#1547 Acts 2 Part 3 Peter's Sermon at Pentecost Part 1

 

14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,

‘That I will pour out 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;

18 Even on My male slaves and female slaves,

I will in those days pour out My Spirit

And they shall prophesy.

19 And I will put wonders in the sky above

And signs on the earth below,

Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned into darkness

And the moon into blood,

Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

21 And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Acts 2: 14-21

Acts 2: 14-21

Vs. 14-16 For it is the third hour of the day - The Jewish day started close to sunrise, around 6am, so this was about 9am on the dial, and a little early to be sloshed. Besides, I have never had any alcohol that enabled me to be more coherent, much less speak fluently in a tongue previously unknown to me. I have been trying to learn Spanish on Duo and it's hard, not something you can easily fake or drink your way to. We already saw that this was caused by the promised Holy Spirit, which is opposite of being drunk, because one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control, which is diametrically opposed to the reckless indiscretion, the stumbling block that is drunkeness. Peter is removing their arguments, saying, "look, you know it ain't that, you need to do better than this." 

…18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.… Ephesians 5: 18-20

V. 17 And it shall be in the last days - Peter is relating this pouring out of the Holy Spirit to a prophecy of Joel. He is also stating then that this is the beginning of the last days, which is a prophetic theme throughout the OT prophets. The Last Days start with Christ's first coming as the Lamb, and end with His return as the Lion. Don't confuse Last Days with the Tribulation because that is a 7 year period at the end of the Last Days. Christ second coming will mark the end of this history and begin the Millennial reign. 

28And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.… Joel 2: 28-29

And it shall be in the last days God says that I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind - Peter is telling the Jewish crowd that what they are observing is God's pouring forth of the Holy Spirit on all of mankind, which in context does not mean every person on the planet, but all of God's people, all who believe in His Son. In that sense, this prophecy would seem to represent a "partial fulfillment." Why do I say "partial?" First, not all mankind (which by the way opens the door of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles) was saved at this time. But this is a day coming when all will be saved at the inception of the Millennium. In other words all who enter into the Millennial Kingdom, both Jews and Gentiles, are those who have received the Holy Spirit because they are born again. Some would dispute this interpretation, but it seems the best way to understand the all inclusive statement of "on all mankind." As an aside, in the Old Testament on whom was the Spirit active? His ministry was selective and He predominantly came upon prophets, priests and kings. But Peter says that now a new age has arrived and hereafter the Spirit would be poured out on all mankind who believe and all those who enter the Millennial Kingdom. Unfortunately, children will be born during the Millennium who will not exercise personal faith in the Messiah and assemble with Satan for one last rebellion against the Messiah (Rev 20:7-10+). - Precept Austin

1This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: 2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.… Isaiah 2: 1-3

…13However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.” 15While he was speaking these words to me, I set my face toward the ground and became speechless.… Daniel 10: 13-15

…4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol. 5Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days. Hosea 3: 4-5

1In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.… Micah 4: 1-3

More on Joel 2

V. 17b-18 And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy - The inauguration of the Church was attested to with great signs, the likes of which we have not seen in days since. We are still in the age of Pentecost, the church age, the Spirit is ever being poured out upon those who believe, but the Scriptures have been completed, the Book sealed till the very end of this age. The history of the Church has followed and complimented well the OT age. Prophets came at various times to deliver God's message, there were periods of darkness, like the time of the Judges, the intertestamental period, and so dark ages in the Church as well. God, through all this, and by the time of the tapering down of miracles, finished the NT teachings, the gospels and epistles. You ask, why do we not see real prophets that predict future events today? Well, we have the Word of God which is all sufficient, and it tells us all we ever need to know about what's coming. We still have those who profess, who evangelize, who hold up high that very Word which God holds up with His name. We see the Spirit of God poured out upon both genders, upon young and old alike, and the Church exploded. 

…27In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.) 29So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.… Acts 11: 27-29

8Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. 10After we had been there several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.… Acts 21: 8-10

G Campbell Morgan wrote " In Joel's prophecy then we have a description of the whole dispensation of the Spirit; its commencement­ " I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh;" its char­acteristics" - Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit"; its consummation-before the great day of the Lord come-" I will shew wonders in the heavens...The day of Pentecost dispensationally, is that whole period following, during which the true characteristics are those of prophecy, and of dreams and visions. The Day of Pentecost finally, is that period when, before the final acts begin, supernatural signs will indicate the end of the period, and the approach of God's new and last method with the world. Where then are we placed now? The dawn has passed away. The day is proceeding. The darkness has not yet come. Dawn: " I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all flesh." Day: " Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams, yea, and on My serv­ants and on My handmaidens in those days will I pour forth of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy." Darkness: "The great and notable day...the sun turned into darkness, and the moon into blood." That has not yet come. This prophetic teaching should make us cease speaking of the day of Pentecost as though it were passed. This is the day of Pentecost. The dawn has passed, but who regrets the dawn when the sun has climbed to, the heavens? Sometimes we think that it is westering; that the shadows are already about us. It would seem that we are approaching the end of this dispensation of grace; but there is no sorrow in our heart, there is no regret. We do not believe that this dispensation is the last ac­ tivity of God for the world. Our hope is also in the movements that lie beyond it; in the fact that He will gather Judah to Jerusalem, and Israel to Himself (ED: "ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED" Ro 11:26+), and in other ways proceed to the accomplishment of His purpose. The whole subject is not for consideration now, but what it is important to remember is that this very age in which we live and serve, is part of God's plan, but not the whole of it. It is an integral part of the whole. God has never been trying experiments with humanity. He has been moving surely, certainly on, and this age in which we live and serve is part of a larger whole. We need not sigh for the dawn; we thank God for it, and the story of its breaking always fascinates us. We need not waste time looking for the ending of the age; for ere it come there will be supernatural signs that herald its approach. (Acts Commentary 2:14-21) - Precept Austin

From Spurgeon

MANY visions have led to the most disastrous results. When Napoleon had a vision of a universal monarchy over which he should preside, with the French eagle for his ensign, he drenched the lands in blood. Many visions have been wretchedly delusive. Men have dreamed of finding the fairy pleasure in the dark forest of sin; carnal joys have danced before their eyes as temptingly as the mirage in the desert, and they have pursued the phantom forms to their misery in this world, and to their eternal ruin in the next. Mistaking license for liberty, and madness for mirth, they have dreamed themselves into hell! Many dreams have sucked the life-blood out of men as vampires do; men have passed from stern reality into dreamland, and while seemingly awake have continued like sleepwalkers to do all things in their sleep. Many pass all their days in one perpetual daydream—speculating, building castles in the air, thinking of what they would do, and vowing how they would behave themselves. With fine capacities they have driveled away existence, as their theory of life was born of smoke, so the result of their lives has been a cloud. The luxurious indolence of mere resolve, the useless tossing of regrets—these have been all their sluggard life. For all this, good and grand visions are not unknown; visions which came from the excellent glory; visions which, when young or old men have seen them, have filled them with wisdom, divine grace, and holiness; visions which have worked with such effect upon their minds that they have been lifted up above the level of the sons of men, and made sons of God, co-workers with the eternal! Such visions are given to men whose eyes have been illumined by the Holy Spirit—visions which have come of that eyesalve which only the Holy Spirit can apply; visions which are not bestowed on carnal men nor unveiled to the impure in heart; visions reserved for the men and women elect of God who are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and made meet to be partakers of the witness of God, and the testimony of His Son.....How much of good in this world would have been lost if good men had quenched the first halffashioned thoughts which have flitted before them! I mean, for instance, had Martin Luther taken the advice of his teacher when he said to him, “Go your way, silly monk! Go to your cell and pray God, and if it is His will, He will reform the abuses of this church, but what have you to do with it?” Supposing the agitated monk had administered an opiate to his soul, what then? Doubtless the gospel to Luther at the first was dim enough; and the idea of reform most vague and indistinct; but had he closed his heart to his vision, how long might not the Romish darkness have brooded over the multitudes of Europe?....

O young men, if you have received a thought which dashes ahead of your times, hold to it, and work at it till it comes to something! If you have dreamed a dream from the Lord, turn it over and over again till you are quite sure it is not steam from a heated brain, or smoke from hell—and when it is clear to your own heart that it is fire from off God’s altar, then work and pray and wait your time. Perhaps it may take 50 years to work that thought out, or what is worse, you may never live to see it realized, but what of that? You may have to leave that thought sown in the dust, but the thought will not die; it may produce a harvest when you are with the angels! Do not, I pray you, because the thing happens to seem new, or too enthusiastic, or too far ahead, be snubbed into putting it into a corner, but take care of it, and nurture it; and if it is not of God, a little experience will disabuse you of it, let us hope. But if it is of the Lord, you will grow in your attachment to it, and by-and-by God will find an opportunity for you to make it practical. The great Father of Spirits does, in fact, say to you when He puts a great design into your keeping, as Pharaoh’s daughter said to Jochebed, “Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” And though the Moses that you nurse may not deliver Israel in your lifetime, yet shall you have your wages if you nurse the thought for God!....

With this rather too long preface about dreaming, I will now confess that, after my own fashion, I too have seen a vision. And though you should say of me in days to come, “Behold, this dreamer comes,” yet, as he that has a dream is bid to tell his dream, so I tell mine. My dream is this—I have seen in vision, missionary spirit in England, now so given to slumber, marvelously quickened, awakened, and revived! I have seen—the wish was father to the sight, I have seen the ardor of our first missionary days return to us! I have seen young men eager for the mission field, and old men and fathers sitting in united council to correct mistakes, to devise new methods, or to strengthen the old ones, so that by any means the great chariot of Christ might roll onwards, and that His victories might be more rapid. (For full text see A Young Man's Vision) - C. H. Spurgeon quoted by PA

Vs. 19-20 And I will put wonders in the sky above - These next signs have not yet occurred, and so I believe them to be reserved for the end of the age, the sun came up and the sun will set.

V. 21 And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved - Who is saved? Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord. Who will truly call? Those the Father draws to the Son.

MacArthur - The complete fulfillment of Joel's prophecy awaits the coming of the millennial kingdom. On the Day of Pentecost, and indeed throughout the church age, God has given both a preview and a sample of the power the Spirit will release in the kingdom. Believers in the present age have a foretaste of kingdom life. In the millennial kingdom, God will pour forth of [His] Spirit upon all mankind, since all who enter the kingdom will be redeemed. (See Mt. 24:29-25:46 for the evidence that only redeemed people will enter the Millennium.) During the church age, God pours His Spirit into believers (cf. Ro 5:5+ Titus 3:5-6+ = " the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"). In the kingdom there will be perfect peace (Isa. 9:7); peace rules now in the hearts of believers. In the kingdom, Christ will reign (Luke 1:33); He reigns now in the hearts of His people. In the kingdom, Christ will judge all men (Acts 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1); now He judges His people through the Spirit's convicting ministry in their lives. What will ultimately come to full fruition in the kingdom began to be seen at Pentecost. (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts) - PA

…4Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5For You, O Lord, are kind and forgiving, rich in loving devotion to all who call on You. 6Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy.… Psalm 86: 4-6

1Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.… 1 Corinthians 1: 1-3

H A Ironside - And so the Spirit of God has come, the Comforter is here and the saints of God have received the Spirit and have thus been baptized into one Body and in the power of the Spirit are called upon to go forth and proclaim the gospel message to the ends of the earth. Have you called on the name of the Lord? Have you trusted Christ as your own Saviour? (Acts 2 Commentary)

Spurgeon - “Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.” In the worst times that can ever happen, there is still salvation for people. When day turns to night and life becomes death, when the staff of life is broken and the hope of all has fled, there still remains in God, in the person of his dear Son, deliverance to all those who will call on the name of the Lord. We must call on the true God, not on an idol or an image or an impression of our minds. We must call on the living God—call on him who reveals himself in the Bible—call on him who reveals himself in the person of his dear Son. For whosoever will call on this God will be saved. This way of salvation—calling on the name of the Lord—glorifies God. He asks nothing of us but that we ask everything of him. We are the beggars and he is the benefactor. We are in trouble and he is our deliverer. All we have to do is trust him and beg of him. This is easy enough. This puts the matter into the hands of the Lord and takes it out of our hands. - Precept Austin