In the Last Days...

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of the Last Days, the era of the Spirit and time of fulfillment. The application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the outpouring of the Spirit to the start of the “Last Days.” The activity of the Spirit beginning that very day is essential for understanding the rapid spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the center of the Roman Empire. That same process must continue until the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus at the end of the present age (παρουσια).

Before the disciples began to proclaim the Gospel, Jesus commanded them to wait he “sent the promise of my Father upon you.” The Gift of the Spirit would equip them to be his witnesses to “the ends of the Earth.”

[Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash]

After the fledgling Church received the Spirit, the Gospel began moving inexorably from Jerusalem to the eastern regions of the Mediterranean basin. By the end of the Book of Acts, Paul was busy sharing the message with all who would listen near the city of Rome even though he was under house arrest - (Luke 24:45-49, Acts 1:6-11, 2:38-39).

The disciples waited until the Spirit arrived on the Day of Pentecost when the Feast had “fully come.”  This term translates the Greek verb signifying the filling of something to the full; being filled to the brim (‘sumpleroō’). The fulfillment of the Feast Day began with the bestowal of the Spirit on the Church – (Acts 2:1-4).

When Jewish pilgrims near the Temple were confounded by the sights and sounds that accompanied the Spirit’s arrival, Peter declared, “These men are not drunk, but this is that which was spoken through the prophet Joel.” In the Greek clause, an emphatic pronoun is found on his lips. “This” very thing witnessed by the Jewish crowd was the outpouring of the Spirit predicted by Joel for the “Last Days” - (Joel 2:28-32).

Peter quoted the Prophet Joel but deviated from the original Hebrew at key points. First, the original term translated as “afterward” becomes the “Last Days.” Second, he added, “They will prophesy” after the promise of the Spirit for “servants and handmaidens.” Third, he added the term “signs” and paired it with “wonders.” Fourth, the “great and terrible Day of Yahweh” becomes “The great and manifest Day of the Lord.” Fifth, Peter dropped the last half of Joel 2:32 - (“For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there will be those that escape, and among the remnant those whom Yahweh calls”).

Peter focused on Jesus and what God has done through him. The Nazarene was a man “pointed out of God by mighty works and wonders and signs,” but he also was “delivered by lawless men” to be slain on the Roman Cross.

Christ could not be held by the “pangs of death.” Just as David foretold, God raised him from the dead and seated him at his “right hand.” This “same Jesus” also received the “Promise of the Spirit” that he now gives to his Assembly, demonstrating that God “made Jesus both Lord and Messiah” – (Acts 2:22-36).

Peter’s description of “wonders and signs” performed by Jesus is a verbal link to the prophecy of the Book of Joel. The predicted signs and wonders expected “in the Last Days” began in the ministry of Jesus. Following his Ascension, he “received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, that which you see and hear.”

After his sermon, Peter once more linked the Gift of the Spirit to the prophecy recorded in Joel when he summoned his audience to repent and believe the Gospel:

• “Peter said to them: Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit; for to you is the promise and to your children, and un all them who are afar off, as many soever as the Lord our God will call” - (Acts 2:37-39).

He identified the Gift as the “promise” given to Israel, but also one intended for “all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call.” Likewise, the Prophet Joel promised that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” an invitation to all men and women. God never intended to limit salvation to Israel.

SIGNS AND WONDERS

Joel foretold the coming of “wonders in the Heavens and on the Earth before the great and terrible Day of Yahweh.” Peter added the term “signs” or ‘semeion’ and paired it with “wonders” (‘teras’).

Both terms occur together in the Book of Acts, beginning with the final verses of Chapter 2 (“Many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” – Acts 2:43). The “wonders” predicted by Joel began on the Day of Pentecost with the “sound like a rushing wind,” “tongues of fire,” and the disciples “speaking in tongues,” and they continued through the evangelistic efforts of the Church as recorded in Acts. The Greek terms translated as “wonders” and “signs” are thematic for the Book. They describe the Spirit’s activity in the Early Church - (Acts 4:30, 5:12, 6:8, 8:13).

Peter ended his quotation at the midpoint of the original passage - “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  He did not include the original ethnic and geographical limitations of the Prophecy (“For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those that escape”).

Salvation is no longer limited to Jerusalem or the remnant of Israel. Instead, salvation and the Gift of the Spirit are offered to everyone who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith, including “all those who are afar off <…> to the uttermost parts of the Earth.”

Thus, Joel’s Prophecy is universalized. Its fulfillment began on the Day of Pentecost with the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the 120 disciples gathered for prayer. It also began a process that will continue until the “Day of the Lord” when Jesus returns to gather his elect to himself.

[PDF Copy]

SEE ALSO:

• The Life-Giving Spirit - (Jesus declared, The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life)

• Spirit and Covenant - (The New Covenant includes the Gift of the Spirit, the first fruits of the New Creation, and the gathering of the nations)

• He Baptizes in Spirit - (Jesus is the Coming One who baptizes his people in Spirit and Fire)

• Le Jour de la Pentecôte - (Le jour de la Pentecôte, le temps de l'accomplissement est arrivé lorsque Jésus a accordé le Don de l'Esprit à son Corps, l'Église – Actes 2: 1-4)