Scripture
Joel 2: 28-32 (ESV)
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.
AI Prompt
A traditional Middle Eastern man is standing with his hands lifted in prayer, reflecting deep spirituality. Above his head, a flame-like fire hovers, adding drama and mysticism to the scene. The background features an ancient city, where surprised onlookers are reacting to the extraordinary sight. The man is clothed in traditional Middle Eastern attire, his face showing an expression of intense devotion and reverence. The atmosphere is a blend of the sacred and the surreal, with the onlookers' varied reactions adding to the scene's complexity.
Process/Reflection
This prophesy given through the prophet Joel points to the day on which God poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Since that time, God has never ceased to pour out his Spirit on those who hear his promises of grace and call upon his name in faith.
Martin Luther succinctly and beautifully describes the work of the Holy Spirit:
"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.
This is most certainly true."
(Luther, Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2017), 17–18.)