Keep in mind that as the story continues in Joel 3, it is the judgment of the enemies of Israel. If anyone hates Israel, they also must hate God and would not have a desire to participate in this battle against Israel in Armageddon. Just look at the conclusion of Joel: “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” (Joel 3:2). Do you see that word in bold? How crucial is that word? The division of Israel and creating a Palestinian state will be the reason for this judgment: “for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2). Christians cannot be pro-Palestine or advocates for a Palestinian state that calls for carving out Israel in order to weaken that nation. Dividing Israel is pro-Antichrist, who divides the land for gain. One cannot be pro-Christ and pro-Antichrist at the same time. Yet this spirit is increasingly infiltrating certain quarters of the Church today.
JOEL’S WAR IS WITH ISLAM
The war over the land is with Muslim nations. Just read verse 4: “Indeed. What have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me?” (Joel 3:4) Lebanon (Tyre) and Muslim Gaza (Philistia) confront the Messiah Himself and lose: “will you retaliate against Me?” Gaza (Hamas) and Lebanon (Hezbollah) today are filled with radical Islam. They already attack Israel. Hezbollah literally means “the Party of Allah.” So it will be Allah’s Party against Jehovah’s Party.
CHRIST IS PRESENT
In this battle the Lord is in Israel in Joel 2: “They shall know that I am in the midst of Israel” (Joel 2:27). The context of Joel 2 is not simply one of some random army that comes against Israel, but rather an army that Messiah leads. He is “in the midst” of Israel along with all of His followers from through the ages. This reality is again expressed in Joel 3: “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain” (Joel 3:17) Again, Joel 3 is speaking about the Battle of Armageddon in “the Valley of Jehoshaphat” (Joel 3:2). And yet which nations are specified here as being judged? It is none other than Egypt and Arabia: “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” (Joel 3:19).
AMOS
Once one begins to understand these themes, they suddenly begin to appear throughout the bible. The Book of Amos also ties into these themes. In the prophecy of Amos, we have Lebanon, Gaza, Egypt, and Arabia, all being marked for destruction within the context of the Lord’s return: “The Lord roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem.” (Amos 1:2) Here, the Lord Himself roars from Jerusalem. Again, whenever God Himself is described as being physically present on the earth, we are reading about the Messiah. Yet what is He doing in this passage? He destroys Syria, Arabia, Gaza, and Lebanon:
Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad.5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the LORD.6 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom.7. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, Which shall devour its palaces.8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,” Says the Lord GOD.9 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, Which shall devour its palaces.”11 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”13 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory.14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour its palaces, amid shouting in the day of battle, and a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.15 Their king shall go into captivity, He and his princes together,” Says the LORD. (Amos 1)
While the defeat of these armies will primarily come from the Lord, part of their defeat is due to the fact that they turn on one another: “It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor” (Zechariah 13:13). These are the nations that surround Israel which God gathers for judgment. And in typical Islamic style, we see that they also kill each other: The usual Sunni killing Shi’a, Hamas killing the PLO, Iranians killing Iraqis, Iraqis killing Kuwaitis, Egyptians killing Libyans, Arabs killing Turks…Pray that many more Muslims will awaken to see the futility of following Satan. This can only be revealed as they begin to read and understand the Bible—the Word of the True Living Jehovah. From the very inception of Islam, immediately after Mohammed died, the Muslims began to kill other Muslims. This killing continued until today and will be continued until Messiah settles it.
It should be easy for Muslims to see their fate; “I will gather all nations.”
MATTHEW 25 vs. JOEL 3
It is crucial to understand why Matthew 25 and Joel 3 are referring to the same event—the judgment of the gentile nations for their mistreatment of Israel. In Matthew 25, it is regarding the judgment of the nations according to how they treated Jesus’ “Brethren.” In Joel 3 Jesus again judges the nations specifically according to their treatment of Israel. So who are Jesus’ Brethren? Is it Israel or the Church? How many gathering of the nations are there? There is only one:
Zechariah 14:2 “all the nations will be gathered before Him”
Matthew 25:32 “I will also gather all nations”
Joel 3:2 “I will gather all nations”
All throughout the Bible there is only a single judgment of the nations. Remember, this is not the Bema judgment that comes after the Millennium. This is the judgment when the Lord gathers the nations for judgment regarding their injustices toward the nation of Israel.
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“My Brethren” Are They Israel Or The Church?
In that famous parable about the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats, the nations and peoples are divided up according to how they treated Jesus’ “brethren.” But who are Jesus’ brethren? Some say that this is the Church, others say Israel. In all the passages that we have looked at which describe the battles that take place when Jesus returns, they are all concerning the nation of Israel. In fact, the centrality of Israel in all end-time prophecy is an essential part of the picture that many Westerners fail to acknowledge. The usage of brethren can be used in more than one way. It can mean literal brethren, as in the case when Moses predicted the coming of Christ: “a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren” (Deuteronomy 18:15). There are also spiritual brethren who are those who do the will of The Father. (Matthew 12:49-50)
When trying to determine which way Jesus was using the term in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, we must look at the proper context of the passage. Matthew 25 cannot be separated from the rest of Scripture.
Again, there is only one “gathering of the nations” against Israel: “I will gather all nations” (Zechariah 14:2). “All the nations will be gathered before Him” (Matthew 25:32). “I will also gather all nations” (Joel 3:2). Any honest reading of Joel 2 will have to conclude that the nations are judged according to their treatment of Israe
l. This passage is literal and is not meant to be read symbolically or allegorically in any way. So if Jesus will judge the nations according to their injustices against Israel, it also only stands to reason that this truth would also be declared in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats that is found in Matthew 25. Again, a reasonable hermeneutic always uses the clear and literal passage to illuminate the allegorical or difficult passages. Joel 2 declares in no uncertain terms that the nations will be judged according to their treatment of Israel. Matthew 25 teaches the same thing. The “brethren” in Matthew 25 are the Israelites, who are Jesus’ relatives, according to the flesh.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story: “I was hungry and you gave Me food…thirsty and you gave Me drink…in prison and you visited Me…a stranger and you took Me in…naked and you clothed Me.”
“In prison…Sick?” When was Jesus sick or in prison?
If you want to know when Jesus was in prison or hungry or naked, then simply watch some Holocaust footage. There, you will see Him.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with Salvation?” This is the typical question I get. Well, maybe I will respond by asking a Jesus-style question: Antichrist will divide Israel; he wants to also divide Jerusalem between Israel and Islam. In Joel 3, God is in the valley of Jehoshaphat (which means the Lord judges). There He will judge all who participated in dividing up His land. Read it carefully. Now, if Antichrist wants Jerusalem divided, and Christ condemns this division. Yet you are for this division, which side are you on? Christ’s or Antichrist’s? Can one be on the side of Christ and on the side of Antichrist as well? There are always tests and evidences for one to check to see if they are producing God’s fruit. Without any real fruit, you were never saved.
Is this all too difficult for you to swallow? Well, everyone must swallow—either swallow God’s Word, or swallow His wrath. The choice is yours. I urge you however to choose the narrow gate, the right side on the fork ahead. Choose wisely, for the right choice will give you eternal life, and the wrong one will take it from you.
Maybe I can share the wisdom of this in the parable of the Two Christian Nazis During the Holocaust, on a Sunday morning, a pastor walked by nicely dressed going to church. He swerves out of the way from the sidewalk where a thin Jewish woman with her two starving children were begging, “Please, I have had nothing to eat and we are practically naked, please a piece of bread, a blanket.” she says.
Unconcerned the pastor removes her clinging hand, obviously getting his fine garments dirty. “Lady, I am on my way to church, I have washed, and can’t you see that I am busy doing the Lord’s work?” Then a man by the name of Oscar Schindler walks by. And though he belonged to the Nazi Party, he was defiant and hated Hitler. He stops, takes the woman and her children in his car, puts her to work in his factory and keeps her and her children alive. Which one of the two did the work of God? Was it the pastor or the repentant Nazi? You might argue that the pastor who claimed to be doing God’s work. Yet when God’s work was right in front of his eyes, he stepped aside. The days ahead will hold many tests for all of us. Choose wisely!
There will be so many who prayed the Salvation prayer with their lips, yet never intended it with their hearts. Many who will call Him “Lord, Lord, we healed in Your name, we cast out demons in Your name.” Many who preach health and wealth in the name of Jesus. But do they truly do the work of God? You see them continually asking for big funds, while driving nice cars, always talking about their ministry that is in need. They talk about how the Lord will richly bless you with abundant material blessings, all you have to do is send money to them first. Beloved, beware how you spend your money. Always choose wisely.
Now allow me to continue to expand on the suffering people of Matthew 25 and why it must be Israel.
HE SUFFERED LIKE ISRAEL
In Isaiah 63, concerning the judgment of Edom (The Arabs), the secret is given regarding Israel in verse 9: “in all their affliction He was afflicted.” Amazing—in every detail of the many afflictions of Israel, the Lord Himself suffered? Yes. Do you think that I found the Bible amazing for mundane and simple reasons? Do you really think that I left Islam and all of its pride for just a weak argument? So, they were silent as they died—He was silent as the crowd mocked Him before and during the cross. One can watch the footage, they died in amazing silence. If they were strangers and in prisons (Ghettos in the West, and Mellahs in the Middle East), so was He in prison. If they were starving, so was He. Even in their death, literally naked, so was His death, He was naked.
Can anyone imagine such horrible death and shame the Jews suffered in Nazi Germany? No one can forget the scenes of Rabbis’ beards being ripped out, or the flogging of Jews in the concentration camps. “I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6). Indeed, neither did they hide their faces it’s all on film—watch it.
Even Messiah’s face being slapped had to be fulfilled by the Jews. Jews living in Muslim lands for centuries had to be slapped on the face as a custom. A Jew living in Tunisia recounts how they were treated as “dhimmis” (subjected people) under Islam. “The Jew is prohibited in this country to wear the same cloths as a Muslim and may not wear a red tar-bush. He can be seen to bow down with his whole body to a Muslim child and permit him the traditional privilege of striking him on the face, a gesture that can prove to be of the gravest consequences. Indeed, the present writer has received such blows. In such manners the offenders act with complete impunity, for this has been the custom from time immemorial.”3
As Christ died, so did the nation of Israel. In the resurrection even as Christ rose on, “the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:4) so also did the Jewish people revive as a nation: “After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up” (Hosea 6:2.) A day with the Lord is as a thousand years, so also, did the Nation of Israel arise “after two days” and was born in one day—May 14th, 1948: “Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor she gave birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:8).
When Jesus was held captive, the Gentiles cast lots for His garments: “Parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take” (Mark 15:24). This is also symbolic of Israel being sold into slavery to the Gentiles: “They have cast lots for my people and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink” (Joel 3:3).
ZION IN LABOR
In Isaiah 66:8, how was Zion in labor? It was through the Holocaust and the persecution of the Jews in Europe and the Middle East, that 850,000 exiled Jews from the Middle East were forced to flee to Israel. This was the birth of a nation. After labor comes birth and joy. Can all of this be orchestrated? Self fulfilled prophecy?
Micah 5 ends all arguments. There the Messiah from my village of Bethlehem is rejected. Therefore He “gives them up until the time that she who is in labor has given birth” (v. 3). This is Israel. It is the same story that is told in, Isaiah 66:8 and in Micah 5:3. There it is clear who the “brethren” are: “Then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel.” Sadly, only “a remnant” of Jews—not all—will migrate to Israel. No one can question that these brethren are Israel.
It is not necessary for all Jews to be in Israel for Messiah to re-appear. In Psalm 22:22, we read: “I will declare Your name to my brethren” (v. 22), the next verse continues, “All you descendants of Jacob glorify Him” (v. 23). One cannot escape the fact that Israel is found in every nook and cranny of Scripture. The very destiny of mankind is intimately tied to the Nation of Israel. Even the very suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus are mirrored in the Nation of Israel. If one doubts this, then I challenge you to explain Psalm 129:3-5 that describes the hatred of Messiah: “The plowers plowed on my back; They made their furrows long.” This is regarding the Messiah’s suffering as He was whipped and the skin of His back peeled off. But in the next verse, the focus shifts: “Let all t
hese who hate Zion Be put to shame and turned back.” Do you see how Jesus identifies Himself with Zion? This is identical to the pattern that we see in Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.
In the Book of Jeremiah, the Lord speaks of Babylon tormenting Israel. But pay attention to the language: “Let the violence done to me and my flesh be upon Babylon” (Jeremiah 51:35). The Lord relates to Israel as His physical body: “the inhabitant of Zion will say; ‘and my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea!’” (Jeremiah 51:35)
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God Will Raise Seven Allied Nations
In Micah 5, the coming Messiah was specifically to be a sign to the Israelites that an epoch had ended. No longer would they be abandoned by God. They would live securely under the leadership of the Messiah: “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth” (Micah 5:4). Israel would no longer have to fear its enemies. The greatness of this Messiah would reach to the ends of the earth. But it is the next verse that is so essential to consider. For here we are told that this Messiah would deliver Israel from the invading Antichrist, whom the passage links to Nimrod the founder of Babel, and refers to him as, “the Assyrian.” “And this man [the Messiah] shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, we will raise against him seven shepherds, even eight principled men. They will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He [Messiah] will deliver us from the Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into our borders” (Micah 5:2-6).
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