Joel's Remarkable Prophecy of the Outpouring of the Spirit

And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, our young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28- 30)

Was the outpouring of the Spirit to last to the end of time?

What insight could we gain from the prophecy of Joel? Does Joel’s prophecy establish a beginning point for the outpouring? Does Joel’s prophecy suggest a time limit for the outpouring?

“And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; (Joel 2:28) ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind (Acts 2:17).

Time frame for the outpouring Messianic Age Outpouring ???? Beginning End

Joel prophesied that the outpouring of the Spirit would be coordinate with wonders God would display “before the great and notable day of the Lord”.

“And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls. (Joel 2:30-32)

What is this “day of the Lord”? Jesus’ prophecy in Lk. 21:21-28 borrows the terminology of Joel and speaks of a day of vengeance falling upon Jerusalem resulting in both the destruction of the unbelieving and the deliverance of the faithful. And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” (Acts 2:40) This “day of the Lord” would also include Israel’s enemies embodied in the Roman Empire (Cf. Joel 3 & Dan. 7).

Time frame for the outpouring Messianic Age Fall of Rome Outpouring Beginning End Dest. of Jerusalem “Day of the Lord”

What insight could we gain from the method of impartation? How was the outpouring imparted? Did these means of impartation imply a time limitation?

The outpouring of the Spirit came upon the early church through the laying on the apostles’ hands.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17)

Time frame for the outpouring Apostle’s Ministry Apostles’ Death Outpouring Beginning End

What insight could we gain from the duration statements of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians? Is there a prediction of a termination of spiritual gifts? If so, what is the termination point?

We see that the apostle Paul predicted the cessation of spiritual gifts when “the perfect” came (1 Cor. 13:10).

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

“The Perfect” is the completed revelation as preserved in the NT. “The perfect” in this context is the opposite of “the part”. The Greek word itself means what is “complete”. Paul contrasts the condition of partial knowledge with the condition of “full manhood” and “full knowledge” that comes through the completed revelation.

Time frame for the outpouring Partial Revelations Complete Canon Outpouring Beginning End

Does history confirm our projections?