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Pentecost refers both to an important Jewish feast day and the recognized beginning of the New Testament church. The Jewish feast of Pentecost arose as the celebration of the closing of the spring grain harvest, which formally began 50 days earlier at [[Passover]]. On the Pentecost after the [[resurrection of Jesus]], the [[Holy Spirit]], as told [[Acts 2]], descended on the disciples in the form of tongues of fire accompanied by the sound of a rush of wind, and gave them the power of speaking in such a way that people of different languages could understand them. In liturgical Christianity, Pentecost is an annual commemoration of this event, and it is solemnly observed as the birthday of the church and the feast of the Holy Spirit.
The Jewish feast of Pentecost arose as the celebration of the closing of the spring grain harvest, which formally began 50 days earlier at [[Passover]]. On the Pentecost after the [[resurrection of Jesus]], the [[Holy Spirit]], as told [[Acts 2]], descended on the disciples in the form of tongues of fire accompanied by the sound of a rush of wind, and gave them the power of speaking in such a way that people of different languages could understand them. In liturgical Christianity, Pentecost is an annual commemoration of this event, and it is observed as the birthday of the church and the feast of the Holy Spirit. ===Etymology===
The word Pentecost is derived from the [[Greek]] word meaning "fiftieth". In [[Hebrew]] the word is [[Shavuot]].
===[[Acts 2]] - The baptism of the three thousand===
[[Image:Icon 03005 Sobor 12-ti apostolov s Konstantinom Velikim.jpg |thumb|right|An icon of Pentecost]]
According to the [[Book of Acts]], the experience of the Pentecost was shared by all in the large crowd, causing confusion and inspiring fear. It began with a sound of the rushing of a might wind ([[Acts 2:2]]) and tongues of fire appearing on the disciples ([[Acts 2:3]]). The disciples were filled with [[Holy Spirit]] and began to speak in languages foreign to them ([[Acts 2:4]]) and preach to a crowd. When a crowd heard this they were bewildered ([[Acts 2:6]]).
Then the [[Apostle Peter]], standing with the eleven other apostles, spoke to the crowd. He explained that these strange events had been predicted by the prophet [[Joel]], and that [[Jesus]]'s coming had been prophesied by [[King David|David]]. Peter explained that these events confirmed David's prophesied exaltation of Jesus. Peter then exorted his listeners to turn to [[Christ]]. About three thousand responded to Peter's sermon.
====Theological Significance of Pentecost====
The events described in Acts 2 represent the fulfillment of the [[Old Testament]] prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit, for example [[Ezekiel 36]]:25-29 and [[Joel 2]]:28-32. The passage in Joel describes the Spirit coming to all people or nations, which links with [[Genesis 12:2]] and [[Acts 1:8]].
The coming of the Spirit also further confirmed the authoity of Jesus. For example
==Quotes==
