Spirit Poured Out

June 3

2 Samuel 14-15

Psalm 68:19-27

Proverbs 15:3-4

Acts 2:14-46

Spirit Poured Out

“But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:  ‘And it shall be in the last day,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on My male slaves and female slaves, I will in those days pour out My Spirit and they shall prophesy, and I will put wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire, and vapor of smoke.  The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.  And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”  Acts 2:16-21 LSB

When the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost the crowds were amazed.  There was a large crowd together from many different areas who spoke different languages.  As the believers began to speak, each of the people there heard them speaking in their native language.  They could miraculously understand the words being said even though they were spoken in a different language.  There is a new earbud device available now that allows you to hear people speaking in foreign languages translated into your native tongue through the help of AI.  This truly amazing technology that has just been released was used 2,000 years ago by the Holy Spirit.  Some people recognized it as a miracle, but others (there are always a few in every crowd), mocked them saying they had been drinking new wine.  New wine is very sweet and highly intoxicating.  Peter stood up and addressed the crowd.  He quoted the prophet Joel to explain what was taking place.  It might seem out of place to draw from a prophecy about the last days to explain the coming of the Holy Spirit, but in doing so Peter reset the prophetic time clock.  Up until that point the focus had been on the nation of Israel.  God had established a covenant with His chosen people through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Despite God’s faithfulness in preserving and protecting them, they were unfaithful to Him.  God sent His Son, Jesus to be their Messiah, but they rejected Him and had Him put to death.   Pentecost marked a new beginning with the good news of God’s love and His salvation through Jesus.  In this New Covenant, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  It was not only available to the Jews, but the invitation was offered to ALL who believe.  And with that belief came the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

Peter explained to the crowd that the “last days” began at Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out on mankind fulfilling the prophecy given by Joel.  The entire prophecy will be fulfilled during what is called the “church age” or the time when the gospel is being spread throughout the world culminating at the Second Coming of  Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit is at work in and through believers throughout this age.  During this time, God’s focus is on the church.  God will return his focus to the nation of Israel during the Tribulation Period to bring them to repentance and faith.