (1970 edition), says under “Edom,”

“The Edomites were conquered by John Hyrcanus who forcibly converted them to Judaism, and from then on they constituted a part of the Jewish people, Herod being one of their descendants.”

There are many prophecies about Edom. If we hope to understand how those prophecies are being fulfilled today, we must know how Edom ceased to exist apart from being absorbed into Jewry in 126 B.C. By now, because of 2000 years of integration, it is not possible to distinguish the Edomites from the original Judahites. In my view, the spirit of Edom is being manifested in the Jewish Zionists.

Not all Jews are Zionists, of course. Non-Zionist Jews do not move to the Jewish state and therefore will avoid the judgment of the nations prophesied by the prophet Joel.

Zionism today is rooted in the spirit of Edom, or Mount Seir, “Goat Mountain.” Hence, they increasingly manifest Edom’s bloodthirsty character, which God abhors. These are the ones who have “divided up My land” in the most brutal manner possible, while always justifying their blood-thirsty spirit in the name of self-defense.

They are fulfilling the prophecy in Mal. 1:4,

⁴ Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever.”

The prophet foretells Edom’s “return” to the land, but God vows to “tear down” their Zionist project. This is consistent with Jeremiah 19:10, 11, where we again learn that this city and this people will be broken as a vessel that cannot again be repaired.

Gathered for Judgment

Joel also tells us that God will gather all nations to that part of the world to bring them into divine judgment. So it was the UN, representing all nations, which initiated this gathering in 1947. But since Oct. 7, 2023, the world entered what I believe to be the final phase of preparation for this judgment.

The Palestinians in Gaza had been oppressed for 75 years on their own land, but on this date they broke out of their concentration camp and attacked nearby Israelis. This act launched the final conflict we see today. The Israelis have responded by bombing and shooting everyone in sight, the majority being women and children.

The Palestinian body count alone now exceeds 50,000 people, including more than 15,000 children. The Israeli army has cut off supplies—food, water, electricity, and medicine in order to make life so miserable that they will “voluntarily” leave Gaza and live somewhere else. Most nations have witnessed the Israeli bloodthirsty nature and have turned against them. If it were not for America, with its Christian Zionist voting block, the Israeli state would be isolated almost totally.

Zionists believe that God is on the side of the Israelis, but Scripture paints a different picture. The key is to know where Edom went, how it was conquered, how it ceased to exist under the name of Edom (or Idumea), and how it manifests in the modern world to fulfill Bible prophecy.

According to Joel 3:1, 2, this is the key issue by which God is bringing judgment upon the nations, beginning with the Jewish nation under the bloodthirsty spirit of Edom.

Slavery

The Lord then turns His attention to other nations. Joel 3:3 speaks of human trafficking in Tyre, Sidon and Philistia. This was a common practice in ancient times.

Joel 3:4-8 says,

⁴ “Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense [ghemool]? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head.”

The Hebrew word ghemool means “dealing, benefit, reward, retaliation, or payment.” How would Tyre pay God for the Judahites that it had sold into slavery? God does not need the money, and He valued their lives more than these merchants were able to pay.

Therefore, it appears that God promised to sell them into slavery for the cheap price by which they had valued the Judahites that they had sold. This judgment was to be rendered according to the law of equal weights and measures as well as the equal justice law (Exodus 21:24).

⁵ “Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, ⁶ and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, ⁷ behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. ⁸ Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans to a distant nation,” for the Lord has spoken.

The divine law permits slavery but men do not have the right of life and death over their slaves. As the Creator of all men, God claims ownership of all men, which means that men are mere stewards. Slaves have God-given rights under the divine law, and if men mistreat their slaves, they must set their slaves free. So we read in Exodus 21:26, 27,

²⁶ If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall let him go free on account of his eye. ²⁷ And if he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let him go free on account of his tooth.

Throughout history, slavery was not merely practiced to provide laborers or servants. It was also commonly done to purchase sex slaves. Where slavery was a right, the laws also gave the slave owners the right to rape them. Biblical law, by way of contrast, mandated marriage before they were given sexual rights. Biblical slavery does not condone sin. Unfortunately, most nations—including Christian nations—have not respected the laws of God in this matter.

God’s Purpose for Slavery

In God’s law, slavery is primarily a way to allow a debtor to work off his debt over a period of time, as the judge deems fair according to the value of his labor. (No interest may be added to the debt to prolong the time of slavery.)

But there is another purpose for slavery that is not well understood. It is seen in Exodus 21:5, 6,

⁵ But if the slave plainly says, “I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man; ⁶ then his master shall bring him to God [or the judges], then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear [lobe] with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.

Under what conditions would a man want to love his master so much that he would want to remain a perpetual slave? Obviously, such a master would have the character of Christ. The slave would realize that it is better to be a slave to such a man than to be free to do as he pleased.

If a thief, then, were sold to pay restitution for his sin (Exodus 22:2-4), it is clear that the thief needs a character upgrade. A righteous master would provide such an example, perhaps as a father figure that the sinner never had growing up. So one of the main purposes of slavery is to teach sinners the way of righteousness and to bring them to spiritual maturity. That is the mind of God.