Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 2:19
And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
19. and I will shew wonders, &c.] By the figurative language of this verse the prophet teaches that even when the kingdom of Christ shall have come into the world, mighty troubles shall still prevail. Cp. Christ’s own words of like import (Mat 24:21-30).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will show wonders – Literally, I will give signs – doso terata. The word in the Hebrew, mowpatiym, means properly prodigies; wonderful occurrences; miracles performed by God or his messengers, Exo 4:21; Exo 7:3, Exo 7:9; Exo 11:9; Deu 4:34, etc. It is the common word to denote a miracle in the Old Testament. Here it means, however, a portentous appearance, a prodigy, a remarkable occurrence. It is commonly joined in the New Testament with the word signs – signs and wonders, Mat 24:24; Mar 13:22; Joh 4:48. In these places it does not of necessity mean miracles, but unusual and remarkable appearances. Here it is used to mean great and striking changes in the sky, the sun, moon, etc. The Hebrew is, I will give signs in the heaven and upon the earth. Peter has quoted it according to the sense, and not according to the letter. The Septuagint is here a literal translation of the Hebrew; and this is one of the instances where the New Testament writers did not quote from either.
Much of the difficulty of interpreting these verses consists in affixing the proper meaning to the expression that great and notable day of the Lord. If it be limited to the day of Pentecost, it is certain that no such events occurred at that time. But there is, it is believed, no propriety in confining it to that time. The description here pertains to the last days Act 2:17; that is, to the whole of that period of duration, however long, which was known by the prophets as the last times. That period might be extended through many centuries; and during that period all these events would take place. The day of the Lord is the day when God will manifest himself in a special manner; a day when he will so strikingly be seen in his wonders and his judgments that it may be called his day. Thus, it is applied to the day of judgment as the day of the Son of man; the day in which he will be the great attractive object, and will be signally glorified, Luk 17:24; 1Th 5:2; Phi 1:6; 2Pe 3:12. If, as I suppose, that notable day of the Lord here refers to that future time when God will manifest himself in judgment, then we are not to suppose that Peter meant to say that these wonders would take place on the day of Pentecost, or had their fulfillment then, but would occur under that indefinite period called the last days, the days of the Messiah, and before that period Was closed by the great day of the Lord. The gift of tongues was a partial fulfillment of the general prophecy pertaining to those times. And as the prophecy was thus partially fulfilled, it was a pledge that it would be entirely; and thus there was laid a foundation for the necessity of repentance, and for calling on the Lord in order to be saved.
Blood – Blood is commonly used as an emblem of slaughter or of battle.
Fire – Fire is also an image of war, or the conflagration of towns and dwellings in time of war.
Vapour of smoke – The word vapor, atmis, means commonly an exhalation from the earth, etc., easily moved from one place to another. Here it means (Hebrew: Joel) rising columbus or pillars of smoke, and is another image of the calamities of war the smoke rising from burning towns. It has always been customary in war to burn the towns of an enemy, and to render him as helpless as possible. Hence, the calamities denoted here are those represented by such scenes. To what particular scenes there is reference here it is impossible now to say. It may be remarked, however, that scenes of this kind occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem, and there is a striking resemblance between the description in Joel and that by which our Saviour foretells the destruction of Jerusalem. See the notes on Mat 24:21-24. Dr. Thomson (Land and the Book, vol. 2, p. 311) supposes that the reference in Joel may have been to the usual appearances of the sirocco, or that they may have suggested the image used here. He says: We have two kinds of sirocco, one accompanied with vehement wind, which fills the air with dust and fine sand. I have often seen the whole heavens veiled in gloom with this sort of sandcloud, through which the sun, shorn of his beams, looked like a globe of dull smouldering fire. It may have been this phenomenon which suggested that strong prophetic figure of Joel, quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost. Wonders in the heaven and in the earth; blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. The pillars of smoke are probably those columns of sand and dust raised high in the air by local whirlwinds, which often accompany the sirocco. On the great desert of the Hauran I have seen a score of them marching with great rapidity over the plain, and they closely resemble pillars of smoke.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. I will show wonders] It is likely that both the prophet and the apostle refer to the calamities that fell upon the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem, and the fearful signs and portents that preceded those calamities. See the notes on Mt 24:5-7, where these are distinctly related.
Blood, fire, and vapour of smoke] Skirmishes and assassinations over the land, and wasting the country with fire and sword.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
As St Peter had declared the promises unto such as would be drawn by the cords of love; so here, on the other side, he useth threatenings, and declares the terrors of the Lord, if so that they will be persuaded. These wonders were such as did precede the destruction of Jerusalem, or shall forerun the destruction of the whole world.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. I will show wonders,&c.referring to the signs which were to precede thedestruction of Jerusalem (see on Lu21:25-28).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will show wonders in heaven above,…. The word above is not in Joel, nor in the Syriac version here, as neither the word “beneath”, in the next clause. This may refer either to the appearance of angels, and of an extraordinary star at the birth of Christ; or rather to comets and blazing stars, and particularly to that comet which, in the form of a flaming sword, hung over Jerusalem, and the forms of armies in the heavens engaged together, which were seen before, and portended the destruction of that city t:
and signs in the earth beneath; meaning either the miracles done by Christ, and his apostles, on earth; or those surprising events in Judea and in Jerusalem, a flame was seen in the temple, the doors of it opened of themselves, and a voice was heard in it, saying, let us go hence; and an idiot went about several years together, saying, woe to the people, woe to the city, c.
blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: by blood is meant not the blood of Christ, either his bloody sweat in the garden, or what he shed on the cross, but the blood of the Jews, shed in war, and in internal seditions and murders: and by “fire” is designed not the Holy Ghost, who now appeared in cloven tongues, as of fire, but the conflagration of the city and temple of Jerusalem, and of many other towns and villages. And by “vapours of smoke” or, as in the Hebrew text, “pillars of smoke”, ascending in upright columns, like palm trees, are intended literally, the vast quantities of smoke that would arise from such burnings; so that the very heavens would be clouded and darkened with them, and sun and moon appear in the following form.
t Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 5. sect. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wonders (). Apparently akin to the verb , to watch like a wonder in the sky,
miracle (), marvel, portent. In the New Testament the word occurs only in the plural and only in connection with (signs) as here and in verse 43. But
signs () here is not in the LXX. See on Mt 11:20. In verse 22 all three words occur together: powers, wonders, signs (, , ).
As above (). This word is not in the LXX nor is “beneath” (), both probably being added to make clearer the contrast between heaven and earth.
Blood and fire and vapour of smoke ( ). A chiasm as these words illustrate bloodshed and destruction by fire as signs here on earth.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
I will shew [] . Lit., I will give.
Wonders [] . Or portents. See on Mt 11:20.
Signs. See on Mt 11:20.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And I will shew wonders in heaven above,” (kai dosoterata en to ourano ano) “And I will give out wonders in the heaven above,” in the upper heaven. One of the first wonders from heaven shall be the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God when Jesus comes to resurrect the righteous and rapture the Saints who are then living and looking for his return, Act 1:9-11; 1Th 4:13-18; Heb 9:28; He went into heaven blessing His own and is returning in the same manner, for the same purpose, Rev 22:12; Rev 22:16; Satan (the Devil) is to be cast down with his demon accusing helpers about this same time, Rev 12:7-12.
3) “Blood and fire and vapor of smoke – (haima kai pur kai atmida kapnou) “Blood and fire and vapor of smoke,” I will give forth or cause to pour forth upon or from the earth, from the earthquake openings, of the earth, fire, smoke and brimstone, bitter acid-vapor, similar to that described, Rev 9:17-18.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
19. And I will show wonders We must first see what is meant by this great day of the Lord. Some do expound it of the former coming of Christ in the flesh; and others refer it unto the last day of the resurrection, I do allow neither opinion. For, in my judgment, the prophet comprehendeth the whole kingdom of Christ. And so he calleth it the great day, after that the Son of God began to be revealed in the flesh, that he may lead us into the fulfilling of his kingdom. Therefore, he appointeth no certain day, but he beginneth this day at the first preaching of the gospel, and he extendeth the same unto the last resurrection. Those which restrain it unto the time of the apostles are moved with this reason, because the prophet joineth this member and that which goeth next before together. But in that there is no absurdity at all, because the prophet doth assign the time when these things began to come to pass, howsoever they have a continual going forward even until the end of the world. Furthermore, whereas he saith that the sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood, they are figurative speeches, whereby he doth give us to understand thus much, that the Lord will show tokens of his wrath through the whole frame of the world, which shall bring men even to their wit’s end, as if there should be some horrible and fearful change of nature wrought. For as the sun and moon are unto us witnesses of God’s fatherly favor towards us, whilst that by course they give light to the earth; so, on the other side, the prophet saith, that they shall be messengers to foreshow God’s wrath and displeasure. And this is the second member of the prophecy. For after that he had intreated of the spiritual grace which should be abundantly poured out upon all flesh, lest any man should imagine that all things should be quiet and prosperous together, therewithal he addeth that the estate of the world shall be troublesome, and full of great fear under Christ; as Christ himself doth more fully declare, Mat 24:0 and Luk 21:0.
But this serveth greatly to the setting forth of grace, that whereas all things do threaten destruction, yet whosoever doth call upon the name of the Lord is sure to be saved. By the darkness of the sun, by the bloody streaming of the moon, by the black vapor of smoke, the prophet meant to declare, that whithersoever men turn their eyes, there shall many things appear, both upward and downward, which may make them amazed and afraid, as he hath already said. Therefore, this is as much as if he should have said, that the world was never in a more miserable case, that there were never so many and such cruel tokens of God’s wrath. Hence may we gather how inestimable the goodness of God is, who offereth a present remedy for so great evils; and again, how unthankful they are towards God, and how froward, which do not flee unto the sanctuary of salvation, which is nigh unto them, and doth meet them. Again, it is out of all doubt, that God meaneth by this so doleful a description, to stir up all godly men, that they may with a more fervent desire seek for salvation. And Peter citeth it to the same end, that the Jews may know that they shall be more miserable unless they receive that grace of the Spirit which is offered unto them. Yet here may a question be asked, how this can hang together, that when Christ is revealed, there should such a sea of miseries overflow and break out therewithal? For it may seem to be a thing very inconvenient, (98) that he should be the only pledge of God’s love toward mankind, in whom the heavenly Father doth lay open all the treasure of his goodness, yea, he poureth out the bowels of his mercy upon us, and that yet, by the coming of the same, his Son, his wrath should be more hot than it was wont, so that it should, as it were, quite consume both heaven and earth at once.
But we must first mark, that because men are too slow to receive Christ, they must be constrained by divers afflictions, as it were with whips. Secondly, forasmuch as Christ doth call unto himself all those which are heavy laden and labor, (Mat 11:28,) we must first be tamed by many miseries, that we may learn humility. For through great prosperity men do set up the horns of pride. And he cannot but despise Christ fiercely, whosoever he be, that seemeth to himself to be happy. Thirdly, because we are, more than we ought, set upon the seeking of the peace of the flesh, whereby it cometh to pass that many tie the grace of Christ unto the present life, it is expedient for us to be accustomed to think otherwise, that we may know that the kingdom of Christ is spiritual. Therefore, to the end God may teach us that the good things of Christ are heavenly, he doth exercise us, according to the flesh, with many miseries; whereby it cometh to pass that we do seek our felicity without the world. Moreover, men do bring miseries upon themselves through their unthankfulness; for the servant which knoweth his master’s will, and doth not obey, is worthy of greater and more stripes, (Luk 12:47.) The more familiarly that God doth communicate with us in Christ, the more doth our ungodliness grow and break out into open contumacy, so that it is no marvel if, when Christ is revealed, there appear many tokens of God’s vengeance on the other side, forasmuch as men do hereby more grievously provoke God against them, and kindle his wrath through wicked contempt. Surely, in that the day of Christ is fearful, it is an accidental thing; whether God will correct our slothfulness, to bring us under, which [who] are yet inapt to be taught, or whether he will punish our unthankfulness. For it bringeth with it of itself nothing but that which is pleasant; but the contempt of God’s grace doth provoke him to horrible anger not without cause.
(98) “ Absurdum,” absurd.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) And I will shew wonders in heaven above.St. Peter quotes the words of terror that follow, apparently, for the sake of the promise with which they end in Act. 2:21. But as it was not given to him as yet to know the times and the seasons (Act. 1:7), it may well have been that he looked for the great and notable day as about to come in his own time. The imagery is drawn as from one of the great thunder-storms of Palestine. There is the lurid blood-red hue of clouds and sky; there are the fiery flashes, the columns or pillars of smoke-like clouds boiling from the abyss. These, in their turn, were probably thought of as symbols of bloodshed, and fire and smoke, such as are involved in the capture and destruction of a city like Jerusalem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19, 20. Before this notable inauguration day there should be a series of wonders, and after it should follow the offers of grace and mercy. By Act 2:22 it appears that these signs and wonders are attendant on the person of Jesus. They are the accessory wonders of that central wonder, the incarnation.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19. Wonders in heaven The angels appearing in the sky to the shepherds; the descent of the Spirit, dove-like, from heaven at Jesus’ baptism; the voice from heaven, Joh 12:28; the Pentecostal mighty rushing as of wind from heaven.
In the earth Birth and miracles of Christ and his apostles, and especially Christ’s resurrection.
Blood The wonderful blood at the crucifixion.
Fire The opening wonder of the Pentecost.
Vapour of smoke At the darkness and earthquake of the crucifixion.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord come, that great and notable day.”
That day was also to be a time of vivid signs and wonders. Peter had noted that such things were already beginning. In respect of the ‘wonders in the heaven above’ many of them would remember the darkness that had descended on the day of the crucifixion of Jesus, (Mat 27:45; Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44). Here in Jerusalem it was not likely to have been forgotten, and certainly not by Peter and the disciples. But as we have seen above there were other wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath. For example there were there were:
1). Wonders in the heaven above which comprised the mighty noise of the wind and the glory of the fire that had been seen to descend on the disciples ‘from heaven’ (Act 2:3).
2). Mighty ‘signs and wonders’ of various kinds performed by Jesus on earth (Act 2:22). Luke also continually stresses signs and wonders performed on earth by the Apostles and Apostolic appointees (Act 2:43; Act 4:16; Act 4:30; Act 5:12; Act 6:8; Act 8:9; Act 8:13; Act 14:3; compare Act 3:10).
3). The blood of Christ that had so recently been shed, and which some of their number had observed falling from His hands and feet and body at the cross. This blood was the sign (Heb 12:24; 1Jn 5:8) of God’s redemptive offer (Rom 3:25; Rom 5:9; Eph 1:7 ; 1Pe 1:18-19; Rev 5:9), and will later be constantly referred to (Eph 2:13; Col 1:20; Heb 9:12; Heb 9:14; Heb 10:19; 1Pe 1:2 ; 1Jn 1:7; Rev 12:11). They themselves are ‘the fellowship of the blood of Christ’ (1Co 10:16). Blood is therefore a feature of the new age.
4). The fire of God that had come down from heaven on His people, to remain with them for ever, evidencing the permanent indwelling of God in His people.
5). The vapour of smoke or cloud into which Jesus had been taken that they might see Him no more (Act 1:9), but which had resulted in what they now saw and heard.
6). There was the great darkness that blotted out the light in Jesus’ final hours (Mar 15:33), a phenomenon possibly accompanied by the reddening of the moon. The reddening of the moon was a fairly common occurrence over Palestine, and sometimes occurred with such intensity that it is especially mentioned by Josephus.
Moreover Peter was now expecting that not only the present but also the future would also hold such world-shaking events, for Jesus had told them of what was to come (Luk 21:25-26; Mat 24:29-31; Mar 13:24-27), and he knew that such signs would follow the pouring out of the Spirit. It had to be so for the world had crucified the Son of God. They had sent Him away marked ‘Unwanted’. So he saw what had now happened at Pentecost as the beginning of all that Jesus had promised, and all that Joel had prophesied, but as something that must also issue in judgments on the world. His words not only describe what has just now taken place but also stress what is to come, as a warning to his listeners.
Peter did not see the coming of the Holy Spirit as just a joyous event for His people, although it was certainly that. He saw it in a context of God’s whole dealings with the world and with mankind. God was now beginning His activities of the last days. For those who responded that could only mean joy and gladness and salvation. But for those who rejected the Spirit’s work there could only be gloom, disaster and despair.
He himself had only too recently heard from the lips of Jesus the dreadful and awe-inspiring events which were shortly to happen to Jerusalem and to the Temple (Luk 21:20-24), which were also inevitably to see the devastation of Palestine, and carrying away of His rejected people among the nations, and which would result in blood and fire and vapour of smoke, together with the inevitable effects on the visibility of the sun and moon, which the warfare involved would produce. And the 1st century AD would also see something of their fulfilment in the dreadful famine in the time of Claudius (see Act 11:27-30) which covered many lands, especially affecting Palestine, and in the terrible earthquake which destroyed Laodicea and shook the whole of Phrygia in 61 AD, causing many seemingly unnatural phenomena to occur, and in the destruction by huge volcanic action of Pompeii and Herculaneum and all the area round about, which would certainly result in blood and fire and pillars of smoke, and in many similar catastrophes which occurred. And every century since has seen their fulfilment time and again, for these are the last days, but with all pointing ahead to the coming of the great and notable day of the Lord when He brings all things to conclusion. Peter had good cause for his words. (We do not do well just to split them into two as though God’s judgments will not be abroad until what we call the end times. They have been observed throughout history).
All this tied in with the worldview of the Old and New Testaments. First there had been the times of man’s ignorance which God had winked at, now had come the last days when God having sent His Son to die for us, would call men to repentance and visit the world with His judgments in the Day of the Lord (Act 17:30-31), and finally would come the consummation when all was put right or destroyed and God would be all in all.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 2:19. Vapour of smoke: A cloud of smoke. Doddridge; who paraphrases the passage thus: “Such destructive wars shall arise, as a punishment for the wickedness of those who reject the mercy I offer, that there shall be blood shed in abundance, and fire scattered abroad to consume your cities and villages; so that a cloud of smoke shall ascend from the ruins of them.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 2:19-20 . After this effusion of the Spirit I shall bring about ( , as at Mat 24:24 ) catastrophes in heaven and on earth (the latter are mentioned at once in Act 2:19 , the former in Act 2:20 ) as immediate heralds of the Messianic day . Peter includes in his quotation this element of the prophecy, because its realization (Act 2:16 ), conditioned by the outpouring of the Spirit which necessarily preceded it, presented itself likewise essentially as belonging to the allotted portion of the . The dreadful events could not but now seeing that the effusion of the Spirit preceding them had already commenced be conceived as inevitable and very imminent; and this circumstance could not but mightily contribute to the alarming of souls and their being won to Christ. As to and , see on Mat 24:24 ; Rom 15:19 .
contains the , namely, bloodshed (war, revolt, murder) and conflagration . Similar devastations belonged, according to the later Jewish Christology also, to the dolores Messiae. See on Mat 24:6-7 . “Cum videris regna se invicem turbantia, tunc expectes vestigia Messiae;” Beresh. rabb. sec. 41. The reference to blood-rain, fiery meteors, and pillars of smoke arising from the earth (de Wette, comp. Kuinoel), is neither certainly in keeping with the original text of the prophecy, nor does it satisfy the analogy of Mat 24
] vapour of smoke ( , Plat. Tim. p. 87 E, yet in classical writers more usually , is the more general idea). Comp. on such combinations, Lobeck, Paral. p. 534.
Act 2:20 . Meaning: the sun will become dark, and the moon appear bloody . Comp. on Mat 24:29 ; also Isa 13:10 ; Eze 32:7 .
] ere there shall have come . See Klotz, ad Devar. p. 728 f.
] i.e. according to the sense of the prophetic fulfilment of the words: the day of Christ , namely of His Parousia. Comp. on Rom 10:13 . But this is not, with Grotius, Lightfoot, and Kuinoel, following the Fathers, to be considered as identical with the destruction of Jerusalem (which belongs to the of the Parousia, to the dolores Messiae ). See on Mat 24:29 .
. ] the great ( , fraught with decision, comp. Rev 16:14 ) and manifest, i.e. which makes itself manifest before all the world as that which it is. Comp. the frequent use of for the Parousia (2Th 2:8 , al. ). The Vulgate aptly renders: manifestus . Instead of , the Hebrew has , terribilis, which the LXX., deriving from , has incorrectly translated by , as also elsewhere; see Biel and Schleusn. Thes. s.v. But on this account the literal signification of . need not be altered here, where the text follows the LXX.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Ver. 19. Wonders in heaven ] See Joe 3:15 ; Mat 24:29 ; Mar 13:24 ; Luk 21:25 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
19 .] Ed-vat.: txt [26] [27] [28] .
[26] The MS. referred to by this symbol is that commonly called the Alexandrine, or CODEX ALEXANDRINUS. It once belonged to Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria and then of Constantinople, who in the year 1628 presented it to our King Charles I. It is now in the British Museum. It is on parchment in four volumes, of which three contain the Old, and one the New Testament, with the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. This fourth volume is exhibited open in a glass case. It will be seen by the letters in the inner margin of this edition, that the first 24 chapters of Matthew are wanting in it, its first leaf commencing , ch. Mat 25:6 : as also the leaves containing , Joh 6:50 , to , Joh 8:52 . It is generally agreed that it was written at Alexandria; it does not, however, in the Gospels , represent that commonly known as the Alexandrine text, but approaches much more nearly to the Constantinopolitan, or generally received text. The New Testament, according to its text, was edited, in uncial types cast to imitate those of the MS., by Woide, London, 1786, the Old Testament by Baber, London, 1819: and its N.T. text has now been edited in common type by Mr. B. H. Cowper, London, 1861. The date of this MS. has been variously assigned, but it is now pretty generally agreed to be the fifth century .
[27] The CODEX VATICANUS, No. 1209 in the Vatican Library at Rome; and proved, by the old catalogues, to have been there from the foundation of the library in the 16th century. It was apparently, from internal evidence, copied in Egypt. It is on vellum, and contains the Old and New Testaments. In the latter, it is deficient from Heb 9:14 to the end of the Epistle; it does not contain the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; nor the Apocalypse. An edition of this celebrated codex, undertaken as long ago as 1828 by Cardinal Angelo Mai, has since his death been published at Rome. The defects of this edition are such, that it can hardly be ranked higher in usefulness than a tolerably complete collation, entirely untrustworthy in those places where it differs from former collations in representing the MS. as agreeing with the received text. An 8vo edition of the N.T. portion, newly revised by Vercellone, was published at Rome in 1859 (referred to as ‘Verc’): and of course superseded the English reprint of the 1st edition. Even in this 2nd edition there were imperfections which rendered it necessary to have recourse to the MS. itself, and to the partial collations made in former times. These are (1) that of Bartolocci (under the name of Giulio de St. Anastasia), once librarian at the Vatican, made in 1669, and preserved in manuscript in the Imperial Library (MSS. Gr. Suppl. 53) at Paris (referred to as ‘Blc’); (2) that of Birch (‘Bch’), published in various readings to the Acts and Epistles, Copenhagen, 1798, Apocalypse, 1800, Gospels, 1801; (3) that made for the great Bentley (‘Btly’), by the Abbate Mico, published in Ford’s Appendix to Woide’s edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, 1799 (it was made on the margin of a copy of Cephalus’ Greek Testament, Argentorati, 1524, still amongst Bentley’s books in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge); (4) notes of alterations by the original scribe and other correctors. These notes were procured for Bentley by the Abb de Stosch, and were till lately supposed to be lost. They were made by the Abbate Rulotta (‘Rl’), and are preserved amongst Bentley’s papers in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge (B. 17. 20) 1 . The Codex has been occasionally consulted for the verification of certain readings by Tregelles, Tischendorf, and others. A list of readings examined at Rome by the present editor (Feb. 1861), and by the Rev. E. C. Cure, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford (April 1862), will be found at the end of these prolegomena. A description, with an engraving from a photograph of a portion of a page, is given in Burgon’s “Letters from Rome,” London 1861. This most important MS. was probably written in the fourth century (Hug, Tischendorf, al.).
[28] The CODEX SINAITICUS. Procured by Tischendorf, in 1859, from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The Codex Frederico-Augustanus (now at Leipsic), obtained in 1844 from the same monastery, is a portion of the same copy of the Greek Bible, the 148 leaves of which, containing the entire New Testament, the Ep. of Barnabas, parts of Hermas, and 199 more leaves of the Septuagint, have now been edited by the discoverer. A magnificent edition prepared at the expense of the Emperor of Russia appeared in January, 1863, and a smaller edition containing the N.T. &c., has been published by Dr. Tischendorf. The MS. has four columns on a page, and has been altered by several different correctors, one or more of whom Tischendorf considers to have lived in the sixth century. The work of the original scribe has been examined, not only by Tischendorf, but by Tregelles and other competent judges, and is by them assigned to the fourth century . The internal character of the text agrees with the external, as the student may judge for himself from the readings given in the digest. The principal correctors as distinguished by Tischendorf are: A, of the same age with the MS. itself, probably the corrector who revised the book, before it left the hands of the scribe, denoted therefore by us -corr 1 ; B (cited as 2 ), who in the first page of Matt. began inserting breathings, accents, &c., but did not carry out his design, and touched only a few later passages; C a (cited as 3a ) has corrected very largely throughout the book. Wherever in our digest a reading is cited as found in 1 , it is to be understood, if no further statement is given, that C a altered it to that which is found in our text; C b (cited as 3b ) lived about the same time as C a , i.e. some centuries later than the original scribe. These are all that we need notice here 6 .
, , and are not in LXX nor Heb.
. . ] Not, ‘ bloodshed and wasting by fire ,’ as commonly interpreted: not devastations , but prodigies , are foretold: bloody and fiery appearances: pillars of smoke, Heb.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 2:19 . The word is wanting in the Hebrew and the LXX, but the co-ordination of the two words and is frequent in the N.T. (Joh 4:48 , Act 4:30 , Rom 15:19 , 2Co 12:12 ), and even more so in the LXX (Exo 7:3 ; Exo 7:9 , Deu 4:34 , Neh 9:10 , Dan 6:27 ), so also in Josephus, Philo, Plutarch, Polybius. For the distinction between the words in the N.T., see below on Act 2:22 . is often used of some startling portent, or of some strange appearance in the heavens, so here fitly used of the sun being turned into darkness, etc. But God’s are always to those who have eyes to see, and significantly in the N.T. the former word is never found without the latter. It is no doubt true to say that St. Peter had already received a sign from heaven above in the , and a sign upon the earth below in the (Nsgen), but the whole context, Act 2:19-21 , shows that St. Peter’s thoughts had passed from the day of Pentecost to a period of grace and warning which should precede the Parousia. No explanation, therefore, of the words which limits their fulfilment to the Pentecostal Feast (see Keil, in loco , and also his reference to the interpretation of the Rabbis) is satisfactory. is probably introduced into the text to emphasise the antithesis, as also are and . : if we see in these words , there is no need to refer them to such startling phenomena as rain of blood, or fiery meteors, or pillars of smoke rising from the earth (so De Wette, Overbeck), but rather to the bloodshed and devastation of war (so Holtzmann, Wendt, Felten); cf. our Lord’s words, Mat 24:6 ; Mat 24:29 . Dean Plumptre thinks of the imagery as drawn from one of the great thunderstorms of Palestine, and cf. Weber, Jdische Theologie , pp. 350, 351 (1897).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
shew = give.
wonders. App-176.
signs. App-176.
earth. App-129. Wonders in the heavens, signs upon earth.
vapour. Only here and Jam 4:14.
smoke. Only here, and twelve times in Revelation.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
19.] Ed-vat.: txt [26] [27] [28].
[26] The MS. referred to by this symbol is that commonly called the Alexandrine, or CODEX ALEXANDRINUS. It once belonged to Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria and then of Constantinople, who in the year 1628 presented it to our King Charles I. It is now in the British Museum. It is on parchment in four volumes, of which three contain the Old, and one the New Testament, with the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. This fourth volume is exhibited open in a glass case. It will be seen by the letters in the inner margin of this edition, that the first 24 chapters of Matthew are wanting in it, its first leaf commencing , ch. Mat 25:6 :-as also the leaves containing , Joh 6:50,-to , Joh 8:52. It is generally agreed that it was written at Alexandria;-it does not, however, in the Gospels, represent that commonly known as the Alexandrine text, but approaches much more nearly to the Constantinopolitan, or generally received text. The New Testament, according to its text, was edited, in uncial types cast to imitate those of the MS., by Woide, London, 1786, the Old Testament by Baber, London, 1819: and its N.T. text has now been edited in common type by Mr. B. H. Cowper, London, 1861. The date of this MS. has been variously assigned, but it is now pretty generally agreed to be the fifth century.
[27] The CODEX VATICANUS, No. 1209 in the Vatican Library at Rome; and proved, by the old catalogues, to have been there from the foundation of the library in the 16th century. It was apparently, from internal evidence, copied in Egypt. It is on vellum, and contains the Old and New Testaments. In the latter, it is deficient from Heb 9:14 to the end of the Epistle;-it does not contain the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon;-nor the Apocalypse. An edition of this celebrated codex, undertaken as long ago as 1828 by Cardinal Angelo Mai, has since his death been published at Rome. The defects of this edition are such, that it can hardly be ranked higher in usefulness than a tolerably complete collation, entirely untrustworthy in those places where it differs from former collations in representing the MS. as agreeing with the received text. An 8vo edition of the N.T. portion, newly revised by Vercellone, was published at Rome in 1859 (referred to as Verc): and of course superseded the English reprint of the 1st edition. Even in this 2nd edition there were imperfections which rendered it necessary to have recourse to the MS. itself, and to the partial collations made in former times. These are-(1) that of Bartolocci (under the name of Giulio de St. Anastasia), once librarian at the Vatican, made in 1669, and preserved in manuscript in the Imperial Library (MSS. Gr. Suppl. 53) at Paris (referred to as Blc); (2) that of Birch (Bch), published in various readings to the Acts and Epistles, Copenhagen, 1798,-Apocalypse, 1800,-Gospels, 1801; (3) that made for the great Bentley (Btly), by the Abbate Mico,-published in Fords Appendix to Woides edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, 1799 (it was made on the margin of a copy of Cephalus Greek Testament, Argentorati, 1524, still amongst Bentleys books in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge); (4) notes of alterations by the original scribe and other correctors. These notes were procured for Bentley by the Abb de Stosch, and were till lately supposed to be lost. They were made by the Abbate Rulotta (Rl), and are preserved amongst Bentleys papers in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge (B. 17. 20)1. The Codex has been occasionally consulted for the verification of certain readings by Tregelles, Tischendorf, and others. A list of readings examined at Rome by the present editor (Feb. 1861), and by the Rev. E. C. Cure, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford (April 1862), will be found at the end of these prolegomena. A description, with an engraving from a photograph of a portion of a page, is given in Burgons Letters from Rome, London 1861. This most important MS. was probably written in the fourth century (Hug, Tischendorf, al.).
[28] The CODEX SINAITICUS. Procured by Tischendorf, in 1859, from the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. The Codex Frederico-Augustanus (now at Leipsic), obtained in 1844 from the same monastery, is a portion of the same copy of the Greek Bible, the 148 leaves of which, containing the entire New Testament, the Ep. of Barnabas, parts of Hermas, and 199 more leaves of the Septuagint, have now been edited by the discoverer. A magnificent edition prepared at the expense of the Emperor of Russia appeared in January, 1863, and a smaller edition containing the N.T. &c., has been published by Dr. Tischendorf. The MS. has four columns on a page, and has been altered by several different correctors, one or more of whom Tischendorf considers to have lived in the sixth century. The work of the original scribe has been examined, not only by Tischendorf, but by Tregelles and other competent judges, and is by them assigned to the fourth century. The internal character of the text agrees with the external, as the student may judge for himself from the readings given in the digest. The principal correctors as distinguished by Tischendorf are:-A, of the same age with the MS. itself, probably the corrector who revised the book, before it left the hands of the scribe, denoted therefore by us -corr1; B (cited as 2), who in the first page of Matt. began inserting breathings, accents, &c., but did not carry out his design, and touched only a few later passages; Ca (cited as 3a) has corrected very largely throughout the book. Wherever in our digest a reading is cited as found in 1, it is to be understood, if no further statement is given, that Ca altered it to that which is found in our text; Cb (cited as 3b) lived about the same time as Ca, i.e. some centuries later than the original scribe. These are all that we need notice here6.
, , and are not in LXX nor Heb.
. .] Not, bloodshed and wasting by fire, as commonly interpreted:-not devastations, but prodigies, are foretold:-bloody and fiery appearances:-pillars of smoke, Heb.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 2:19. , prodigies [wonders]) Judgments on the wicked accompany great revelations of grace: Num 14:20, etc. [Caleb and the unbelieving Israelites]; Jude Act 2:5, The Lord having saved the people out of-Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not: and the sure and immediate recompense of the wicked admonishes men to receive the proffered grace. [There is a continued effusion of the Holy Spirit, though it be accomplished in different ways.-V. g.]- , in the heaven) Concerning the prodigies in heaven, see Act 2:20.- , upon the earth) Concerning the prodigies on the earth, there follows immediately the account in this verse, by Chiasmus. Such signs were exhibited before the passion of Christ, which are mentioned in Act 2:22 : but they are so described as that there are included with them those signs which were shown at the actual time of His passion and resurrection, as also at the destruction of Jerusalem; but especially those signs which shall precede the last day: Mat 24:29, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, etc. Prophecy, however remote from the last times, comprises all things summarily and in one comprehensive glance. So altogether (evidently) the clause of Malachi (with which comp. Mat 11:13-14, note; Act 17:11-12, note) looks directly to the coming of John the Baptist, and the mention of the terrible day of the Lord, the last day, is incidentally subjoined and connected with that clause.-, blood) slaughter and wars.-, fire) Conflagrations.- , vapour of smoke) Thick smoke ends in a subtle vapour.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joe 2:30, Joe 2:31, Zep 1:14-18, Mal 4:1-6
Reciprocal: Gen 1:14 – and let Psa 86:10 – For Isa 9:5 – burning Isa 34:4 – all the Jer 4:23 – the heavens Eze 34:12 – in the cloudy Hag 2:6 – and I Mal 4:5 – great Mat 24:7 – famines Mat 24:29 – shall the Mar 13:24 – General Luk 21:10 – Nation shall Luk 21:25 – signs Rev 6:12 – the sun Rev 9:2 – there Rev 12:1 – there
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0
This paragraph refers to the events recorded in Mat 27:45; Mar 15:33; Luk 23:44-45. Of course no literal changing into blood and smoke took place, but the conditions were such that the terms were a fitting illustration. Before is used as if it said, “just before,” or “only a short while before.” The darkness that came as Jesus was on the cross came only 50 days before the day of Pentecost. In a period of time spread out over as large a scale as several centuries, a space of 60 days would be virtually the same date for each of the events predicted. The circumstance is mentioned by way of identifying the noted prediction. Such an event as the failing of sunshine in the middle of a day, that happened as Jesus was on the cross, had never occurred before. And when it did come so short a time before the day on which the Holy Spirit came down, the people would easily associate the two events as parts of the same prediction. Another thing to consider, the time of the Passover (which was also that of the crucifixion) was so near the feast of Pentecost that many pious Jews just “remained over,” hence among those on this great day now at hand, were many who had personally seen that darkening of the sun, which would help to verify the prediction.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 2:19-20. And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, fire, and vapour of smoke . . . before that great and notable day of the Lord come. The Messianic dispensation, however, has two aspectsthe one characterized by grace and mercy, the other by judgment and punishment. Now Act 2:17-18 dwelt, as we have seen, on the glorious blessings which should be poured on
those who should acknowledge Christ; Act 2:19-20 in plain terms tell of the awful punishment which awaits those who should deliberately reject Him. Pentecost and its great miraclethe signal outpouring of grace and power on the early Christian Churchwas a partial fulfilment of Act 2:17-18the prophecy of the blessing; while the fall of the city, the unsurpassed misery and horror which attended the siege of Jerusalem, and the concluding period of the last Jewish war with Rome, and its crushing result, was equally a partial fulfilment of Act 2:19-20the prophecy of the curse.
But neither Pentecost and the miraculous powers bestowed on the early Church on the one hand, nor the fetal siege and deadly war on the other hand, has exhausted the great prophecy of Joel which St. Peter took up and repeated. The fulfilment began surely on the Pentecost morning. It was strangely carried out during those years of the Churchs early powers. Its words, which tell of suffering and of woe, were lit up with the lurid light of the burning city and temple. But though both the blessing and the curse have received each of them a marked fulfilment, they were but partial ones; the full accomplishment still tarries and will assuredly precede that awful day of the Lord, the time of which is known to the Father only.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
19-21. So much of Peter’s quotation from Joel as we have now considered was in process of fulfillment at the time he was speaking, and is of quite easy interpretation; but not so with the remaining portion: (19) “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky vapor. (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and illustrious day of the Lord come. (21) And it shall come to pass that every one who will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
It is quite evident that there was nothing transpiring at the time of Peter’s speech to which the multitude could look as the fulfillment of these words; hence the remark with which he introduces the quotation, “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel,” is to be understood only of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. The remainder of the prediction must have still looked to the future for its fulfillment. How far in the future is not indicated, expect that the events mentioned were to take place, “before that great and illustrious day of the Lord.” This day of the Lord is certainly spoken of as a day of terror and danger; and no doubt the salvation contemplated in the words, “every one who will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved,” is salvation from the dangers of “that great and illustrious day.” The interpretation of the whole passage, therefore, depends upon determining what is meant by that day. Is it the day of destruction of Jerusalem, or of the final judgment? The best way to settle this question is to examine the use of the phrase, “day of the Lord,” in both Old Testament and New.
In the first eleven verses of the second chapter of Joel , the phrase “day of the Lord” occurs three times, and designates a time when the land should be desolated by locusts, insects, and drought. But with the passage now under consideration, in the latter part of the same chapter, the prophet begins a new theme, and therefore speaks of some other great and terrible day. Throughout the prophesies of Joel, and of all the Old Testament prophets, this phrase is used invariably to designate a day of disaster. Isaiah calls the time in which Babylon was to be destroyed, “the day of the Lord,” and says of it, “The stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” Ezekiel, in like manner, foretelling the desolation of Egypt, says, “The day of the Lord is near; a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.” Obadiah uses the same phrase in reference to the destruction of Edom; Amos, in reference to the captivity of Israel; and Zechariah, in reference to the final siege of Jerusalem. And induction of these passages establishes the conclusion that “the day of the Lord,” with the prophets, is always a day of calamity, the precise nature of which is to be determined in each case by the context. In some cases the context is so obscure as not to determine the reference with certainty. The text before us possesses some of this obscurity, yet with the aid of the above remarks, and the use made of the passage by Peter, we may determine the reference with no small degree of certainty.
It is evident from Peter’s application of the first part of the quotation to the the advent of the Spirit, that the latter part, which is contemplated as still future, was to be fulfilled after the scene then transpiring. Now, if the dangers of the day, as indicated by the words employed, were such as concerned the Jews alone, there would be good ground to suppose that reference was had to the destruction of Jerusalem. But the parties contemplated in the prophesy are “all flesh;” therefore, all classes of men are embraced in the prophetic view, and the “day of the Lord” must, according to Old Testament usage, be a day of terror in which all are interested. But in the destruction of Jerusalem the Jews alone had any thing to dread; hence this can not be the reference. It must, then, be the day of judgment; for this is the only day of pre-eminent terror yet awaiting all mankind.
This conclusion is confirmed by the invariable usage of New Testament writers. The apostolic writings afford little ground indeed for the prominence that has been given to commentators to the destruction of Jerusalem, in their interpretations of prophesy. There was another and far different day, in their future, to which they gave the appellation, “the day of the Lord.” Paul says, “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” “We are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.” “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” “But the day of the Lord will comes as a thief in the night.” These are all the occurrences of this expression in the New Testament, and they show conclusively that “the day of the Lord,” with the apostles, was the day of judgment.
The great and illustrious day must not be confounded with the “signs and wonders” mentioned by the prophet; for these are to occur before that day. Whatever may be the exact symbolic meaning of the “blood and fire, and smoky vapor,” and the darkening of the sun and moon, they represent events which are to take place before the day of judgment.
Having now determined the reference of the day in question, we can at once decide what salvation is contemplated in the declaration, “Every one who will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The only salvation connected with the day of judgment is the salvation from sin and death. The reference, therefore, is to this, and not to salvation from the destruction of Jerusalem.
This salvation is made to depend upon calling on the name of the Lord, an expression equivalent to prayer. It is, of course, acceptable prayer which is intended, and it therefore implies the existence of that disposition and conduct necessary to acceptable worship. Certainly no one calling upon the name of the Lord while persisting in disobedience can be included in this promise.
Thus far, in his discourse, Peter has directed his attention to the single object of proving the inspiration of himself and his associates. This was logically necessary previous to the utterance of a single word by authority, and most logically has he conducted his argument. The amazement of the people, upon beholding the miraculous scene, was a tacit acknowledgment of their inability to account for it. They were well prepared, therefore, to hear Peter’s explanation. But if even he had attributed the effects which they witnessed to any less than divine power, they must have rejected his explanation as unsatisfactory. The question with them, indeed, was not, whether this was a divine or human manifestation, but, admitting its divinity, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” When, therefore, Peter simply declares, that this is a fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy concerning the outpouring of the Spirit of God, they had no alternative but to receive his explanation, while the fact that it was a fulfillment of prophesy gave to it additional solemnity.
If Peter had closed his discourse at this point, the multitude would have gone away convinced of his inspiration, but not one of them would have been converted. All this has yet been said and done is preparatory; a necessary preparation for what is to follow. We are yet to search for the exact influence which turned their minds and hearts toward Jesus Christ.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
MIRACLES OF THE END
19, 20. These two verses describe the miracles of the end of the present age. You see how Peter couples them right on to the miracles of Pentecost; because he expected the Lord to return to the earth and set up His kingdom in his day.
Mat 16:28 : There are some of those standing here who may not [not shall not, as E. V.] pass away until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.
Also,
Mat 24:34 : This generation may not pass [not shall not, as E. V.] till all these things are fulfilled.
From these and many other Scriptures we see the gracious possibility of our Lords return to the earth during the life-time of the apostles and their contemporaries. The Greek in these passages has the contingent tense.
There are no contingencies with God. The contingency was all on mans side. As man always fails, so he failed in the Apostolic Age. There was a gracious possibility for man to preach the gospel to every nation during that generation; in which case our Lord would have returned on the throne of His millennial glory before that generation all passed away. All the apostles and saints expected to see the Lord return and be caught up to meet him in the air, which would have taken place if that generation had pushed to the ends of the earth and preached the gospel to every nation, as they could and should have done. These verses (19 and 20) describe the momentous miracles of the Tribulation. Luke Chapter 21), in his description of our Saviors sermon on the judgments, preached on Mt. Olivet the day before He suffered, speaks of oceanic inundations during the Tribulation destroying multitudes. John describes the Armageddon wars deluging the world and heaping the battlefields with mountains of the dead. When the governments all fall (Dan 7:9) the rabble will rise, burn, rob and murder indiscriminately. Hence the bloody and fiery phenomena of the 19th verse. The smoke of conflagrations, gun powder and the vapor from the oceanic inundations and bloody battlefields will darken the sun and make the moon look red as blood. We have every reason to look out for these miracles immediately, as they are the next on the prophetic program.