Acts 2:17

And he added nothing, but, "This," says he, "is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days." He shows, in fact, that the consummation is nigh at hand, and the words, "In the last days," have a kind of emphasis.

"And your sons shall prophesy." And yet, he says, not yours this achievement, this distinction; the gift has passed over to your children. Himself and his company he calls their sons, and those whom he is addressing he calls his and their fathers. "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." So far he shows that he and his have found favor, in that they had received the Spirit; not so they whom he is addressing; for that they had crucified the Lord. So Christ also, willing to mitigate their wrath, said, "By whom do your sons cast out devils?" He did not say, My disciples; for indeed it seemed a flattering mode of expression. And so Peter also did not say, "They are not drunk, but speak by the Spirit:" but he takes refuge with the prophet, and under shelter of him, so speaks. As for the accusation of drunkenness, he cleared himself of that by his own assertion; but for the grace, he fetches the prophet as witness.

"I will pour out," etc. And then, that he may not seem to limit the privilege to the sons only, he subjoins, "And your old men shall dream dreams." Mark the sequence. First sons; just as David said, "Instead of thy fathers, were begotten thy sons." And again Malachi; "They shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. And on my handmaidens, and on my servants." This also is a token of excellence, for we have become His servants, by being freed from sin. And great is the gift, since the grace passes over to the other sex also, not as of old, it was limited to just one or two individuals, as Deborah and Huldah.

"And I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh." He offers even to them excellent hopes, if they would have them. And so far, he does not leave it to be regarded as the exclusive advantage of himself and his company; which would have made them be looked upon with an evil eye; thus cutting off all envious feeling.

"I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh." To some the grace was imparted through dreams, to others it was openly poured forth. For indeed by dreams the prophets saw, and received revelations.

And He pours it out upon all flesh. And this is clear, that it is not upon those of the circumcision alone, but upon all without exception who are called through faith, whether they be from Greek error, whether small and great, slaves and free, barbarians and Scythians. For the grace of salvation in Christ is set before those throughout the whole world under heaven, because He Himself is "the Expectation of the nations." And he says that sons and daughters will prophesy, indicating through these things the abundance of grace and its equality for all. For the female sex would not be rejected by God, if it eagerly does the things that seem good to Him, and indeed also chooses to think, nor indeed unhonored, or without a share of holiness, if it is to be approved through faith and goodness in works; Why? For it too has been deemed worthy of grace and mercy, and it receives "the pledge of the Spirit" from God, and has been counted among the children. He says, then, that the old men shall dream dreams, and the young men shall see visions, speaking, as I think, of the older age as that which is preeminent and superior in the quantity of virtue, and as it were grown gray with splendid achievements, and distinguished and admired for its most perfect wisdom, such as was the divine Paul, who saw in a dream a certain man from Macedonia, begging him and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us;" for so it is written in the Acts of the wise apostles.

Then he brought forward the prophecy of Joel, nowhere mentioning Christ here, and of the signs of which they were eyewitnesses, or that this had been his promise. For if he had said this, he would have overturned everything and exposed it to scorn; but …

I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh. The word effusion shows the largess of the gift, because, not as before to the prophets and to the priests only, but to all indiscriminately in both sexes, conditions, and persons, the grace of the …

And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, etc. And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs on earth beneath. Wonders in heaven, when a new star appeared at the birth of the Lord, the sun was darkened when He ascended the cross, …

It does not say: "I will pour out My Spirit," but: "of My Spirit." Not the Spirit, but the gift of the Spirit is poured out "upon all flesh," and specifically upon that which has believed, that is, upon the Gentiles. But he does not …

And it shall come to pass in the last days,.... In Joel it is, "afterwards"; instead of which Peter puts, "in the last days"; the sense is the same: and so R. David Kimchi, a celebrated commentator with the Jews, observes, that "afterwards" is the same "as in the last days", and which design the times of the Messiah; for according to a rule given by the same writer on Isa 2:2 wherever the last days are mentioned, the days of the Messiah are intended, Saith God, or "the Lord", as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read.

It refers to the last days, the times of the gospel, which are called the last days because the dispensation of God's kingdom among men, which the gospel sets up, is the last dispensation of divine grace, and we are to look for no other than the continuation of this to the end of time.

The times of the Messiah are frequently called the last days, the Gospel being the last dispensation of Divine grace. I will pour out of my Spirit - Not on the day of pentecost only, upon all flesh - On persons of every age, sex, and rank.

It shall come to pass - It shall happen, or shall occur. In the last days - Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, after these things, or afterward.

In the last days - The time of the Messiah; and so the phrase was understood among the Jews. I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh - Rabbi Tanchum says, “When Moses laid his hands upon Joshua, the holy blessed God said, In the time of the old text, each individual prophet prophesied; but, in the times of the Messiah, all the Israelites shall be prophets.” And this they build on the prophecy quoted in this place by Peter. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy - The word prophesy is not to be understood here as implying the knowledge and discovery of future events; but signifies to teach and proclaim the great truths of God, especially those which concerned redemption by Jesus Christ. Your young men shall see visions, etc. - These were two of the various ways in which God revealed himself under the Old Testament. Sometimes he revealed himself by a symbol, which was a sufficient proof of the Divine presence: fire was the most ordinary, as it was the most expressive, symbol. Thus he appeared to Moses on Mount Horeb, and afterwards at Sinai; to Abraham, Genesis 15:1-21; to Elijah, 1Ki 19:11, 1Ki 19:12. At other times he revealed himself by angelic ministry: this was frequent, especially in the days of the patriarchs, of which we find many instances in the book of Genesis. By dreams he discovered his will in numerous instances: see the remarkable case of Joseph, Gen 37:5, Gen 37:9; of Jacob, Gen 28:1, etc.; Gen 46:2, etc.; of Pharaoh, Gen 41:1-7; of Nebuchadnezzar, Dan 4:10-17. For the different ways in which God communicated the knowledge of his will to mankind, see the note on Gen 15:1.