Afterward: In The Last Days (Joel 2:28-32)

Hook: The Last Days have already begun dear people!

What will be evident and indeed is clear is that the last days have already had their start, but in them is something that you might not have expected:

The last days have already begun, and in them salvation from God.

And this salvation is that you might saved for God the Father by His Son Jesus Christ.

It is that His Spirit would be poured out upon you where you stand and you would belong to the God of the universe.

Friends whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!

Hear the word of the Lord!

Joel 2:28–32

“And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.

The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Brief intro to Joel

A Joel 1:1-14 – Locust Invasion and its consequences

B Joel 1:15-20 – The Day of the Lord

C Joel 2:1-11 – The LORD’s Army against Israel

D Joel 2:12-17 – Call To Repentance for Israel

A’ Joel 2:18-27 – When God’s people repent, then the land is healed

B’ Joel 2:28-32 – The Day of the Lord

C’ Joel 3:1-21 – The LORD’s Army to restore the fortunes of Judah

Joel 2:28–29

“And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Friends, what is clear from the Scriptures is that God has poured out His Spirit on all flesh; in the days after. This He has already begun.

The Prophet Joel is uttering the word of the Lord to Israel, He prophesied of the things to come for the nation, the expectation of their exile, and then as we will see even from the Apostle Peter, the fulfillement of their freedom in the New Covenant. The people of God find their hope in this prophesy of Joel, as it finds its fulfillment in the things that have already taken place.

We have an actual account of when these things have taken place!

Acts 2:1–16 (SUMMARIZE WHAT IS NOT IN BOLD)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, (the disciples) were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

Comprehend the connection between the prophecy and its fulfillment, the apostles give us the fulfillment of this prophesy of Joel by the very Spirit that it was made by, for the Scripture says elsewhere that :

2 Peter 1:21

...no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Not only is it evident, because Peter speaks by God the Spirit here in his first sermon, but it is evident in what we have just read that God has poured out His Spirit upon all flesh. After the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of God the Father, He said that He would send His Spirit (Romans 8:9) and He has done so.

You are in the aftermath of this grace. Friends the saints before us—not some holy super Christian, but rather men and women from all backgrounds of life, received the same Spirit! The Spirit of God and Christ, and they were united together in the same salvation!

These Christians understood it as their world was being turned upside down.

Judgement was coming upon the current world order that they lived in as we see in our text.

30-31) There will be: Wonders in the heavens and on the earth before the great and awesome day of the Lord.

Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, & Revelation

Connect decreation language to Olivet Discourse: Jesus is not a false prophet.: This generation will not pass away till all these things take place, The judgment upon Jerusalem as Jesus said it would be.

Be warned that God’s judgment is sure, as it always has been.

V. 32) In those days, all who call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved, they will escape judgment in Jerusalem.

Judgment has come upon Jerusalem, the prophet Joel said this would be the case hundreds of years before the fact, and when the Christ came to His own and they did not receive Him, that is exactly what happen.

But this is not against man, this is not against Jews, but rather, this is about how ALL men can be reconciled to God: The last days have already begun n God sending His Spirit, and with them your salvation!

The Apostles of Jesus Christ, who were Israelites indeed! Jew by birth, declraed to us that the church is the Israel of God, and they escaped as Jesus urged them to.

Judgement was given, and the Temple of was destroyed and done away with in AD 70 because Christ is King, and His temple is His Bride the Church, the Israel of God, and the the call for you is the same as it was for them.

We are the temple of God: Come by faith alone and be united to Him in the same Spirit.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved! Saved from what? The final judgement, when God judges all men by that victorious Man Jesus Christ the Lord.

Repent and believe the Gospel!