God Sues The Nations...Joel 3

http://billrandles.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/god-sues-the-nations-joel-3/ ^ | 11-06-10 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. (Joel 3:1-3)

Joel, the Biblical prophet, who ministered between 835-800 BC, prophesied with amazing clarity Geo-Political events that are occurring right before our very eyes.

To demonstrate this, allow me to ‘unpack’ Joel chapter three.

*The Time of fulfillment “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem…”. This prophecy is slated for the time when God would bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, that is it is going to be fulfilled post 1948.

* I will also gather all nations…The literal possibility for this aspect of the prophecy is only recent, for at no other time in human history has there been even a possibility for the “gathering of all nations” since the Tower of Babylon judgment.

All nations have indeed been assembled into a congress, the United nations which arose, like Israel, out of the aftermath of World War 2 in the late 1940s. As psalm 2 predicts,

“the kings of the earth and their rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His Christ”.

* Valley of Jehoshaphat- ”… and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat… “. The point is not that there is or isn’t an actual geographical valley of Jehoshaphat, the point is that the name Jehoshaphat is part of the prophesy. It means “Jahweh shall Judge”, ie God shall judge the nations of the earth.

It could also be a reminder of the story of the seige of Juda in the days of King Jehoshaphat, in which after repentance and a national day of prayer and fasting, the instruction was given not to fear the combined gentile armies of Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites.

This is the battle where Judah, at God’s command, marched the Priests out front of the army, with instruments instead of weapons, and Praising the goodness of the Lord ! the enemy turned upon itself and was routed.

* ”…and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel…” This is not a prediction that God will ask the nations to go easy on Israel. This is legal language, God is going to slap a lawsuit upon the Nations, he is serving an indictment, for this is the court of Divine justice!

The indictment has four counts, 1) they scattered God’s people, 2) they parted God’s land, 3)they cast lots for God’s people, 4) they sold out the children of Israel, for the hire of a harlot, and for wine.

* The first indictment ...My people, whom they have scattered among the nations- The Nations of the world indeed scattered the children of Israel, thoroughly across the world, it is not unusual even to this day to find a tribe in remote China, India, or even black Africa, who keep kosher, and observe other practices of the Jews, though cut off for centuries from the rest of the world.

But one could argue that this was exactly what God told Israel would happen, should they prove faithless.

And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.(Leviticus 26:33)

So why is there an indictment on the nations of the world for doing exactly what God said they would do? We have to turn to Zechariah for the answer ,

And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.(Zechariah 1:15)

God is bringing suit against the nations because though He used them to scatter the children of Israel, and to afflict them, they have taken it further than He wanted.

The nations were “at ease” when holocausts and pogroms were occurring, it didn’t bother them. Hitler was offering shiploads of German Jews to any nation that would shelter them, but there were no takers.He then knew that his ‘final solution’ was possible to undertake without international interference.

All through the 1940s into the 1990s the word of the nations to Israel, in the midst of intifada and terror campaigns was “don’t rock the boat” and inflame the Arabs, give them “land for peace”so that oil prices would be stable.

The nations could overlook the Palestinian bombing and murder campaigns, the slaughter of children, women, Olympic athletes, etc., for they themselves were ‘at ease’. This is what is bringing upon the world the final judgment.

The other indictments will be discussed next…

[pastorbillrandles]

Ping: - Mitch5501;Bamanot;Lera;

[RJR_fan]

And how, exactly, does reflecting upon the plight of a Jesus-hating socialist political entity make me a better husband, father, and Christian? Enquiring minds want to know!

[pastorbillrandles]

Ping! (testing my ping)

[pastorbillrandles]

Who said ... reflecting upon the plight of a Jesus-hating socialist political entity (would) make me a better husband, father, ? Certainly not I!

Reflecting on the fulfillment of amazing end times prophecies by Hebrew prophets of old, will certainly make you a better person, and witness for Jesus.

[Lera]

Thanks for the ping Pastor Bill :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwtv6PF8dM&feature=related

[quadrant]

If some, many, or most Jews hate Jesus, then the responsibility and liability falls on them. It is not for you to condemn or judge them. You should pray for them and for all who refuse to accept that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Hating Jews and assigning responsibility for His death to them is a calumny that anti-Semites have piled on Jews for centuries. I should think the example of the Nazis would be instructive to those who hold to such slanders, but I guess some are blind to history.

[RJR_fan]

With all of his sins and failures, Mel Gibson got at least one thing right. In his movie The Passion of the Christ, he plays a cameo role -- Mel Gibson's hand is the one hammering the nail into the hand of Jesus. And yes, we should pray for the conversion of those around us. We should be a blessing to our neighbors. That's a no-brainer.

There's no need for us to "punish" the Jews -- God already took care of that detail, when He eliminated their nation, temple, and altar in 70 AD. And can you think of a worse punishment than a Christless eternity?

I do pray, with you, that we can be winsome bringers of grace to our neighbors, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc.

[quadrant]

I am not a Jew, nor do I claim to speak for them, but this I know. Jews view Israel as the embodiment of their hopes and dreams, especially after the Holocaust. They view Israel as a refuge, a state to protect them if no one else will.
And they back up their claim to the land with solid historical and archaeological evidence. Beyond the prophesies in the Bible, only an idiot could deny that once the area was the home of the Jewish people. Next year in Jerusalem means something more than a simple recitation. It is an claim on the land that cannot be denied.

[RJR_fan]

Well, Christians who had lived in that part of the world for hundreds of years were “displaced” by the influx of Eastern European refugees. The Huron and Iroquois tribes were in our part of the world before us.

The Great Commission gives the new / true Israel a claim to the whole world. God can and does displace people groups for reasons of His own. He warned the people of Israel that their apostasy would give the land indigestion, so that it would vomit them out. And so it did.

As a Christian, I prefer the term “genocide.” It happened to around 10 million Ukrainians during the reign of FDR’s soul mate “Uncle Joe” Stalin. For us, who enjoy the forgiveness of sins, the only true Holocaust (whole burnt offering) was made at Calvary. To apply the term Holocaust to one and only one of the many unfortunate people groups of the 20th century is to profane something intensely sacred and precious.

Have you noticed, BTW, how many of our dear brothers and sisters get more rabid over the place of Israel in their imaginary maps of the future than they do over slurs upon the Name and Work of our Savior?

[quadrant]

Christians who lived in Palestine, Anatolia, Egypt, North Africa, Mesopotamia, and the Balkans were displaced by an influx not of refugees but by a conquering army that swept up out of Arabia. This army plundered and displaced the civilizations that existed for thousands of years.
I agree that God can and does allow peoples to be displaced for reasons that seem incomprehensible to mortals. How can you know if the displacement of the Palestinians (not to mention the Iroquois, Hurons, etc) was not a part of a Divine Plan?
What sort of claim does the new/true Israel have?
I agree Holocaust is an incorrect term, as it means the sacrifice of a burnt offering. The Jews of Europe were murdered; they were not sacrificed to anything. I've been told that Shoah is a more accurate term, but I use Holocaust only because it is the commonly accepted term.
I hope I have not appeared rabid when I penned my support for Israel, but I know too well how profound and deep a streak of antisemitism exists in far too many Christians.
I, too, become upset when I read or hear Jesus slurred, but I know that such slurs are a part of a future that He foretold. And I know that those who utter them are the only ones injured. The Resurrected Jesus is beyond human slander.

[magritte]

Jews don’t “hate” Jesus...he is just dismissed as a false Messiah and inconsequential, except when they have been persecuted by “Christians” over the years, when they may be inclined to not care for the god of their persecutors...magritte

[papabrody]

Jews don’t “hate” Jesus...he is just dismissed as a false Messiah and inconsequential, except when they have been persecuted by “Christians” over the years, when they may be inclined to not care for the god of their persecutors...magritte

B'H and well written.