Daily Thoughts from Joel: Poured Out Spirit (2:28-32)

“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.  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.   

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.  (Joel 2:28-32 ESV)

After the time when Israel fully acknowledges Yahweh, He will pour out His Spirit on all mankind.  Everyone, from the lowest to the highest, youngest to the oldest, will manifest the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives through prophesy and visions and dreams.  This Spirit-endued powerhouse of people will be the result of Yahweh’s outpouring of judgment in the Day of Yahweh.  Even during this time, if anyone calls on the name of Yahweh, just as Israel did during this locust plague, they will be saved.  Yahweh always calls “survivors” from among Israel to keep the nation alive and to fulfill His covenant to them.

This description is of the ultimate Day of Yahweh, but as Peter sees it on the Day of Pentecost, there is a foretaste of this day experienced as the followers of Jesus have the Spirit poured out on them and they speak in tongues.  None of the judgment took place that day but the spiritual opportunity did and many did call on the name of the Lord.  This was just a taste of what is to come with the kingdom.  And the church is still that taste, that Spirit-endued powerhouse God wants to use to illustrate His kingdom.

When Jesus returns, as the book of Revelation shows us, he will be preceded by wonders in the heavens, blood and fire and smoke of judgment.  No one who fails to call on the Name of the Lord will survive this judgment and enter God’s kingdom.  But those who do know him will begin a glorious life with him as king.  And the Spirit of God will manifest Himself more fully in them than ever before.

Oh, for that day!