And it shall come to pass afterward: This refers back to his statement that a time will come when they will know Hashem with clear knowledge, because Hashem will be in their midst and His Divine Presence will dwell among them continually. This will occur at the End of Days, and he now prophesies concerning what will happen at that time. Abarbanel deduced from this that the preceding prophecy also concerns the four kingdoms, and that the four species of locusts are a parable and poetic image of four different kingdoms that will devour Israel completely. This is why the locusts are compared to a numerous people and a mighty nation, to horses, horsemen, chariots, and armed forces that wage war and conquer—all of which fits the subject represented by the parable. The plain meaning of the entire prophecy, however, does not support his interpretation, unless we say that while the prophet was prophesying about the locust swarm that actually appeared in those days, his spirit perceived a second, parallel prophecy concerning the four kingdoms, which resemble the swarm in also being four in number. According to what I have explained, however, there is no difficulty in the placement of this prophecy, for it follows directly from the statement, “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,” which is itself a prophecy concerning the future. He therefore says that at the End of Days, when knowledge of Hashem increases below, an awakening from above will also arise, and He will pour out His Spirit upon them. “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh”: The Spirit of Hashem encompasses every spiritual faculty, as it says, “The Spirit of Hashem shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem.” Every spiritual influence bestowed upon a person by Hashem is called the Spirit of Hashem—whether it affects the body’s power through strength; the imaginative faculty through counsel and true intuition; the intellect through wisdom and understanding; or, above the intellect, the prophetic faculty through a spirit of knowledge and fear of Hashem. At that time He will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh in immense abundance, like water that spreads everywhere and covers everything equally. Nevertheless, distinctions will remain according to the preparedness of those who receive it. Thus, “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” There are three levels: complete prophecy; vision, which is below prophecy and consists of beholding visions while awake when the spiritual influence rests upon the imaginative faculty; and a true dream, which is below vision and contains a greater admixture of chaff and impurities, as it says, “The prophet who has a dream, let him relate the dream … What has the chaff to do with the grain?” (Jeremiah 23:28). The young sons and daughters, who will have been born in the generation of the Messiah and will therefore be prepared to receive the Divine Spirit, will experience complete prophecy. The elders, who were born in an earlier generation remote from the generation of the Messiah, will receive only true dreams, which are below vision and certainly below prophecy. The young men, who were likewise born before the Messiah’s arrival but closer to his time than the elders, will see visions, an intermediate level of spiritual influence between prophecy and dreams.

And even upon the male and female servants: Upon those who live in those days, I will pour out My Spirit. Although they will not attain true dreams, much less the levels above them, a spirit of counsel, strength, fear of Hashem, and similar spiritual virtues will rest upon them.

And I will display wonders: After explaining that knowledge of Hashem will then be revealed upon the earth through prophecy and Divine Inspiration, he says that they will also recognize Hashem through the appearance of signs and wonders that transcend the natural order. These wonders will encompass both the heavens and the earth. This will occur in two ways. First, through the punishment of the wicked, there will be blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. The wonder upon the earth will be blood—the slaughter that will occur among the armies of Gog and Magog, as described in Ezekiel. The wonder in the heavens will be fire, for He will rain fire, sulfur, and hailstones upon them, causing smoke to rise from the immense conflagration, until:

The sun will be transformed into darkness: The sun is the source of light, but it will then be transformed into darkness because of the fire and smoke produced by its burning heat, as it says, “Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven.” The moon, which governs moisture, will be transformed into blood instead of water. That is, the celestial order will change to portend slaughter, conflagration, and destruction. All this will occur before the coming of the great day of Hashem, which is the great Day of Judgment.

And it shall come to pass: The second wonder will be the deliverance of the righteous: everyone who calls upon the Name of Hashem will escape, and the calamity will have no power over him. This will occur in two ways. On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, for everyone there will be saved, as it says, “He who remains in Zion … everyone inscribed for life in Jerusalem.” In other places, where not everyone will be saved, there will be deliverance among the survivors whom Hashem calls—that is, the righteous, everyone who calls upon Hashem and prays to Him.