Joel 3: 17-21
We've seen how God judged all the evil in the world at the Battle of Armageddon, now we will see how he will begin to set up His Kingdom on this Earth.
(17) Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.
His throne will be in Jerusalem, the spot He chose way back in Abraham's day (Genesis 22: 2), where He had Solomon build the Temple (II Chronicles 3: 1).
That is the center of the land masses of the Earth, geographically, and
God chose to "set His Name" there, to be His center of operations.
(18) And in that Day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
And the hills will flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
The climate of the land of Israel will bring about a paradise with the rains and seasons growing all the crops, and feeding all the animals, and all the rivers, streams and wadis flowing abundantly; giving great wealth and abundance to the inhabitants.
And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord
To water the valley of Shittim.
This spring will be flowing out of where the throne sits, and will fill the Dead Sea with fresh water to make it alive. We know from Zechariah 14: 8 that this fountain of "living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea [the Mediterranean Sea] and the other half toward the western sea [the Salt Sea]; it will be in summer as well as in winter." This river will not ever dry up as other streams and wadis would, but will flow dependably all the time.
(19) Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.
Those areas where the enemies of Israel lived will experience devastation, showing how evil the people were, who died in the Battle of Armageddon and the reaping of the angels.
(20) But Judah will be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem for all generations.
Judah and Jerusalem will prosper and be the Royal City where the Lord God, King Jesus sits and reigns. And He will rule the whole world as King, with His viceroys (His resurrected saints) ruling all the areas of the Earth where people live.
(21) And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the Lord dwells in Zion.
The Lord will settle all accounts as He rules, and whatever hadn't been taken care of before, will be done. He will not leave any strings hanging, He will tie them all up.
And He will rule and reign for a thousand years on this Earth. His generosity will be known by everyone everywhere, and His justice will be instant and complete to everyone who decides to rebel. We will need no locks on our doors, because if anyone decides to enter to rob, they will be stopped by our Lord King before they have a chance to carry out their plan.
We as human people cannot know the thoughts of another, like our Lord God can, so human rule must depend on the actual actions of the ne'er-do-wells. Any kind of "thought-crime" is foreign to human rule, and those who try to enforce these laws are trying to be god. These people think they're gods, who can do whatever they want without accountability, and are not subject to the same laws and rules they set down for the rest of us. Pay attention to who these people are, and respond accordingly: Do not re-elect them; call them to account for their crimes; and pray for them, because they have been deceived.
Joel is looking only at Israel and writing to those who are Hebrews, and ends his book here. He only mentions other nations as they touch on Israel, and is not concerned with the rest of the world and the end of the Time Line for this Earth and our Universe. We must go to other prophets who wrote other parts of our story as God told them.
O my Father, thank You for all the people You spoke to, to record Your words in the messages You want us to hear. You want us to know who we are, and who You are, and how You have dealt with all the problems we have made!
Father, You knew before You ever made anything in this Creation we live in, what would happen, and how You would use everything to further Your plans for us, to enact Your whole Plan of the Ages.
We are not Your puppets, my Father, because You have given us the power of choice, that we call "free will." But our will is only free within the parameters You have set; and You use everything we choose, good or bad, to work out Your plan for each of us, and for all of us.
O Father, when we choose to harm ourselves and one another, when we see no way out of the negative consequences, then You show up. At the last minute, when we think it's too late, is when our Hero enters the scene and miraculously rescues us from the jaws of destruction!
My Father, You want only what is best for us! You take the worst circumstances, the most evil and wicked, and You bring the most good from them for us! The worst thing that ever happened, the most evil and wicked, is when men executed our King of Glory as a criminal! But from that, Father, You drew the most magnificent, most glorious, most miraculous result--You save us from the power of sin and wash us pristine clean; and cause us to be born into Your own family, as Your Royal children, when You place Your Holy Spirit in us.
This is all according to Your Plan that You planned out before You created anything! And Your Son, Our Lord, agreed to this plan, and was willing to go through the exquisite suffering both physical and spiritual, and emotional too, so that we could be made fit to live with You where You live, without being destroyed.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
