Pentecost Only the Beginning

“It shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Joel 2:28-32.

The expression, “It shall come to pass,” shows that the event was a future one. The word “afterward” implies that the fulfillment was to follow some definite point of time or some definite experience.AGP 169.3

This prophecy was interpreted by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost. He declared that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that day was in direct fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. Joel said, “It shall come to pass afterward.” Peter said, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Acts 2:16. This is the event, then, which clearly marks the beginning of the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.AGP 169.4

The apostle enlarges on the idea contained in the word “afterward,” used by Joel. Peter says, “It shall come to pass in the last days.” That the apostle understood the Pentecostal visitation to be only the beginning of the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days, is made clear by his statement near the end of hisAGP 169.5

sermon, that “the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Verse 39. Both Joel and Peter connect the pouring out of the Spirit closely with the signs and event of “the great and the terrible day of the Lord,” showing that the latter marks the closing event of the period covered by the prophecy. We must conclude, therefore, that the prophetic gift, which is the subject of the prophecy, is to be with the church from Pentecost to the return of Christ for His people.AGP 170.1

Now, what was that which was to come to pass afterward, that which was to follow the abundant bestowal of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? It was this: “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh,” or “all mankind,” as some translations read. Before Pentecost the prophetic gift was practically confined to the Hebrew nation, as far back as Abraham. From Pentecost on it was not to be limited to any one nation. It was to be imparted to the true followers of Christ in all nations—to whomsoever the wisdom, purpose, and good pleasure of God may choose.AGP 170.2