What is the meaning of Acts 2:20? The sun will be turned to darkness • Peter quotes Joel 2:31 verbatim, showing that the same literal cosmic sign foreseen by the prophet will mark God’s dramatic intervention in history. • Jesus spoke of this same blackout in Matthew 24:29, placing it “immediately after the tribulation.” He ties the darkened sun to His visible Second Coming, not to an ordinary eclipse or metaphor. • Revelation 6:12 records the Sixth Seal: “The sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair.” The consistency across passages underscores that this is a real, global, divinely caused event signaling judgment. • Just as the ninth plague in Egypt shrouded the land in palpable darkness (Exodus 10:21–23), the Lord will again use creation itself to announce His presence and power, leaving humanity without excuses. and the moon to blood • Alongside the blackened sun, the moon will appear blood-red (Revelation 6:12). This is not poetic flourish but a literal phenomenon engineered by God to arrest human attention. • Joel’s prophecy conjoins these signs, indicating they occur in rapid sequence. The pairing magnifies the dread and urgency of the moment (Luke 21:25–26). • Throughout Scripture, “blood” imagery warns of judgment (Isaiah 34:6). When the moon adopts that hue, the sky itself testifies that the hour of reckoning is at hand. before the coming • The phrase places the celestial signs squarely “before” the climactic appearance of Christ. They are advance notices, not the main event. • 1 Thessalonians 5:2 echoes this order: “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night,” yet signs precede it so believers are not caught unaware (vv.4–6). • God’s pattern is consistent: warning precedes wrath (Genesis 7:4; Amos 3:7). These signs give the world one final opportunity to repent. of the great and glorious • “Great” speaks to magnitude; “glorious” to majesty. The day will be both awesome in power and radiant in divine splendor (Isaiah 2:10–21). • Habakkuk 2:14 foretells the earth being “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,” capturing the brightness and weight of this moment. • For believers, that glory is hope (Titus 2:13). For the unrepentant, it is terrifying (Revelation 1:7). The same brilliance that comforts one group convicts the other. Day of the Lord • Scripture uses this phrase for God’s decisive, public intervention—culminating in Christ’s visible return (Zechariah 14:1–4). • It contains both judgment and restoration: wrath on rebellion (2 Peter 3:10) and deliverance for the faithful remnant (Joel 2:32; Romans 11:26). • This “day” launches the sequence that ushers in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1–6) and, ultimately, the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1). summary Acts 2:20 promises literal, global signs in the heavens—sun darkened, moon turned blood-red—heralding the imminent arrival of Jesus Christ. These events precede and introduce the “great and glorious Day of the Lord,” a time that combines righteous judgment with breathtaking majesty. Rather than abstract symbolism, the verse calls every generation to readiness, assuring believers of deliverance while warning the world that God’s final, visible intervention is sure and near. |
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