Pentecost and the Last Days

The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost signaled the start of the Last Days and the time of fulfillment.

The application of Joel’s prophecy to the events of the Day of Pentecost links the outpouring of the Spirit to the last days. The death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus inaugurated History’s final stage before the Day of the Lord, and now, he reigns and bestows the gift of the Spirit on his Church.

As the Book of Acts demonstrates, the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was not a one-time event, but the start of the final stage of History that will conclude on the day of Christ’s return. In the interval between now and that final moment, the Church must proclaim the Gospel to every nation. The Spirit empowers the Church to fulfill this mission.

The presence of the Spirit among God’s people proved essential for the rapid spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome, as recorded in the Book of Acts, and this mission must continue until the arrival of Jesus on the Day of the Lord. Jesus himself declared that “the end” will not come until the Good News of the Kingdom has been proclaimed throughout “the whole habitable earth” – (Matthew 24:14).

[Downpour - Photo by John Fowler (New Mexico) on Unsplash]

Under the old covenant, the gift of the Spirit was an expectation associated with the promised New Covenant, the last days, and the regathering of God’s people. The fulfillment of the promise began on the Day of Pentecost – (Compare Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:22-27, 37:14, Joel 2:28-32).

Before the disciples began to preach the Gospel, Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Spirit equips the Church to become Christ’s witnesses on the Earth:

• “Thus, it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name UNTO ALL THE NATIONS, beginning from Jerusalem. YOU ARE WITNESSES of these things. And behold! I send forth the promise of my Father upon you. But wait in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” - (Luke 24:46-49. Compare Isaiah 43:10, 52:10).

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto THE ENDS OF THE EARTH” - (Acts 1:7-8. Note the allusions to Psalm 2:8, Isaiah 43:10, 52:10).

• “And when the day of Pentecost was filled to the full, they were all assembled with one intent. <…> And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” - (Acts 2:1-4).

The preaching of the Gospel began in Jerusalem, then continued throughout the eastern regions of the Mediterranean region, and by the end of the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul is found in the City of Rome proclaiming the Good News while under house arrest. All this was the result of the presence and activity of God’s Spirit in His Church:

• “And he remained two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness of speech, without hindrance” - (Acts 28:30-31).

On Pentecost, the feast day was “filled to the full.”  This represents a compound Greek verb that signifies the filling of something to the point of overflowing (‘sumplηroō’ [συμπληροω] – Strong’s Concordance, #G4845). The fulfillment of what the Feast of Pentecost foreshadowed commenced with the bestowal of the Spirit on the Church – (Acts 2:1-4).

THE DAY OF THE LORD

Jewish pilgrims visiting Jerusalem were confounded by the sights and sounds that accompanied the Spirit. Peter explained that what had just occurred was in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. In the Greek clause at the start of Peter’s sermon, an emphatic pronoun is used, or “this.” The very thing witnessed by the pilgrims was the outpouring of the Spirit prophesied in the Book of Joel:

• “For these men are not drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is the third hour of the day. But this is that which has been spoken through the prophet Joel:  AND IT WILL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH. AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY. AND YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS. YES, AND ON MY SERVANTS AND ON MY HANDMAIDS IN THOSE DAYS I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT. AND THEY WILL PROPHESY. AND I WILL SHOW WONDERS IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE, AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BENEATH, BLOOD AND FIRE AND SMOKE. THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD COMES, THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY. AND IT WILL BE, THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” - (Acts 2:15-21. Compare Joel 2:28-32).

Peter deviates from the original Hebrew text by changing the original reference from “afterward” to “in the last days.”

Peter declared that Jesus was “pointed out of God by mighty works and wonders and signs.” The reference to wonders and signs is a verbal link to Joel’s prophecy. The signs and wonders expected in the last days began in the ministry of Christ, and following his enthronement, he “received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, that which you see and hear”; therefore, signs and miracles now follow his witnesses as they preach the Gospel to the nations under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit – (Acts 2:22-36).

As the Book of Acts demonstrates in subsequent chapters, miracles, including prophecy, continue as the Church proclaims the Gospel, confirming that the last days are now underway. Joel’s prophecy becomes programmatic for the rest of Acts as various believers perform “signs and wonders” and prophesy in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy– (See Acts 2:43, 4:30, 5:12, 6:8, 15:12, 19:6, 21:9). For example:

• “And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people” – (Acts 6:8).

• “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” – (Acts 19:6).

According to Joel, these things will occur after God pours out His Spirit “on all flesh” but before the Day of the Lord, a day the New Testament elsewhere links to the return of Jesus to gather his people – (Matthew 24:31, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

At the end of his sermon, Peter once more links the gift of the Spirit to Joel’s prophecy as he summons his audience to repent and believe the Gospel:

• “Peter said to them: Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise and to your children, and to all those WHO ARE FAR OFF, AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD WILL CALL” - (Acts 2:37-39. Compare Joel 2:32).

Salvation is offered to all men, and this invitation to receive life and the Spirit will continue until the Day of the Lord. The period known as “the last days” began with the outpouring of the gift of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and it will continue until the moment Jesus Christ returns and concludes the present age.

The proposition that the last days commenced with the exaltation of Jesus is found elsewhere in the New Testament. For example:

• “Now, these things happened to them by way of example. And they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come” – (1 Corinthians 10:11).

• “So, we also, when we were children, were enslaved under the elementary things of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” – (Galatians 4:3-5).

• “But now once for all, upon the conclusion of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” – (Hebrews 9:26).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (see the links here and here). Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Promise of the Father - (With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced)

• The Spirit is Life! - (The Spirit of God imparts life, especially the everlasting life of which the Gift of the Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee)

• The Circumcised Heart - (The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Church of Jesus Christ)

• La Pentecôte et les Derniers Jours - (L'effusion de l'Esprit le jour de la Pentecôte a marqué le début des Derniers Jours et le temps de l'accomplissement)