Pentecost

Pentecost
RELATED TOPICS	Acts 2 Pentecostalism
SERMONS, ESSAYS AND OPINIONS	* Easton's Bible Dictionary entry on Pentecost
CONTENTS

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.

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

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 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.

Links

• Theopedia - Pentecost
• Wikipedia - Pentecost

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