Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Acts

[Castle Tower]

"4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams."

Why does Peter use a prophecy about the "last days" when it clearly wasn't (we're still here 2,000 years later)? Am I misinterpreting this?

[jimwalton]

In the New Testament, the "last days" are the period of time between Pentecost and the Second Coming rather than just the days immediately preceding Jesus's second coming. In the reasoning of the prophet Joel, the "last days" were inaugurated with Jesus's arrival on Earth.

But one need not think that that Joel's meaning and prophesy were exhausted at Pentecost. Instead, they may reach even into our future for another phase of fulfillment.

[Castle Tower]

So we have been in the last days since the pentecost?

[jimwalton]

Yes, we are in the era of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. A new era has been inaugurated. The "last days" began with Christ's first arrival and will end with his second arrival. We are in the era of the Messiah Jesus and the indwelling Spirit. But there is another phase of the "last days" that is still future—the real last days when history will come to an end.

[Pastor]

Not quite. The last days were the last days of the old covenant. This period began at Pentecost til the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. At that point the old covenant was officially over, the sacrificial system being impossible from that day forward.

[jimwalton]

I think you have made a line of demarcation that the Scripture does not support. Joel's prophecy of Joel 2.28-32 quoted by Peter on Pentecost in Acts 2.17 speaks of a time before the destruction of the Temple and continuing on beyond the destruction of the Temple. That's biblical evidence #1.

#2 would be that Jesus calls His blood the blood of the New Covenant. The era of the new covenant began with His death and resurrection. The blood of Christ didn't have to wait 40 years to be efficacious.

#3: Peter intimated the same in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2.22-33, especially v. 33: Exalted...he has received...the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. It's a done deal (Acts 2.36).

[Pastor]

I didn't say that the new covenant didn't start until 70 A.D. I said the old covenant wasn't officially over until 70 A.D. This is why we still see the apostles observing temple offerings in the book of Acts (18:18). There was a time of overlap between the two covenants until the old finally disappeared. The book of Hebrews talks about this (8:13).

The last days are the last days of the old covenant, as deduced from Matthew 24 and numerous scriptures. Jesus said the end would come within their generation, and that some of them would remain alive to see the kingdom. It is not a reference to the bodily return of Jesus for the resurrection of the dead and final judgment.

[jimwalton]

I still disagree with you at every turn.

> This is why we still see the apostles observing temple offerings in the book of Acts (18:18).

There is no mention of temple offerings, nor of the Apostles keeping them. Paul's (probably Nazirite) vow ends in Cenchrea. There is no Temple there for any Temple offerings (Num. 6.13-20). It mentions his cutting of hair and nothing else. He's certainly not going to perform sacrifices in the local synagogue. We do not see the apostles observing temple offerings, as you have claimed.

> There was a time of overlap between the two covenants until the old finally disappeared.

There is no indication of this in the Scripture. I'll stick with what I showed you was Scriptural. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law. His life and death marked the end of the old covenant (Mt. 5.17; 2 Cor. 3.14; Gal. 4.4-5).

> Heb. 8.13

When was Hebrews written? That may be one clue to how we interpret this.

Primarily, though, Hebrew 9 explains 8.13. After some explanation in vv. 1-14, you'll notice that v. 15 says that Jesus's death is what ended the first covenant.

> The last days are the last days of the old covenant

I disagree.

• F.F. Bruce: "These “days” of fulfillment have arrived. They began with the first advent and will end with His second advent."
• A.T. Robertson: "Joel defines these days as being “the day of the Lord” (cf. Isa. 2.2; Micah 4.1). In Joel the future age was to be inaugurated with the Messiah’s coming."
• Craig Keener: "The 'last days' becomes the entire time after Jesus’s resurrection, the inauguration of a new era in salvation history."
• Bob Walton: " 'The Last Days' is a phrase most commonly used in the NT to describe the period of time between the first and second advents of Christ rather than the days immediately preceding the Second Coming (Acts 2.16-17; Heb. 1.2; 1 Pet. 1.20; 1 Jn. 2.18)."

[Eleven]

Hmm, is there any reason it had to begin at Pentecost, rather than when Jesus died or resurrected?

Joel only said "in [during] the last days", not "this is the start of the last days"

[jimwalton]

Eschatologically speaking, Jesus's death, resurrection, ascension, and the coming of the Spirit are like a single event. We are remiss to nitpick and try to separate them in an issue like this.

> Joel only said "in [during] the last days", not "this is the start of the last days"

The notion is that the last days have arrived. The future age has been inaugurated. It's the same as when we say "The Day of the Lord," we're not talking about a 24-hr period.