Are We Experiencing the Fulfilling of Joel 2:28-31?
Has God Poured Out His Spirit On All Flesh?
Joel 2:28-31 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
visions; and also, upon the servants and the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth,
blood, fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord.”
Part of these verses have been partially fulfilled, that is
verse twenty-eight. Peter quoted the above verses in Acts 2:16-20 on the Day of
Pentecost when about 120 believers were gathered waiting for the promise of the
power of the Holy Spirit. Now, when it says your sons and daughters shall
prophesy, what does that mean? Many people believe it to mean that we will be
able to “decree and declare.”[1]
That is a very popular phrase in the Church today. In other words, many people
claim they have a new word from the Lord in addition to what God has already
declared in His Word. In order to know what the scripture is saying, we must
always define our terms. The word prophesy here is the Hebrew word nābu. Prophesy
here simply means to speak God’s word. It does not have to include a predictive
element. So, whenever someone is speaking God’s revealed Word (italics
added for emphasis), they are prophesying. This can only happen by the power of
the Holy Spirit.
When the text says your old men shall dream dreams and your young
men shall see visions, this could be making reference to dreams and visions
that the apostles saw like Peter had in Acts 10; where while he was praying, he
was put into a trance, and he saw a sheet come down from heaven with animals
that were unclean (Acts 10:9-16). There is also the apostle John who saw
numerous visions in the book of Revelation of currents events of his time in
chapters 1-3 regarding the seven Churches, and future events in chapters 4-22.
In other words, the dreams had significance (e.g., Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams in
Daniel chapters 2 & 4).
God’s Spirt in Old Testament times was not in or on
many people. The Spirit of God could leave a person; like He did with King Saul
due to his disobedience and rejection as king. (1 Sam 16:14). God’s Spirit left
Samson when his hair was shaved for, he was Nazarite (Judges 16:17-20). When
David sinned with Bathsheba, he in the fifty first Psalm pleaded with the Lord
that God would not take His Holy Spirit away from him (Psalm 51:11). The Holy Spirit’s
presence was sovereignly bestowed upon a person by God and was contingent upon
that person’s obedience in order for the Holy Spirit to remain.
In these last days, God has done something new. Jesus promised to the apostles directly and
all believers by extension to the present time, He would send us a Comforter,
the Holy Spirit that would dwell with us, forever (John 14:16-17). Part
of Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost, God’s Spirit has been poured out
on all flesh. It’s not just on Kings and the nobility that have the Holy
Spirit, it’s all who have placed their faith in the person and work of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.
Ephesians 1:13-14 says when we believed we were sealed by the
Holy Spirit. This means Jesus told the truth when He promised that He would
send the Holy Spirit once He returned to heaven (John 14:16-17).
The last part of Joel that Peter discusses is, “I will show
wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood, fire and pillars of smoke. The
sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and
terrible day of the Lord.”
These supernatural phenomena will happen during the time of
the Tribulation leading in to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 6:12-17 – John sees a vision of the end times. He records, “And I saw
when (an angel) opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood;
and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casts, her
unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. And the heaven was removed as a
scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of
their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief
captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they say to the
mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that
sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their
wrath is come; and who is able to stand?”’
These six verses fulfill verses thirty and thirty-one of Joel
2 which are for the future. Verses twenty-eight and twenty-nine were fulfilled
on the Day of Pentecost and are continuing to be fulfilled today.
As an aside, the reason the world is not as bad now as it
will get in the future is because God’s Holy Spirit is here through His Church.
God’s Spirit dwells in every true believer. When the rapture comes and the
Church is removed from the earth, Satan himself will rule this earth and God’s
just wrath will fall like it never has in human history.
Where do you want to end up? None of us have much time left.
WAKE UP CHURCH!
Do this, knowing this is a
critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep (of
spiritual complacency); for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we
first believed (in Christ). The night (this present evil age) is almost gone,
and the day (of Christ’s return) is almost here. So let us fling away the works
of darkness and put on the full armor of light. Let us conduct ourselves and
honorably as in the (light of) day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in
sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy. But
clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision (nor even
think about gratifying) the flesh regarding its improper desires.
-Romans 13:11-14 (Amplified
version).
Think about it, if Paul believed Christ’s return was near
1900 years ago, how much more should we be on high alert? It is time to check
ourselves, Amen?!
[1]
Decree and declare is another way of desiring to speak things into existence.
Many
believe our words have
creative manifesting power which they do not.
Only God has the power to
create with His words.
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