The Scripture behind the Scripture
I Will Pour Out My Spirit
Joel 2:28 promises that God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh, with sons and daughters prophesying. Peter declares this fulfilled at Pentecost in Acts 2:17.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”Joel 2:28
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:”Acts 2:17
In its own place
In its own place. Joel prophesied to Judah, calling the people to repentance in the face of a devastating locust plague that he treats as a foretaste of the day of the Lord. After summoning the nation to fast and return to God with all their heart, Joel announces a reversal of judgment and a season of blessing. Then comes the great promise, And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. In its original setting this promises a future outpouring of God's Spirit on the whole covenant community, breaking down the usual limits, so that prophetic gifting would extend to sons and daughters, old and young, male and female, even servants. In the Old Testament the Spirit typically came upon select individuals like prophets, priests, and kings, but Joel foresees a day when God pours out his Spirit broadly on all his people. This is set within the context of the day of the Lord, a day of both salvation for those who call on God and judgment, marked by cosmic signs. Joel offers hope of a coming age of the Spirit and deliverance.
Where the New Testament takes it up
This is a direct quotation, and it forms the interpretive heart of Peter's Pentecost sermon. When the Spirit falls on the disciples and they speak in other tongues, and the crowd is amazed and some mock, Peter stands and explains in Acts 2:16 to 17, This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. He quotes Joel at length, following the Greek Septuagint, and makes one significant interpretive touch, rendering Joel's afterward as in the last days, signaling that the age of fulfillment has arrived. Peter declares that the Pentecost outpouring is the very event Joel foretold, the promised age of the Spirit poured out on all God's people, regardless of gender, age, or status. He continues the quotation through the cosmic signs and the promise that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Peter thus reads the whole prophecy as inaugurated in Christ, understanding the last days to have begun with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, who has poured out the Spirit he received from the Father.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Peter explains that the risen and ascended Jesus is the one who has poured out the Spirit. Exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has shed forth what the crowd now sees and hears. So Joel's promise of the Spirit poured out on all flesh is fulfilled through Christ, who baptizes his people with the Holy Spirit. The age of the Spirit, when God's presence and gifting extend to all his people without distinction, is opened by the finished work of Jesus. And Joel's closing line, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, becomes the invitation of the gospel, for the name to be called upon is the name of Jesus. What Joel foresaw from afar, the church received at Pentecost, because the crucified and risen Christ reigns and gives the Spirit to his own.
Questions people ask
What did Joel originally promise?
A future outpouring of God's Spirit on the whole covenant community, so that prophetic gifting would reach sons and daughters, old and young, and even servants, not just select individuals. It was set within the coming day of the Lord, a day of both salvation and judgment.
Why does Peter say the last days where Joel says afterward?
Peter follows the sense of Joel while making explicit that the age of fulfillment has arrived. He declares Pentecost to be the very outpouring Joel foretold, understanding the last days to have begun with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, who pours out the Spirit.