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.
[29] Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
[30] “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. [32] 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.
(Joel 2:28-32 ESV)
Anyways, God has warned his people that bad times are ahead and that repentance is a good thing. God then took pity on his people because he is jealous for them.
Now we read how God is planning to pour out his spirit on his people. On their sons and daughters, on the old men and young men. Even the servants will have God's spirit poured out on them.
Won't that be cool?
You see prophesies have immediate and long-term fulfillments. This prophecy was fulfilled in Joel's day, but it continues to be fulfilled. And will one day be wholly fulfilled.
Joel sees God pouring out this spirit on the people. Sons and daughters prophesying, Old men dreaming dreams, young men seeing visions. This happens. In fact I'm told that is often how people in the Muslim area of the world come to know who God truly is. They get visions and dreams they can't shake off and so are lead to search for truth.
(ti's snowing!)
This next part seems very much in the future but perhaps it happened in Joel's day. " “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes."
If I saw this I would be startled rather badly. This is is more than an eclipse or natural phenomena right?
Blood, fire, columns of smoke, a dark sun and a blood red moon? The day of the Lord will be a fearsome thing no?
I read these next words and Sunday's sermon is brought to mind. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. On Sunday we recalled the story of the snakes biting the people in the desert and how God told them to look to a bronze snake to be healed. Only those who did so were saved. So it is for our salvation. ONLY those who look to the Lord God will be saved. JUST THEM.
Those who look to the Lord God will be saved, just as there is a remnant in Mount Zion and Jerusalem. The Lord calls out his people and saves them.
Has God called out you? Do you know that you are truly saved if you call upon his name?
Ack! That unsettling dream still haunts me... I need to get up and do something. That's how God has programmed me for getting rid of stuff. if I get up and do something my mind clears more readily. I fear I have not done this passage justice today. :(