The Lord tells, through the prophet Joel, the dire recompense for the rebellious evil of opposing His righteousness:

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 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 fats 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 9–14)

We are at this moment very near the beginning of that time, at the end of which everyone will be gathered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat–the killing field of Armageddon.

As Joel declares, we now see wickedness growing daily—even hourly. It is indeed an exponential growth of evil directed primarily at God’s prescribed order of things for planet earth.

Armies of the world, particularly those of nations primary to prophetic fulfillment, have already turned pruninghooks and ploughshares into swords and spears that are the incredibly powerful instruments of modern warfare. They have awakened the men of war and gathered them, as witnessed by Russia’s threatened invasion of Ukraine and China’s voracious glances at Taiwan. The world is, to any observer with a rational eye for developments, preparing to make war.

It is just a matter of time until the multitudes will gather to oppose God and storm toward His touchstone to humanity, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. They will at first rage against one another, each wanting to make that satanic prize–Jerusalem and Mount Moriah—their conquest. They will be filled with the madness their father, the devil, has planted in their reprobate minds. They will then see the black skies above earth split apart and the glory of Heaven beaming through as the Lord of Lord and King of kings and His army of redeemed saints begin their descent.

Today we are in a valley of decision, of sorts. The decision is whether to be on the side of the heathens destined to oppose God and His righteousness, thus be in colleague with those who will face Christ the King in the Valley of Jehoshaphat or whether to be on God’s side by accepting His only way to redemption, thus to be on the side that opposes the wickedness we see proliferating in every direction we look.

Another valley I think we can see very plainly at this time is a valley of derision.

It is a place of profound struggle against the powers and principalities in high places of Ephesians 6:12. Christians who determine to fight the evil that opposes God’s righteousness comprise the nucleus of this force. While many others who don’t know Christ as their Lord also fight in this arena against wickedness, God’s people are the glue that holds fast the frontline resistance to the assaults by Lucifer’s minions, both demonic and human.

Paul the apostle says the Restrainer will hold back the assaults of evil and wickedness until He is taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit is that Restrainer, and He works primarily by indwelling all who know Christ for salvation. So it is the believers of this age who must continue the struggle, empowered by God the Holy Spirit.

And there is plenty of evidence to validate that God is restraining in these times so near when He will call the Church out of this doomed world of rebelliousness.

We’ve witnessed time after time, for example, blockage of legislative efforts that would take America into dictatorship. The evil continues to advance, but is not allowed to completely infect the world with the sin disease that will cause God’s judgment and wrath to finally fall upon the incorrigible rebels who oppose His righteousness.

The time will come when “earth dwellers” will have their way, mostly unimpeded by God’s governance. But this condition will not last long. Devastating things will begin to happen as God prepares for His Son, Jesus Christ, to return and put an end to all evil, wickedness, and rebellion.

The Lord has these anti-God, anti-Christ forces in derision at this very moment. His Holy Spirit is holding back Satan’s all-out assault until the Church is taken to be with Jesus in the Rapture.

Again, here is what the Lord says about what is going on now and into eternity.

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. (Psalms 2:1–12)