THE LAST DAYS HAVE COME

Acts 2:17-21 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: and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor 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.

Peter defended the accusation that the apostles were full of new wine (Vs. 13) by telling the multitude of Jews that they were not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (Vss. 14-15). With this said, it must have been easily understood as a custom practiced by all devout, orthodox Jews. We also understand the third hour to be nine o'clock in the morning as we know it to be measured today. Jewish historians tell us that on feast days, as well as on all Sabbath Days, the Jews would abstain from eating and drinking until after they had offered required sacrifices. This would be followed by their morning meal at approximately the fourth hour of the day. This being so, the apostles' defense that they were not drunken can be easily understood since it was but the third hour of the day.

Having been given the miraculous power to speak in tongues, which they had not learned, no doubt Peter and the other eleven apostles, and probably other disciples, spoke in languages enabling all nationalities, that had assembled in this multitude, to hear and understand this defense against this accusation of drunkenness as well as the sermon message of eternal salvation in Christ Jesus that was to follow. Quoting the true meaning, if not the exact wording, of Joel 2:28-32, the sermon continues: But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.

"The last days" were known by the Jewish nation to be that in which the Messiah, the Son of God would come to earth and establish His kingdom (See Isaiah 2:2-4). At last, and as promised by prophecy, the last days had come. The sermon, delivered in languages understood by all nations on this Day of Pentecost, was now about to take place in these last days. The Holy Spirit of God had descended on the apostles, and other disciples of Christ (Acts 2:4), granting them abundant spiritual gifts and filling their hearts and minds with the message of salvation that was to be delivered in this day.

This inspired message from God continued saying, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Here, prophecy is not used in the sense of predicting future events. Rather it means to miraculously teach, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, and in all known languages of the earth, the complete will of God regarding the hope of salvation He has made available through His Son, Christ Jesus. Not only were these apostles and disciples of Christ spiritually endowed by the Holy Spirit noted in Acts 2:1-4, but the Holy Spirit would continue guiding them, both men and women, with miraculous visions and dreams, enabling them to teach God's message of salvation until it was spread throughout the world (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16).

On His chosen servants and handmaidens God said that I will pour out, in those (last) days, of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy (teach): and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. The miracleous powers to perform wonders and signs, on earth and in the skys above the earth, were given to these messengers of God in order to confirm that which they taught as coming directly from God through His Holy Spirit. We know this to have taken place just as it was foretold, and it was revealed on this final Day of Pentecost - the last days had finally come. And the Holy Spirit continued to miraculously guide these first century teachers until God's plan salvation was completely revealed to the world, at which time these miraculous powers ceased, having fulfilled the purpose for which they were given. Paul assured this in his letter to the church of Christ in Corinth (See 1 Cor. 1:8-10). Thanks be to God, these last days have come!