Introduction

With Jesus great commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostle Peter addressed the multitude of devote Pentecost pilgrims by giving them the reason for such miracle. His discourse suggests an important combination of what we may identify as a relationship between eschatology and mission when he quoted the prophet Joel. There is a historical sequence in the discourse of Peter that considers the announcement the kingdom of God from his proclamation and the climax of the day of the Lord. In this study, the author explores the theological connection between eschatology and mission and its implications for the fulfilment of church mission.

The content of this paper includes the promise of the theophany at Pentecost in the context of Jesus’ message and His final instructions regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The structure of Acts 2 is organized three parts. First, the experience of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (2:1-13), second, the message of Peter and a response to the theophany (2:14-31), and third, the characteristics of the early community of believers (2:42-47). This paper focuses on the first two. In addition, this study also explores the experience of Pentecost from a typological perspective found in the history of Exodus and its fulfillment in the book of Acts. So, Peter’s discourse suggests a typological pattern found in the festivals of Israel as well as on the structure of the message of the prophet Joel on the climax of the day of the Lord. As a result of this theological study, a mission perspective is discovered by which the church was established, new members were added, and an expansion and growth of the early church happened.

The Promise

Jesus came proclaiming “the time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). When Luke introduces the redemptive ministry of Jesus, he supported his narrative quoting the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1, 2), a message of good news to the poor and proclaim liberty to the captives. Clearly, Jesus understood the fulfillment of the prophecy when he declared “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus clearly showed his mission as a servant suffering and the Son of Man for the redemption of humanity (Mark 10:45). He explained to His disciples that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Matthew 16:21). He called and appointed His disciples so that “they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14) that indeed He is the promised Messiah, the Son of Man (Matthew 16:16).

Christ’s mission includes the reality of eternal life as it was expressed by Jesus Himself in the gospel of John (6:24-27). After His sacrifice, death, and resurrection, Jesus explained to the eleven “everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:4). And given echo to the servant suffering of Isaiah 53 Jesus declared “this is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46, 47). Thus, He is given instructions for the continuation of His mission and establishing a territorial strategic sequence (Acts 1:8). For the fulfillment of that mission, He gave assurance of the promise of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49); a promise that already has been portrayed during His ministry and presented to the twelve during the last Passover festival (John 15: 26-16: 15).

It is important to know that His promise was reaffirmed after His resurrection as it appears in the book of Acts. “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4,5). Two important dimensions are presented in Jesus’ declaration. First, it is the location; and second, the event that will happen soon. There was a clear purpose in the process of preaching the gospel. Unfortunately, the idea of the location was misunderstood by His disciples when they asked: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). A question that shows a misunderstanding of Jesus sacrifice and resurrection.

This question has been in the atmosphere of the people of Israel and has influenced the thinking of the disciples. Indeed, there was not a territorial kingdom that Jesus came to establish; rather, it was a consummation of the restoration of humanity as He explained. “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). He clearly summarizes his mission by saying “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

The answer Jesus gave to His disciples shows a different paradigm. It was not a territorial or an ethnic kingdom that Jesus came to establish; but a spiritual kingdom that encompassed all humanity following a divine calendar with a divine manifestation of the Holy Spirit beginning in Jerusalem. 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 will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7, 8). Here again, there are three important dimensions in the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to his disciples. First, there is an element of time following a historical and prophetic fulfillment according to the prophetic promises. It includes the sacrifice of Jesus as the servant suffering and afterward the Son of Man coming in the cloud of heaven (Acts 1:9-11). The second element is the reality of the promise of the Holy Spirit; and, the third, the proclamation of His gospel to all humanity. These three elements are placed in the background of what happened in Pentecost.

The Divine Experience at Pentecost

Acts 2 begins with the manifestation of a theophany of the Holy Spirit. The event happened during Pentecost when Jewish and proselytes came to Jerusalem for the celebration (Acts 2:1-5). These festival has been established by the Lord Himself as a memorial of deliverance, guidance, and protection during the time of the Exodus (Exodus 23:14-19). Particularly, the book of Leviticus reaffirmed again and called it the festival of weeks (Leviticus 23:15-22; Deuteronomy 16:9-12).¹ From a typological perspective the author suggests that those festivals may find typological fulfilment on the ministry of Jesus, first as a servant suffering and Passover Lamb during the Passover festival as well as on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. The sequence of festivals suggests the typological sequence of Jesus ministry, first the Passover has been fulfilled (1 Corinth 5:7), and second, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and finally, the climax of the judgment at the day of atonement, when Jesus continues the second phase of His heavenly ministry until final consummation on the day of the Lord. This historical event happens after the celebration of the Passover festival when Jesus was crucified. Thus, the historical manifestation of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost may signify the typological fulfillment of the first fruits for the early church.

Luke recorded the event writing,

when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:1-4).

The clearest explanation of the “tongues” following the linguistic and the context of the narrative suggests that in this historical supernatural event it refers to languages that could be understood by those who listened to them (Acts 2:8). Who were all together in one place? The answer is in the previous chapter when Luke mentions that, “they all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:14). Therefore, it is evident that those who received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit were also those women who came from Galilee and contributed and cared for the needs of Jesus (Luke 8:1-3). In that context, Peter quotation of Joel is relevant as he mentioned that “daughters will prophesy,” and the outpouring will be on “both men and women” (Acts 2:17,18). Therefore, the theophany of Pentecost shows the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Jesus’ disciples, men, and women, for the proclamation of the “wonders of God.”

There are certain elements on this theophany that could be an allusion to the events during the Exodus written by Moses (Exodus 19-23). That divine manifestation of God presence was visible during the experience at Mount Sinai “because the Lord descended on it in fire” (Exodus 19:18). So, as it happened during Sinai’s theophany on the proclamation of the Decalogue and the covenant with the people of Israel, the experience of Pentecost in Acts follows similar pattern of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit resting on His disciples “what seemed to be tongues of fire” and “were filled by the Holy Spirit.” That theophany of the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the evidence of Jesus ascension to heaven and the fulfillment of His promise by sending the Holy Spirit.

The promise of Jesus now was accomplished by following His own itinerary, that is “beginning in Jerusalem” and with a demonstration of power for the proclamation of the “wonders of God.” The text mentioned that “there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). That manifestation of the Holy Spirit at the early church shows a worldwide mission, although the early Christian community were mostly Jewish. The list mentioned in the narrative (Acts 2:9-11), covers most of the diaspora of the Roman world. They were listening in their own languages “declaring the wonders of God.” The idea of wonders of God may suggest the message of the dead and resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior as Peter later explained (Acts 2:22-36).²

Under the influence of this heavenly illumination the scriptures that Christ had explained to the disciples stood out before them with the luster of perfect truth. The veil that had prevented them from seeing to the end of that which had been abolished, was now removed, and they comprehended with perfect clearness the object of Christ's mission and the nature of His kingdom. They could speak with power of the Savior; and as they unfolded to their hearers the plan of salvation, many were convicted and convinced. The traditions and superstitions inculcated by the priests were swept away from their minds, and the teachings of the Savior were accepted.³

Those who heard the wonders, asked: “what does this mean?” (Acts 2:12) and found its answer in the discourse of Peter.

Peter discourse and Joel’s Pattern

Peter now began to answer the meaning of the theophany using a quotation from the book of Joel. An analysis of the structure of Joel gave us the background for Peter’s explanation of the actual event on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Looking at the structure of Joel it is possible to see the pattern Peter followed. The main emphasis of Joel is on repentance and the day of the Lord. So in Joel, there is a message of repentance (Joel 2:12-27) and in that context, there is the promise of the outpouring the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-30) and it culminates with the day of the Lord and judgment among God’s people (Joel 2:31, 32). Here is where the structure of Joel is also similar with festivals of Israel typology for the fulfillment of Jesus mission and ministry. First, the message of repentance for His people (Mark 1:14), second the salvific ministry for humanity (Luke 19:10), and the final day of judgment (John 5:22-28).

While Joel promises that God will pour out his Spirit in the future, he also warns that God will pour out signs that the day of judgment is near. For those who respond with wholehearted allegiance to Yahweh, there is no fear of wrath but rather the blessed expectation of life in the Spirit. The Spirit will manifest his presence through an outburst of revelatory activity among all the Israelites without any social distinctions.⁴

So on the answer to the crowd, Peter began his address with the words “in the last days” using a pēšer which was familiar to the Hebrew thinking and he used a current event of Pentecost to find explanation from a passage from Scripture.”⁵ Therefore, using this hermeneutical tool, he saw the fulfilment of Joel prophecy in this historical event and in consequence, applied Joel 2:28-32 as the foundation for his address.

“The way Peter uses Joel 2:28-32 is of great significance (1) for an appreciation of early Christian exegetical practices and doctrinal commitment, and (2) as a pattern for our own treatment of the OT.”⁶ Looking at Joel structure Peter used Joel’s pattern to address the crowd explaining that the theophany is a partial fulfilment of the message spoken by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16). There is one dimension that is still in the future, that is, “the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:20). In other words, Peter explained about the ministry of Jesus, the fulfilment of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Jesus has promised, and finally a message of repentance. These three elements, message, the opportunity for repentance, and the judgment are visible in both Joel and Peter. It is interesting to pointing out the eschatological sequence of events for the fulfilment of church mission. Acts 2 could be recognized in breaking of the new, messianic era for which most Jews yearned and prayed. So, looking from the future day of the Lord and arriving to the present reality of the church during Pentecost, it may suggest that the theophany of the Holy Spirit could not be accomplished anymore with Israel but with the church that constitutes the actual people of God and the recipient of the promise presented by Joel and quoted by Peter.

As Jerry Horner suggests,

Peter speaks of the fulfilling of prophecy and the inauguration of the new age in comprehensive terms of both present and future. The fulfillment is partly already realized, namely in the coming, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment belongs partly to the future since it is also Christ

who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead" (Acts 10:42). The "great and glorious day" (2:20) is still awaited, and repentance is urged in view of that day.”⁷ Therefore, Peter is point out the climax of salvation on the day of the Lord and the assurance that in Jesus Christ eternity has come to the early church and to us. “Thus, we conclude that at Pentecost Peter affirmed that the new age, "the last days,"

became a reality in the life of the Church. It was then that the still here of the new age to bring into being the New Testament now, the 'time between the times.' Peter's proclamation was that eternity has broken in on time, that the promised Messianic age has come. Things which are possible only in that age are happening before the very eyes of men.⁸

Furthermore, Peter reaffirmed his argument about Jesus as Lord and the Messiah quoting a Psalm of David (Acts 2:25-28; Psalm 16:8-11). That reaffirmation gave assurance to the “wonders of God” by which “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (Acts 2:32). So here is the sequence again of Peter’s discourse, first Jesus has raised from the death to show that he was crucified and now is alive. And because he has risen, now he has fulfilled what he promised to His disciples. “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The Christological dimension is present in the discourse. The center of the preaching of Peter is Jesus Christ and His sacrifice and the reality that indeed He is the promised Messiah who has resurrected and now has sent the Holy Spirit for the fulfillment of church mission.

There is another question from the crowd that has a connection with the mission and the preaching of the gospel. “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter replied,

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38, 39).

The mission is accomplished by God’s intervention and the message given by Peter following the pattern of the message of repentance presented also in Joel (Joel 2:13-17). Now at the climax of Peter address and following Joel’s pattern, he proclaimed the message of repentance.

Thus, Pentecost was the beginning of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the early church following Jesus promises for the preaching the kingdom of God (Acts 8:14-7; 8:29; 9:17; 10:44; 19:6). This event was the initial work of the Holy Spirit for the accomplishing of church mission entrusted to His disciples and for the continuation of preaching the gospel before the cosmic universal climax of day of the Lord.⁹ “The 3,000 Jews and proselytes who believed Peters preaching on the day of Pentecost were the first fruits of a harvest that would culminate in a world-wide ingathering from all lands.”¹⁰

Conclusion

This study suggests that Peter’s discourse followed the eschatological pattern of Joel, and as a consequence, follows a prophetic line of history that connects Jesus ministry and mission and the work of the Holy Spirit in the context of the day of the Lord. The theophany manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 was the fulfillment of the promises given by Jesus and the process of accomplishing church’s mission in the context of the eschatological climax of the day of the Lord. In the context of Joel’s pattern, Peter showed the fulfillment of church mission in relation to His coming and the day of the Lord. Just as Pentecost was a festival of spiritual freedom, now in the new messianic age, the believers in Jerusalem experienced deliverance from sin as they accepted Jesus as the Messiah and Lord.

The fact that the outpouring of the Holy Spirt happens during Pentecost suggest a universal expansion of the mission. The festival encompasses Jewish from the diaspora which were initial connection for the proclamation of the “wonders of God” on the Jewish communities.¹¹ The implication for the church now is on the expectation of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit to prepare the people of God for the consummation predicted by Joel and presented by Peter as an anticipation of the final outpouring before the final event of the coming of the Lord. Acts 2 shows the divine intervention for the historical fulfilment of the cosmic-universal prophetic dimension that begins on Pentecost and will culminates on the day of the Lord. Thus, on this messianic age the church is the one who continues preaching the “wonders of God” and will prepare the people of God for the final eschatology climax.

As a result of this early beginning the church experience unity and fellowship. They were united in the teachings of the apostles, participate in the rituals, share with each other, participate in supplying for those in need, witness about Jesus Christ, worship, and continue growing (Acts 2:42-47).