Acts 2:14-21

Spoken By Joel

Peter immediately set out to end the wild speculations as to the cause of the apostles being able to speak in languages they had never studied. First, he observed that it was just 9 a.m. Coffman wrote, "On a festival like Pentecost, no Jew ever ate or drank anything till after 9 A.M." Certainly, then, they could not be drunk. Second, he told the assembled crowd that the things they had seen and heard were the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32. The Jews understood Joel's prophecy, coupled with those of Isaiah (2:2-4) and Micah (4:1-5), regarding the last days to be a specific reference to the coming of the Messiah. John described the time of his writing as "the last hour," the writer of Hebrews knew he and his readers were in "these last days" and Peter said the redemptive blood of Jesus "was manifest in these last times for you" (1 John 2:18; Hebrews 1:2; 1 Peter 1:20).

Peter plainly says the pouring out of the Spirit upon the apostles was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Peter thereby notified his hearers that they were living in the last days. While not all of Joel's prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, such is not disturbing because the writing was concerning a period of days rather than a single day. Later, the Spirit would be poured out on the Gentiles, thereby including all flesh, and some daughters would prophesy (Acts 10:44-47; Acts 21:9). Additionally, it can even now truthfully be said that, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:14-21; Romans 10:9-17). Calling on the name of the Lord entails one asking the Lord by his authority to set one free from his sins, an act which can only be accomplished by yielding to his will as it was expressed in his commandments (Matthew 7:21; Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21).