ACQUITTED
Joel 3:21 “For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.”
If you’ve been watching the news and keeping track of what is going on in the holy city of Jerusalem, you have probably sensed that the Jewish nation is entering a new phase—maybe a new and final phase—in their struggles against their enemies who want to destroy them.
What caught my attention on the attack against a Jewish synagogue in Jerusalem that killed five individuals and wounded
many others, was the amount of blood that was shed by those who were wounded and killed.
Profuse bleeding was caused since some of the weapons that were used against them were hatches, which can be used for the dismembering of physical bodies.
In their many campaigns against Israel, the Palestinians have used a variety of tactics, from kidnappings, to suicide bombers, to rockets and mortar launchers against their civilian population.
What makes this phase different, I think, is that in all the other campaigns against them, there was organized human leadership behind them.
I believe that what is taking place right now its being fomented by spiritual forces of darkness, which are driven by pure and unadulterated hatred against the Jews in the nation of Israel.
In case you have not watched the news, Jews are being run down in the streets by seemly random acts of violence, by cars and buses, and other modes of transportation driven by Palestinians that just seemed to lose their common sense and went on a killing rampage.
This last attack was aimed directly at a place of worship and against those who were leading the worship, I believe the phase of this present conflict to be completely driven by satanic inspiration.
Joel 3:4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliated against Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head.”
I believe that the Lord is speaking against the spiritual rulers of the Palestinian territory in verse four.
You have to remember that in spiritual warfare, people are like pieces on a board game that the rulers of darkness move at will and to accomplish their devious purpose.
By careful observation we can detect when human leaders are acting in an alliance with demonic forces to accomplish their physical objectives.
That does not seem to be the case in this new pha.se of terror that is being unleash against the nation of Israel and it has Israel’s leaders very worried
The reason I said that this may be the final phase of this present conflict before the Lord intervenes, is because of God’s response to these demonic entities in verse four, that He will swiftly and speedily turn their retaliation against their own heads.
How do I know that what is taking place in the book of Joel chapter three has anything to do with Israel’s present situation?
Joel 3:1 “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem.”
In those days and at that time, it cannot be any clearer than that!
When did God bring back the captives to Judah and Jerusalem? Today, in our present day! For how long were they not a nation anymore? For almost two thousand years!
The only time that this specific prophecy can be fixed to a date is in our present today. And from our opening text we can safely conclude that both, the church and the nation of Israel, are present during the happenings of in those days and at that time.
For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion.
Even though the early church was comprised of a super majority of Jews, both in numbers and in leadership, the nation of Israel herself rejected Jesus as her Messiah, so that her sins were not atoned for with the blood of Jesus at that time, and that is why their temple was destroyed and their nation ceased to exist.
Matthew 27:24-25 “When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude (the nation of Israel), saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’ And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’”
It is clear that the multitude which was represented by the rulers and the leaders of the nation of Israel, refused to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, and as one, they uttered those infamous words that cursed them with the curse of blood shedding—the shedding of their blood as well as their children's own blood.
This is what I was reminded of when I saw the bloody mess all over their synagogue floor after that brutal attack.
But the good news is that God Himself says that He will acquit them, the entire nation of Israel, from that awful guilt of bloodshed that their forefathers swore in an oath before Pilate.
And that the acquittal will take place swiftly and speedily after these demonic entities take it upon themselves to brutally and sadistically murder Jews as an act of retaliation against God Himself.
This could be one of the greatest signs that Jesus is coming soon, that we have had for a while. So keep an eye on these demonically driven acts of violence against the Jews to see whether they rise to a level of intensity to where God Himself will intervene on their behalf.
What are the events that we should look for if God Himself were to intervene on Israel’s behalf at this time?
Joel 3:2 “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, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.”
Through all of this we cannot ignore the connection that such an event will have upon the closing of the church age, for as soon as the nation of Israel is acquitted from the guilt of bloodshed, their kingdom will be restored, which means the closing of the church age with the rapture.
Acts 1:6 “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?’”
The disciples clearly believed and were looking for the restoration of national Israel at that time and asked Jesus about it.
Jesus did not deny nor rebuked their belief that national Israel would be restored in the future, He just told them that it was not for them to know the times and seasons which the Father has put in place, before He brings about the acquittal and restoration of the nation of Israel.
Days later, after their meeting with Jesus, the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem together, waiting for the power to fall down from heaven upon them as Jesus told them it would. After the Holy Spirit fell on them, Peter stood up and quoted Joel’s prophecy that clearly ties the fate of the end of the church age with the restoration of national Israel.
Joel 2:28-32 “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
(The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit fell on them)
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance (Acquittal), as the Lord has said, among the remnant (those who return from the dispersion) whom the Lord calls.”
(The second part of this prophecy will be fulfilled on the Day of Atonement, during the Lord’s acquittal of the nation of Israel when their kingdom is restored to them.)
You can see how intricately connected everything is to all that is taking place in and around the nation of Israel today. Wherever you look in the news today, you cannot escape how all the players are lining up and assuming their prophetic end-time positions.
Joel 3:9 “Proclaim this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.’”
The other unnatural part of what is going on today in the Middle East has to do with the men of war from the nations of the world who are answering the spiritual call to present themselves into that area of the world to fight a war of which they have no concept of, or part of it.
These Jihadists, or holy warriors, come from many nations of the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, as well as many other nations that are in different continents.
Many of these recruits have no commonality that bonds them, except one, they are answering a spiritual call to prepare for war and to draw near to a place the Lord calls the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where the Lord will enter into judgment with them there on account of His people.
It always amazes me how the complex issues that befuddle so many who try to interpret the motives behind the irrational acts of so many, can only be truly interpreted through the enlightenment of Scripture.
As the acquittal of those whom the Lord had not previously acquitted draws near, so does our redemption.
Are you ready?