Then, after doing all those things, I will pour my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
In those days I will pour my Spirit even on servants- men and women alike.
And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on earth- blood and fire and columns of smoke.
The sun will become dark and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives"
Joel 2:28-31
This prophecy by prophet Joel is in two folds.
the pouring of the Holy Spirit-
vs 28-29.
the geat day- vs 30-32
But it is rather unfortunate that when we read, we only focus and talk about the first part which promises the pouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh.
Whiles the second part reveals the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, we don't normally talk about that
The first part of Joel's prophecy has been fulfilled but the second part is yet to be. But the fact that it has not happened does not mean it will not happen.
God does not lie and his words are true. If the Holy Spirit has been pourd on believers then we should be rest assured that this great and terrible day the prophecy spoke about would also come to pass.
People are being deceived into thinking that the world would not end but if we believe that the Holy Spirit has come, then we should equally believe in the fulfilment of the great day.
We know and believe that the first part of this prophecy was fulfilled on the DAY OF PENTECOST
Acts 2:16-21
"No, what you see was predicted long ago by the Prophet Joel.
In the last days God says,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on earth below - blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
The sun will becom dark, the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives".
Majority of people thinks that the last days are yet to come, but they are wrong.
The last days actually started from the day that the Holy Spirit came on the apostles- DAY OF PENTECOST
From that very day, God started the count down to this great and terrible day. So you see that from the day of Pentecost till now, we are in the last days.
Jesus Christ also prophesied about the last days that will lead to the end of the world in Matthew 24.
In that prophecy, Jesus told his disciples of one particular sign that they should watch out for and fortunately for them it started in their era. Matthew 24:9
"Then you will be arrested, persecuted and killed".
Stephen was the first to be killed by been stoned to death, while Simon Peter's arrest was followed.
The church was persecuted to the extent that all the apostles were killed one after the other. This fulfilled what Jesus said in the verse above.
I am trying to draw your attention to the fact that the last days started long time ago, not now. In fact we have come to meet it. What we are waiting for right now is the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.
So if you are procrastinating your repentance, this great and terrible day will take you by surprise.
WHAT IS THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY?
This is the day that will mark the end of all things. It is the day that every activity under the heavens and on earth will come to a halt.
It is the day that the Son of God will appear in the sky.
Matt 24:30
"And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be mourning among all people of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory".
We have not seen Jesus before except those who lived 2018 years ago but on that day we will see him. This is why the day is classified as great.
This day would be terrible for those who are not born again with water and Spirit, but it will be glorious for those who are born again.
Take note of something here, we would know this day is due when the following happens- Joel 2:30-31 & Matt 24:29
Until these signs are seen as prophesied, Jesus is not coming and so there is a chance for you to repent and be saved.
Jesus clarified Joel's prophecy so that we can better understand what will really happen.
Joel said: the sun will become dark
Jesus said : it will be darkened
Joel said: the moon will turn blood red
Jesus said: it will give no light.
If we believe that God created heaven and earth and the things in it, if we also believe that God created the sun to shine and the moon to reflect the light from the sun, then we should equally believe it when He ssys the sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light.
Beloved these are the final signs to the coming of Jesus Christ and we must expect that it will happen just as it was prophesied.
If you have a holy life to lead, do it now, if you have to stop fornication, stop now, if you have to stop idolism, quit now, because the sun has not been darkened yet.
We still have the chance to turn to Christ and he has open his arm to receive us no matter how sinful we are. His word says,
My brother I encourage you to give your life to Jesus Christ at this moment, while the sun is shinning and the moon is giving light, because a day is coming that you will not have this opportunity.
On this great and terrible day, there would be no chance for you to say "I am sorry or God forgive me or I wont do that again". It will be too late by then.
THIS IS THE HOUR OF SALVATION, DON'T LET IT PASS BY YOU. REPENT AND GIVE YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST AND YOU WOULD BE SAVED.
God bless you for reading.
