There is no "holy spirit" or "holy ghost" in the sense of an entity -- a part of a trinity god. There is only one G-d (D’varim / Deuteronomy 6:4). The term "holy spirit" (in which "holy" is an adjective) never appears in the T'nach even once. Judaism, relying on the T'nach, holds that G-d is One and Unique. The notion of a dual or triune godhead is totally rejected. G-d is not a spirit. G-d is not a physical entity (He has not physical form, He is not a man).. So what is happening in Yoel / Joel 2:? Yoel / Joel was from the tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe) -- the son of the prophet Shmuel / Samuel. (Shmuel Alef / I Samuel 8:2 and Divrei Hayamim Alef / I Chronicles 6:18.). He lived in the 6th century BCE -- long before Jesus. Yoel / Joel was a student of the prophet Micah and lived when the prophets Nahum and Habakkuk lived. His prophecies include the vision of a devastating locust plague if the people did not repent. G-d would rather they “tear their hearts” in repentance than be punished and tear their clothes in mourning. He is merciful, slow to anger and He would rather not punish people. If people recognize their shortcomings and declare their intention to improve, they can walk away from the coming plague mostly untouched. "And even now, says the L-rd, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with lamentation. And rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the L-rd your G-d, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and He repents of the evil". Yoel / Joel 2:12. No need for any sacrifices -- let alone human sacrifice (which is forbidden) -- just sincere repentance and G-d will forgive. "And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the L-rd your G-d, there is no other." Yoel / Joel 2:27. THERE IS NO OTHER. Not Jesus. And no mythical "holy ghost" either. There is only one G-d. There is no verse 28 - 32. Yoel / Joel chapter 2 ends at verse 27 "And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the L-rd your G-d, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed." Christian bibles combine Joel 2 and Joel 3 into chapter 2. Acts 2:17-21 purports to quote the prophet Yoel / Joel 3:1-5 (2:28–32 in Christian bibles) Yoel / Joel 3:1: "And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." AFTERWARDS. After what? The vision of Yoel / Joel of the disaster with the locusts. Did any of that happen to Jesus? Nope. Romans 10 also speaks of "being saved" It says "For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." This is a mistranslation of Yoél / Joel. In Hebrew "to save" would be לְהוֹשִֽׁיעַ / l'hoshiya (to save). This verb does not occur in Yoel / Joel 3:5:, which is misquoted both in Acts 2:21 and in Paul the Apostate’s Letter to the Romans 10:13. "And it will be that everyone who proclaims G-d's Fame will escape (be delivered), for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be a deliverance, as the L-rd said, and among the survivors whom the Lord invites." Yoel / Joel 3:5. The verse in —the verse actually reads וְהָיָ֗ה כֹּ֧ל אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֛א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְיָ֖ יִמָּלֵ֑ט “....and it will be [that] everyone who proclaims G-d's Fame will escape....”. The word יִמָּלֵ֑ט = to escape. Not "be saved." Escaped. Escape dangers -- it has nothing to do with the eternal soul which is perfect and does not need "saving." As so often with mistranslations in Christian versions the distortion appears only in "proof" texts. A proof text is a passage used to "point" to Jesus. If you read 1 Kings 19:40 in the King James the same word (יִמָּלֵ֥ט ) is translated as "of them escape." In 2 Kings 10:24 the NAS and KJV have "to excape" for יִמָּלֵט֙. . . Check for yourselves. . . This is a true messianic prophecy -- and it means that in Messianic times, G-d will pour His spirit out on the people, who will be so infused with an understanding of G-d that many will have dreams and visions. Even the members of other nations, who may choose to come to Israel to facilitate the service of G-d, will be on a high spiritual level. Being imbued with a spirit of holiness means connecting to G-d -- it is not a mythical ghostly god. That concept is foreign to the T'nach. How can we be very certain that this has nothing to do with Jesus? Yoel / Joel describes the material blessings with which G-d will reward His people for their obedience and faith. Has that happened to the Jewish people? Nope. In Jesus' lifetime the Jews were under Roman oppression -- and within 100 years of his death the Romans destroyed the country and exiled its Jews. For nearly 2000 years Jews have been the victim of death and torture at the hands, primarily, of Christians. The promise of Yoel / Joel has not yet happened. It didn't happen 2000 years ago. It still has not happened today.
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