Joel 2:28-32
It Shall Come to Pass:
Dreams
Dreamt, the Day Darkened and Divine Deliverance
(Spirit,
Smoke and Salvation)
28 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: 29
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out
my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount
Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the
remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Introduction:
This is the third of four
planned sermons on the prophecy of Joel.
In the Hebrew Scriptures the last five verses of chapter two in the
English Bibles are chapter three, and chapter three in the English Bibles are
chapter four in the Hebrew Scriptures.
That is how we are going to approach the book. In other words, we will consider chapter 1,
followed by chapter 2:1-27, then chapter 2:28-32 (chapter 3 in the Heb.), and
finally chapter 3 (chapter 4 in the Heb.).
Background material for the book
of Joel may be found in 2 Kings 11-2 and 2 Chr. 24.
Joel prophesied during the reign
of Joash, king of Judah, c. 820 B.C.
If you are ever going to use a
Bible dictionary, a Bible encyclopedia, or a Bible handbook it will be in order
to understand the Old Testament better.
For example, in Joel we will encounter locusts, Zion (2:1, 15; 3:16-17,
21), Mount Zion (2:32), Israel (2:27; 3:2, 16), Jerusalem (2:32; 3:1, 6, 16-17,
20), the Garden of Eden (2:3), Judah (3:1, 6, 8, 18-20), the Valley of
Jeshoshaphat (3:2, 12), Tyre (3:4), Sidon (3:4), Philistia (3:4), Greeks (3:6),
Sabeans (3:8), the Valley of Acacias (3:18), Egypt (3:19), and Edom
(3:19). Encountering these entities from
the ancient world should drive us to our resources to learn as much about them
as we possibly can in order to understand this little book of Joel from 29
centuries ago.
Joel 2:28-32 divides itself
poetically into the following outline.
Outline:
I. God's Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on His
People (2:28-29)
- The Showers of God's Spirit
II. God's Display of Cosmic Wonders before His
Day (2:30-31)
- The Significance of God's
Wonders
III. God's Assurance of Sovereign Deliverance for His
Called (2:32)
- The Security of God's People
I. God's Outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on His People (2:28-29)
- The Showers of God's Spirit
28 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:
29 And also upon the servants and
upon the handmaids
in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Title: "It Shall Come To
Pass" - the eschatological bread in this Scriptural sandwich - 2:28 and 32
This is a prophecy. It speaks of the future. The tenses of the verbs are in the
future. From Joel's perspective and the
point of view of Israel in the 9th century B. C. this was referring to
something that God would do in the future in fulfillment of this prophecy
spoken by the prophet Joel.
Notice
the time words:
o "afterward"
(2:28),
o "in
those days" (2:29), and
o "before
the great and the terrible day of the LORD come" (2:31)
Notice
the point of this part of Joel's prophecy found in the following phrases:
upon all flesh
|
I will pour out my spirit
|
your sons and your daughters
|
shall prophesy
|
your old men
|
shall dream dreams
|
your young men
|
shall see visions
|
upon the servants and upon the handmaids
|
will I pour out my spirit
|
Peter refers to this in the
first sermon following the birth of the Church by the baptism of the Spirit on
the first Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus Christ:
Acts 2:14-21 - 14 But
Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye
men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell
at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that
which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 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: 18 And on my servants
and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they
shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and
signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that
great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 2:33-36 - 33
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see
and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he
saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35
Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house
of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.
II. God's
Display of Cosmic Wonders before His Day (2:30-31)
- The Significance of God's Wonders
30 And I will shew wonders in the
heavens and in the earth,
blood,
and
fire,
and
pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into
darkness,
and
the moon into blood,
before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
It shall come to pass! It has not come to pass, but is shall! It shall most certainly come to pass prior to
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth in all His power and glory in
that great and terrible day when He is revelealed from heaven. It shall come to pass!
Rev. 6:12-14 - And I
beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
earthquake; and the
sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree
casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev. 8:4-8 - 4 And the smoke of the incense,
which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of
the angel’s hand. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it
with fire
of the altar, and cast it into the
earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an
earthquake. 6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound. 7
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire
mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of
trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. 8 And the
second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was
cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev. 8:12 - And the fourth angel
sounded, and the
third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon,
and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day
shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev. 9:1-2 - 1 And
the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and
to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the
bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air
were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev. 9:17-18 - 17 And
thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having
breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the
horses were as the heads of lions;
and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 By
these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke,
and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
Rev. 10:1 - And I saw another
mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars
of fire:
Rev. 11:3-6 - 3 And I
will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are
the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the
earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this
manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain
not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood,
and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Rev. 12:1 - And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
Rev. 13:13 - And he
doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth
in the sight of men,
Rev. 14:10-11 - 10 The
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11
And the smoke
of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor
night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of
his name.
Rev. 14:18-20 - 18 And
another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried
with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp
sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are
fully ripe. 19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth,
and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast
it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress,
even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Rev. 16:3-7 - 3 And
the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of
a dead man: and every living soul
died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the
rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the
angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and
shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of
saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God
Almighty, true and righteous are thy
judgments.
Rev. 16:8-11 - 8 And
the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him
to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with
great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. 10 And the fifth
angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full
of darkness;
and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev. 18:8-10, 17b-18 - 8 Therefore shall her plagues
come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly
burned with fire:
for strong is the Lord God who
judgeth her. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have
committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 Standing afar
off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.... And every shipmaster, and all the company in
ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev. 19:3 - And again they said,
Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
Rev. 20:9 - And they went up on
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and
devoured them.
It shall come to pass! It has not yet come to pass, but is
shall! It shall most certainly come to
pass before the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus
Christ, to this earth in all of His power and glory in that great and terrible
day when He is revealed from heaven. It
shall come to pass!
III. God's
Assurance of Sovereign Deliverance for His Called (2:32)
- The Security of God's People
32 And it shall come to pass,
that
whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered:
for
in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,
as
the LORD hath said,
and
in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
Obadiah 17 - But
upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the
house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
Rom. 10:9-13 - 9 That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.
Conclusion:
God's Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on His People - The Showers of God's Spirit
God's Display of Cosmic Wonders before His Day - The Significance of God's Wonders
God's Assurance of Sovereign Deliverance for His Called - The Security of God's People
See also:
Timothy L. Decker, "A Fresh Look at Darrell Bock's
Interpretation Concerning Peter's Use of Joel 2 in Acts 2 With Regard to
Enactment Of The New Covenant", Journal of Dispensational Theology
14:42 (AUG 2010), pp. 63-79.
Daniel J. Treier, "The Fulfillment Of Joel 2:28–32: A Multiple-Lens Approach", Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:1 (Mar 1997), pp. 13-26.
"Typical of a
dispensational approach is A. C. Gaebelein:
Careless and superficial expositors have often
stated that Peter said that all this happened in fulfillment of what was spoken
by Joel. He did not use the word fulfilled at all. Had he spoken of a
fulfillment then of Joel’s prophecy, he would have uttered something which was
not true, for the great prophecy of Joel was not fulfilled on that day. 1
In this understanding, Peter uses Joel 2 as an
analogy or rhetorical device but as nothing more."
"1A. C.
Gaebelein, The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition (New York: Our Hope, 1912)
53. For a more recent advancement of this position, which argues that Peter
cited Joel 2 because of only one “point of similarity,” see T. D. Ice,
“Dispensational Hermeneutics,” Issues in Dispensationalism (ed. W. R. Willis
and J. R. Master; Chicago: Moody, 1994) 41."
Treier, op. cit., pg. 13.
[Sermon preached by Pastor John T. "Jack" Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA on Sunday, May 26, 2013.]
[Sermon preached by Pastor John T. "Jack" Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA on Sunday, May 26, 2013.]
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