Joel 2

An Outpouring

These are the days of the end-times, so often prophesied in God’s Word. One of the things spoken for this time was in Joel2:28-29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” I just spotted these words again today and, as so often happens as we read passages over and over again in our Bibles, the Lord spoke something fresh to me.

He had me spend a few moments on each phrase individually, then all of it collectively.

And afterward, after what? By reading the previous verses it would appear that after God has restored Israel, then these things will happen. Well, Israel was restored in 1948 and since then the land has been turned from a barren wasteland and desert, into a fertile place producing all the things prophesied. Joel 2:21-27 prophesies of the abundance of God’s provision and restoration of Israel. The land, since 1948 has fulfilled that prophecy in astonishing abundance.

Next He says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. The word that catches my eye here is “all”. Everyone knows what happens when He pours out His Spirit on a meeting or on a revival – but that is normally on those Christians willing to receive it. ‘On all people’ clearly implies exactly what it says, that anyone and everyone will be able to receive the coming outpouring. What does that do to your preconceived ideas of church? People who are not Christians receiving an outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit? Yet I seem to recall instances of unsaved men and women suddenly coming under the power of God, repenting, receiving salvation, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and speaking out in tongues – all in the space of two or three minutes.

Now we come to the ‘interesting’ bits, starting with “Your sons and daughters will prophesy”. Oh what a blessing for any parent, to have your sons and daughters prophesying. How many times have we heard the expression, “Out of the mouths of babes and children.”? I have said this many times before, young people do not receive a junior or watered down version of the Holy Spirit. When He anoints a child it is with the same power and authority as He gives to adults. Anyone from 2 to 102 who can speak, can be baptised in the Holy Spirit and can prophesy, heal, cast out and do all the other things as the rest of us.

Think you are too old for God, “your old men will dream dreams”, should resolve that one. There is no retirement in God’s Kingdom work. A little slowing down perhaps , as muscles tell the body that you are not a 21 year old any longer, but we will continue to dream and pass those God-given dreams on to the next generation.

At the other end of the scale, “your young men will see visions”. As I just said, there is no junior or lesser Holy Spirit – He is the same for all of us. Dreams and visions are, or can be, an integral part of prophecy. So young men seeing visions, like Daniel, is quite encouraging. They may also, like Daniel, bring the interpretation too.

Finally, “Even on my servants, both men and women”, In this final statement we see both men and women released into God’s work. He refers to them as servants. Is this, I wonder, the same reference to servants that He makes in Amos 3:7 “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”? What an interesting thought.

So, “I will pour out my Spirit in those days”. God is no respecter of position nor is He a disrespecter of any person, man or woman, child or adult. His Spirit is for “ALL flesh”. That means you and that means me. It means Christian, and it means non-Christian. It means every single person on planet earth. All we have to do is accept it or reject it.

There is enough meat here for a feast – for a book at least – but I must limit myself to this blog entry. I hope and pray this has blessed you reading it for it has surely blessed me writing it.