The Pentecost

Intro:

pentʹə-kost. Greek pentekoste means “fiftieth” and came to designate the fiftieth day after Passover.

The term is not used in the OT. Instead it refers to the festival as the “feast of weeks”

On this day (Pentecost) the Church was born.

First, lets address tongues.

The context here is quite plain, they were speaking in different earthly languages.

Acts 2:6

There is no indication that people are given the ability to speak some angelic language that they don’t even understand.

Paul didn’t actually say that he spoke the language of angels. The best translation is “If I speak…”

Even in the translations that word it differently, it is clear that he is speaking hypothetically.

Tongues refers to earthly languages. When Paul speaks of tongues of angels, he is speaking hypothetically.

1 Corinthians 13:1

1 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

God performed a great miracle on the day of pentecost, in bring the Gospel in everyone’s native language.

The miracle of tongues also [symbolically] reversed the confusion of languages at Babel.

This would be the beginning of ethnic reconciliation among God’s people.

This was an incredible miracle in its own right, there is no need to try to stretch it into something it is not.

Pentecost completed the events that began with Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension.

It enabled God to permanently bestow his Spirit upon all believers.

This was a dramatic shift from the Old Testament, where the Spirit only came temporarily upon select individuals.

Peter’s subsequent sermon resulted in three thousand conversions, transforming this harvest festival into a spiritual harvest of souls.

vv.16-21:

Peter quotes the prophet Joel.

Joel 2:28-32

Joel 2:28–32 NKJV

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

It is important to note that Joel’s prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, but there are still some truths we can unpack for today.

This portion of Joel’s prophecy tells us some of the changes we will see when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Though Joel is speaking of the tribulation period, some of what he says are normal consequences of receiving the Holy Spirit, and some are not.

Normal:

Poured out on all (v.18)

Anyone can be saved, and therefore receive the Holy Spirit.

John 3:16

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Acts 2:38

Acts 2:38 NKJV

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Prophecy (normal to an extent)

The Holy Spirit will embolden a person to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:31

Acts 4:31 NKJV

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Prophecy in the form of new revelation is not normal.

Since the Bible is complete, there is no new prophecy.

Not Normal:

Visions

Dreams

Visions and dreams were most frequently used to reveal apocalyptic imagery.

We see it somewhat frequently in the OT, but it was quite rare in the NT.

Even so, these things were not considered normal in Biblical times, and should not be considered normal now.

The time will come; however, when God will use them again during the tribulation period.

Wonders in the heavens

Signs in the earth

There will, of course be many wonders and signs seen during the tribulation.

Blood Moon

I want to touch on this one for a moment.

A lot has been made of the “blood moon”.

Every time the moon turns red, the doom and gloom prophecies come out.

This has really been popularized by the likes of John Hagee and Mark Blitz.

All they have really done is monetized a natural phenomenon.

In order to properly understand whether we are witnessing Biblical prophecy in action when the moon turns red, we need to understand just what this “day of the Lord” is. 

Our Scripture reference is one of three Biblical references that tie a blood moon with the day of the Lord. 

Acts 2:20

Acts 2:20 NKJV

The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

Another of the three references is Joel 2:31, which Peter was quoting.

Joel 2:31

Joel 2:31 NKJV

The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

The third, and final reference is found in Revelation 6:12.

Revelation 6:12

Revelation 6:12 NKJV

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

So, What is the day of the Lord? The day of the Lord, as referenced in these verses, is a tribulation event. 

That means that it will take place during the seven year great tribulation. Specifically, this will occur at the end of the tribulation period, as God pours out His wrath, just prior to the return of Christ.

The rapture will precede the great tribulation, and must not be confused with the day of the Lord, or the second coming of Christ.

The rapture will not be preceded by any signs, as it can happen at any moment.

The Day of the Lord will be the time when Christ will return to Earth, conquer the nations, redeem Israel, and establish His kingdom. 

This will all happen at the end of the tribulation, seven years after the rapture.  

Therefore, any current blood moon events cannot be the Biblical event which precedes the day of the Lord, because the rapture has not yet happened. 

When the rapture does happen, it will take another seven years for these events to play out.

Just keep this in mind: The rapture first, then 7 years of tribulation until the day of the Lord. 

In conclusion, Joel may have been speaking of tribulation events, but the “last days” began with Jesus’ ascension.

This was the the beginning of the church and Peter was proclaiming that the last days were underway.

We are now headed full steam toward the “great and awesome Day of the Lord”

The day of the Lord will only be great and awesome if you are saved.

It will be quite dreadful for those who are not.

Peter was proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, which is that anyone can be saved.

Salvation

Romans 10:9-13

Romans 10:9–13 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The irony is that many of the people Peter was speaking to were part and parcel to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Even if they didn’t directly have a hand in it, many of them would have plead for the release of Barabas and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Many of them would have watched with great satisfaction as He was beaten, carried His cross, and was crucified.

Yet here they were, hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because no one is beyond His saving grace.

Jesus died for all sinners.

Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.