"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: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 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; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Today's quote restates a prophesy made by Joel projecting the coming of the Holy Ghost. That prophesy was fulfilled at the Pentecost celebration when the Church received the Holy Ghost immediately following Jesus' ascension.
By quoting this prophesy to the mass of Jewish men, Peter was demonstrating the authenticity of the ministry and gospel of Jesus Christ as it had been affirmed throughout Jewish history.
The actual prophesy from Joel is as follows, "And 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 shew 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)
In the very last part of the original prophesy, Joel noted that there would be only a few from among the Jews who would be saved subject to the Lord's "call".
This is important because a great part of the New Testament text is to, or about, the Jews and their refusal to accept Jesus as the promised Messiah.
It seems that Paul and the others had no problem converting Gentiles, but were hunted and continually threatened by the Jewish leadership as they went about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through the transformation brought about by Jesus and the establishment of His Church, the Jews lost their "chosen" status and became no more to God than the Gentiles; "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for YE ARE ALL ONE in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)~
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