¹⁵”For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; ¹⁶but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour forth of 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; ¹⁸even on my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. ²⁰The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. ²¹And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

The significance of what was happening was huge. Peter, the blue-collar fisherman, untrained as a biblical scholar and certainly not steeped in the rigorous study of a rabbi, quotes from the prophet Joel and does so with confidence and authority. He brooks no discussion about his hermeneutical method of interpreting the OT; he simply proclaims its truth and application to what is happening—the last days are here! Everything Joel predicted (Joel 2:28–32a) is now beginning. All commentators agree on this.

The agreement ends there among different strands of Christendom. Some spiritualize this passage away as not to be taken literally. This view would seem unlikely in light of Luke’s meticulous research and propensity to rely on tangible evidence in presenting this chronicle. Others say the prophecy of Joel continues to apply to today, in that we continue to be in “the last days.” Yet if we take Luke’s approach, we can make some simple observations. To be sure, the activities of the twelve and of the resulting three thousand who were saved (Acts 2:41) may have included what Joel described as “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” However, it seems better to see the Pentecost event as the inauguration of the coming of the last days, rather than the full expression of it. Case in point: there is no evidence in this passage or in history that the sun “turned into darkness and the moon into blood” at or even near that time.

We agree with those who see this as an offer of the kingdom (similar to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the King coming for His kingdom). But Israel as a whole again rejects God’s word, for only a relatively small portion of the nation believed Peter’s message. Therefore, Joel’s prophecy, along with its eschatological phenomena, has been put on hold until Israel accepts her king. However, we find the inauguration of the church, something hinted at by Joel and quoted in verse 21. All who call on the Lord, not just Jews, will be saved.

Lord, thank You for the gospel message that has come as far as reaching me.