In Joel 2:28, God promised that He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Kuna watu wengi, who believe through the doctrines of people that the promise in Joel about the outpouring of God’s Spirit has yet to take place and shall come to pass in the last days and they wait for this mighty last days outpouring of God’s Spirit. Lakini hii ni ya Kibiblia? Will there be another outpouring of God’s Spirit on earth? Or are the words from the prophet Joel already fulfilled and did Joel write about the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost?
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh”
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; na wana wenu na binti zenu watatabiri, wazee wenu wataota ndoto, vijana wenu wataona maono: Tena juu ya watumishi na wajakazi siku zile nitamimina roho yangu. Nami nitaonyesha maajabu mbinguni na duniani, damu, na moto, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, na mwezi kuwa damu, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. Na itakuwa, ili kila atakayeliitia jina la Bwana ataokolewa: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call (Yoeli 2:28-32)
Yet now hear, O Jacob My servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Usiogope, O Jacob, My servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring (Isaya 44:1-3)
The prophet Joel was not the only one, who prophesied about the outpouring of God’s Spirit. Many others, among which were the prophet Isaiah, the prophet Ezekiel and of course Jesus Christ, prophesied about the outpouring of God’s Spirit aka the coming of the Holy Spirit (Oh. Ezekieli 11:19-20; 36:26-27; 37:1-14, Yohana 14:16-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-16; Matendo 1:8).
But although God promised that He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, the outpouring of God’s Spirit didn’t happen immediately.
It’s unknown when the Book of the prophet of Joel has been written. The different dates of scholars vary from 835-200 BC*. Kwa hiyo, we can’t determine exactly how many years it was before God’s promise was fulfilled. But we can determine that it took several hundred years, before God’s promise about the outpouring of His Spirit was fulfilled, just like God’s promise about the coming of the Messiah (Soma pia: ‘Kusubiri kwa ajili ya ahadi ya Masihi‘)
And so God’s people lived in the expectation of God’s promise about the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon all flesh. The people didn’t know when this would take place, but that it would take place was a truth and a certainty.
The outpouring of God’s Spirit on the Day of Pentecost
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, wote walikuwa kwa nia moja mahali pamoja. Ghafla, sauti ikasikika kutoka mbinguni kama upepo wa nguvu ukienda kasi, nayo ikajaza nyumba yote waliyokuwa wameketi. Zikawatokea ndimi zilizogawanyika, kama ndimi za moto, ikaketi juu ya kila mmoja wao. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, akaanza kusema kwa lugha nyingine, kama Roho alivyowapa matamko.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, wanaume wacha Mungu, kutoka katika kila taifa chini ya mbingu. Sasa wakati hii ilikuwa kelele nje ya nchi, umati ukakusanyika, na walichanganyikiwa, kwa sababu kila mtu aliwasikia wakisema kwa lugha yake mwenyewe. Na wote wakashangaa na kustaajabu, akisema mmoja kwa mwingine, Tazama, Hawa wote wasemao si Wagalilaya? Na jinsi tunavyomsikia kila mtu kwa lugha yetu wenyewe, ambamo tulizaliwa? Washiriki, na Wamedi, na Waelami, na wenyeji wa Mesopotamia, na katika Uyahudi, na Kapadokia, huko Ponto, na Asia, Frygia, na Pamfilia, nchini Misri, na katika sehemu za Libya karibu na Kurene, na wageni wa Rumi, Wayahudi na wageuzwa-imani, Wakrete na Waarabu, tunawasikia wakinena kwa ndimi zetu matendo ya ajabu ya Mungu. Na wote wakashangaa, na walikuwa na shaka, akisema mmoja kwa mwingine, Hii ina maana gani? Wengine wakidhihaki walisema, Wanaume hawa wamejaa divai mpya.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, Wake Up Your Voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 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: na wana wenu na binti zenu watatabiri, 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 shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; damu, na moto, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, na mwezi kuwa damu, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: Na itakuwa, that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved (Matendo 2:1-21)
The Spirt of the Lord, who came upon some, who were appointed by God in the Old Covenant and were faithful to God and spoke in His name, now was poured out upon all flesh; on those who believed in Christ and repented and were baptized and followed Jesus Christ and were obedient to Him. Roho Mtakatifu, the other Comforter, had come to the earth and made His abode in man.
The 120 disciples of Jesus were the first ones, who received the Holy Spirit and were filled with the Holy Spirit. Then about 3000 Watu, who belonged to the house of Israel and heard Peter’s testimony about Jesus Christ, the Messiah and believed Peter’s words and repented and were baptized, Kupokea Roho Mtakatifu.
The promise of God and the coming of the Holy Spirit was not only meant for the seed of Jacob; Uyahudi, but also for the Gentiles, who by faith in Christ would repent and be baptized. Because God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, the person who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him.
And so the first Gentiles, Cornelius and his family and best friends received by faith the Holy Spirit after hearing the words of Peter and his testimony about Jesus Christ and they became a new creation (Matendo 10, Warumi 10:11-12).
The fulfillment of the promise of the outpouring of God’s Spirit by the prophet Joel
Peter confirmed, that what had taken place on the Day of Pentecost, was what the prophet Joel had prophesied. And so the words of God, which He had spoken through the mouth of the prophet Joel were fulfilled.
The last days
Mungu, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds (Kiebrania 1:1-2)
Peter not only confirmed with his words what was prophesied by Joel about the outpouring of God’s Spirit, but Peter also confirmed that they lived in the last days.
Paul, who most likely is the writer of the Book of Hebrew, also wrote that they lived in the last days.
They lived in the last days and we live in the last days. And everything that Jesus has prophesied about the sign of His coming and the end of the world, shall take place at the end of the last days (Soma pia: ‘The three dispensations in the Bible‘).
Will there be another outpouring of God’s Spirit in the last days?
The words of Joel about the outpouring of God’s Spirit have been fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. Katika Siku ya Pentekoste, the Holy Spirit came once and for all to the earth and abides in the sons of God (wanaume na wanawake), who belong to Him and obey Jesus Christ.
There shall not be any other outpouring of God’s Spirit on earth, although there are many false doctrines, which say that the words of Joel are not fulfilled yet and they wait for the mightiest outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, ambayo, according to them must be an awesome manifestation and mighty spectacle. They look forward to something that already has taken place.
But that’s mainly because their expectations don’t align with God’s Word.
Through the words and doctrines of people, they have created an image of the outpouring of God’s Spirit that doesn’t line up with reality. Therefore they are waiting for something that will never come.
Just like many Jewish people, who belong to Israël, still wait for God’s promise about the coming of the Messiah and look forward to Him, while all the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah have already been fulfilled and the Son of God Jesus Christ, Masiha, has already come.
Alikuwa katika ulimwengu, na ulimwengu uliumbwa na yeye, na ulimwengu haumjui. Alikuja kwa ajili yake mwenyewe, na wao wenyewe hawakumpokea (Yohana 1:19-20)
But many have not recognized and acknowledged Him as their Messiah, Kwa nini? Because they are blinded and don’t really know God and the Scriptures and their expectation of the Messiah was different from the reality and who He really was and is (a.o. Isaiah 29:9-12, Yohana 5:37-47; 12:37-41, Warumi 11:7-10).
‘Kuweni chumvi ya dunia’
*Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Dictionary
