“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:”
My Notes
What Does Acts 2:19 Mean?
Peter, preaching at Pentecost, quotes Joel 2:30-31: wonders in heaven, signs on earth — blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. The cosmic disturbances Joel prophesied are being claimed as present-tense reality. Peter is saying: this is what Joel was talking about. It's happening now.
The signs — blood, fire, smoke — are apocalyptic imagery associated with the Day of the LORD. Peter applies them to the present moment: the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost is the beginning of the eschatological age Joel envisioned. The last days aren't future. They started at Pentecost.
The juxtaposition of heavenly wonders and earthly signs creates a comprehensive picture: what's happening isn't just a local religious event. It's cosmic. Heaven and earth are both responding. The Spirit's arrival has consequences above and below.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does knowing you're living in 'the last days' (which started at Pentecost) change your sense of urgency?
- 2.How do the apocalyptic images (blood, fire, smoke) connect to the Spirit's activity — and does that surprise you?
- 3.Is Pentecost a past event to you or a present reality? What would change if it were the latter?
- 4.What 'wonders and signs' of the Spirit are you expecting in your own life during these last days?
Devotional
Blood. Fire. Smoke. That's what the Spirit's arrival looks like from the prophetic perspective.
Peter stands up at Pentecost — where people are speaking in languages they never learned, where tongues of fire have appeared, where the entire house shook — and quotes Joel. This is it. The wonders in heaven and signs on earth that Joel prophesied. The last days have begun.
The last days. That phrase starts at Pentecost, not at some future apocalypse. According to Peter, you're already in them. The outpouring of the Spirit launched the final chapter of human history. The blood, fire, and smoke aren't just end-of-the-world imagery. They're now imagery. The age of the Spirit is the age of cosmic significance.
This means your life — right now, in this era, between Pentecost and the return of Christ — is lived in the last days. Not the boring middle. The last days. The age when God's Spirit is poured out on all flesh. The age when the cosmic signs are in motion.
Pentecost wasn't a one-time event that ended when the last tongue of fire disappeared. It was the beginning of something that's still happening. The Spirit is still being poured out. The last days are still running. The wonders and signs are still in play.
You're living in the age Peter announced. The fire hasn't gone out.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And I will show wonders in heaven above,.... The word above is not in Joel, nor in the Syriac version here, as neither…
I will show wonders - Literally, “I will give signs” - δώσω τέρατα dōsō terata. The word in the Hebrew, מופתים…
I will show wonders - It is likely that both the prophet and the apostle refer to the calamities that fell upon the Jews…
We have here the first-fruits of the Spirit in the sermon which Peter preached immediately, directed, not to those of…
and I will shew wonders, &c. By the figurative language of this verse the prophet teaches that even when the kingdom of…