Acts 2:14-36 “The Last Days” (Pentecost-Part 2)
“…‘what must I do to be saved?’ They said,
‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Acts 16:30-31 (NASB)
Key Verse(s) – The importance of the transitional nature of the Book of Acts
Acts 2:22-24 (NASB) *The temporary purpose of “signs and wonders”
“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined
plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Acts 2:30-32 (excerpts NASB) *Foundational prophetic significance of the resurrection “And so, because he [David] was a prophet…he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”
Acts 2:36 (NASB) *The bottom line – Jesus is proven to be both God and Savior! “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” *cf. also Romans 1:4
Key x-References – The Old Testament background of the Pentecost event
Joel 2:28 (NASB) *God tells what He is going to do before He does it so we’ll know! “It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.”
Joel 2:30-32 (excerpts NASB) *The “Last Days” will end with “the Day of the LORD” “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion…There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”
Acts 15:7-12 (excerpts NASB) *”Signs and wonders” authenticated God’s new direction “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren…11 we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.” cf. also 1 Corinthians 14:22, “tongues are a sign…to unbelievers…”
John 4:48,50 (NASB) *Christians should not rely on “signs,” but the revealed Word “So Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe…Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son lives.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him…” cf. also Matthew 12:39. “no other sign…but the sign of Jonah…”
“So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.”
Acts 9:31 (NASB)
The Book of Acts Series #5 7/11/21
The Birth and Expansion of the Church of Jesus Christ “…you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (NASB)
Introduction – The transitional nature of the Book of Acts 1:1-5 I. Christian witness in Jerusalem 1:6-8:3
A. The Risen Lord – The 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection & ascension 1:6-26
B. Pentecost – Outpouring of the Holy Spirit – The birthday of the Church 2:1-47
- Pentecost/Jewish Feast of Weeks – Holy Spirit indwells the Church 2:1-13
- Peter’s 1st Christian sermon – Explains the prophetic significance 2:14-36
a. Explanation of the prophetic significance of the Pentecost event 2:14-21 b. Explanation of spiritual significance of the resurrection of Christ 2:22-35 c. Exhortation to respond to the revelation concerning the Christ 2:36 - People’s response to Peter’s message-an ingathering of believers 2:37-47 C. Healing the lame man in the Temple, Peter’s 2nd Sermon 3:1-26
D. The beginning of persecution 4:1-37
E. Purging from within, more persecution from without 5:1-41
F. Choosing co-laborers – The first deacons 6:1-7
G. Stephen, the first martyr 6:8-8:3
II. Christian witness in Palestine and Syria 8:4-12:25
A. The Christians Scattered 8:4-40
B. The Conversion of Paul 9:1-31
C. The Conversion of Gentiles 9:32-11:30
D. The Christians Persecuted by Herod 12:1-25
III. Christian witness to the uttermost part of the earth 13:1-28:31
Key Verse(s) – The prophetic significance of the Pentecost event (~A.D. 32 or 33) Acts 2:14 (NASB) *Peter takes a stand and witnesses concerning Jesus—Are We?! “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: ‘Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.’”
Acts 2:15-17 (NASB) *Pentecost was prophesied by the prophet Joel (~835 B.C.)
“For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.’” cf. Joel 2:28-32
Acts 2:21 (NASB) *All who come to the LORD (Christ) in faith are spared judgment
“AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” cf. Joel 2:32 ; also Romans 13:10; John 5:24; John 3:18; 1 John 5:13
“…the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:52 (N
Daniel’s 70 Weeks
Pentecost and The Last Days
QUESTION: When are the “Last Days,” and what does Scripture teach concerning this FUTURE period of time and its PRESENT impact on our lives?
SCRIPTURE: Daniel 2:28; 9:20-27 Daniel’s 70 Weeks
Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost (Especially v.17; cf. Joel 2:1-32)
QUESTION: How long is the period of time described in Daniel 9:24? (This is NOT a trick question!)
BACKGROUND: Daniel 9:2 (cf. Jeremiah. 25:11; 2 Chronicles. 36:21; Ezra 1:1)
The 70 year period of captivity–significance of “completion” (9:2).
QUESTION: What does the term “seven(s),” or “week(s),” signify?
(“Seven” is the number of completion or perfection, cf. Genesis 2:1-3)
KEY TEXTS: Genesis 29:27-28 A “week of years”
Leviticus 25:8 Interpretive formula: 1 week = 7 years
QUESTION: What is a biblical, or prophetic year? How long is it?
KEY TEXTS: Genesis 7:11, 24 Genesis 8:3-4
Revelation 12:6, 12-14 Revelation 13:5-8
Noah’s Flood
Interpretive Formula:
- NOTE: The Hebrews had a lunar calendar—based on the 30 day cycle of the moon.
QUESTION: As we know today using the Julian calendar, a year is actually 365 days long. Is the Bible wrong? Can these biblical and secular periods of time be reconciled?
Note: The imminent Rapture of the Church occurs at the beginning of the Tribulation
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NASB-U) *The next timed event specified in God’s timetable “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [the “day of the Lord”] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruc- tion, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
Matthew 24:15 (NASB-U) *Marks the 3 1/2 year mid-point of the Tribulation “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)…”
Page 1
150 Days 1 Month 1 Year
= 5 Months = 30 Days * = 360 Days
The Tribulation
Interpretive Formula:
1,260 Days =
1,260 Days =
1 Month = 30 Days * 1 Year = 360 Days
3 1⁄2 Years 42 Month
Daniel’s 70 Weeks (cont.)
CALCULATIONS: Daniel’s 70 Weeks of Years
KEY DATES: Based on biblical and extra-biblical information*
x 7 483 x 360 173,880
- 23
173,880 TOTAL DAYS
7 +62 69
Weeks of Years Weeks of Years Weeks of Years
Prophetic Factor (Completion) Biblical or Prophetic Years Days per Year (lunar)
476 x 365 173,740 + 117 173,857
Years*
Days per Year
Total Days
Leap Year Days @
Days Adjusted for Leap Years
Daniel 9:25
Daniel 9:26
The 1st “week” begins with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem cf. Nehemiah 2:1-8
FROM: March 14, 445 B.C.
The 69th “week” ends with “the Prince” being “cut off”– The crucifixion of Christ in Jerusalem
cf. Matthew 27:45-51
UNTIL: April 6, 32 A.D. - NOTE: These chronological dates are according to the research of Sir Robert Anderson in The Coming Prince (1890), and are derived from a comparative study of the biblical record, other historical documents, and calculations based on known natural phenomena such as major earthquakes and eclipses which can sometimes be determined with great accuracy.
Biblical Calendar
Julian Calendar
Days from Mar 14 – Apr 6 - The period between 1 B.C. and A.D. 1 is one year, not 2 (there is no “year 0”)
TOTAL DAYS
@ NOTE: This figure includes a 2 day adjustment for “leap centuries” every 400 years. Century years are leap years only when divisible by 400 (e.g. 1900 was NOT a leap year; 2000 WAS a leap year because it is divisible by 400). This adjustment is required because the solar year is not actually 365 days long, but rather 365.24219 days long. The biblical timetable takes this into account! This prophecy proves the Bible accurate to at least 5 decimal places!!!
Conclusion
According to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-21, we are currently living in “the last days” during an unrevealed period of time between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week. This previously unknown and undefined period of time, or gap, is called The Church Age. Daniel’s 70th week, also known as The Tribulation—a “week” of 7 years of hell on earth at the end of the present Church Age—will take place without warning (the doctrine of imminence) according to God’s timetable after this unspecified period of time between the end of the 69th week with the crucifixion of Christ, and the Rapture of the Church which will begin the 70th wee