This is probably the most famous passage in Joel. Peter quoted it at Pentecost after the Holy Spirit fell upon the people (Acts 2:17-21). In the New Testament it sometimes talks about the promised Holy Spirit (Gal 3:14; Acts 2:33; Eph 1:13). Passages such as this, and Jeremiah 33:31-33 are probably the ones in mind.
The passage has a global significance. The Spirit will be poured out on all people. All can be taken as referring to all nations, and to all classes of people. In Joel it is probably the latter that was the most immediate application. Joel's earlier calls to repentance and seeking the Lord were directed at all stratas of society, so likewise the Lord's response would apply to all people, young and old, male and female, even on servants. Now we know that the Holy Spirit is for all believers from all nations. Indeed it was God pouring out His Spirit on Cornelius and his household that convinced Peter that God had accepted the Gentile believers on exactly the same basis as He accepted Jewish believers (Acts 10:44-48).
The pouring out of the Spirit is not the only thing referred to here, there are also signs of the end of the age. Jesus referred to similar events when talking about apocalyptic events (Matt 24:29; Mark 13:24,25; Luke 21:11).
So there are three things described here:
The passage has a global significance. The Spirit will be poured out on all people. All can be taken as referring to all nations, and to all classes of people. In Joel it is probably the latter that was the most immediate application. Joel's earlier calls to repentance and seeking the Lord were directed at all stratas of society, so likewise the Lord's response would apply to all people, young and old, male and female, even on servants. Now we know that the Holy Spirit is for all believers from all nations. Indeed it was God pouring out His Spirit on Cornelius and his household that convinced Peter that God had accepted the Gentile believers on exactly the same basis as He accepted Jewish believers (Acts 10:44-48).
The pouring out of the Spirit is not the only thing referred to here, there are also signs of the end of the age. Jesus referred to similar events when talking about apocalyptic events (Matt 24:29; Mark 13:24,25; Luke 21:11).
So there are three things described here:
- The pouring out of the Spirit on many people, leading to them having dreams, visions and prophecies.
- Signs and wonders and cosmic events, heralding the coming of the Lord.
- Deliverance and salvation for all who call upon the Name of the Lord.
We have seen elements of all three, but have not yet seen all three happening together at once. When talking about the very last days we have a tendency to focus either on the doom and gloom of terrible things happening, or the bringing in of the final harvest. The truth is that all three elements spoken of by Joel will happen at once.
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