Joel 3

Translation

1 Afterward, therefore, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. They will prophesy, your sons and your daughters; your elderly will dream dreams, your young will see visions. 2 Even upon your male slaves and your female slaves, in those days I will pour out my spirit.

3 I will set signs in the heavens and in the earth, [I will set] blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 4 The sun will change to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming day of YHWH, great and frightening.

5 It shall happen that all who call on the name of YHWH will be saved. Indeed, on the Mountain of Zion and in Jerusalem will be survivors, just as YHWH said, and among the remnant [will be] those whom YHWH called.

Scripture Fulfilled

Joel’s prophetic announcement of the outpouring of the Spirit is something he never lived to see

We, however, can say“Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Pentecost is widely celebrated as the “birthday of the Church”, and Acts explicitly connects this event to Joel’s prophecy.

But what does it mean that God has poured out his spirit? For what reason did he do this?

The Spirit and God’s Faithfulness

Joel tells us, firstly, that God gives his spirit as a sign of faithfulness.

The prophet connects God’s gift of His spirit with his former promises of faithfulness to Israel.

Joel states the outpouring is connected by the use of the כן clause. In English translations, we must ask, “what is the therefore there for?”

Joel notes that the salvation of a remnant is "as YHWH said.” God promised that his people would never again be shamed, and he meant it!

The outpouring of the Spirit, then, is first and foremost a sign that we can trust in God.

As the Psalmist says, “His חסד (“steadfast love/faithfulness”) lasts forever”. God is ever faithful to his covenant people. He is faithful, even when we may not deserve it. (c.f. Psalm 118)

The Spirit we have recieved is a mark that we too are in covenant relation with God. It is a sign that God is faithful to us too.

Joel likely never would have imagined just how wide and deep God’s love is. He would likely never have thought that we too, non-Israelites, could be called “My people” by God.

Yet even Joel, who was mostly concerned with his own Jewish people, hints at the inclusivity of God’s love.

2:28-29’s chiastic structure emphasizes the inclusive scope of the outpouring of the Spirit.

When Joel writes “all flesh”, he includes even slaves. God moves perhaps further than even Joel imagined by pouring his spirit out on Gentiles as well, thus demonstrating the depth of His faithfulness and love to His creation.

Pentecost and Apocalypse

The Pentecostal outpouring points us toward more than just God’s grace, however. It is a road sign pointing alerting us that we are now approaching the Day of the Lord.

The pouring out of the holy spirit is the first sign among many that the last days draw near.

Jesus himself recognizes the Kingdom is near, and he warns of “wars and rumors of wars… the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” (Matt 24:2-44).

The early church recognized that we are already in the last days. The end times aren’t just near, they’re upon us already!

Joel and Peter both call us to see the world through an eschatological lens: we understand the present by looking to the future.

Pentecost, then, is at once the “birth of the Church” as well as the end of an old era of sin and death. When God poured out his spirit on us, he was signalling that the old was passing away, and the Kingdom of Heaven is already breaking in.

Call on the Lord

What then can we do? Why give the Holy Spirit in the midst of Apocalypse?

Peter already gives the answer: “

God pours out his spirit as a sign of favor, but also as empowerment. The prophecies, dreams, and visions we receive aid us in seeking the Lord in these times.

The New Revised Standard Version The First Converts

Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.

Joel likewise reminds us that those who will be saved on the Day of the Lord are the ones who “call on the name of the Lord.”

Salvation is only found in the name of the Lord Jesus. There is power in no other name!

The Spirit is given in these last times as a dual advantage to us:

Firstly it remains a sign of God’s faithfulness to us. Those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. God will make sure of it.

Secondly, the Spirit grants to us the power to “prophesy, dream dreams, and see visions.” In other words, the Spirit reveals to us the will of God in the midst of these last days, in order that we can reveal that Will to the world.

Thus, by the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on us, we too become signs pointing toward our final destination: the Day of the Lord. We, like Joel, become spirit-filled prophetic voices announcing to the world that the time to repent is now, for the Day of the Lord is at hand.