For as the Scripture says, “The day
of the Lord is upon us,”
and in the narrow valley of Jehoshaphat on the banks of the Kidron, those small battle grounds
foreshadow on earth
victory in the life to come. (Saint Gregory of Narek, Prayer 1)
The Lord is at your right hand. He has broken kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge between the nations; he will fill up ruination. He will shatter heads in the land of the many.The seventh and last verse is
He will drink from the torrent on the way. Because of this, he will exalt the head.The First part of the Verse
He will drink from the torrent on the way.The torrent is named Kidron. Kidron separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives to the east. After the Agony in the Garden, Jesus was arrested and taken in sham custody across a bridge which traversed the Kidron. On the bridge, the executioners treated him cruelly and threw him off the bridge into the torrent. After Jesus fell into the Kidron he took a drink from its waters thus fulfilling the prediction in the first part of this verse. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich relates this in her visions:
Even before the procession reached the bridge, I saw Jesus fall to the earth twice, owing to the pitiless manner in which He was dragged along and the jerking of the executioners at the ropes. But when they reached the middle of the bridge, they exercised their villainy upon Him with still greater malice. The executioners pushed poor, fettered Jesus, whom they held fast with ropes, from the bridge into the brook Kidron, about the height of a man below, accompanying their brutality with abusive words, as, for instance: “Now He can drink His fill!” . . . I had not seen Jesus take anything to drink in the vehement thirst that consumed Him after His awful agony in the Garden of Olives. But when pushed into the Kidron, I saw Him drinking with difficulty and, at the same time I heard Him murmuring that thereby was fulfilled a prophetic verse from the Psalms, which bore reference to drinking from the torrent by the way.[1]The Kidron is the same torrent king David passed over in his flight from Jerusalem when his son Absalom rose up against him (there is a parallel between Jesus and Judas). It is also the place where some kings of Judah (Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah) destroyed and cast out idols, trees of sacred groves, impure vessels, or altars used in false worship in the Temple and in Jerusalem when Judah severely sinned. The Kidron is a place where evil things are broken and thrown away into its waters. It is an accursed place. And this is significant, especially in the act of Jesus taking a drink from the same torrent many years later. Consider the verse from the Prophecy of Isaiah:
Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance. (57:6)The drink Jesus took from the torrent was more a symbolic gesture of him freely taking in the punishment for our sins especially those of idolatry. All sins can be abstracted as idolatrous. All sins in one manner or another to one extant or another is the sin of worshiping an object, a human or a concept over and above God. Idolatry can be understood more figuratively, such as in the worshiping of concepts or use of concepts as a justification for sinning against God or one's neighbor. Something within a knowing choice is set over and against love of God or neighbor even wholesome love of self, whether be it in the intended end, the direct relational mode of the act or evil consequences outweighing the good. To live a true Christian life through good knowing choices (moral acts) is a mode of worshiping God. This is a most fundamental manner of worship since this subsumes all acts including the just formal and informal worship of God in public and private prayer. To live an evil life with evil in the intended ends, the moral objects, and evil consequences outweighing good is a mode of idolatry.
Jesus figuratively drank to the full just punishment for our sins of idolatry through his sufferings and death. And this was prophetically enacted by him when he was cast into the Kidron and took a drink on the way to his Crucifixion.
The act of the ancient kings of Judah casting evil and idolatrous things out at the Kidron is a foreshadowing of Jesus casting His explicit or implicit enemies to Hell at Last Judgment. I think Jesus will do this at the same torrent from which he drank . . . Kidron. He will summon all there, and all will come eventually, even if those who have risen to judgment have to be forced by the good Angels.
The Kidron runs through a valley. The valley and its torrent bed are the same location known as Kidron. In Sacred Scripture the torrent of Kidron is used more often. The valley of Kidron (e.g. 2 Kings 23:4) is used less often. And this one location can be simply named as Kidron. In the Book of Nehemiah the torrent and the valley are described together in the same verse: “And so I climbed up in the night along the torrent, and I considered the wall. And turning back, I went by the gate of the valley, and I returned.” (2:15) According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) the Kidron valley commences from the North of Jersusalem, “until level with the southeastern corner of the temple-area where its bed is spanned by an old bridge; here the bottom of the valley, 40 ft. beneath the present surface level, is 400 ft. below the temple-platform.” This information provides an idea of the valley’s depth. The torrent which runs through the valley is now an ephemeral stream. Its watercourse dries up in in acord wit season. So it is a wadi.
The kings of Judah casting out evil things at Kidron is a foreshadowing of Last Judgment. After the Resurrection, Jesus will sit as Judge at Kidron and send those who qualify, i.e. the unjust who died with final impenitance in the sin against the Holy Spirit, into Hell from there.
King Josiah had an idol burned in the Kidron Valley:
And the king instructed Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, so that they would cast out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels which had been made for Baal, and for the sacred grove, and for the entire army of heaven. And he burned them outside of Jerusalem, in the steep valley of Kidron. (2 Kings 23:4)King Ezekiel and his people cast out evil things in the torrent:
And rising up, they destroyed the altars which were in Jerusalem, and all the things in which incense was burned to idols. Overturning these things, they cast them into the torrent Kidron. (2 Chronicles 30:14)King Asa shattered and burned a very indecent idol at the torrent/valley of Kidron:
Moreover, he [Asa] also removed his mother, Maacah, from being the leader in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in his sacred grove which she had consecrated. And he destroyed his grotto. And he shattered the very indecent idol, and he burned it at the torrent Kidron. (1 Kings 15:3)The very indecent idol was an idol of Priapus a pagan god of fertility so there would have been enlarged genitals on it (Conte, 2009 Latin-English Bible Study). The indirect spiritual level of meaning in this is that the majority of human persons who are judged worthy of Hell by Jesus in the valley are sent there because of unrepented sexual sins. Sexual sins, those single acts not done naturally between a freely consenting married man and woman open to a new human life, are grave, worthy of Hell, and there are many types of these. *** The body is a precious and dignified temple of Spirit and not intended by Jesus to be used perversely, in a deprived manner or lightly as an idol for oneself or another. Admiring the beauty of the human form is one act, not evil "in itself", but sexual sins even desiring them in thought are another altogether. They are deadly. Setting sexual pleasure as an end in itself is a sin of idolatry figuratively speaking. Those who in modern culture, worship the figurative idol of sexual sins, inherently disordered sexuality, or sexual pleasure as ends in themselves (pending culpability, without repentance before death or without invincible ignorance) are figuratively shattered and literally burned by Jesus. Note that at Fatima Mary told the children, "More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh (sexual sins) than for any other reason." A difficult word, but now is the time for repentance, and penance via the mercy of Jesus. This is why Jesus suffered at Kidron for us.
Jehoshaphat
King Asa’s son who succeeded him in the throne was Jehoshaphat. The meaning of word Jehoshaphat is ‘God has Judged’. His name is a foreshadowing of Jesus' role at Last Judgment. The valley of Jehoshaphat is predicted as the location of the Last Judgment in the prophecy of Joel:
I will gather all the Gentiles, and will lead them into the valley of Jehoshaphat. . . Let them arise and ascend to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit, so as to judge all the nations of the world. (3:11, 12)Also notice the command in this prophecy: "Let them arise . . . " So we also have a prediction of the Resurrection. The valley of Jehoshaphat is in a figurative sense the valley of Jesus as Judge. And in reality I think it is the Kidron valley. This will be the central location of Last Judgment, where, like it is said above Jesus will sit and judge.
The torrent of Psalm 110 is clearly in a prophetic context of Last Judgment as well as Jesus’ right to represent the Holy Father in judgment. By extension the torrent includes the valley in which it runs through. The valley of Kidron is implied in the Psalm verse and this valley is the same valley of Jehoshaphat predicted in the prophecy of Joel as the central location of Last Judgment. The prophecy of Joel goes on to call the Valley of Jehoshaphat the valley of being cut to pieces:
Nations, nations in the valley of being cut to pieces: for the day of the Lord fittingly takes place in the valley of being cut to pieces. (Joel 3:14)‘Valley of being cut to pieces’ is another name for the valley of Jehoshaphat which is the Kidron Valley. Last Judgment fittingly takes place there since in the past many idols were cut to pieces by ancient kings of Judah at this very location. This is also a location where Jesus was figuratively cut to pieces. He was tortured through the valley and thrown into the torrent of the valley from which he briefly drank in a symbolic gesture because of our sins. And so it is fitting that Jesus the King whom all the ancient kings foreshadowed should sit in Judgment there. At Last Judgment, Jesus will end idolatry once and for all at Kidron.
The Kidron Valley is also the Valley of Jehoshaphat predicted in the prophecy of Joel. It is interesting to see a few sequences from the private revelations of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich using the Valley of Jehoshaphat. From here description of Jesus’ last instruction in the Temple:
He [Jesus] spoke for instance of those who would be marked with the sign on their forehead, and said that the fountain of living water which flowed from Calvary’s mount would at the end of the world appear to be almost entirely poisoned, though all the good waters would finally be gathered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat. (Volume IV, p. 38)
He led the Apostles to the Mount of Olives by an unfrequented path through the Valley of Jehoshaphat. . . While walking in the Valley of Jehoshaphat with the Apostles, the Lord said that He would one day return here, though not poor and powerless as He then was, to judge the world. Then would men tremble with fear and cry out: “Ye mountains, cover us!” (Volume IV, p. 38)Notice how in the second sequence Jesus and the Apostles walk to the Mount of Olives through the Valley of Jehoshaphat. They left from the Cenacle where the Last Supper was celebrated. The Cenacle is in Jerusalem. I believe that it was on Mount Zion of David’s City.[2] The Kidron Valley borders Mount Zion and the Temple Mount to the east. Therefore they must have crossed through the Kidron Valley to get to the Mount of Olives since this valley and its torrent border Jerusalem to the east, in particular the Temple Mount and Mount Zion of David. But Blessed Anne understands it to be the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The Valley of Jehoshaphat is synonymous with the Kidron Valley. Valley of Jehoshaphat is used to bring out the more figurative meaning of the location, marking it as the location of the future Last Judgment.
There is also another point to share about this valley. Blessed Anne mentions that it is the place where Cain murdered Abel:
Abel was slain in the valley of Jehoshaphat opposite Mount Calvary. Numerous murders and evil deeds took place there at a subsequent period. Cain slew Abel with a kind of club that he used to break soft stones and earth when planting in the fields. The club must have been of hard stone, for it was shaped like a pickax, the handle of wood. (Mysteries of the Old Testament)Second Part of the Verse
Because of this he [God the Father] will exalt the head [Christ Jesus].Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich saw the fulfillment of the first part of this verse in her visions. Yet the second part of this prophetic verse is perhaps yet to be fulfilled. Jesus drank from the torrent Kidron in His Passion. The drink was more symbolic of His bitter Passion and less for the sake of refreshment. Because Jesus drank of His bitter Passion the Holy Father has exalted Jesus at his right hand in Heaven. And yet perhaps we could also look ahead and think that the Father will exalt Jesus at the Last Judgment. Jesus is the Head of the human family. He holds the rightful authority over all human persons as King. Though He is by nature the Head since He is God Incarnate, he still humbly obeyed the intentions of the Holy Father and earned His role as Judge by suffering His Passion and Death including having been thrown into the Kidron after the Last Supper, Agony and Arrest; barely able to refresh Himself with its waters.
So in conclusion the prophetic exaltation of the Head will take place at the same torrent the Head was thrown into and from which He drank. Jesus the King, will sit glorious and terribly exalted in Last Judgment at Kidron. And all must face him, pay homage to him and accept his judgments, which will be perfect. Those who are worthy of Hell will be sent there by Jesus. Kidron is figuratively named the valley of Jehoshaphat in the prophecy of Joel because the valley is the valley of Jesus who will fulfill the role referenced in the name: God has Judged.
The two parts of this seventh verse of Psalm 109 (110) are profoundly connected. The first part is fulfilled yet the second part is yet to be fulfilled in the same location on earth. Seven is a number which in context of Divine concepts, figuratively represents fulfillment and completion. The first part of verse seven was fulfilled at the time of Jesus’ consummation. The second part of verse seven will be fulfilled at the time of the future consummation of creation, in particular the consummation of the human family at the Resurrection and Last Judgment which mystically flows from the consummation of Jesus.
Supplement: Etymology of Kidron
The name Kidron comes from the verb קדר (qadar), meaning to be dark or mourn:
The verb קדר (qadar) means to be or become dark, whether of appearance or of mood (Micah 3:6, Jeremiah 4:28).
There are a few verbs that either mean darkness or have to do with it, and there are also quite a few bearing a meaning of glumness. Our verbקדר (qadar) essentially seems to denote a dishevelment; a person would have his clothes dirty and in disarray, and this typically either caused by a state of grief or designed to demonstrate it (Jeremiah 8:21). Heavenly bodies would lose their shine, go dim or dark all together (Jeremiah 4:28, Joel 2:10). Job mentions a brook to be in this state (turbid) because of ice (Job 6:16).
The Arabic cognate means to be dirty, in later Hebrew texts it means to show gloom, and in the Aramaic of the Targum it means to be dark.. . . This verb is often used in connection with the end times, when the sun will grow dark and people will mourn (Isaiah 13:10, Zephaniah 1:15).---(Abarim Publications online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary)
[1] Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, Dolorous Passion, pgs. 123, 24 of volume IV, (1914) Desclee De Brouwer & Co
[2] for more on the location of the Cenacle see Ratici, Roberto A Different Location for the Cenacle,http://www.catholicplanet.com/articles/A%20Different%20Location%20for%20the%20Cenacle.pdf, retrieved 5-8-12
*** some examples are masturbation, premarital sex, use contraception, homosexual acts, rape, and adultery. Before God, in the opinion of God, and according to the teaching of Christ Jesus, "Each and every sexual act in a marriage needs to be open to the possibility of conceiving a child." (UCSSB Catechism p. 40).
“Sometimes one hears it said that as long as the marriage as a whole is open to children, each individual act of intercourse need not be. In fact, however, a marriage is only as open to procreation as each act of intercourse is, because the whole meaning of marriage is present and signified in each marital act. Each marital act signifies, embodies, and renews the original and enduring marital covenant between husband and wife. That is what makes intercourse exclusively a marital act. “ (Pastoral Letter from the U.S. Bishops called Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan)
A difficult word for some, but now is the time for repentance, especially in the Year of Mercy. In the opinion of God, sex is exclusive to a man and a woman who are pledged in marriage, and who perform their sexual act in a manner conducive to a new human form. There is a trinitarian nest of unitive, marital and procreative concepts in a moral sexual act. Very simple.
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