It shall come to pass afterward - or before?

[lekh l'kha]

Joel 2:28-32

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and 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. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

"Afterward" - Hebrew "achar"

H310

אחר

'achar

akh-ar'

From H309; properly the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjugation, after (in various senses): - after (that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side), behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from, hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute, posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence [-forth], when, with.

The Hebrew word shaba is the root-word for shabat (sabbath) and also seven, seventh, seven-fold etc, and shaba means to be complete:

H7650

שׁבע

shâba‛

shaw-bah'

A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from H7651; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times): - adjure, charge (by an oath, with an oath), feed to the full [by mistake for H7646], take an oath, X straitly, (cause to, make to) swear.

The seventh (sabbath) day completes the cycle, and the 8th day is the beginning of a new cycle.

The seventh year completes the cycle, and the 8th year is the beginning of a new cycle.

Seven x seven sabbath years (49 years) completes the cycle, and the 50th year (the year of Jubilee) marks the beginning of a new cycle.

Seven x seven days following the first sabbath after Passover completes the cycle, and the 50th day (the Day of Pentecost) marks the beginning of a new cycle.

So was the day of Pentecost "the last days", or the beginning of a new cycle?

Joel 2:28-32

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and 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. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Acts 2:15-21

For these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: "And it shall be in the last (Greek: eschatos) days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious Day of the Lord. And it shall be that everyone who shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

G2078

ἔσχατος

eschatos

es'-khat-os

A superlative probably from G2192 (in the sense of contiguity); farthest, final (of place or time): - ends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.

Eschatos: from whence we get the word "eschatology".

In Acts, Peter is quoting Joel, but Joel does not say God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days, Joel says it will follow (Hebrew: achar) the last days that God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

Acts was written by Luke. Luke uses the Greek work eschatos to translate the Hebrew word achar. Achar means following after. Does eschatos mean the same thing? The early church believed they were living in the last days (Heb.1:2 - the same word "eschatos" is used):

"... has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, " (Heb 1:2)

Pentecost follows the completion of a cycle (seven x seven days following the first sabbath after Passover) and marks the beginning of a new cycle.

Is the Spirit of God to be poured out on all flesh in the last days, or in the days following the last days?

[freedfromsin]

You have to go to Joel and read the intire message. This happens after the tribulation which is part of the last days.

[HitmanR2]

You have to go to Joel and read the intire message. This happens after the tribulation which is part of the last days.

I tend to disagree, [i think] this prophecy is past.

For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

[lekh l'kha]

You have to go to Joel and read the intire message. This happens after the tribulation which is part of the last days.

I tend to disagree, [i think] this prophecy is past.

For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

[HitmanR2]

Ok...

I don't know. Given Peter's direct comment, and sequential quote of the passage=prophecy fulfilled.

I go with the simplest answer, Peter said it was what Joel was speaking of, and I'll go with that.

Given that, I would say the afterward spoken of; was after they were empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Edited August 9, 2010 by HitmanR2