Saved

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENT CONCERNING CHRIST

SAVED

Joel 2:28-32

28'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

NIV

Acts 2:14-21

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'  

NIV

This portion of the books of Acts is right after Jesus had poured out the Spirit on those who have been in the room waiting as he had told them. He told them that he must go so that he could send the comforter, the Spirit. When the Spirit arrived as a mighty rushing wind and there appeared as tongues of fire on them, and they all started to speak in languages not their own, but as the Spirit gave them utterance. There were people in Jerusalem from fifteen difference language groups and each one heard those filled with the Spirit speaking in their own language. This has been debated among denominations throughout the ages, and into our time the question still remains a source of denominational divide. First, was this just for those in that day, just the one hundred and twenty in the room who were filled and spoke in a language not their own, which has been defined as tongues. Second, is it still for today? Third, were the disciples actually speaking in the language of these different people or was the Spirit causing these people to hear what the disciples were saying, as though they were speaking their language? What we have to see is that God speaking through the prophet Joel indicated he would pour out his spirit on all people. He said it would be in the last days. What are the last days? It would have to be from the time Jesus sent the Spirit, the day of Pentecost until the Day of Judgement, the end of the earth. In addition, he said he would pour his Spirit out on their sons and daughters, which is for generations to come. We know that the Spirit is still active in the world today, for we know that his task is to convict people of their sin and need of repentance and to lead those who have accepted Christ into all truth. We also know that after the day of Pentecost there were others as recorded in the Book of Acts who received this same Spirit and spoke in a language that was not their own, or tongues. We see the Apostle Paul giving instructions to the people living in Corinth, Gentiles, about the gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit is still at work today and being poured out on all people and there are people who do, in fact, speak in tongues. We can testify to this. Although this is a great gift from God for the ministry of his word to his people, we see an even greater ministry in that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Saved from what? Some would say from hell, but hell and all those are in to will be thrown into the lake of fire, so correctly we should say, saved from the lake of burning sulfur. Some would say being saved from perishing. That could mean to perish, to cease to exist, to be fully destroyed. Of course that word perish could mean to perish from being in the presence of God, in his new creation. They would still be in the lake in eternal torment, but not in his paradise. Either way, those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved, we are already with our Lord as he lives in our heart, but on the day when there will be wonders in the heavens and signs on the earth and billows of smoke and the sun darkened and the moon turned to blood, we will be taken into the eternal presence of our Lord. We will be in the paradise of God. It is his promise. As he made that promise to Abram when he told him to leave his home, his family and he would lead him to a land he would show him, we live under that same kind of promise. We are children of the promise. We have called on the name of the Lord and we have been saved.