Acts 2:17 (DRB)

Passage

And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord), I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Nearby Context

Acts 2:15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day:

Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel:

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord), I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Acts 2:18 And upon my servants indeed and upon my handmaids will I pour out in those days of my spirit: and they shall prophesy.

Acts 2:19 And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "shall", "come", "pass", "last", "days", "saith", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "But this is that which was spoken..." into verse 18's "And upon my servants indeed and upon...", so "Spirit" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Acts context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.