Missions In The Book Of Joel

The prophet Joel proclaims not only the pending judgment over Israel (Joel 1-2) but also the future judgment on the heathen who oppose His people. In both cases, the prophet also speaks of God’s grace and salvation and of returning to the Lord. The two sections have the proclamation of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Joel 3 in common. This outpouring of the Spirit is as significant for the salvation of the Jews as for that of all nations (“all flesh,” Joel 2:28). For Peter, this text was fulfilled on Pentecost (“but this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel”; Acts 2:16). For this reason, he quotes the whole chapter1 (Acts 2,17-21), beginning with the outpouring of the Spirit with miraculous signs upon “all flesh” Joel 2:28)—that is, upon Jews and Gentiles, men and women, etc. (Joel 2:28), continuing with terrible judgments Joel 2:30-31) and ending with the statement that from this time on, all can be saved by calling on the Lord, and that salvation will come out of Zion Joel 2:32).

When Paul wanted to prove in Romans 10:11-12 that all people, not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles, can be saved through faith on Jesus Christ, he quotes not only Isaiah 28:16 (“he that believeth shall not make haste”), but also the same promise from Joel cited by Peter (Joel 2:32, “whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be delivered”). In 1 Corinthians 1:2, the description, “all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ” is used to define the universal church. Paul assumes in both cases that his audience knows that Joel 2 refers to “all flesh.”

Paul adopts in his phrasing from Joel, not only the meaning of “calling on the name of the Lord” for the New Testament church but also the significance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; for God has “saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost... shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our saviour” (Tit.3:5-6).

In short, the apostles understood Joel to proclaim world missions, which depend on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as well as on God’s grace, which saves all without exception, who accept and call upon Him as Lord.

Note that the sermon on Pentecost uses not only this passage out of Joel, but the whole book. Joel prophecies the destruction of Jerusalem (Joel 1-2), which can only be prevented by a thorough conversion of the people and the priests (Joel 2:12-17), for God is “gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:13)- Peter’s Pentecostal sermon is held in the face of judgment pending over Jerusalem, which took place in 70 B.C. Peter exhorts his audience, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:40), that is, the generation living in the forty years between Christ’s crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem: the last generation which had the opportunity to repent before the great catastrophe, which Jesus had also predicted (“All these things shall come upon this generation,” Mt. 23-36. See also “generation” in Mt. 24:34 and 17:17).

1. Dispensationalists see Pentecost only as a “pre-fulfillment” of Joel 2 and do not expect the complete fulfillment until the Millenium. This interpretation is primarily directed against the Charismatics, who expect the fulfillment of the latter rain of Joel 2 in the form of a universal outburst of charismatic activity in the last days. In my opinion, neither interpretation adequately explains the fact that Peter is preaching an immediate fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in the Pentecostal occurrence. He includes the miraculous signs of Joel 2:28-32 in his description of Pentecost—signs which, in the Old Testament, always indicated overwhelming spiritual, mental and political upheavals, such as in my opinion, sufficiently accompanied the end of the Old Covenant. No stars must literally fall from Heaven, which would destroy the earth in any ease, so that there could be no more history on this earth.