7. At Joel 2:28, 29, what is the significance of the words “after that”?

⁷ Read Joel 2:28, 29. Consider a third reason​—the sequence of events outlined by the prophecy. Did you notice that Jehovah says: “After that I will pour out my spirit”; that is, after the locusts have completed their assigned task? If the locusts are preachers of God’s Kingdom, why would Jehovah pour out his spirit on them after they finish their witnessing? The reality is that without the help of God’s powerful holy spirit, they could never have kept preaching for decades despite opposition and even bans on their work.

14. When was Joel 2:28, 29 fulfilled?

¹⁴ On a positive note, Joel now brings news of restoration. The land will be fruitful again. (Joel 2:23-26) Then at some point in the future, an ample supply of spiritual food will become available. “I will pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh,” says Jehovah, “and your sons and your daughters will prophesy . . . And even on my male slaves and female slaves I will pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:28, 29) That outpouring of God’s spirit did not occur as soon as the Israelites were brought back from Babylon to their homeland. Rather, it took place centuries later, at Pentecost 33 C.E. How do we know?

15. According to Acts 2:16, 17, what adjustment to the text of Joel 2:28 did Peter make, and what does that indicate?

¹⁵ Under inspiration, the apostle Peter applied Joel 2:28, 29 to an amazing event that took place on that day of Pentecost. About nine o’clock that morning, there was a miraculous outpouring of holy spirit that moved those who received it to begin speaking “about the magnificent things of God.” (Acts 2:11) Under inspiration, Peter used slightly different wording when quoting Joel’s prophecy. Did you notice what adjustment he made? (Read Acts 2:16, 17.) Instead of beginning the quotation with the words “after that,” Peter said: “And in the last days”​—in this context, the last days of the Jewish system of things—​God’s spirit would be poured out “on every sort of flesh.” This indicates that considerable time had passed before Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled.

16. What effect did God’s spirit have on the preaching work in the first century, and what about today?

¹⁶ It was after that remarkable outpouring of God’s spirit in the first century that the preaching work began to go forward to the greatest extent. By the time the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians, about 61 C.E., he could describe the good news as being preached “in all creation under heaven.” (Col. 1:23) In Paul’s day, “all creation” meant the world as it was then known. With the help of Jehovah’s powerful holy spirit, the preaching work has expanded much more in our day​—“to the ends of the earth”!​—Acts 13:47; see the box “I Will Pour Out My Spirit.”