God’s Spirit of Holiness on Universal Flesh
David W Palmer
(Acts 2:17 NKJV) “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.”
From the day that the apostle Peter said that Joel’s prophesied outpouring had begun, the extent and impact of this universal outpouring shook many ethnic groups:
(Acts 10:44–45 NKJV) While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. {45} And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
(Acts 14:1 NKJV) … a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
(Acts 17:6 NKJV) … “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
The Holy Spirit poured out on Greek, Italian, and Corinthian flesh and on many other Gentiles in all parts of the Roman Empire. In the same way, God’s promise applies to all non-Christians that you know, that are in your neighborhood, in your nation, and in the world. Jesus’s vision is that all nations (ethnic groups) will hear the gospel and encounter the Holy Spirit outpouring:
(Matthew 24:14 NKJV) “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
This is a wonderful but huge vision. Thankfully, we live in a day when much of this work has been pioneered.
What is our part in this major application of the outpouring?
(Acts 2:17 NLT) “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.”
God’s statement places prophecy, visions, and dreams directly after the promised outpouring—implying consequence. This reveals that a major result of the Holy Spirit coming on people is prophetic. We will look more closely at that soon; but for now, I want to turn you attention to the next two verses:
(Acts 2:18–19 NKJV) “And even on my servants, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. {19} And I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.”
In particular, note the transition between the two verses (remembering that the original Greek doesn’t have verse markers or punctuation marks): “they will prophesy and I will show.” The sequencing and wording here implies that the second thing mentioned is a direct consequence of the first. In other words, God’s showing of signs and wonders etc. flows on from him speaking prophetically through, “All my servants, men and women alike” (Acts 2:18 TPT).
This certainly aligns with God’s principle of not operating on earth unless he first declares it through his servants, the prophets—in the New Testament, this equates to people who speak prophetically for him in his name:
(Amos 3:7–8 NLT) Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. {8} The lion has roared—so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign LORD has spoken—so who can refuse to proclaim his message?
Amos says that if God reveals something to him, he cannot refuse to proclaim it. Jesus also operated signs and wonders this way:
(John 12:49 NKJV) “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.”
(John 14:10 NKJV) “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
In the last sentence here, Jesus equates the words he spoke from his Father with the works—signs and wonders—that were done in his Father’s name. In other words, Father gave Jesus the words to speak, he spoke them out prophetically in his Father’s name, and his Father did the “works”:
(Jeremiah 1:12 ESV) Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
Today, I encourage you to see yourself in this scenario. If you are born again and filled with God’s Spirit; and if you hear his voice, follow him, and have offered yourself to him as a living sacrifice; and if you are thus his servant—whether male or female—he can use you to declare prophetically what he shows you. Then he can confirm this and fulfill it in whatever way he intended it: prayer, encouragement, prophecy, teaching, gospel preaching, etc. But, in particular, if the words he gives you to declare are the command of miracles, healing, or exorcism; the Holy Spirit will watch over them to see that they are performed. (This amazing truth does not preclude the need for godly patience; sometimes what God says through you happens instantly, and sometimes—like Joel’s prophecy of the Holy Spirit outpouring—it may happen at a later time.)
The key to today’s challenge for us is to first be fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s guiding, and then to drawing near him to hear his words coming into our hearts. This requires the opening of the inner ears, and in my experience, inner peace:
(Revelation 3:22 NKJV) “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
God is talking; he wants you to hear and where appropriate, to declare what he says prophetically. This releases him on earth to do what he says. Our part is to hear and say; his part is to watch over his word to perform it. Are you ready to fulfill your part today in the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit on all flesh? It’s an exciting adventure.