Joel - Part 6

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

Joel - Part 6 

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

10/21/20

We are continuing with our 6th message on the Book of Joel, which is prophetic of the last of the last days in which we live. In our last message we emphasized the importance of Joel 2:17. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare Thy People, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?"

The priests, the ministers of the Lord, does NOT equate to all Christians. Neither does that phrase necessarily equate to those with one of the five-fold ministries spoken of in Ephesians 4. It does equate to the sons of Zadok, which we read about in Ezekiel, Chapter 44 and to what I have referred to as "the last Joel." That which the Last Joel is called to do is to weep between the porch and the altar. That speaks of a level of intercession that few believers understand and even fewer have entered into.

The vessels that will fulfill that verse are those overcomers who do know their God and understand His ways. They will become a meal offering and a drink offering unto the Lord. They will be consumed with their zeal for the Lord Himself. They will want the will of God to be done more than life itself. They will also be consumed with a passion to see the body of Christ come into maturity and perfection. And those characteristics will be in operation 24/7, not simply at the weekly Sunday morning worship service.

Abraham, Moses, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Stephen, and Paul were such intercessors. There have been others throughout history who have likewise been qualified. In these end times there will be 7,000 more (not necessarily literal) that no one except the Lord knows about.

Note that the book of Joel was probably written BEFORE the carrying away of Judah to Babylon. Obviously, there remains a fulfillment of Joel 2:17. It is VERY clear that Joel 2:18 through Joel 3 has not yet been fulfilled. I can think of no better place to heed and begin to implement the exhortations of "The Last Joel" than in the private closets of the overcomers. I do not believe that the Lord will ever allow a conference or physical gathering together of those who will fulfill Joel 2:17. That would create too strong of a possibility of man getting the glory for his own work. A confirmation of this occurs with the great prophet, Elijah. After Elijah fled to a cave at the threats of the wicked Jezebel, the Lord spoke to him in a still, small voice. He asked Elijah, "What are you doing here?" In other words, I never sent you to this place. Elijah replied that they had killed all of the true prophets and he was the only one left. The Lord responded, "Not so. I have 7,000 more that you don't know about." I wonder if Elijah ever thought, "Oh boy! Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could get together with those 7,000?" How many of those 7,000 did Elijah ever meet? None! The Lord would not allow it.

But AFTER Joel 2:17 is fulfilled, we read of the deliverance and restoration of God's chosen people.

18 Then will the LORD be jealous for His land, and pity His people.

Note the word, "then." In reality, every time we read the scriptures, we should pay particular attention to the IF-THENs, which represent a conditional statement. The Bible records about 2000 of such IF-THEN statements. One of the well-known IF-THEN verses is 

2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

We continue in the 2nd chapter of Joel ... 

19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto His people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.

22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel, Chapter 3 begins to speak of God's judgment of the nations and the restoration of God's chosen people. I believe that all of Joel, Chapter 3 is "down the road" a ways. I have NO word from the Lord as to how far down the road that may be, but the time is short. Based upon the light that I have received to date, I doubt that we have more than 8 or 10 years before Joel 3 is fulfilled.

Joel 3, Verse 1 ...

1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, [bring back from captivity]

This speaks of the fulfillment of Isaiah 11. Verses 1-5 of Isaiah 11 clearly speak of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sovereignty.

Isaiah 11, Verses 6-11 ... 

6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

Continuing in Joel chapter 3 ...

2 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.

3 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.

4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

In Verses 2-5, note the seven occurrences of "My:" my people, my heritage, my land, my people (a second time), my silver, my gold, my goodly pleasant things.


6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

"I will gather all nations" speaks of the sovereignty of God. Just as Jesus said that He will build His Church, in like manner, God Himself will gather all nations to judgment. Note that the nations have "parted My land." After modern-day Israel became a nation, they have slowly but surely been giving back their land (promised to them by God in Genesis 13:14-15 and Genesis 15:18), all in hopes of peace. But there is no peace for those who ignore the promises of God.

"Jehoshaphat" means "God Judges." In the natural realm there is no known valley of Jehoshaphat. Therefore, the valley of Jehoshaphat is the valley of the judgment of God. The valley of decision is the valley of threshing. This is the same valley as the valley of Jehoshaphat. Here, the Lord will include all the enemies of the Lord's people in His housecleaning program, although they currently appear to be invulnerable to anything that would have an effect on organized Christianity. It is tempting in the natural realm to interpret "multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision" as meaning the people who are deciding whether or not to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, I believe that is a man-centered approach. It is the Lord Himself, not man, who decides. Further, judgment day is too late for man to decide.

15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

In Verses 17-21, God blesses His people in two ways: negatively by destroying their enemies, and positively by giving them eternal blessings.

17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Verse 17 contains one of the most important purposes of God in His dealings with His chosen people over all of time - that we might know that He is the Lord our God who dwells in spiritual Zion, His holy mountain. That does not speak of a natural mountain. It speaks of the kingdom of God - the temple of the Lord. 

1 Corinthians 3:17 says, "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 

Ezekiel 20:12, "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them." 

Twenty-six other times in the Book of Ezekiel we see the phrase, "that they shall know that I am the Lord." 

John 17:3, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." 

The word "know" means to understand completely or know absolutely, not simply to have heard about or read about.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

"In that day?" We should recall from Joel, Chapter l and Verse 2, "Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?" Note that "days" is plural. Man actually has six days where man rules. So Joel Chapter 1 begins with man's day. Joel Chapter 3 and Verse 1 says "in those days" (plural). That may well speak of the millennium. But Chapter 3, Verse 1 speaks of "that day" (singular). That speaks of the final day of the Lord. It speaks of the seventh day, the day of rest the end of days and the rest in eternity. 

The Hebrew word "Shittim" means "acacia trees," which grow in semi-arid conditions of the wilderness. Acacia trees have scourging thorns. The word comes from a root word meaning to pierce. Was the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus before His crucifixion made from the thorns of the acacia tree? If so, then there is much prophetic symbology here. Shittim was the last stop of Israel in the wilderness before crossing the Jordan into the promised land. When the fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and shall water the valley of Shittim, the last obstacle to entering the fullness of the kingdom of God shall be removed.


19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20 But Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.

Our blood has not yet been cleansed, but will be "in that day." There is much in that phrase, but too long to get into here. 

Hebrews 9:22 says, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." 

"Almost all things." What does that mean? We know that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50).

The resurrected Jesus had no blood and His body looked so different that not even Mary Magdalene or the two disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Him until Jesus opened their eyes. In the natural realm if anyone has any kind of disease, the first thing that doctors will do is to obtain a sample of our blood, for blood carries diseases. I believe Joel 3:21 refers to the time when all true believers will be changed into a spiritual body.

This speaks the same word as the last verse in Zechariah.

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Zechariah 14:21

I believe that this represents the removal, by the Lord, of the sin nature itself, which will occur on the fulfillment of the last Day of Atonement by the Lord Jesus Christ. That day has not yet come.

"For the Lord dwelleth in Zion." These words of judgment end on a promising and encouraging note. This speaks of the sovereignty of God.

Note in Joel 2:18 through the end of the book the 18 times that the Lord says, "I will." Certainly God is not a man that He should lie. As I mentioned in a previous message, from Joel 2:18 through the end of the book of Joel, we find nothing that man will do.

What Does All of This Mean for Us Today?

Everyone likes the part of Joel which speaks of God's blessings, His love for us, prosperity, His promise to do great things for His People, and His promise to exact judgment on the enemies of Judah. I like those things as much as the next believer. BUT, there is a prerequisite if we want to experience the fullness of what God has for us. That prerequisite comes from the word of the Lord through The Last Joel in the form of a strong exhortation to His People to awake, lament, mourn, cry unto the Lord, blow the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in His holy mountain.

The exhortation also includes: sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly to let all of the people know of the approaching day of the Lord, repent, weep, and pray and intercede for His grace and mercy and for His people with a heart of compassion for those who do not see what you have been allowed to see. None of those things can be a work of the flesh. They must all be a work of grace in the heart of each one who is called to be part of The Last Joel.

As I stated in Part 1 of these series of messages on Joel, the word of the Lord as contained in the book of Joel is TIMELESS. As such, the exhortations in that book are also TIMELESS, and apply to EVERY generation, not simply the end times in which we live. It is perhaps worth noting again that the author of the book of Joel is the thirteenth (and last) Joel mentioned in the Bible. We also have,

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:17

Many have noted that only thirteen generations are listed in Matthew from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ. Some have said that the fourteenth generation consists of all those believers who have come to know the Lord since Jesus walked the earth as a man.

The number seven denotes spiritual perfection and is the number or hall-mark of the work of the Holy Spirit. Other numbers follow the laws which govern the smaller numbers, as being their factors, sums, products, or multiples; e.g. fourteen is 7 x 2, a higher form of seven. 

So now what does all of this mean for us today? Clearly, that is a question that must be answered by each believer as we seek the Lord. 

Hopefully our response is ...

Here I am, Lord. Make me and use me for your glory.

All of the things spoken of in the book of Joel surely will come to pass. The only question is, who will be a partaker of the Last Joel? Who will fulfill Joel 2:17? That requires a decision on our part. Yes, multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision. Selah!