I will pour out my spirit
1 In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on every mortal.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
2 Even upon my servants and maidens,
I will pour out my Spirit on that day.
3 I will show wonders in the heavens,
and on earth blood and fire and columns of smoke.
4 The sun will darken and the moon turn to blood
at the approach of the great and dreadful day of God.
5 Then all who call upon the name of Yahweh will be saved.
For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant,
as Yahweh has said;
in Jerusalem some will be saved –
those whom Yahweh will call.
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Comments , Chapter 3
• 3.1 Joel announces the Day of Yahweh, a term indicating God’s coming Judgment, and the salvation of the elect, at the same time.
I will pour out my Spirit on every mortal. Already in the days of the Old Testament God communicated his Spirit to the prophets and to saviors (see Is 11:1 and Jdg 11:1). Here, however, it is a decisive sign that the Spirit will be given to all be lievers. They will dream dreams and see vi sions. In those remote days, such were normal means of prophetic communication. Through these words Joel announces what Isaiah did when he said: All your children will be taught by God (Is 54:13 and Jer 31:31).
I will show wonders in the heavens. The wave of prophesy will accompany many signs indicating a grave crisis in the world. The image of the sun turning to darkness expresses both chaos in nature and impossible situations in the life of humankind.
Then all… will be saved. This will be a time when people will not be able to avoid a decisive choice: to retain their former lifestyles or to invoke the name of Yahweh which means to surrender their lives and hopes to him and rely on his powerful intervention.
It seems that these three factors were present for the Jewish people in the years following the resurrection of Jesus and before the destruction of the nation. Peter quotes this text on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17).