Bible Studies
It Shall Be In the Last Days (Acts 2:17)
Series: Additional StudiesIntroduction:
1. We hear many religionists today speak of the “last days.” They use this phrase to make people aware of the urgency of recognizing that the second coming may be soon. 2. It is good that we recognize such an urgency that we might be prepared for His coming. 3. Indeed Jesus himself warned, “Be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Matt. 24:42-44). 4. Urgency in preparation is critical, but the concept of the “last days” in Scripture is different than what some people are thinking and it may actually enhance our sense of urgency more than thinking in terms of last minute preparations.Discussion:
I. “Last days” predictions find their origin in the O.T. The first time the wording “last days” appears in the N.T. is in Acts 2:17.A. Here Peter understands that the different languages being spoken signal the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy in Joel 2:28-32.
1. It was not unusual for God’s Spirit to communicate with prophets and sometimes priests and kings, particularly in the nation of Israel, but now His Spirit would be poured forth on all mankind (note Acts 2:17-18).
2. Acts 2 marks the beginning of radical changes among the people of God.
3. And in this text God is going to be communicating by His Spirit, through sons and daughters, young men, old men, men and women are going to prophesy.
4. He will pour forth His Spirit on “all mankind.” The implication is that there is going to be a flush of communication coming from God. And it is beginning right now as evidenced by the various languages being spoken.
B. Interestingly, at the beginning of the Joel 2:28 (cf. Acts 2:17) quotation Peter modifies the phrase from Joel.
1. Joel 2:28 in the English says, “It will come about after this.”
2. In Acts 2:17 Peter says, “It shall be in the last days” (en tais eschatais hemerais).
3. The phrase as Peter uses it comes from Isa. 2:2-3, the only place in the LXX where this exact phrase occurs.
4. This Isaiah passage also addresses the fact that there is going to be a flush of communication coming from God. Note Isa. 2:3.
C. Peter’s “this is that (what, NASB)” statement associates what was then occurring with the speaking in various languages as the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel 2 and Isa. 2.
1. The flush of communication from God is beginning.
2. God is pouring forth His Spirit.
3. And if God is communicating we will do well to listen.
II. For Peter, the resurrection marked the beginning of Jesus’s messianic reign and the coming of the Spirit signaled the inauguration of his rule (Acts 2:22-36).A. Immediately following Peter’s explanation of the speaking in different languages he launches into a discussion about Jesus the Nazarene (22-23).
B. And particularly about his resurrection (24-32).
1. Note as he quotes David that he connects the resurrection with God’s promise to seat one of David’s descendants upon his throne (v. 30).
2. Now note the connection he makes between Jesus being exalted to the right hand of God and His pouring forth of the Spirit (v. 33). The pouring forth of the Spirit means that Jesus is now executing His powers of kingship. He has dispatched His Spirit to carry His communication into the world.
C. He concludes: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” So He sits at the right hand of God until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.
D. Note the prophecy of Isa. 2:3 regarding the law going forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jersualem.
III. “The restoration of the kingdom to Israel” involved the receiving of the power of the Holy Spirit followed by the disciples being His witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:6-8).A. Of course the events of Pentecost, as we have seen, begin this.
B. At transitional points in Acts when the gospel is being extended to new regions or new ethnic entities the pouring forth of the Spirit is repeatedly mentioned. It is almost as if these are “little Pentecosts.”
1. It was first in Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), but then they were scattered (Acts 8:1).
2. Philip then goes to Samaria (Acts 8:4ff).
a. Observe that he is performing miracles and “preaching the good news about the kingdom of God” (v. 12). Philip is a spokesman in the flood of information coming from God. The Spirit is operating through him.
b. Peter and John pray for the Samaritans that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
c. Samaritans who hear the word of God, believe and are baptized are now included within the restored kingdom.
3. An angel of the Lord directs Philip to the Ethopian eunuch. Eunuchs were excluded from the temple, but he had been to Jerusalem to worship. The Spirit includes him into the new kingdom when he sends Philip to explain the Scriptures to him (Acts 8:29).
4. At the house of a Gentile, Cornelius, Peter preaches the gospel and the Holy Spirit falls on them (Acts 10:44) marking them as candidates for inclusion in the kingdom of God.
5. Others scattered to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch preaching only to Jews. Then some from Cyprus and Cyrene began speaking to Greeks preaching the Lord Jesus. They too were included in the kingdom of God (Acts 11:19ff).
C. From Antioch the message of the kingdom began to explode into the remotest parts of the earth (Acts 13:2). Paul and Barnabas were led by the Holy Spirit to Salamis, Paphos, Perga, Pisiadian Antioch.
1. In Pisidian Antioch their initial contact was positive, but the Jews stirred up the crowds contradicting and blaspheming.
2. Paul and Barnabas then turned to the Gentiles. They quoted Isa. 42:6; 49:6 as their justification. The great God of heaven would operate through His Servant Jesus to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
3. The Spirit of God stood with them performing signs and wonders and confirming the inclusive nature of their message from God (Heb. 2:3-4). Cf. Acts 14:27; 15:12.
4. They took the message of the gospel to Derbe and Lystra, Iconium, and into Galatia, and to Macedonian in cities like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, they went to Athens, and Corinth.
5. What were they preaching? They preached the Messianic kingship of Jesus proven by His resurrection from the dead. They preached forgiveness and thus entrance into His kingdom by faith and baptism. They preached resurrection from the dead by the power of the Spirit (Col. 2:12; Titus 3:5) They preached the fulfillment of Joel 2 and Isaiah 2.
Conclusion:
1. We do not have to only look forward to the coming of the kingdom. It is here now in the reign of Jesus Christ. 2. The kingdom has come. These are the last days. They began on Pentecost. 3. The kingdom will not be beginning when Christ returns. It will be continuing reaching its culmination in the final resurrection and eternal life with the Lord. 4. It is urgent that we both respond and communicate the message. It has already been some time since the initial preaching. Although we do not know when the final hour will be and we know the Lord is patient not willing that any should perish, nevertheless “salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:11-14) and be ready when the Lord returns to deliver the kingdom to the Father.
