Acts 2:1-4
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
Pentecost is a beginning. But it is not an ordinary beginning. It is the beginning of the church, the beginning of something that continues to this very day, because the church itself continues to this very day. What was born on Pentecost is great and important, because it still shapes the world even today, nearly 2,000 years later.
THE HARVEST CONTINUES
Several things characterized Pentecost, and all of them continue today. The first is the spiritual harvest (v.1).
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. (Acts 2:1)
Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church, happened precisely on the Jewish feast of Pentecost. This was the second of the three Jewish feasts at which all the men of Israel were required to “appear before the Lord” at the tabernacle or the temple — the other two such feasts were Passover and Tabernacles. The feast was called Pentecost because it fell fifty days after Passover. It was also called the “Festival of Weeks,” because its date was fixed by counting seven weeks from the second day of Passover week (Exodus 34:22-23).
22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. (Exodus 34:22-23)
Pentecost was the feast “of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest” — a feast that marked the beginning of the harvest. In Exodus 23 we read:
14 “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me. 15 Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. 17 Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord. (Exodus 23:14-17)
Pentecost was a feast of the physical harvest, the agricultural harvest. In Acts 1:8 Jesus Christ announced the beginning of the harvest of saved souls.
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8)
With these words Christ defined what our goal must be as His followers: to be witnesses for Him in “Jerusalem,” “Judea,” “Samaria,” and “to the ends of the earth.” But before the apostles could begin to fulfill this goal, they needed the power of the Holy Spirit. And that power came down upon them on Pentecost. On Pentecost, Christ’s goal of carrying the gospel “to the ends of the earth” began to be fulfilled. That very day three thousand people were added to the church (Acts 2:41).
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:41)
This was the beginning of the harvest. A little later, two thousand more believed the gospel (Acts 4:4).
4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. (Acts 4:4)
So the kingdom of God, which began like a mustard seed, like a single seed planted in the ground, began to grow and to fill the whole world.
And today we say that Pentecost continues. Why? Because the harvest continues. Has the harvest stopped? No — the harvest that began on Pentecost has not stopped. It will go on until the Second Coming of our Lord. If He delays, it is only because He wants to give still more people the chance to come to repentance and be saved. In 2 Peter 3:3-9 we read:
3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:3-9)
If the Lord has not yet come again a second time, it is because the harvest continues. God is waiting for you. If you have not yet surrendered to the Lord, if you have not yet been “harvested” for the kingdom and gathered into the heavenly barns, if you have not yet become part of the church, then God is waiting for you. God wants “everyone to come to repentance.” So the harvest continues. In John 4:35 Jesus said:
35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:35-38)
Who were the ones who had sown? They were the Old Testament prophets. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and faithfully spoke God’s Word to His people, yet very often they were rejected and their message was not received. But today there are so many churches, so many people — compared with ancient times — who receive the teaching of Christ.
The Jewish Pentecost marked the beginning of the harvest. The Christian Pentecost marks the beginning of the spiritual harvest. But this spiritual harvest is not yet finished. There is still a “crop for eternal life” to be gathered in. That is why Pentecost continues. Do you want to take part in it? Then join the harvest! Get to work! Gather a crop for eternal life. Share the gospel with those who have not heard it, so that they too may be gathered into the heavenly barns.
THE CHURCH CONTINUES TO BE GOD’S ONLY DWELLING ON EARTH
We say that Pentecost continues, because all three of the things that characterized it continue. The first was the very day on which it happened. That was the feast marking the beginning of the harvest. It became a symbol of the spiritual harvest, which continues to this day. The second thing that characterizes Pentecost is the fire. The fire of Pentecost displays God’s approval upon the gathering of believers as God’s dwelling, sanctuary, and place of worship. In verses 2-3 we read:
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. (Acts 2:2-3)
In the Old Testament, “a sound from heaven like the blowing of a violent wind” was usually a herald of God’s appearing on the scene. In Exodus 19:16-20 we read what happened when God came down on Mount Sinai to meet with Israel as He was making the Old Covenant.
16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. (Doesn’t this phrase “a very loud trumpet blast” remind you of what we read in Acts 2? It sounds very close to Luke’s phrase “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind.”) Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. 19 As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. 20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up. (Exodus 19:16-20)
So the “sound from heaven like the blowing of a violent wind, which filled the whole house” where the disciples were gathered testifies to an extraordinary and supremely important appearance of God on the scene. Why did God Himself appear at that particular moment in history? For two reasons — first, to demonstrate His approval of the church as His dwelling on earth, and second, to pour out upon her His Holy Spirit and power for service.
It is striking that in the later instances of the Holy Spirit being poured out upon various people, which we read about in Acts, speaking in unknown tongues is mentioned, but never again is there any mention of an appearance of tongues of fire. In the Old Testament, a single descent of fire from heaven happened at the dedication of a given sanctuary, and it testified to God’s approval of that place as a holy place, as God’s dwelling. In fact, in the Old Testament this happened only three times — once at the dedication of the tabernacle, once at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, and once upon Elijah’s altar on Mount Carmel. The temples built by Zerubbabel and Herod were only “restorations” of Solomon’s temple, so with them this sign was not repeated.
In Leviticus 9:22-24 we read what happened at the dedication of the tabernacle:
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. 23 Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. (Leviticus 9:22-24)
Fire came down from heaven and “consumed” the burnt offering that was on the altar. This was a sign of God’s approval of the tabernacle as His dwelling place. The same descent of God’s fire was repeated at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. In 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 we read:
1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)
You see, it is one and the same thing that kept recurring. When a sanctuary was being dedicated, the fire would come down, and this was a mark of God’s approval, a sign that He took pleasure in that holy place. The people saw the heavenly fire, and from that moment on they knew that God had chosen that place “to put His name there.” They would go there, worship Him, seek Him, bring their sacrifices before Him, and have fellowship with their God.
In 1 Kings 18:22-39 we read the account of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. This was the third time God’s fire came down, to show which was the true altar and which was the right way to worship Him. It was a time when Israel had turned away from God and given itself over to idol worship of Baal. Then Elijah proposed to his countrymen: “Let us set up two altars — one to Yahweh and one to Baal — without lighting the fire on them. Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god to answer from heaven with fire, and I will pray to Yahweh to answer from heaven with fire. And the god who answers this prayer, let him be our God.” The prophets of Baal accepted Elijah’s challenge. They laid a slaughtered bull on the altar and began to pray to Baal according to their customs. But there was no answer. Then Elijah prepared the Lord’s altar. And to make the demonstration even more convincing and to remove any suspicion of trickery, he ordered the altar to be drenched with twelve jars of water. So the whole altar, together with the wood and the offering upon it, “was swimming in water.” But for God nothing is impossible.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” (1 Kings 18:36-39)
You see that in each of these three instances, God’s answer with fire from heaven meant that He approved of that particular altar or place of worship and took pleasure in it. Pentecost came after the perfect sacrifice for all humanity had been offered on the altar called “Golgotha” — “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” When He breathed His last, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mark 15:37-38).
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:37-38)
The tearing of the curtain testified that God’s glory was leaving that temple. The service in that old sanctuary had ended, and it would be destroyed by the legions of Titus in A.D. 70. God was building a new sanctuary — a dwelling in which there would be new priests to offer new, spiritual sacrifices. So the Pentecostal fire, in fact, testified to God’s approval and favor toward the new spiritual temple — the Church, the gathering of believers, the children of God sanctified by the blood of Christ. Just as the fire did not repeat itself in the service of the earlier sanctuaries, so this fire never repeated itself again. It was a one-time mark of the legitimacy of the church as God’s dwelling on earth.
Why do we say today that Pentecost continues? Because on Pentecost God’s glory and His manifest presence came down upon the church, and since then things have not changed — God’s glory and His presence remain in her. To this very day God’s official dwelling on earth continues to be the church. Think about it! I am simply amazed when I consider that the Pentecostal fire actually testifies that the same glory that was in the tabernacle of Moses, the same presence that was in the holy and most holy place of Solomon’s temple, the same glory that was behind the curtain — that same glory is upon the church today. That same glory is today in this very church in which we are gathered. For Jesus Christ said: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20), and “I have given them the glory that you gave me” (John 17:22). So the glory that was upon Christ is today upon the church, is today upon us. We are the greatest institution that can exist on earth. This was confirmed on Pentecost through the fire that came down from heaven. Glory to God! In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 the apostle Paul says to the church at Corinth:
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
God’s Spirit lives in us! Not in the building, but in the gathering of believers. That is why we must be very careful how we treat one another, very careful how we treat the church. Because the church is the most holy thing on earth. It is the body of Jesus Christ. It is God’s temple!
Pentecost continues, because today God’s temple is us — the children of God sanctified through the blood of Christ and having believed in the Lord, the church of the twenty-first century. Do you want to take part in Pentecost? Then be part of the church of Christ.
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTINUES TO WORK
We say that Pentecost continues, because all three of the things that characterize it continue. The first is the spiritual harvest, which continues to this day; the second is the legitimacy of the church as the only place of worship on earth filled with God’s glory. The third thing that characterizes Pentecost is the filling with the Holy Spirit. He was “the promise of the Father,” which on that day was given to the church (v.4).
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4)
On that day the 120 disciples gathered in one place were filled with the Holy Spirit, and as a sign of this supernatural filling they began to speak in languages they had never learned. From Pentecost to the end of the book of Acts, we can see how, through people who allowed themselves to be filled with Him, the Holy Spirit overcame the various barriers that hindered the growth of the church. In fact, Acts could be called “the Acts of the Holy Spirit.” He led the church. He filled the apostles, and through them He did great things and overcame the obstacles that stood in the way of the growth of God’s kingdom.
Acts, like other books of the Bible, is divided into parts by verses that serve as rhetorical, narrative dividers. In those days books were not divided into chapters and verses, so the authors used certain sentences to serve as transitions or narrative markers. So when you reach such a sentence, you know that what follows from there on is a new chapter, or a new scene. In Acts there are five such summarizing statements, and what is characteristic of them is that they speak of the word of God “growing” and “multiplying.” In these verses Luke always uses two words — one of which describes qualitative growth (“grow,” “be built up,” “be strengthened”), and the other describes the quantitative growth of the church (“multiply,” “prevail”). These five narrative dividers bring to a close the major scenes of the book, which describe how the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to Rome. After each such reference there is a geographical advance. And not only geographical, but also a movement of groups of people. Here they are:
7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (Acts 9:31)
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. (Acts 12:24)
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16:5)
20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:20)
All of this, all this growth, was through the power of the Holy Spirit, who filled the disciples and the apostles and gave them wisdom and guidance for how to serve God and how to deal with the various challenges that stood in their way. Notice that in the first references it says that “the church” or “the number of disciples” multiplied, but in Acts 16:5 Luke tells us that not merely “the disciples,” but “the churches,” the gatherings of believers, “grew daily in numbers.” This is now not just qualitative or numerical growth, but territorial growth of the church. And all of this happened very quickly, in an exceptionally short span of time, and it came about solely and only thanks to the Holy Spirit.
Why do we say today that Pentecost continues? Because things have not changed. Today too the chief Leader and the only power of the church is the Holy Spirit. And today too, if we want to serve God and contribute to the growth of His kingdom, we still need the filling of the Holy Spirit and His guidance.
And this is the promise that we too have, from the end of this same second chapter of Acts (vv.38-39).
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)
Notice that the promise of forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit is not only for the children of those present, to whom the apostle Peter was speaking, but also for “all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” I believe that this includes us too, doesn’t it? Does it include us? Yes. We may be far removed in time from those 3,000 people who joined the church on Pentecost, we may not be their relatives, but we too are among those “far off” whom God has called to Himself. Because He has called us, hasn’t He? So the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is for us as well! Ask God for it in prayer, and He will give it to you, and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit! Then you will have power for service, you will have power for the harvest, you will have power for holiness and for victory over sin in your life!
Today, two thousand years later, things have not changed. The same goal, the same way, the same power. Pentecost continues! Pentecost continues, because the harvest continues, because the Church continues to be the only legitimate dwelling of God on earth, because the Holy Spirit continues to work through those who seek Him and desire to be filled with Him. Do you want to take part in Pentecost today? Then be part of the church, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and join the harvest of the last days!