“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. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down; for the press is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great!” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Joel 3:12-14 KJ21

Just before Jesus returns all of the human race will be in the valley of decision which will lead each of earth’s occupants to their future placement in the prophetic outcome for this age.

A study of the prophetic Scriptures on this subject, with emphasis on Joel and Revelation serves in making this final outcome clear.

By this time spoken of in Joel, which is clearly Armageddon, The Gospel will have spread to every nation. Decisions made for or against Jesus will be final. Men will have decided to both live or die for Christ. Others will have abandoned the faith for which Jesus died. Some have decided to either oppose or to assist with food, clothing and even just a drink to the faithful brethren of Christ. Those following Antichrist will be involved in trampling out anything associated with Jesus name. And then there will always be those who have decided that they are good enough to appease God no matter who he is, but buying into any one religion is not for them. They will not worship any god, they may receive the Mark, but they will in no wise offer worship which comes from the heart.

Based on prophetic scripture there would seem to be then three categories of humans on earth at this time immediately preceding the coming of the Lord. There will be of course the saved or bride of Christ. He will return for this Bride, who has made herself ready. These will be raptured following the resurrection of His saints, this will occur upon His coming as Armageddon progresses. Then there will be the totally wicked who give full allegiance to the beast system that we see growing up in our world today. Some of these will be destroyed in the wine press of God’s wrath as Messiah returns to finish the battle of Armageddon accompanied by His resurrected saints. Then there are those who worship themselves, who will be judged to be worthy of destruction in the lake of fire. They are the goats, at the sheep and goats judgment of the nations (Matthew 25). They will become one with the beast worshipers.

Those involved in Armageddon seem to be those who worship the Beast and are of that system. They are the wicked who will perish in the initial trampling of the winepress of His wrath. The wicked who are spread among the nations are represented according to Jesus as the goats of the sheep and goats judgment and they will receive their sentence at the judgment of nations which Jesus explained in Matthew 25. All wicked are thrown into the lake of fire.

Those in Christ will include the redeemed of the Nation Israel. These were with the one body and are the Resurrected and Raptured. The third and final group will be the sheep of the sheep and goats judgment of the nations. These nations following this judgment will enter into the millennial kingdom prepared for them as mortals, and will be ruled over by Messiah and His bride from Israel. They will consist of those who are not Jesus followers, both Jews and Gentiles from every nation, but through their works directed toward Christ’s followers they will enter the Kingdom. They have helped Jesus’ brethren who could neither buy nor sell during the Tribulation, and this alone is the reason for their allowed entrance. It is a works reward. It is not salvation. That is yet to be determined during the millennium.

The valley of decision is just that. It will require from each person alive during the time of great tribulation decisions that will effect them for all of eternity, just as our decisions do for each of us now.

The timing of the Rapture of the bride is difficult to place elsewhere when considering Paul’s teaching requiring that the dead in Christ be raised before those left alive can be Raptured.

This as well as the condition of Jesus’ bride at the end of the age (a subject for another post) is made clear in Scripture.

Learn about this time of decision in The following post:

https://raptureonline.blog/2021/08/02/who-are-they-which-come-out-of-great-tribulationrev-714/