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Acts 2:1-4 - And when the
day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
The previous 5 or 6 broadcasts were concerning the doctrine of the local
church. If you don’t believe or understand the doctrine of the local church,
you will have trouble understanding what happened on the day of Pentecost. We
are going to study what the day of Pentecost is all about, and why God gave the
gifts of languages.
I am going to cover three points in the messages about the day of Pentecost.
1. The meaning of the word Pentecost.
2. Acts 2 is not the first Pentecost, nor is it the last.
3. The reason God allowed other languages to be spoken on the day of
Pentecost.
I. Reason # 1 - Pentecost is a Jewish holiday. The word Pentecost
means 50, or 50th day. The day of Pentecost occurring in Acts 2
happened 50 days from Passover, or 50 days from the death of Christ, who died
on the day of Passover. Deut. 16:1-12 describes the feast of Passover, and
verse 9 reveals that the feast of Pentecost is counted from the Passover. In
the Old Testament the day of Pentecost was referred to as the Feast of weeks.
See also Leviticus 23:15-16.
II. Reason # 2 - The Day of Pentecost had happened before! Israel
celebrated the holiday each year.
A. The first time the feast of weeks (day of Pentecost) is recognized in
the Bible is found by comparing Exodus 12 and Exodus 19 when Moses went up
on Mt. Sinai to receive the law from God, which we call the ten
commandments.
B. Exodus 34:22 states, "And thou shalt observe the feast of
weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at
the year's end." This passage reveals that the feast of weeks
represents the ingathering at the end of the year, or the gathering in of
souls near the end of time, which fits in with the many souls being saved on
the day of Pentecost, and the power of the Holy Ghost revealed at that time.
1. Calculating the number of days from the time Israel left Egypt,
which is the 14th day of the first month, to the time Israel
arrived at Mt. Sinai, to the giving of the law is 50 days.
2. From the sixteenth of Nisan, seven weeks were reckoned inclusively,
and the next or fiftieth day was the day of Pentecost, which fell on the
sixth of Sivan (about the end of May).
3. … a significance has been found in the fact that the law was given
from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the deliverance from Egypt. Comp. Ex.
12 and 19.
C. The day of Pentecost is celebrated after Acts 2.
1. Acts 20:16 reads, "For Paul had determined to sail by
Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it
were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost."
Paul wanted to be at Jerusalem at Pentecost because he knew there would be
many unbelievers there that he could witness to and because there would be
many believers there who he could rejoice with.
2. I Corinthians 16:8 declares, "But I will tarry at Ephesus
until Pentecost. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and
there are many adversaries." Paul states to the Corinthian church
he will remain at Jerusalem until Pentecost because God has opened a door
for witnessing about Christ, even though there are many there who oppose
the word of God.
III. Reason # 3 - The reason God revealed the power of the Holy
Ghost through the church his organized during his own personal ministry, by
allowing other languages to be spoken on the day of Pentecost – Unbelief!
A. The situation in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
1. The Jews had rejected Christ during his personal ministry.
2. Jesus healed on the Sabbath, which was against their rules.
3. The Jews had rejected the miracles and signs Christ performed during
his personal ministry.
4. The religious Jews took Christ to trial and had him executed –
they cried, "crucify him, crucify him."
5. Matthew 27:50,51 records "And, behold, the veil of the
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent;" The vail of the temple was rent in
half from the top to the bottom at the very time Christ died on the cross.
There was a great earthquake. The Jews saw all these things, and I know
they were scared at what they saw, but they didn’t repent. They did,
however, have something to think about. They saw the ark of God and the
cherubims over it. According to their own law, they were doomed to death,
but they didn’t die because the mercy of God is being extended to them.
6. Matthew 27:52,53 records "And the graves were opened; and
many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves
after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many." This is a very remarkable thing, and should convince all
that there is something to the death of Christ. But miracles, signs and
wonders do not make for strong Christians, nor to they convince anybody to
be saved.
7. Matthew 27:63-66 records that the Chief priests and Pharisees came
to Pilate desiring authority to seal the tomb of Christ. They were very
much afraid Christ would rise from the dead, just like he said he would,
so they were doing all they could do to stop the resurrection. Pilate gave
them authority to seal the tomb, so they did, and set a watch until the
third day. When Jesus arose from the dead (Matthew 28:11-15) the soldiers
told the chief priests and Pharisees about the resurrection. They were
paid off, and promised to be kept safe if the thing was known.
8. All these things were going on, and many other things being rumored
about and now comes the day of Pentecost with news that the disciples of
Christ were preaching the wonderful words and works of Christ.
9. It is no accident that God chose this second annual festival day to
give power to the church he organized during his own personal ministry.
IV.
God had already given the Holy Ghost to his church before his ascension,
now he will give Holy Ghost power on the day of Pentecost.
A. Scriptures showing that God gives power to the church on the day of
Pentecost. The Jews didn’t believe Jesus and they don’t believe the
church Jesus established during his own personal ministry.
1. John 7:37-39 – The receiving of the Holy Ghost was future – "In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth
on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe
on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that
Jesus was not yet glorified.)" Jesus had just proclaimed in the
previous verses concerning his crucifixion, and resurrection. The Jews
didn’t understand what he was say and questioned among themselves.
Jesus, on the last day of the feast gave the prophecy of verse 37 and 38.
The explanation of the prophecy is given in verse 39. So we see in this
passage that there will be a special manifestation of the power of God
given to sinful man. Men will be able, by the power of God, to so preach
the gospel that many will be saved. The reference is to the day of
Pentecost when the power of the Holy Ghost comes upon the church Jesus
established during his personal ministry, and they begin to be witnesses
to all the world starting at Jerusalem, as Christ stated in Acts 1:8.
2. John 14:15-18 - Jesus will pray that the Father will send
"another comforter", which is the "Spirit of Truth"
– "If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the
Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with
you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you
comfortless: I will come to you."
a. Who is Jesus talking to in John 14?
b. He is talking to the church and the individuals in the church as
found in John 13, when Jesus reveals to Peter that he will deny him three
times before the cock crows.
c. In John 14, Jesus instructs his church to not be afraid but to trust
him, and look forward to dwelling in the special place he has for them in
eternity. Thomas states that they don’t know where Jesus is going,
therefore they don’t know how to get there. Jesus declares that he is
the way to the Father, and that everybody that knows the Father, knows the
way, because Jesus is the way. Philip continues the questioning by asking
Jesus to show them the Father. Christ gently rebukes him by stating that
everybody that has seen the Son has also seen the Father, for they are
one.
3. John 14:26 – the Holy Ghost is the comforter that is to come – "But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
4. John 20:21-23 – "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be
unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he
had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the
Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them;
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."
a. This takes place after the death, burial and resurrection of Christ,
but before his ascension back into heaven.
b. Verse 21 - Jesus gives his church peace. He also gives them the
commission to take the gospel message into all the world. Christ is
sending them into all the world to preach. But they are not to preach in
their own strength, they need the Holy Ghost to preach effectively.
c. Verse 22 – Jesus gives his church the Holy Ghost. The church Jesus
organized during his personal ministry receives of the Holy Ghost
in this verse. The power of the Holy Ghost is revealed to that same
believing, scripturally baptized church on the day of Pentecost. Proper
interpretation of scripture reveals that the church already had the Holy
Ghost, as seen in the upper room and the choosing of Matthias to replace
Judas, who had betrayed Christ and killed himself. The power of the Holy
Ghost will be revealed to the unbelieving Jews (public) on
the day of Pentecost.
d. Verse 23 – This verse is given to show the authority Christ has
given to his first church, the power to remit or retain sins.
5. Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:6-9 go together. These scriptures take place
at the same time. They are two different recordings of the same event,
same time, same place.
a. Luke 24:49 states, "And, behold, I send the promise of my
Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on high."
b. Acts 1:6-9 – "When they therefore were come together,
they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again
the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to
know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own
power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight."
c. This scripture is not a promise for the receiving of the
Holy Ghost, because the Holy Ghost had already been given to them as
revealed in John 20:21-23, but a promise for power from the Holy
Ghost.
d. The Holy Ghost had already been received in John 20:21-23.
e. The early church will be witnesses to the unbelieving Jews after
they receive this power.
f. Their witness start in Jerusalem (on the day of Pentecost) and
will continue to all Judea, spread to Samaria and then to the uttermost
part of the earth. See Acts 1:8.
V. Why did the 1st
church speak with tongues (other languages) on the day of Pentecost? And
what are these "tongues?"
A. Why did the early church speak with other languages on the day of
Pentecost? The early church was doing the same thing the law was doing
– point the Jews to Christ.
1. The people that had gathered together in Jerusalem to worship God
Almighty on the feast of weeks, (Day of Pentecost) heard and understand
what was being said.
2. Peter had preached about Jesus, pointing the Jews to Calvary and
what Jesus had done for them in his death, burial and resurrection.
B. Acts 2:1-4 is a fulfillment of the prophecy given in Isaiah 28:9-12.
1. "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to
understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from
the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11 For
with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to
rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear."
2. Verse 11, the "stammering lips" refers to the unlearned
Galilaeans; while "another tongue" refers to the giving of other
languages on the day of Pentecost.
3. The truth is that the bulk of the Jewish nation didn’t believe
even when they heard the blessed gospel truth in their own language.
4. Some did believe, there were 3,000 that believed, and later there
will be more that will believe, but the nation as a whole has continued to
reject the gospel until this very time.
5. There is coming a day when they will hear, they will see, when
Christ comes in the air, setting his feet on Mt. Zion, and they see the
nail prints in his hands. Isaiah 66, and Zechariah 12-14.
C. What are the tongues referred to in Acts 2:1-4? One of the
first things we must do is to understand that the tongues of Acts 2 are
languages. When we fully understand this fact, many of the problems
associated with the day of Pentecost will disappear. We will use a basic
principle of Biblical interpretation. Let one scripture interpret another
scripture. Let the Bible give its own definition to words. By understanding
other passages, we will understand the passage before us.
1. Acts 2:1-4 – "And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance."
a. The Greek word translated "tongues" is "glossa"
and means "a language (spec. one naturally un-acquired)" (There
are several times the word "tongue" appears in the Bible and
refers to the tongue that is in the mouth. Our study doesn’t concern the
tongue that is an organ, but the tongue that is a language.)
b. Compare Genesis 10:20 and Gen. 10:31. (The second and the third time
the word tongue or tongues appear in the Bible.)
1) Gen. 10:20 – "These are the sons of Ham, after their
families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their
nations."
2) Gen. 10:31 – "These are the sons of Shem, after their
families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their
nations."
3) These passages make it abundantly clear that the descendants of
Ham spoke one language and the descendants of Shem spoke another
language. (They were separated at the tower of Babel when they tried to
build the tower to reach to heaven. God knew they were disobedient to
him, and he separated the nations by confusing their languages.)
c. Revelation 7:9 states, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;" It is
apparent these tongues are languages, not the tongue that is an organ in
all our mouths, or a sort of gibberish speech that cannot be understood.
d. Rev. 10:11 states, "And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy
again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and
kings." God reveals to John that he must prophesy again before
many different kinds of people, many different nations, who speak many
different languages, and many different kings, preaching the everlasting
gospel to them.
e. Revelation 11:9 states "And they of the people and kindreds
and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and
an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."
When the two witnesses are killed during the tribulation period, people of
all kindreds, tongues (languages) and nations will see their dead bodies
3˝ days and refuse to bury them.
f. Rev. 13:7 states, "And it was given unto him to make war
with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all
kindreds, and tongues, and nations." This scripture
declares who the Anti-Christ will have power over: all kindreds, tongues
(languages) and nations.
g. Rev. 17:15 states, "And he saith unto me, The waters which
thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and
nations, and tongues." False religion will fill the world,
having dominion over people of every nation and language.
2. Now compare Acts 2:5,6 with Acts 2:8. Acts 2:5,6 states, "And
there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came
together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in
his own language."
a. The word "language" is the Greek word "dialektos"
(dee-al'-ek-tos) which means discourse, dialect, language, tongue.
b. Comparing Acts 2:6 and Acts 2:8 we find the people present in
Jerusalem use the word "language" and "tongue"
interchangeably.
1) Acts 2:6 states, "Now when this was noised abroad, the
multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man
heard them speak in his own language."
2) Acts 2:8 states, "And how hear we every man in our own
tongue, wherein we were born?"
3) It is very clear from the scriptures that tongues are languages.
3. The Holy Ghost was the interpreter.
4. It was not the other languages that impressed the people, but
that they understood what was being said.
5. Acts 2:7-12 – "And they were all amazed and marvelled,
saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and
in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia,
in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,
Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in
our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed,
and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?"
a. How many different languages are being spoken?
1) Parthians
2) Medes
3) Elamites
4) dwellers in Mesopotamia
5) dwellers in Judaea
6) dwellers in Cappadocia
7) in Pontus
8) and Asia
9) Phrygia
10) and Pamphylia
11) in Egypt
12) and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene
13) strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes
14) Cretes
15) and Arabians
16) The number of nations represented may be different from your
list, but I have 15 nations listed that are present, hearing the
wonderful works of God.
b. It is obvious from the reading that the people present had time to
compare with those of other languages what they were hearing.
c. In order for this to take place, there had to be people there that
understood more than one language.
6. What did the people hear?
a. Acts 2:11 – "…we do hear them speak in our tongues the
wonderful works of God."
b. It is not the hearing the people are impressed with, they
are impressed with what they are hearing.
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