Study 3 - Salvation

Read Joel 2.28-32

There are three sections to notice.
Vv28,29 – Promise of the Holy Spirit.
Vv30,31 –Promise of end-times signs.
V32 – Promise of salvation.

In the Hebrew Bible these verses are one chapter – Chp 3 – and the remaining verses are chapter 4. This perhaps shows how important are these words of prophecy. Christians know they are important because they are quoted by Apostle Peter on that great day when the 120 or so waiting disciples (Acts 1.15) experienced the reviving power of the Holy Spirit. That day was during the Jewish feast of Shavuot – a Spring harvest festival. It was celebrated on the day following 50 days from the day of Firstfruits and from this we get the name Pentecost ,which means fiftieth.

Vv28,29                Review again the words of 2.18,22-27. Joel’s prophecy of the pouring out of the Spirit was in the context of a bumper harvest! From devastation to abundance! It is not insignificant that the Holy Spirit, promised by the Lord Jesus, came in fullness upon the waiting church at that Jewish Spring harvest time. It speaks volumes of the rich blessings the Lord has for his people.

Consider: how fruitful am I as a disciple of Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit when I was born-again? Am I bearing fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3.8, as Joel called the people of his day to do)? Am I producing a rich of harvest of good works which God has prepared in advance for me to do (Eph. 2.10)?

By the Holy Spirit indwelling us we have all the rich resources of God enabling us to will and to act according to his good purpose (Phil. 2.13). Also, we have the spiritual vision to see the grace of God working in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have the hope – the dream – of seeing many come to faith in Jesus, and we can see by faith his glorious return.

Vv30,31                These words speak of the ultimate day of the Lord. This will be the great and momentous event when Jesus returns in all his glory to judge the living and the dead, and to usher in the new heaven and earth in which dwells perfect righteousness – forever. See Revelation 6.12-17; 2 Peter 3.13.

Consider: is this cataclysmic day of the Lord something which you anticipate in your Christian life? Do you believe Peter’s words and do that impact your daily living? “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4.7).

V32        Here is the hope and opportunity to survive the day of the Lord. It was a promise held out to those of Joel’s day, it was a promise held out to those who heard Peter on the Day of Pentecost, it is a promise held out by Christians to people everywhere today.

Notice how the verse begins and ends. Those who call on the name of the Lord are they whom the Lord has called. Mariano DiGangi is useful here as he considers calling, so I will quote at length from his book “Twelve Prophetic Voices – Major Messages From The Minor Prophets”[1].

Is this a trivial play on words? Not at all. The remnant (termed “survivors” in some translations), refers to the true people of God. These are believers who live among those who merely profess to serve the Lord. Many draw near to him with their words, but their hearts are far from Him. Their names may be on church membership lists, but not necessarily in the Lamb’s Book of Life. They seem satisfied with a superficial “churchianity,” rather than a vital relationship with the living God. But when the winds of adversity sift through the visible church, the chaff is blown away and only the remnant remains.

The true people of God consist of all who call on the name of the Lord, renounce any belief in self-righteousness, and depend on Him alone for their salvation. Our calling on Him is the human side of the salvation experience; we must exercise repentance and faith. But His calling involves sovereign grace. The initiative belongs to Him. He first approached us and called us by name.

Consider: how true and live is my relationship with the Lord? Do I know by inward testimony of the Holy Spirit that by the grace of God I am called by him?

Did you notice “the day of the Lord” in chapter 2.28-32?[2]

Michael S Bostock, June 2020

[1] Victor Books, 1985; p31.

[2] 2.31.