City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘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;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood,
    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Acts 2:16-21

Reflection

In this passage, Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32a, BibleProject does a great job of explaining what the Book of Joel is about:

The Book of Joel is a call of repentance, declaring the hope of redemption and the restoration of God’s creation in the last days. Peter prophesies they are living in the last days, close to when Jesus will return. We can’t possibly predict that day, not even Jesus Himself knows when He will return (Mark 13:32). But why does Peter say they are living in the end times? In part because it is the time period where gentile believers will come to believe in God. And secondly because Joel’s prophecy is fulfilled when the 120 Christ-followers, male and female, of all ages and social classes, are filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesy and declare God’s mighty works in different languages (Acts 1:15, 2:4).

Peter ends Joel’s reference with his apocalyptic prophecy. The Book of Joel was written somewhere between 835 to 800 BC., and the Book of Revelation in 90-95 A.D, Joel’s book refers to a few of the events of Revelation. God’s Divine Judgement will begin with a darkened sun and a blood-red moon (Revelation 6:12), hail and fire mixed with blood will rain down, burning up the earth (Revelation 8:7), and three separate plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur will destroy those who have rejected Jesus Christ (Revelation 9:18). Then Jesus will return on that great and magnificent day (Revelation 19), saving His followers. Peter refers to this passage for the repentance of the crowd, the redemption of humankind in Jesus Christ, and God’s complete restoration of His creation.

Application

The last days began on Pentecost, and we have yet to see the day of the Lord. God isn’t interested in lip service, but in true repentance (Joel 2:13a). When we repent, God turns His Judgement into His Salvation. Have you repented? Is there something you need to repent of?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for rescuing me. I repent of any sins I have committed. Help me to live solely for You and You alone. In Your Name I pray, amen.