“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14.

(Note that “Joel 3:14” is a reference to the Bible, which is a collection of books. In the Bible, each book consists of one or more chapters, and each chapter has numbered sections called verses. The quotation above referred to as “Joel 3:14” is taken from the book of Joel in the Bible, the 3^rd chapter, and the 14^th verse.)

In this post, we will explore the meaning of Joel 3:14 in the context of the book of Joel and its spiritual significance.

The Book of Joel: Historical Setting

The prophet Joel’s ministry is believed to fit into the early years of Josiah, king of Judah who reigned approximately 640 B.C.-609 B.C. (B.C. means “before Christ” and refers to the time before Christ was born in human flesh on earth.)

So, Joel’s ministry occurred after ancient Israel had split into two kingdoms, namely, the kingdom of Israel to the north and the kingdom of Judah to the south. Also, this was after the kingdom of Israel had been dissolved when it was taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.

The Book of Joel: An Overview

The book of Joel begins with the description of a plague of locusts in Judah. The plague was accompanied by a severe drought. The prophet Joel next predicts a coming invasion of Judah by a foreign army. All these were judgments of God upon Judah for their sins, which is evil and wrongdoing.

Thus, Joel calls upon the people to repent, which is to turn away from their sins. God promised that if they repented, He would restore the land to its former fruitfulness and they would have plenty to eat.

In addition, God promised to drive away the foreign army and give a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the people of Judah. The Holy Spirit would cause those who were receptive to the divine influence to become holy and, hence, receive eternal life. Moreover, God would bring retributive judgments upon all the other nations of the world for their sins.

There are two applications of some of God’s promises recorded in the book of Joel. Firstly, they have an application to a glorious destiny promised to ancient Israel on condition of their repentance. Secondly, they apply to the end time, the time just before the second coming of Christ to the earth, when the world as we know it will come to an end.

Applications of Joel 3:14

Specifically, Joel 3:14, refers to the decisions of people which will determine their eternal destiny, either eternal life of eternal death. These decisions were being made by the people of the other nations in the time of Judah who would receive judgments from God.  Also, these decisions will be made by people living in the end time when this world will shortly pass away and a new world be created by God.

A Model for Understanding Salvation

To illustrate salvation, which is the saving of a person from eternal death, we will use as our model a tree with its root, branches, leaves, and fruit.

In our model, the root of the tree represents the initial character of the individual when they were born. The branches of the tree represent the decisions that the individual makes in their life and, hence, the development of their character. The leaves of the tree represent the endpoint of their character when it becomes fixed in a particular state. That is, no further change can take place in the character for the remainder of that individual’s life. The fruit of the tree tells us what kind of tree it is.

So, the path from the root, from branch to branch, and finally, to a leaf describes the path an individual has taken in life.

In our model, a branch from one tree can be grafted unto another tree. For example, a branch of an apricot tree may be successfully grafted onto a peach tree. The result is two kinds of fruit will grow on the same tree, both peaches and apricots.

Here is where our illustration from real life breaks down. In our model, contrary to real life, the branch that is grafted onto the parent stock will now bear the fruit of the parent stock and not its original fruit. That is to say, it is as if an apricot branch grafted onto a peach tree no longer bears apricots but instead bears peaches. This then is our model of salvation.

Salvation as Taught in the Bible

In what follows in this post we will discover that the Bible describes salvation in terms of our model of a tree. Of course, the Bible describes salvation in many different ways. God does this in order to reinforce the point and for effectiveness in teaching the way of salvation to humanity.

The Sinful Nature as a Tree: Our Model

Now all humanity is born with a sinful nature inherited from Adam and Eve, the first human pair that God created, and passed on from generation to generation. God had created Adam and Eve perfect and holy with a character of love identical to God’s character. However, Adam and Eve both fell into sin and so a disposition of sinfulness is the initial nature of all humanity. Using our illustration of trees, we would say that the root is evil.

Since the root is evil, we may then say that every branch is evil, and so are the leaves and the fruit. Moreover, the seeds of the fruit are evil for they yield an evil tree.

The Sinful Nature as a Tree: The Bible’s Teaching

In the Bible, God uses the illustration of a grapevine to teach the way of salvation. God says, “I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?” Jeremiah 2:21. The strange vine springs from the evil seed of Satan.

This means that Adam and Eve represented “a noble vine, wholly a right seed” (Jeremiah 2:21) for they were perfect in holiness. However, they and all their descendants, being sinful, have “turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine.” Jeremiah 2:21.

Speaking of Adam and Eve, God says, “[Why when] I looked that it [the grapevine] should bring forth [good] grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” Isaiah 5:4. In other words, God, “He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.” Isaiah 5:7.

“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit…Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:17-20.

The Divine Nature in Humanity as a Tree: The Bible’s Teaching

If we wish to follow the train of thought of the grafting of trees in the Bible, we will find that the illustration shifts from grapevines to olive trees. This is an important point to grasp about the use of symbolism in the Bible. Furthermore, this why only daily reading and study of the Bible will avail anything in our attempt to understand its hidden meaning.

God says, “Thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed [grafted] contrary to nature into a good olive tree.” Romans 11:24. That is, “thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed [grafted] in among” (Romans 11:17) “the natural branches” (Romans 11:21), “and with them partakest of the root and fatness [richness] of the olive tree.” Romans 11:17. Now “if the root be holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16.

Thus, according to God, the branches of the wild olive tree which were grafted unto a good olive tree, now bears good fruit. This is “contrary to nature” (Romans 11:24) and represents the imparting of “the divine nature” by God (2 Peter 1:4) to the individual.

Decisions as Branches of a Tree: The Bible’s Teaching

In looking at the decisions in an individual’s life according to the Bible, once again the figure of speech changes. God likens these decisions to a path, a road, and represents humanity as those who are blind.

Those with a “carnal mind” (Romans 8:7), “walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Ephesians 4:17, 18.

But God says to such persons, “I have set before you [eternal] life and  [eternal] death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou…may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19) eternally. Those who choose eternal life, though they are like a wild olive tree, are as though they have been grafted into a good olive tree whose root is holy and, hence, so are the branches. In other words, as the branches are holy, so are the decisions of these persons holy.

Therefore, God says, “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16.

“Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21.

One’s Spiritual Endpoint as Leaves of a Tree: The Bible’s Teaching

The Bible uses the illustration of the leaves of a tree to represent the spiritual endpoint of an individual’s life.

Speaking of those who have become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), God says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. ” Psalm 1:3.

Such an individual has chosen eternal life and can say in truth of themselves, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” Psalm 57:7.

On the other hand, speaking of the wicked as a grapevine, “thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he [God] not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves.” Ezekiel 17:9.

Here is God’s diagnosis of the wicked. “Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD” (Isaiah 26:10), will not perceive the goodness of God. The reason for this is that the wicked have become fixed in the ways of evil.

Christ as the True Vine: The Bible’s Teaching

The Bible teaches that Christ is the True Vine into which the branches of a wild grapevine are to be grafted.

For Christ says to those who have chosen eternal life, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman [farmer]. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [prunes] it, that it may bring forth more fruit…Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” John 15:1-4.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing [good]. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:5, 6.

The branches that are broken off Christ, the True Vine, represent those who have become a “backslider” (Proverbs 14:14), who “turn again to folly” (Psalm 85:8), that is, who turn again to sin.

The Valley of Decision

Our Bible verse of focus says, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14.

Clearly, as was shown above, our destiny, whether eternal life or eternal death, depends on the choices that we make in life. Those in “the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14) represent those who have “sin[ned] not unto death” (1 John 5:16) and so are still branches of an evil tree. That is to say, they have not become fixed in the ways of evil but they have not yet chosen eternal life.

There are multitudes of people, God says, in “the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14) and these are making decisions every day that will determine their spiritual endpoint in life.

“The day of the LORD” (Joel 3:14) is the day when Christ returns to the earth again. At that time, Christ says, “My reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:12. Then shall the probation of humanity be closed in that the eternal destiny of every person who has ever lived will be fixed forever.

Now “the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14. This means that no one knows how soon they will die and their opportunity to choose eternal life be forever lost.

Conclusion

In all of this we may say that in order to be saved by God from eternal death, we must first be grafted into Christ, the True Vine, by choosing eternal life. Thereafter, as long as we do not backslide and remain backslidden, we shall receive eternal life. If we have become a “backslider” (Proverbs 14:14), we must again be grafted into the True Vine if we are to be saved from eternal death.

How This Blog Teaches Bible Study

My blog posts take one or more Bible verses and unpack what is often the hidden meaning in them, to help you to gain in your understanding of the Bible, and to receive insights into how to study it. For God says, “Study [the Bible] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth [the Bible].” 2 Timothy 2:15. There are new blog posts every two weeks on a Monday at 12:01 a.m. in timezone UTC-5 (GMT-5).

Further Reading

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