(updated 10/27/2025)
Hello gentle reader,
If the title seems contrary to your sensibilities, be assured that the author knows better than to ever set a date regarding the timing of Bible prophecies. For this writing, the “matter of timing” is the timing of when something isn’t which can be almost as important as knowing when it is. The structure of ‘timing’ that we are going to build revolves around a nation that has been entwined with Israel since long before Israel itself was ever a nation – Egypt. History tells us that Egypt has been conquered several times and had a wide variety of rulers and occupations by foreign powers. Egypt continues to exist today as Israel’s neighbor but has been extremely unreliable in modern times to include allying with Arab nations in warring against Israel. The long history of Egypt’s transgressions against Israel has not been forgotten by the Lord as we will soon discover. Let’s now read about Egypt’s future punishment in a confluence of three prophecies that come together for an amazing revelation about the timing of the Lord’s return.
Extra – Egypt’s desolation dilemma per Joel
The Book of Joel is three chapters long and is end-times oriented as evidenced by several verses referencing the Day of the Lord (see Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:31, & Joel 3:14). In Joel’s 3rd chapter, we are told of the nations being gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for warring against the Lord and his warriors who will defend the Lord’s people of Israel. Note that these warring groups are very similar to those for the Battle at Armageddon in Revelation 16 & 19 which also includes a grouping of enemy nations.
Near the end of Joel’s 3rd chapter, there is a prophetic statement about the Lord punishing Egypt with desolation. Since the timing of Egypt’s future desolation is central to the focus of this writing, we are going to have a look at Joel’s 3rd chapter. In it, we uncover what seems to be a conflict with the timing ‘schedule’ of the Lord’s return previously presented by this author in the Conclusion. Let’s read Joel’s 3rd chapter:
♥ “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine to drink.
“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.
“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done. I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The LORD has spoken.
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, LORD!
“Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. (Joel 3:1-16 NIV, emphasis mine)
♥ “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.
“In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house and will water the valley of acacias. But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations. Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not.” The LORD dwells in Zion! (Joel 3:17-21 NIV)
Brief analysis of Joel 3
Here is a quick assessment of Joel’s 3rd chapter. Due to the similarity of events to occur in the Valley of Jehoshaphat with the end-time events associated with the Battle at Armageddon, many suspect that they are the very same events at or near the same location. Hence, the 3rd chapter of Joel is most likely prophesying the Battle at Armageddon. For a short analysis on these two locations connection to each other, consider reading Armageddon To Occur In The Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Unfortunately, we cannot prove that the Valley of Jehoshaphat and Armageddon are the same location since no geographical evidence such as maps or related have ever been found that locate the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There are writings from as early as the 4th century A.D. (the Bordeaux Pilgrim, also Bordeaux Itinerary, and Bordeaux English translation) that have placed the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the valley between the Old City of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. However, this identification appears to be speculation and not based on substantiated historical evidence. For more on this, see Valley of Jehoshaphat.
In recent times, some writers have used this speculative location of the Valley of Jehoshaphat in their own writings without consideration of its speculative origin and by doing so, have effectively declared its unsubstantiated location as fact when it is not.
Even with the lack of clarity on the Valley’s location, for this writing, we will assume that the gathering in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2) is the same gathering at Armageddon described in the Book of Revelation:
♥ For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. […] And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation 16:14&16 NKJV, emphasis and [punctuation] mine)
We will further assume that the purpose of the gathering in the Valley of Jehoshaphat is for war as stated in this verse from Joel:
♥ 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. (Joel 3:9 NKJV, emphasis mine)
That assumption also corresponds to the purpose of the Battle at Armageddon described in the Book of Revelation:
♥ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. (Revelation 19:11 NKJV, emphasis mine)
♥ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (Revelation 19:19 NKJV, emphasis mine)
Joel 3:19 & Egypt
Since the 3rd chapter of Joel is commonly understood to be fulfilled at roughly the same time as the Battle at Armageddon, then verses near the chapter-end (v.17-21) are likely ‘time-stamped’ near the end of that battle or just after. One of those ‘near-the-chapter-end’ verses is the Joel 3:19 prophetic statement of Egypt’s coming desolation. It is of particular interest whether Joel 3:19 supports this author’s expected timing of Egypt’s future punishment.
Recall from the Conclusion, that the 40-years of Egypt’s punishment described in Ezekiel 29:1-16 must be completed before the Millennial period begins. It is certain that after 40-years of the extreme misfortune from the Lord, Egypt will be in a state of utter desolation and many of its former inhabitants will be scattered far-and-wide across the world. Therefore, the restoration of Egypt and its peoples will not happen overnight, but will likely be an ongoing process that spans many years.
As we will see, Egypt’s lengthy restoration process is an important factor
as we consider the timing of Egypt’s future punishment that Joel 3:19 tells us will happen. Another consideration in the interpretation of that timing is the Bible version the Book of Joel is read from. Do you wonder why seemingly minor differences in commonly accepted versions of the Bible would impact our understanding of Joel 3:19? This next section won’t attempt to explain the differences between Bible versions or provide any background on this highly debated and complex topic but will try to explain this author’s reasons for referencing different Bible versions in an extremely simple way.
Using multiple Bible versions
Due to the lack of consistency between Bible versions, the author prefers to quote Bibles from a variety of the most popular among Christian brethren. The author does this because he acknowledges that the brethren each have their own favorite Bible version(s) and they are not all the same. Therefore, the author quotes from different Bible versions throughout his writings to hopefully appeal to the broadest audience. Occasionally, the author quotes a specific Bible version because of its clear and concise expression of an idea that the author wants the reader to understand.
Another reason for using multiple versions is the author wants to make the reader aware that different Bible versions don’t always agree with each other. If version disagreements are found during the author’s research, they are often presented so the reader is aware. This is clearly seen in another of the author’s writings, Never Forgiveness, where differing Bible versions necessitated version-specific conclusions. As we are about to see, that same necessity results here due to the different Bible versions of Joel.
The Joel 3:19 timing dilemma
Alright, let’s get to the specific verse of Joel 3:19 and the dilemma it presents. It is a dilemma in that it seems to have the potential to invalidate [EDITING here. It is not invalidating but rather in conflict with]
the author’s demonstration of Egypt’s 40-year punishment and restoration occurring before the Millennial Kingdom period. If that timing relationship is invalidated, then the author can no longer conclude that we have at least 35+ years before the return of the Lord. Note that this verse is presented in multiple Bible versions for the reasons previously explained:
Joel 3:19 from the ESV, NASB95, and NASB
(These all use “become” in reference to Egypt’s desolation.)
Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. (Joel 3:19 ESV, emphasis mine)
Egypt will become a waste, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. (Joel 3:19 NASB95, emphasis mine)
Egypt will become a wasteland, And Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. (Joel 3:19 NASB, emphasis mine)
Joel 3:19 from the KJV, NET, NIV, and NKJV
(These all use “shall be” or “will be” in reference to Egypt’s desolation.)
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. (Joel 3:19 KJV, emphasis mine)
Egypt will be desolate and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. (Joel 3:19 NET, emphasis mine)
But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. (Joel 3:19 NIV, emphasis mine)
Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent blood in their land. (Joel 3:19 NKJV, emphasis mine)
[A work in progress. More to come in the near future]