“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28–29, NKJV)

Joel wrote of the devastation that came upon Judah because of a severe locust plague. But this foreshadowed a greater time of tribulation that would occur in the future. After that time, however, God will be zealous for His land and have pity on His people. He will prosper the nation and make it fruitful. He will restore the years that the locusts have eaten. Here Joel does not speak of insects but of a great army that had devasted the land. God will bring about a marvelous restoration to Israel following the tribulation of those days. Then they will know that the LORD is in the midst of Israel, and His people will never again be put to shame.

After that, God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. The timing is somewhat ambiguous. Does this occur after the tribulation when God pours out His Spirit upon Israel according to Zechariah 12?

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10, NKJV)

Or is God speaking of pouring out His Spirit on all flesh and all the nations during the millennial reign of Christ? To complicate the question further, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Acts 2, Peter told the onlookers that this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, and he quoted Joel 2:28-32. Clearly, the Holy Spirit coming upon the church on the day of Pentecost was at least a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, but it will not be completely fulfilled until after the tribulation when the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon turned to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD when Christ returns.

One thing I know for sure: we all need the power of the Holy Spirit now to live victoriously for Jesus Christ and not to succumb to the evil of our times. I would like to see our sons and daughters prophesy. I would like for our old men to dream dreams and our young men to see visions. If God would grant us revival, then it will be because He pours out His Spirit in such a way that many people call upon the name of the Lord and are saved.

"Father God, please make it so!"