“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.” Acts 2:17
When Scripture speaks of the last days, it certainly speaks of that period of time before the “coming of the Lord.” That which is very significant to the church is all that God declares concerning her, and what he desires to be IN and THROUGH her during this period. In some respects, we might look at the illustration of the much shorter period of the reign of Josiah in the Old Testament. In one sense, there was a period of “last days” before the judgment of God was to fall upon Israel, because of her sins. However, one event would change for a time the trajectory of that judgment. It was the finding of a copy of the Mosaic Law in the temple when it was being cleaned and restored. Upon hearing the words of the Law read to him, Josiah the King, “…rent his clothes.” (2 Chronicles 34:19) It is then that he commanded Hilkiah, the priest, to “…enquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel, and in Judah.” Josiah’s reason for asking this became apparent by his declaration: “…for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us.” (v.21) Josiah discovered that the wrath of God was upon Israel and Judah because of past sins unrepented of, and that there was no remedy in this case. Such will be the case in the last days, in what is called “the day of the Lord.” Before the Lord comes again Paul writes of a great apostasy, a forsaking of God, and all that is holy, an almost total repudiation and rejection of Christ. However, in the story of Josiah in this time, God found in him a man who would truly humble himself before Him, seeking His face, to turn from all sin, instructing the people to do also. God’s promise was not that sin’s judgment would not come, but that there would be a reprieve. The Lord’s promise to Josiah was that judgment would not come during his lifetime, as he would be gathered to his fathers in peace.
In the book of Joel, we find a similar circumstance. Judgment is pending upon Israel, and a declared invasion is promised by God because of their sin. God would send Joel to declare the matter to Israel, to awaken her to her plight, and the certainty of the coming night. The appeal of Joel, on the part of God was remarkable. “Turn you even unto Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Him of the evil.” (Joel 2:12,13) Though it would not be the same as in Josiah’s day when God would not forgive the sin of the people because of their unrepentant hearts, and the enormity of their continuous rebellion, it is important to note that in Joel’s day that God reveals His goodness and mercy of God to forgive at that time, there being still room for forgiveness, and deliverance from wrath.
It is important to note that in our day, in the last days in which we find ourselves, with the coming of Christ approaching, there is the certainty of wrath, and judgment for sin. However, there is “room” not only for the deferment of judgment for a time, but a “blessing from the Lord.” As in Josiah’s day the wrath of God would be “poured out,” so in the last days, God poured out of His Spirit at Pentecost upon all flesh. What does this mean but that God is waiting to show His mercy and goodness by the pouring out of His Spirit upon all.
Dear Father, Pour out Thy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.