The prophecy in Joel 2:28 that God will pour out His Spirit on all people is an important one that points to the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the New Covenant. Here is the verse:
“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.” (Joel 2:28 ESV)
To understand the meaning and significance of this verse, we need to examine several aspects:
1. The context of the prophecy in Joel
The book of Joel contains prophecies about judgment and restoration for the people of Judah. Joel likely prophesied sometime after the exile in Babylon. In chapter 1, Joel describes a locust plague that devastated the land of Judah as a picture of the “day of the Lord” when God’s judgment would come.
Chapter 2 calls the people to repentance in light of coming judgment. It is in the context of calling the people to repentance that the prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit occurs. God promises to restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem after the locust plague and exile (Joel 2:25). Directly after this restoration promise, the prophecy of the Spirit being poured out is declared.
2. God’s Spirit was not yet given in the Old Testament
During the Old Testament period, the Spirit of God would come upon people for a time to empower them for service, often service in leadership over the nation (such as the judges, Saul, David). However, the Spirit would depart after their assignment was completed. The Spirit did not permanently reside in people under the Old Covenant.
What Joel prophesies is something new and different than how the Spirit operated under the Old Covenant. He foresees a time when the Spirit will be poured out on “all flesh”, meaning all types of people – sons, daughters, old and young. And the Spirit will empower them all to “prophesy” – meaning to proclaim and testify for the Lord.
3. The prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost
If we jump ahead to the New Testament, we see Peter declare during his sermon at Pentecost that the events the crowd were witnessing that day was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy about the outpouring of the Spirit:
“But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on 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 2:16-17 ESV)
The events of that Pentecost when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit was the beginning fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. That day the Spirit was poured out on the first batch of “all flesh” as the prophecy said. It marked the inauguration of the New Covenant age where all believers in Jesus Christ would permanently receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17).
4. The gift of the Spirit under the New Covenant
A key difference between the Old Covenant and New Covenant is the gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers. Ezekiel 36:26-27 prophesied about this coming day:
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Because of Christ’s redemption, all those who repent and believe in Him are given the Spirit to empower them to walk in holiness and obedience to God. Through Christ, the Spirit is now poured out on “all flesh” – Jew and Gentile, men and women, slave and free.
5. The Spirit empowers believers for ministry and witness
As Joel prophesied, when the Spirit is poured out, both men and women, young and old are empowered for ministry. At Pentecost, the disciples preached the gospel with boldness through the Spirit’s power. The New Testament describes the various gifts and manifestations the Spirit gives to all believers for ministry in the church.
Both men and women ministered in various ways in the early church through the enablement of the Spirit – prophesying, teaching, leading, serving, evangelizing, etc (Acts 2:17-18, Acts 21:8-9, 1 Cor. 12:7-10). The day of the Messiah brought a new work of the Spirit in and through God’s people.
6. The prophecy points to the messianic age of salvation
Joel’s prophecy highlights a key blessing of the coming messianic age – the widescale outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Messiah’s arrival brings about the New Covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 where all God’s people are given new hearts and have the law written on their hearts by the indwelling Spirit (Jer. 31:33, Ezek. 36:24-27). Through the Spirit’s work, people can truly know God.
The pouring out of the Spirit inaugurated the messianic era of salvation where all nations are now able to come to faith in the Messiah. The apostle Peter preached at Pentecost that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21). Saul (Paul) later was the instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentiles through the Spirit’s enablement.
7. It points forward to future fulfillment
While there was an initial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy at Pentecost, the full fulfillment remains future. Revelation portrays a great multitude from every nation serving God and the Lamb who have washed their robes in his blood (Rev. 7:9-14). The Spirit empowers an international harvest, yet there remains a greater harvest still to come at Christ’s return.
The outpouring of the Spirit inaugurated but did not complete the messianic age. We still anticipate the return of Christ when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD (Isaiah 11:9, Hab. 2:14). Joel’s prophecy encourages us to pray earnestly for a greater outpouring of the Spirit on all people leading to a great harvest.
8. Key truths to understand
In summary, here are some key truths to understand about the prophecy that God will pour out His Spirit on all people:
- It was given in the context of a coming day of the Lord involving both judgment and restoration.
- It foretold something new – an outpouring of the Spirit on all types of people.
- It was inaugurated at Pentecost with the first batch of believers receiving the Spirit.
- It symbolizes the gift of the Spirit to all believers under the New Covenant.
- It empowers both men and women, young and old for ministry.
- It marks the arrival of the messianic age made possible by the Messiah.
- It inaugurated but did not complete the messianic age – there is more to come.
Careful study of Joel’s prophecy enables us to understand the significance of Pentecost and the coming of the New Covenant. It also encourages us to pray and partner with the Spirit to see the gospel taken all over the world, looking forward to the day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God.
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