Acts 2:19

I will shew. Literally, “I will give.”

Wonders. Gr. terata, “portents,” “miracles” (see Vol. V, p. 208).

In heaven. In Peter’s mind the immediate application of this prophecy may have been the gift of the Spirit from heaven. But the quotation also is significant for the last days (see on v. 20).

Signs. Gr. semeia, “signs,” “prodigies.” This word or its equivalent does not appear in the Hebrew or the LXX of Joel, but is frequently used with terata (see above on “wonders”) in the NT and always in the plural (John 4:48; Acts 4:30; Rom. 15:19; etc.).

In the earth. This may well refer, immediately, to the speaking with other tongues, but, as succeeding phrases show, its real significance belongs to the last days. Neither “above” nor “beneath” are in Joel; they are words added by Peter to sharpen the contrast between “heaven” and “earth.”

Blood. “Blood,” “fire,” and “smoke,” the terrible companions of war.

Vapour. This follows the LXX. Joel’s Hebrew has “pillars,” or “columns.”