5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

God says in Acts 2:17-19, “in the last days He will pour out the spirit upon all flesh and that sons and daughters will prophesy and young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams.”  My question is: why do you say that dreams and visions are not of today when the Bible clearly says so… God Himself says they will.

Sincerely,
Visions For The Future

Dear Visions For The Future,

Acts 2:17-19 is an excerpt from Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, the very first sermon preached after Christ ascended into heaven. Peter is quoting the book of Joel (Joel 2:28-32) and stating that what Joel wrote about was happening now. The verses have nothing to do with our behavior today or the end of time. It has nothing to do with modern visions and dream.  Peter specifically says that he is talking about what was happening right then (Acts 2:15-16) Those verses refer to that particular day and the time period surrounding Christ’s life and death. Let me explain the context.

For 400 years, the Jews had received no word from God – no prophets, no visions, no dreams, nothing. Then, after all that silence came:

• Zacharias and the angel (Lk 1:13)
• Elizabeth’s prophecy (Lk 1:41)
• Simeon’s prophecy (Lk 2:26)
• Anna’s prophecy (Lk 2:36)
• The vision of the shepherds (Lk 2:8-9)
• John the Baptist’s preaching (Matt 3:1)
• Jesus’ miracles (Jhn 2:11)
• The miracles of Jesus’ seventy disciples (Lk 10:17)

There was a veritable explosion of supernatural events. Peter is explaining how this influx of miracles, visions, and prophecy were a fulfillment of what Joel had said would happen in the last days of Israel. ‘In the last days’ doesn’t mean the end of the world in this circumstance; it means the end (or last days) of the Old Covenant. Peter is using these verses from the book of Joel to illustrate that Jesus really is the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. Jesus fulfilled Joel’s prophecy, and today we reap the benefits of it.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Is the death penalty wrong? The Ten Commandments say "thou shalt not kill”.

Sincerely,
Life Preserver

Dear Life Preserver,

Let’s address the death penalty case first, and then we will look at the “thou shalt not kill” argument.  God has given the government the authority to issue capital punishment upon criminals.  God told Israel to stone wicked people in certain circumstances (Lev 20:27).  Paul says that God gives governments “the sword”; they are a minister of God and an avenger of wrath to those that do evil (Rom 13:4).

The Hebrew word used for ‘kill’ in the Ten Commandments literally means ‘murder’.  There is a difference between killing someone in self-defense and the intentional murder of another human being.  The Bible has plenty of examples of faithful people going to war (David killed Goliath in battle – 1 Sam 17:49-50).  The Bible is also full of examples of capital punishment for certain crimes (Num 15:35).  Num 35:15-16 makes a distinction between accidentally killing someone and murder.  A police officer may have to kill someone while serving the community, but that isn’t murder.  A government may have to execute a criminal to protect society and perform justice, but that isn’t murder.  “Thou shalt not kill” is a command for individuals (not governments) that prohibits the reckless and purposeful destruction of human life.