Pentecost - Part 1

The word Pentecost is only found three times in the New Testament. To hear the charismatics on this subject one would think it is a subject found from Genesis to Revelation. The three references are Acts 2:1, Acts 20:16, and I Corinthians 16:8. The word Pentecost means the fiftieth day following Passover.

The deliberate misinterpretation of Pentecost by religionists is a manifestation of apostasy. These religionists are demonically influenced to assume that Scripture teaches that every believer must have his own Pentecostal experience of speaking in tongues as a manifestation of that experience. Furthermore, they confuse baptism in the Spirit with being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18. There are only seven references to baptism in the Spirit—five are prophetic (Matt. 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5) and two are historical (Acts 11:16, I Cor. 12:13). It is a completed job. There is no such thing as baptism in the Holy Spirit today. As believers, we are to be filled with the Spirit.

Charismatic Catholics, charismatic Methodists, charismatic Baptists, etc., lay claim to the gifts of the Spirit as they are demonstrated in the book of Acts. Modern Pentecostals claim to preach the full gospel, which they believe includes speaking in tongues, healing the body, and healing the soul. They believe apostles continue today. However, we must understand that the assembly today cannot have some of the things experienced by the assembly during the time of the apostles.

The early assembly had inspired apostles, and the following verses give their qualifications: “It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection” (Acts 1:21, 22 NASB). Paul was not one of the original twelve; he was not the one selected to take Judas’ place; but he was an apostle. He was an eyewitness of Jesus Christ, a qualification for apostleship (I Cor. 15:8, 9). To the Corinthians, some of whom were questioning his apostleship, Paul said: “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this” (I Cor. 9:1-3 NASB). There are no apostles today, because no one today has seen Jesus Christ.

The Reformers correctly advocated the continuation of apostolic authority in the assembly in living oracles given through the apostles, but not through living men. They taught that believers should assemble around a completed revelation instead of gathering around a so-called miracle of special and continuing revelation. They advocated Biblical holiness, not sinless perfection.

John Wesley and Charles Finney taught that sinless perfection is connected with the baptism “of” the Spirit. However, when baptism “of” (their terminology) the Spirit is disconnected from the grace of salvation, one is on the way to modern Pentecostalism. In reality, this separates sanctification from justification. They are distinguishable but not separable. Wesley’s experiential theology and Finney’s experiential methodology have brought about the modern Pentecostalism of today.

The term “Charismatic” is relatively new, developed in the middle 1950’s. At that time, it was confined to the term “Pentecostalism.” Some call it “neopentecostalism.” The word “Charismatic” has become a household word throughout America and many other parts of the world. The objectives are ecumenical. However, it is erroneous to have as one’s main goal to bring all denominations, Catholics and Protestants alike, into a united “Christian” front. The Charismatic teaching that a person instantly attains a deeply spiritual life by being baptized “of” the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues appeals to people with a humanistic idea of a quick route to sanctification. The shallowness of their humanistic easy believism must have a diet of so-called signs, wonders, and miracles to keep human faith going.

So-called worship by Charismatics emphasizes subjective release. It is high-pressured subjectivism in which people express their experiences, miracles, impulses, messages from God, feelings, and laughter. Their word from the Lord is always apart from Bible study. Their laughter resulting from testimonials, etc., is actually ridicule. The verb for “laughing” is from katagelao, which means to laugh down, deride, jeer, laugh to scorn, or ridicule (Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53).

Most “church goers” are unaware of the great gulf between orthodox and charismatic teaching. The orthodox study to show themselves approved unto God, give an exposition of Scripture, and correctly interpret on the basis of all Scripture. Christians can discover the difference between a true believer who is growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and a person whose so-called baptism “of” the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues has never changed his life.

The Lord’s promise, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13 NASB), does not contradict the following truths: (1) Before Pentecost, the early disciples waited for the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1). (2) At Pentecost, about 120 disciples waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:12-2:4). (3) Subsequent to Pentecost, there is no admonition to disciples to wait for the Spirit of God. Anyone who makes Luke 11:13 apply to believers since Pentecost fails to see the transitional distinctives in the gospel era. Pentecost, like Calvary, is a fact of history. Therefore, Luke 11:13 does not apply to this dispensation.

Before Pentecost, Joel prophesied the Pentecostal gift and also the day of the Lord. The expression “the day of the Lord” is repeated several times in Joel’s prophecy (Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14). The prophecy of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2:28) did not occur at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit will not be poured out on all flesh until the kingdom, which is connected with the day of the Lord. God will use a nation to come on the nation of Israel. A judgment that God would send on the nation was near in Joel’s time, and the conclusion of that judgment will take place in the day of the Lord when Jesus Christ comes as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Observe the references to “the day of the Lord” in Joel: (1) The day of the Lord is foreshadowed (Joel 1:15). (2) The day of the Lord is foretold (2:1-10). (3) God intervenes to save Israel from annihilation (2:11). (4) Physical phenomena are associated with the day of the Lord (2:31). (5) The kingdom is not established without a period of violence and war (3:14). (Study Rev. 19:2; II Thess. 2; Is. 63.) The Spirit took the opportunity afforded by an unparalleled scarcity caused by the invasion of insects to awaken the attention of the people in regard to the day of the Lord, the great and terrible day, in which God’s power would be manifested in judgment. There will be worldwide judgment from God before the establishment of His kingdom.

The time of the pouring out of the Spirit is “after this,” “in those days” (Joel 2:28, 29). This time applies to neither the day of the prophet nor to the day of Pentecost, but primarily to the day of the kingdom of which Pentecost was a foretaste. This prophecy was not fulfilled at Bethlehem, Gethsemane, Calvary, or Olivet. It was still “after this.” Subsequent to that event Peter, the preacher on the day of Pentecost, referred to the day of the Lord as future. Although there was concealed in it a deeper meaning than Pentecost could impart, the day of the Lord was only partially fulfilled at Pentecost. The “after this,” which refers to the kingdom, will yet take place to fulfill the universal reign of the Holy Spirit when He will be poured out on all mankind. Baptism in the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was a foretaste of the future fulfillment. “All mankind” includes more than what was realized at Pentecost. It will not be realized until the terrible day of the Lord concludes, and His kingdom is ushered in. God’s final outpouring will not be confined to the saints who presently have the earnest, because it extends to the Jewish remnant, the Gentiles, and all the earth. As Pentecost, a pledge, was publicly manifested, the outpouring that will take place in the future when the kingdom is established will also be publicly manifested.

The Lord promised the disciples that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit: “And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, Which, He said, you heard of from Me; for John baptized with [in] water, but you shall be baptized with [in] the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4, 5 NASB). This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the group assembled in the upper room was baptized in the Holy Spirit: “And when the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled they were all together at the same place; and suddenly there came a noise out of heaven like a strong wind rushing and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared to them tongues being distributed like fire, and it sat on each one of them, and they were all being filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to be speaking in other languages as the Spirit was giving them to speak out” (Acts 2:1-4—translation).

The plural pronouns (they, them) in Acts 2:1-4 refer to the persons assembled in the upper room (Acts 2:1, 2, 3—twice, 4—twice). To learn all the persons present in the assembly, about 120, a person must go back to the reference to the eleven named disciples, the women, Mary the mother of Jesus, His brethren (Acts 1:13, 14), and the one who took Judas’ place (Acts 1:26). The nearest noun to the pronouns in Acts 2:1-4 is “the apostles”: “And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles” (Acts 1:26 NASB).

Pentecost was an earnest of the second coming of Jesus Christ, when He will establish the kingdom. Peter did not say that all the elements of Joel’s prophecy were fulfilled at Pentecost: “But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this [demonstrative pronominal adjective of houtos] be known to you, and give heed to my words....but this [demonstrative pronominal adjective of houtos] is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:14, 16 NASB). The demonstrative adjective in verse 14 refers to what was happening in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Verse 16 begins with the strong adversative “but” (alla) to show a contrast. The demonstrative adjective in verse 16 refers to what the Holy Spirit has permanently spoken by the agency of Joel concerning the earthly kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament. The context of Acts 2:16-21 proves that this cannot apply to the assembly Christ is continuing to build. Christ is Head of the assembly. He will be King of the kingdom. Peter’s second Epistle proves that he knew the day of the Lord is future (II Pet. 3:10-13).

There is a more extended promise in Joel’s prophecy than the coming of the Holy Spirit. The greater blessings include the lesser blessings that would prepare for the greater. The reverse of Joel’s prophecy occurred at Pentecost. When men assign to themselves baptism in the Holy Spirit, which belongs to a future age, they do an injustice to Scripture.

Jews from fifteen named nations gathered in Jerusalem to observe the feast of Pentecost. The word “Pentecost” means fiftieth in remembrance of the fifty days from the Exodus to Sinai. Pentecost is also called the “Feast of Weeks” (Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16). Pentecost was fifty days after Passover. Passover speaks of redemption. It goes back to Calvary where Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us (I Cor. 5:7). He was in the heart of the earth three full days and three full nights (72 hours). He walked on earth forty days from His resurrection to His ascension. Pentecost occurred seven days later. That makes a total of 50 days.

Pentecost was a foretaste of the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which will take place at the time the kingdom is established (Joel 2-3). It is the beginning of the harvest. The harvest time is preparation for the kingdom. Our age is marked by two facts: (1) Since Christ has died, risen, spent forty days with His disciples, ascended, and promised His coming again to establish His kingdom, He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. (2) While Christ is at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit carries on His work.

The greatest revelation of the Holy Spirit thus far was at Pentecost, and that is history. Under the old economy, believers were under the influence of the Holy Spirit in a limited way corresponding to the limited revelation of truth that was given at that time. The Spirit was revealed in measure in the Old Testament. He came on certain persons for certain tasks. There was greater revelation in the incarnation of our Lord and His personal ministry. As Christ, the second Person in the Godhead, operated in the elect before the incarnation, the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Godhead, worked in the elect before He came in His abiding presence at Pentecost. The Bible is complete, but it was not all given at one time. Truth itself is not fragmentary, but the revelation of truth was fragmentary. It was given through different people at different times (Heb. 1:1, 2).

The manner in which the Spirit came at Pentecost was by signs—“like a violent, rushing [present middle participle of phero] wind” (Acts 2:2) and “tongues [languages] as of fire distributing [present passive participle of diameridzo] themselves” (Acts 2:3). Rushing wind at Pentecost was a sign: “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing [present middle participle of phero] wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2 NASB). Some believe “rushing” is in the passive voice; if so, it would be translated “being carried.” Indications are that it is in the middle voice, and the translation is “rushing.” The wind was participating in the action.