Visions and Dreams

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.

And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.

I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved. (Acts 2:14-21)

When he and the other disciples are accused of drunkenness because of their behavior on Pentecost, Peter looks to the words of Joel as a way of explaining the workings of God in their lives. I believe this served several purposes for the newly Spirit-filled preacher. 

First, it showed the unbound power of God. It was as though Peter was saying, "You think this is something? Just wait." Many of those in the crowd -- the religious Jews -- knew by heart the words Peter was saying. They knew that, when the day of the Lord came, their young men would see visions, and their old dream dreams. They knew the servants of the Lord would prophesy.

And this is the second thing Peter hoped to accomplish: identifying himself and the Disciples as servants of the Lord. And finally, Peter was letting those who heard him know they had entered a new age; that the Lord, Christ, the Messiah, had indeed been on earth. That His Kingdom is coming. That His work is being accomplished.

This can serve as a reminder to all of us that He is returning. We don't know when, but we know He is, and that He is coming in victory. And we know that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

When Will You Restore Your Kingdom

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8)

Right before Jesus left His disciples for the last time, they asked, finally, about His kingdom. Some speculate the reason for Judas's betrayal of Christ was that it had, in fact, become clear that He did not intend to immediately establish His kingdom on Earth.

This makes a lot of sense, really. When you're in captivity, you long for freedom. When you sit under the reign of conquerors, you want a nation of your own.

But, Jesus was making it clear in Acts, this was the small picture. For these men, a nation for Israel was the outcome they were waiting for. It was the big -- and really, only, picture. I love the way Jesus gently corrects this view in verse eight. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea..." and here's where he drops the bomb on them: not just Israel, but "... Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

His Kingdom is -- and has always been -- so much larger than just Israel. Israel remains His chosen people, to be sure; but they are a piece of the puzzle. They were the beginning of the Redemption, but not the end.

The point is not to sit and wait for the King to establish His throne. Scripture tells us that day will come. But Jesus tells us the point -- the big picture -- is that we make certain everyone else knows the Kingdom is coming, too. And that it's coming for them.