Joel 3:1-21
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will enter into judgment against them
concerning my inheritance, my people Israel,
for they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine
that they might drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, O Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
Rouse the warriors!
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit
to judge all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,
for the winepress is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the sky will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
never again will foreigners invade her.
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
and the hills will flow with milk;
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house
and will water the valley of acacias.
19 But Egypt will be desolate,
Edom a desert waste,
because of violence done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Their blood guilt, which I have not pardoned,
I will pardon. ”
The Lord dwells in Zion!
In the Book of Joel, the Prophet links the Old Testament with the new...God restored Judah and Jerusalem when He sent Jesus to Israel...The prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled...Jesus has come to earth not to abolish the law and the wisdom books, but to fulfill them as He tells us in Matthew...For He tells us that He has told us, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled by Him...God has appointed His Son Judge and He will fulfill His duties on Judgement Day...
Nations will be judged...Good will overcome evil...The righteous shall prevail...God has a deep love for all His people...God is willing to forgive those who repent...St. Peter and the Disciples have seen the LORD...They have walked and talked with Him, and been eyewitnesses to His Majesty...Edom will become a desert waste, and Egypt will be desolate...But Judah will be inhabited forever...A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house, and never again will foreigners invade Israel...The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem...And Jerusalem will be holy...The earth and sky will tremble...The hostility of the nations will be judged and justice will prevail...The LORD dwells in Zion...The LORD will be a refuge for all His believers...