Peter Preaches On Prophecy

Topic: Prophecy
Passage: Acts 2:14–21

June 4, 2022

Commentary

This passage brings us face to face with The Day of the Lord. In both the Old and New Testaments there is much that is not fully understood unless we know the basic principles underlying this time period. The Jews divided time into two ages. There was The Present Age, which was utterly evil and doomed to destruction; and there was The Age to Come, which would be the golden age of God.  Between these two ages was to The Day of the Lord, the terrible birth pangs of the New Age. It would come suddenly like a thief in the night. On that day the world would be shaken to its very foundations. It would be a day of judgment and terror. There are descriptions of this day all through the prophetic books of the Old Testament and in much of the New Testament too. Typical passages are Isaiah 2:12; 13:6; Amos 5:18; Zephaniah 1:7; Joel 2; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; and 2 Peter 3:10.

Spectators who listened to the Apostles speaking in other languages thought they had an explanation for what they were hearing (v. 14). They said, “These men are drunk with new wine.”  That is wine that has just started the fermentation process and has double the amount of alcohol, as opposed to older wine. Peter told the crowd that the apostles couldn’t be drunk (v. 15). After all, it was only 9 AM.  He went on to prove that Jesus was indeed the Messiah by quoting the prophet Joel (v. 16). Quoting the Scriptures allow­ed the Holy Spirit to do the speaking (vv. 17-21). All at once, in one place, in evident power, proclaim­ing the mighty works of God in the languages of the Gentile world, the Spirit was indeed poured out on men. At the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), man was praising himself, and God changed their languages. On the day of Pentecost, man was praising God, and God miraculously helped the apostles to witness to people in their own native languages. 

Application

How important is fulfilled prophecy in my spiritual life? When I think about what God has foretold about the future, I should also think about all the prophesies He has already fulfilled in the past.

Acts 2:14– 21 (NET)

14 But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and listen carefully to what I say. 15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And in the last days it will be,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

19 And I will perform wonders in the sky above and miraculous signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

20 The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

21 And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’