When the Lord descends to this earth, the mighty Conqueror over all His foes, He will “bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem” (verse 1), and they will be a free people in their own land. There will be a judgment of the Gentiles for their treatment of Israel from the earliest oppression of them, down to the last.
Verses 9-12 bid the nations come to the valley of Jehoshaphat, prepared with all their resources, both of fighting, equipment and of men; God’s mighty ones, the angels, whom the Lord in. His hour of trial would not call to His aid (Matthew 26:5353Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)) will be there to meet them.
Two symbols of judgment, found again in the Revelation 14 are used here; —in reaping the harvest there will be made a separation between the objects of mercy and the objects of wrath, but the winepress speaks only of vengeance upon the wicked. The nations here referred to are evidently those headed by the Assyrian of the last days.
The prophecy closes with a glowing description of the land of Israel in the Millennium, when the judgments are executed and peace reigns. Egypt will suffer, and Edom much more, because of past guiltiness concerning Judah.