Every Man in His Own Tongue
By C. M. S.
Joel's prophecy which the apostle Peter interpreted to his hearers on that memorable day of Pentecost, did not meet its complete fulfillment in the demonstrations which were witnessed at that time. The prophecy itself indicates that it would meet its complete fulfillment at a later date; for the Lord, after declaring that he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh so that the sons and daughters would prophesy, the old men dream dreams, and the young men see visions, and that upon the servants and handmaids he would also pour out his Spirit, says:— “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.” Joel 3:28-32.
There is no question that this scripture met one phase of its fulfillment on the day of Pentecost in the remarkable demonstration of the Spirit's working there given. Peter said, “This is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel.” He quotes the prophecy, and begins his quotation with these words: “And it shall be in the last days, saith God.” Acts 2:17. In quoting the prophecy, he quotes words from Joel which had not met their fulfillment at that time, and did not have their fulfillment until within this generation in which we live. It will be noted that in the last verses quoted above from Joel, God speaks of certain ones who shall escape “in mount Zion and in Jerusalem,” and then adds, “and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.” “The remnant” as there used must refer to those who are saved out of the last generation of men upon this earth. How appropriate, then, that Inspiration should point us to “the last days” for the complete fulfillment of this prophecy! And, further, it is impossible that it should have met its fulfillment centuries before men saw the signs which were to point out the period to which it applied. The sun was “turned into darkness, and the moon into blood” in our generation. Therefore we may expect to see the completion of that prophecy's fulfillment in our generation, with the remainder of the signs that were to accompany it. Under the first phase of that prophecy's fulfillment we saw the remarkable outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who were giving the gospel message. In addition to that, we saw those gospel workers reaching, with the message God had given them, representatives of “every nation under heaven;” and those representatives heard that message, every man in his own language. It was God's wonderful preparation for a quick work in that day. It required four things: preparation and consecration on the part of the workers, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, representatives of all the nations, and a provision whereby the representatives of each nation could hear the message in his own language. The incidents of that remarkable occasion were more than a fulfillment of prophecy. That day was a prototype of our day. That beginning of the evangelism of the world with the gospel message has its antitype in the closing days of earth's history when “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” Matt. 24:14. “Then,” says our Saviour, “shall the end come.” When the gospel message on that day went to all the world by being proclaimed to the representatives of all the nations, it was a harbinger, a forerunner, a prototype, of the threefold message committed to this people (Rev. 14:6-12), which is to go to “every nation and tribe and tongue and people.” As those representatives of the nations heard, on the day of Pentecost, every man in his own tongue, so, in the carrying of this threefold message to all the world, they who hear will hear in their own tongue. And today in nearly every nation under heaven “this gospel of the kingdom,” this great threefold message, is being proclaimed to men in their own language, both by the living preacher and by books, periodicals, and pamphlets which proclaim it silently. Languages which never before were written have now been written and are now being written for the express purpose of enabling those who speak those languages to hear God's last gathering call in their own tongue.9 Thus we see that Joel's prophecy finds its fulfillment both at the beginning and at the close of the gospel dispensation, and the one is the type of the other. On that Pentecost day God did a short work and a quick work; and his facilities for doing a quick and short work in our day are not less than they were then. We read in Rom. 9:27, 28, “A remnant shall be saved: for he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness.” The message on the day of Pentecost was spoken in many tongues; it is being spoken in many tongues today. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the workers then quickened and shortened the work. When the Holy Spirit is poured out in its fullness upon the workers who are commissioned to carry God's threefold gospel message to the world, we may expect to see a mighty work done, a quick and short work. With such meager facilities as then existed, a work was done which astonished the world. What may we not expect to see in our generation with such facilities as the world now affords and the whole world one great neighborhood, when God sets his mighty hand to the work and pours out his Holy Spirit upon his chosen messengers in the unstinted plenitude of his power? He who made the nations hear so quickly in the apostles' day will most certainly not be handicapped in our day. He spoke to the world then a quick message, and left them without excuse who did not desire to hear. His last message is going to the world today; but soon, when he is ready, we shall see it speed with a speed that only God can give it, and the end will come. They who expect a part in that quick and mighty work will live each day as if that day were now at hand.