Dream Dreams and See Visions Joel 2:28-32

Dream Dreams and See Visions Joel 2:28-32

There is a lot crammed into these five verses. The main points are, what the verses say, what Peter says about its fulfillment, the problem that presents with Jerusalem/Zion reference, and the great and terrible day of the LORD.

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

30 “And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:28-32

FYI: In the Hebrew verse numbering system these verses make up all of chapter 3.

Pouring out the Spirit is an indication of the abundance of the Spirit.

. . . until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Is 32:15

. . . and I will not hide my face any more from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.” Ez 39:29;

This does not seem to be for the moral transformation of the people, it is not providing a deeper or more intimate knowledge of God. Rather to dream and have visions provide that ecstatic experience of prophecy.

Everyone is included even those that are left out of most serious discussions in society the old men and young women.

And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream. Num. 12:6

New Testament Fulfillment

This is one of those prophecies that the New Testament gives us the interpretation. So we have it on Apostolic authority how it is to be interpreted.

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these men 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 in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out 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; 18 yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day. 21 And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:14-21

The prophecy has attached to it a time reference before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. So if Peter is right about the coming of the Holy Spirit then the great and terrible day of the Lord must have happened sometime after the coming of the Holy Spirit.

When Peter explains the fulfillment of this prophecy he leaves out the promise that Jerusalem will be the place to escape too.

Instead, he says that those who call on the Lord will be saved.

FYI: Jerusalem is one of the most sacked cities in history. In none of the sacks of Jerusalem in all history have the people inside the city been safe.

There are several ways of looking at this difference.

The passage is typological. Part of Joel is fulfilled but not all, as in Is 6 where Isaiah is told a virgin shall conceive. His wife has a child in the next chapter that partially fulfills the prophecy however Isaiah’s child is not Emanuel.
The passage is symbolic. The symbology continues from the last chapter, as the locust represent armies, Zion/Jerusalem represents symbolic Jerusalem.

No one is quite sure what Zion or Tziun, means; most likely it means a sign-post or monument. It may however derive from the Hebrew root siyyon which means castle or citadel, or the Hebrew siyya which is dry land. Zion was the hill or mountain just south of Mount Moriah. Moriah is where the temple stood. Zion is where the city of David or the fortress was. Later the terms became synonymous. Later still Zion often refers to “the World to Come” or the afterlife.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Is. 35:10

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, Heb. 12:22

There are two Jerusalems

25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Gal 4:25-26

Present Jerusalem

At least it was present when Paul wrote Galatians. After 70AD it was no longer present. As Messiah had predicted, ” . . . not one stone was left upon another.” It was not rebuilt as a Jewish city until after WW1. How about bricks and stones Jerusalem?

FYI: Historically Jerusalem was a Jebusite fortress, the name means the city or place of peace. [Judg. 1:21] It was a place where one could be at peace with God, going back to the time of Melchizedek/king of righteousness the king of Salem. [Gen. 14:18]

God is not a local, tribal, or city god with a house in earthly Jerusalem. That is what the pagans did. Every city, river, nation, etc., had their own local deity. But the one true God is the creator of the universe. He has no need for a house. [2 Sam 7] He is omnipresent.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; 1Cor. 6:19

[See Also: The Third Temple]

Jerusalem Above / New Jerusalem

John says New Jerusalem personifies the people of God.

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; 3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” Rev. 21:1-4

It is only in the symbolic Jerusalem that we are truly safe. We must no longer look to that old Jerusalem of bricks and stones, but rather to the spiritual one.

2 In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, every one who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, Is. 4:2-3

This means that one must be very careful when reading a prophecy about Jerusalem/Zion. Are they about the literal or the spiritual? It is bricks and stones or a state of the heart.

The Great and Terrible Day of the LORD

Many try to say that this is a future prophecy. However, the prophecy has a timestamp.