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News From Israel MagazineJoel 2:32
“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” (Joel 2:32).
According to the introductory passage, salvation is related to a geographical area: Mount Zion and Jerusalem. Those who believe God has no geographical or physical preference on the earth find this verse makes them uncomfortable. Furthermore, it is difficult to spiritualize these two places because the people are also identified. In verse 27, we read: “I am in the midst of Israel… and my people shall never be ashamed.” This leads us to conclude that Jesus’ statement about salvation being of the Jews must be taken literally.
Now the question: When will that prophecy be fulfilled? Here is how it begins: “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” (Joel 2:28-29). In most translations and in the Jewish Tanakh, Chapter 3 begins with verse 28 and ends with verse 32. Although chapters and verses were not indicated in the original writings, it is nevertheless significant that these five verses are separated as an individual chapter.
Scholars have differing opinions regarding the time frame indicated by the phrase, “it shall come to pass afterwards.” After what? For additional information we must quote Zechariah 12:9-10: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
This obviously relates to Israel’s salvation, which will be the result of the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem at the point when the nations of the world “come against Jerusalem.” We would be doing a disservice to imagine this will happen in the distant future or, as some scholars believe, it will be a part of the Battle of Armageddon. That would be rather shortsighted, because the nations of the world are coming against Jerusalem right now. We must never lose sight of the fact that Satan is the god of this world, which is why all nations oppose Israel’s justified, not to mention biblical, claim of sovereignty over Jerusalem. Too often we make the mistake of blaming the Arabs, Muslims in particular, but that is obviously not the case because not one nation agrees with God’s prophecy designating the land from the Euphrates River to the river of Egypt as the inheritance for the Jewish people.
Continuing in Zechariah 12, notice individual repentance: “And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart” (verses 12-14). The Lord does not save collectively, but individually: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
The succession recorded in the book of Joel is somewhat different because verse 25 contains God’s declaration that Israel “shall never be ashamed.” Zechariah writes that the spirit of grace causes Israel to recognize the Messiah, which will result in a terrible mourning. In Joel’s declaration, the manifestation of God’s spirit — “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh” — upon the handmaids and servants reveals the result.
We must remember that this prophecy comes from heaven and is directed towards people, particularly the Jews. When we read that He will pour out His spirit upon all flesh, “all flesh” refers to Israel’s sons and daughters, servants and handmaids. Nevertheless, it’s not limited to Israel, because the introductory Scripture states: “and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”
We should be familiar with the first phase of the fulfillment recorded in Acts 2.
Peter testified to those who witnessed the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the 120 disciples in Jerusalem, and wrote, “this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). Then he quoted the prophet: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith 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 on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18).
This will take place in the last days. Thus, the phrase, “it shall come to pass afterwards” is within the timeframe of the last days. Hebrews 1:2 reveals the beginning of the “last days”: “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” The “last days” began with the speaking of the Son, who was made flesh. The beginning of the Church at Pentecost occurred in the timeframe of the “last days.” Those who received the Spirit of God prophesied and had visions and dreams. If we carefully check Scripture, we will notice that dreams, visions and prophecies had indeed established the documentation of the New Testament. The Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20). The Lord gave His message in a vision to Ananias (Acts 9:20). Timothy received gifts by prophecy (1 Timothy 4:14).
However, if we consider Pentecost to be the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy at the time of Pentecost, then we must
leave out the following: “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:19-21). This part of that prophecy obviously has not yet
been fulfilled.
The Apostle Peter quoted Scripture to signify that God’s plan of salvation is not limited to the Jewish church, but to the Jews collectively at that time: “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Joel adds: “for in mount Zion and Jerusalem shall be deliverance.”
We from among the Gentiles do not have to go to Jerusalem and Mount Zion to be delivered, but salvation came to us from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the world. The fact that this is addressed to the Jews in the land of Israel is evident. Those who were baptized with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost can be classified as “your sons,” “your daughters,” “your young men,” and “your old men.” Those are the people from whom we have the Scripture. They received and passed on the Word of God through various ways, as documented in Hebrews 1:1: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.” There is no additional
requirement for direct prophecy, visions and dreams now that we have the full counsel of God.
What a marvelous book we have at out disposal! That book testifies that Jesus is the only way to salvation, He is coming again, and His words, “salvation is of the Jews,” are still being fulfilled until this very day.
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