I Will Pour Out My Spirit on All Flesh

Joel’s promise suddenly widens the horizon. God will pour out his Spirit on “all flesh”: sons and daughters, old and young, male and female servants. Prophetic access is no longer pictured as the possession of a narrow social group. Cosmic signs accompany the approaching Day of the LORD, yet judgment is not the last word: whoever calls on the LORD’s name will be delivered, with a remnant in Zion whom the LORD calls. Peter explicitly announces at Pentecost, “this is that,” and quotes this passage in Acts 2. He then explains that the risen and exalted Jesus has received the promise of the Holy Ghost from the Father and “shed forth” what the crowd sees and hears: Joel gives the promise, and Acts identifies the exalted Christ as the one pouring out the Spirit. Acts 10 later shows that gift poured out on Gentiles also. Paul quotes Joel 2:32 in Romans 10:13 inside his proclamation of confessing Jesus as Lord and salvation for Jew and Greek, giving Joel’s LORD-language a powerful Christological role. Revelation 6 also reuses Joel’s darkened-sun, blood-like-moon, and great-Day judgment imagery.