I have been preaching a small series of lessons on the New Testament Church in Prophecy. The first two dealt with the prophecies from Isaiah 2:2-4 and Daniel 2:44. This coming Sunday I will present the third and final of those lessons from the passage of Joel 2:28-32. While I am not covering the prophecy in totality, I hope some of the points from the sermon will be helpful and thought provoking to you.
The Church in Prophecy, Part 3
Joel 2:28-32
If we said we were going to pour a glass of water, we can physically see that being done. We can see the water leave the pitcher and go into the glass which we then can drink. The concept of pouring is not a difficult one to grasp, because we see it done all the time. We pour drinks, paint, laundry detergent and other items on an everyday basis. If we can understand all of that, show me how God's Spirit is poured out upon His people. You can't show me! Well, don't worry because I can't show you either, because it's a spiritual concept that we're not meant to understand. However, it is something that is important in our lives because it's something that's been done to us by God to those who have been obedient to His Gospel message. We find this concept in a prophecy about the church from Joel 2:28-32. It reads:
"'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."
As we take a look at this prophecy, I had some observations about what this meant for the church.
The Church Would Receive a Pouring Out of God's Spirit
During the time of the Old Covenant, God had the Israelites make a tabernacle because he wanted to dwell among His people (Ex. 25:8). Hebrews 9:7 tells us that the high priest would only go into the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place) one time a year, on the Day of Atonement. The room where the ark of the covenant dwelt was indeed a special place. Even on the Day of Atonement the high priest would have specific ritualistic requirements that had to be fulfilled before he could come into the presence of God before the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant (Ex. 16:1ff). The Israelites knew that God dwelt among them as they even saw the cloud over the tabernacle by day and the pillar of fire by night (Ex. 40:34ff.). After the tabernacle came the establishment of the temple which became a stationary house of God.
This prophecy from Joel would drastically change how God dwelt among His people. When Joel states that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh, we can notice a couple of changes. First, the children of God would not be exclusive to a particular race of people. Jews and Gentiles would eventually both be part of the family of God. Though God established his covenant with Abraham and his descendants, he first made a promise to him that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). God was referring to the coming Messiah descending from Abraham's lineage who would provide a blessing for everyone, including Gentiles. Jesus told his disciples "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Lk. 24:46-47). The church started out with Jews as its intended recipients, but it was not to stay that way. Peter, who preached to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost, later took the Gospel to the Gentiles when he converted Cornelius, his household and his friends who had gathered to hear Peter's message in Acts 10.
Second, God would now dwell among His people through His Spirit. The physical temple of God was no longer where God would dwell. The new covenant which would be enacted would make our bodies the temple of God. This is really twofold, as Paul deals with this in 1 Cor. 3 & 6 as he mentions the church and our physical bodies being the temple of God. Whereas under the old covenant the priests were the only ones to enter the tabernacle and the temple, we are now part of the priesthood of believers (1 Pet. 2:5,9). What a blessing it is knowing that God poured forth His Spirit upon us.
The Spirit Would Provide the Church with Miraculous Gifts
There are times today when people reply to something great happening by saying "it's a miracle!" Well, was it really, or was it just something fantastic that caused them to say that? If you do a study of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit from the New Testament, it is clear there would come a point in time where they would cease. That time has already passed, as we read in 1 Cor. 13:8-10, along with the understanding of how these gifts were received as well. However, God did enable the church in the first century to have special gifts.
Joel prophesied that the church would be able to prophesy. Prophecy was one of the miraculous gifts. Paul says "And God has appointed in the church fist apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" (1 Cor. 12:28-30). He also says "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith..." (Rom. 12:6). The early church clearly had miraculous gifts given by the Spirit, and prophecy was one of them. This was not only fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, but it was also fulfilled throughout the first century. In Acts 21:9-10 we read about the evangelist, Phillip who had four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses, and there is a prophet named Agabus who came from Judea to make a prophecy about Paul. Prophecy was a big part of the early church that came to pass just as Joel mentioned.
Whoever Calls on the Name of the Lord Will Be Saved
I heard James Watkins give an excellent lesson one time at a Gospel Meeting at the Gordonsburg Church of Christ on the subject of calling on the name of the Lord. He took the subject and examined it from the entire scope of the Bible, showing that it is much more than many people advocate. Calling on the name of the Lord does not indicate that anyone who verbally calls out the name of the Lord will be saved. Jesus touched on this subject in Mt. 7:21 when He said "'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.'" Obedience is implied in this prophecy of Joel's and it is echoed by what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount.
Peter told the multitude on the Day of Pentecost to repent and be baptized according to Acts 2:38. This came after the multitude knew that something had to be done. Saul of Tarsus called on the name of the Lord by being baptized when Ananias uttered these words to him: "'And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name'" (Acts 22:16). Calling on the name of the Lord is essential for salvation. Consider what Paul says: "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9).
Thanks be to God that we have a record of the fulfillment of this prophecy of Joel's in Acts 2, as we see the establishment of the church that first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ. Not only were they fulfilled then, but they also apply for us today in the sense that the church does receive the pouring out of God's Spirit and that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Are you among the number of the saved today who have the Spirit of God in you?
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