Saturday 11 June 2011

Joel's Prophecy is Receivable by Believers

I don't think Joel's prophecy was necessarily about a future nationwide salvation in Israel before the coming of the Lord. Peter said Joel's prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

"All flesh" probably meant that the promise was to all, including sons, daughters, servants and the aged - rather than exclusively for prophets, priests and kings.

It also probably meant the promise was potentially available to all Jews – even though not all Jews would necessarily believe and receive it.

The promise may indeed have been for Jews first of all - but on the same day, Peter continued his sermon, saying, "...for the promise is for you and your children and for them that are afar of, even as many as the Lord our God shall call..." So the promise was to extend beyond the day of Pentecost. And it was also conditional upon being called – that is, upon believing in Jesus.

The Apostles seemed to deal differently with apparently unfulfilled prophecies than many of our end-times teachers do today. Modern end-times teachers seem to say, "Well it didn't come to pass, so it must be going to happen during the end-times." But the Apostles didn’t seem to be looking for a future fulfillment of God’s promises to the forefathers. Rather, they explained the manner in which the promises had in fact already been fulfilled through the Gospel. They explained that the promises had been received by the remnant of believing Jews. They also explained that Gentiles who believe had been grafted in. They never seemed to look for a future, repeat fulfillment in Israel.

Jesus didn’t seem to mention a nationwide salvation of Israel before the end, either. And the book of Revelation too seemed to paint a different picture for Israel’s future. The Apostles seemed to be expecting not a nationwide revival in Israel, but a great falling away, the love of many growing cold, and persecutions and hardships in Israel, immediately prior to the end. Not a nationwide fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy!

Joel’s prophecy didn’t state for how long God’s Spirit would continue to be poured out before the Day of the Lord – because the prophets didn’t know how much longer it would be before the Day of the Lord – and we don’t know either, neither did the angels know, and neither did the Son of Man know. Only the Father knows.

Therefore the baptism with the Holy Spirit had an end-times context just as much in the first century as it does at any other time during the Church age. The entire Church age is the “last days” really. Joel’s prophecy about the pouring out of God’s Spirit upon all flesh was therefore interpreted by the Apostles as fulfilled. They taught that the promise is receivable by believers – whether Jew or Gentile, and would continue to be received right up until the day of the Lord - and unbelievers will miss out - whether they are Jews or Gentiles. That’s how the Apostles understood prophecy.

The Apostles said nothing of a future, nationwide repeat fulfillment in Israel of Joel’s prophecy immediately before the Day of the Lord. It’s worthwhile taking note of the manner in which the Apostles said prophecy had been fulfilled (and the manner in which it continues to apply during the entire Church age), rather than asserting our own idea that prophecy is yet to be fulfilled during some special future dispensation. The Apostles’ interpretation of prophecy is good New Covenant doctrine which keeps Gospel-truth and natural Israel in proper perspective.

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