CHAPTER 2

THE EARTHLY ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH

The previous chapter showed how the Church ultimately originated in heaven when the Lord Jesus Christ was seated on the “high ground” at the Father’s right hand. Between His first and second advents, He guides history to progressively complete the final judgment/salvation work of God. Christ has become the great “divider” of mankind and the conqueror of the principalities and powers. And the Church is centrally involved in this process.

When in His humanity Jesus Christ was given the supreme rank over all angels and men, He immediately took steps to begin the Church on earth. While both the Father and Son in heaven were thus ready to begin the Church, further work was needed. The unanswered question of the disciples in Acts 1:6 had to be answered. What about the coming of the Kingdom promised in the OT now that the nation Israel had rejected Christ? What about the role of Israel in this new situation? How long would the inter-advent age last? To deal with these questions and to found the new body of believers, the Father and Son “sent” the Holy Spirit to planet earth on a unique mission.

The Holy Spirit began this mission on a special day in the divinely-designed calendar of Israel, the day of Pentecost. Just as the advent of the Son was a complicated event involving many OT prophecies, a divided reception among the Jews, and a “stretching out” of history into a new age, so the advent of the Third Person of the Trinity similarly became a complicated event. This chapter will trace the Spirit’s Pentecostal work and show how the Church began amidst a time of tumult in Israel. We will follow the same method we used in the previous section regarding the ascension and session of Christ. First, we shall study what actually happened on the day of Pentecost over against what many think happened. Then, we’ll look at how that event was interpreted by the early church. Various unscriptural interpretations of this event will be answered. Finally, we’ll look at some doctrinal consequences that follow from this miraculous historic happening. To prepare for this study, please read Acts 1-3.

THE DAY OF PENTECOST: HISTORICAL OBSERVATIONS

The advent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was no less of a historical event than the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like the Lord’s ascension and session, however, it could only partially be

observed in its total workings. Certain physical phenomena were observed but what happened spiritually had to be interpreted by the early Christians through the grid of the OT scriptures and subsequent revelation to the Church in the NT scriptures. Let’s look first at what happened and then at when it happened.

WHAT WAS OBSERVED AT PENTECOST? The narrative in Acts 2:1-13 describes the miraculous happening on the day of Pentecost, but it must be understood in the context of prior events going all the way back to John the Baptist at the beginning of the gospels.

The Gospel Background. The Lord had commanded the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Spirit promised by John the Baptist (Acts 1:4-5). As the author of Acts, Luke also chronicled the ministry of John the Baptist in Luke 3:1-22. In that passage Luke records the announcement of the Messianic coming which we studied in Part V of this series. Clearly, John the Baptist repeatedly cited OT passages that spoke of the Kingdom of God that was prophesied throughout the history of Israel (see previous Parts in this series). Part of his message concerned three baptisms—a water baptism of repentance which he administered, a Spirit baptism administered by the Messiah, and a Fire baptism also administered by the Messiah (Lk. 3:16).

John acted as the “king-making” prophets had in the OT in that he was called to authenticate and anoint the king that God was raising up for the nation. Included in this preparation for the Messianic king he was also to prepare the nation to receive Him. Since the Kingdom of God would admit only saved individuals, it was necessary that the people be challenged to believe on the Messiah. Those who did would constitute what OT prophecies referred to as the faithful “remnant.” There had to be a “judgment” upon the nation to separate believers and unbelievers. The believers were asked to submit to a water baptism which usually was a practice the Jews used to admit Gentiles into their communities. In other words, the faithful remnant underwent a cleansing ceremony that identified publicly the need for forgiveness of sin prior to entrance into the Kingdom.

It is very important to recognize John’s activity as a key marker, historically, of the imminent coming of the long-awaited Kingdom. Jesus said that if Israel had accepted Him, John would have been the prophesied Elijah who was to come just prior to the great judgments of the Kingdom on earth (Matt. 11:14-15; cf. Mal. 3:1; 4:5). John the Baptist was given further revelation (Lk. 3:2) concerning the Messiah’s work in installing the Kingdom. He would administer two baptisms: one of the Spirit and one of

fire. These baptisms—which could only be done by the Messiah Himself, not a prophet like John—refer, respectively, to the saved and the lost under the metaphor of the wheat and the chaff (Lk. 3:17). At harvest time, farmers would separate the wheat from the chaff by pitching the mixture into the air to have the wind blow away the lighter chaff while the heavier wheat fell back to the ground. In similar fashion, only the unsaved will be removed from the earth prior to the installation of the Kingdom so that it begins with only the saved.

This gospel background provides the meaning behind Jesus’ words in Acts 1:4-5. Note that Jesus mentions only the baptism of the Spirit because He addresses only those who have already believed. During his earthly ministry he had given further revelation concerning this coming of the Spirit (e.g., the Upper Room Discourse in John 14-16). Jesus revealed that after His ascension and session, He would petition the Father to send the Spirit to the disciples, a petition that the Father certainly would grant in recognition of His authority (John 14:16; 16:7).

The Lord’s Further Revelation. The disciples’ reaction in Acts 1:6 clearly shows that they immediately identified the Spirit baptism with the Kingdom yet to come. Jesus’ response is very important and forms the core of the book of Acts. He loosens the association of the Spirit baptism with the Kingdom by insisting that the Spirit baptism would come shortly whereas the time when the Kingdom would come was not necessarily so imminent (Acts 1:7-8). Here is another instance of the same phenomenon we have noted repeatedly in this series. God’s plan for history includes “surprises” which generally consist in fulfillment delays. In Eden Eve assumed that the Promised One would come as one of her immediate children. In Daniel’s day, it was assumed the captivity of 70 years would be followed immediately by a total restoration of Israel and advent of the Kingdom. So now with the rejection of Christ by the nation Israel we observe the “surprise effect” of an inter-advent age.

By the time of the Lord’s ascension and session the disciples knew a lot more about the details of the Kingdom than any OT saint. They now knew who the Messiah was. They knew that the two Messianic roles—the Suffering Servant and the glorious Son of Man—were going to be fulfilled in one Person, not two. They also knew of His rejection by the nation and that this rejection had to be dealt with prior to the Kingdom being restored to Israel. In addition to these Kingdom details, they also were aware of Jesus’ detailed briefings on the coming of the Holy Spirit to them. They thus faced Pentecost with many pieces of the puzzle in hand that had been

unavailable to OT saints, but they also were not able to “put them together” into a coherent picture.

Happenings on Pentecost Morning. Three miracles are reported in the Acts 2 narrative. First, there was a noise similar to that of a hurricane or tornado. It sounded like it was coming from above, from heaven. The amplitude was so great that it dominated the whole structure where the disciples, probably many dozens, were seated (Acts 2:2). The second miracle consisted of a strange visible phenomenon that resembled the brilliance and movement of fire, glowing “pieces” shaped like human tongues that split apart. Each of the “pieces” came to rest on a disciple so that everyone in the place had a piece come upon him (2:3). The third miracle was an instantly received capability in each disciple to speak a language foreign to that disciple (2:4).

The third miracle of language was observed by two groups of people, each with a differing interpretation. One group consisted of Jews from throughout the Diaspora attending Pentecost festivities in Jerusalem—Jews from many different cultures and speaking many different home dialects (2:5-8). At least 12 different cultural regions are mentioned (2:9-11). Initially attracted by the noise of many languages being spoken by the disciples, these visiting Jews quickly discovered that the disciples were speaking in all their native dialects. And the content of the conversation was apparently centered upon the recent works of Jesus Christ. They were amazed, mystified, and wholly focused upon what was happening. A second group distinct from the visiting Jews, apparently native Palestinian Jews, did not understand the foreign languages. They interpreted what they were hearing as drunken mumbling (2:13).

These three miraculous happenings on Pentecost had to be explained in the context of what the disciples knew from Jesus’ previous ministry and from the OT Kingdom revelation. Peter does just that in his first major address of the Church age. Before studying his explanation, however, we must note something about the day of Pentecost.

WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT PENTECOST. What is not well known is the significance of the day of Pentecost in Israel’s calendar. Christian teachers unfamiliar with the OT hastily conclude from an isolated observation of Acts 1:4 that the Holy Spirit came only because the disciples “tarried”. The application is often made that we believers in the inter-advent age should similarly “tarry” in order to receive the Spirit. Did this event occur on the particular day of Pentecost, then, merely as an accident of the disciples’ waiting, or did it happen on Pentecost because of a deeper design?

Israel’s Calendar. God’s chosen nation had a unique calendar system. The calendar is given in the following OT passages: Exodus 12:1-30; Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:1-44; Numbers 28:16—29:40; and Deuteronomy 16:1-17. In the Spring portion of the annual calendar four events occurred: (1) Passover; (2) Feast of Unleavened Bread (7 days); (3) Firstfruits; and (4) Pentecost. In the Fall portion, three events occurred: (1) Trumpets; (2) Day of Atonement; and (3) Tabernacles (7 days). What do these events signify?[1]

Unlike pagan calendar systems, Israel’s calendar was God-ordained and prophetic. Each feast commemorated aspects of God’s plan with Israel (not the Church) that set it apart from the rest of the nations. The Passover looked at Israel’s unique origin, its redemption by blood during the Exodus judgment/salvation in Egypt. Recall in our discussion in Part III of this series, Chapter 3, that Israel’s origin was supernatural: it wasn’t caused by human political maneuvering nor revolutionary war; it was a supernatural happening that merited an everlasting remembrance. The seven day feast of Unleavened Bread stressed the break in culture between Egypt and Israel, reminding man that just as there was no continuity in leaven from Egypt to the new land, there was to be no continuity of religion from Egypt to Israel. Israel was a divinely-designed counter-culture to the paganized Noahic civilization. The day of Firstfruits commemorated the first harvest of the first Spring crop, a barley sheaf. It testified to God’s power to continue producing the same kind of crop all the way until the Spring harvest was finished. It denied all pagan fertility beliefs by attributing crop production to Yahweh rather than deified “Nature.” Pentecost came seven weeks and a day or 50 days after Firstfruits, and closed the Spring series of calendar events. Because Pentecost itself is often called “first fruits” like the day of Firstfruits proper, these two holidays must be carefully distinguished. Whereas on Firstfruits proper a raw unprocessed sheaf of barley was used, on Pentecost a baked loaf was used. Pentecost thus looked at the Spring harvest as actually realized and laid up for use. It reminded Israel to be thankful to the God of creation for His supply (cf. Paul’s comment to pagans in Acts 14:17).

The Fall cycle of three events also had significance. The Feast of Trumpets featured the blowing of rams’ horns which reminded Israel in the Fall of the two following events on her calendar. The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) included prayer and sacrifice which pictured national repentance and confession, a spiritual preparation for what was to follow. Unlike pagan holidays that celebrate the works of man, it focused upon the sinfulness of man in need of atonement. On the Feast of Tabernacles the nation celebrated the end of the autumn harvest by living for a week in specially-prepared shelters or “tabernacles.” This last event looked to Yahweh as Israel’s final Provider and Protector Who would one day bring the nation into His rest. It therefore contrasted with pagan fertility celebrations that inevitably viewed history as cyclical, going nowhere. Such was Israel’s ancient supernaturally-designed calendar.

The importance Israel attached to this calendar, and to the three major feasts in particular, is shown in the OT record of the Golden Era of Solomon. Solomon specifically directed that each of the three feasts---Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles be celebrated (II Chron. 8:13).

Historical Fulfillment. It is a peculiar fact of history that the Spring part of Israel’s calendar, but not the Fall part, has been “fulfilled” by NT events. Exactly on the day of Passover Christ died—not before or after (see Part V of this series, Chapter 4, for a discussion of the date of the crucifixion). In fact Jesus Himself spoke of his coming death as His “exodus” (Luke 9:31). Hulbert comments upon the parallels between the original Exodus of Israel from Egypt and its potential exodus from Satan by the death of Christ.

“The ultimate purpose of what took place on the night of that 14^th of Nisan was a release from the sovereignty of Satan. Just as the exercise of faith was necessary to obey God’s command to apply the blood that night, so faith in the means of appropriating deliverance from Satan’s hold in all the ages.”[2]

This series has repeatedly pointed out the parallelism between God’s judgment/salvation in the Exodus event and the judgment/salvation centering upon the death of Christ (note the language in John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). Now we see both events happened on literally the same calendar day, testifying to the One Who controls history! We must also mention, however, that the nation Israel does not now enjoy the saving benefits of Christ’s atonement due to unbelief (Rom. 11:7-12) although it could (and eventually will) if (when) it repents and believes in the dying Messiah (Rom. 11:22-29).

The next event, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was “fulfilled” in the provision Christ made for independence from the world, the flesh, and the devil. He provided a new life utterly separate from that of unredeemed Adam. Paul uses the unleavened bread as a type of this new life in I Corinthians 5:6-8. This provision of a new life, like that of Christ’s death, is not Israel’s today as a nation because of its rejection of the Messiah. Nevertheless, it is available to Israel theoretically if it would “repent. . .and turn again. . .so there might come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

The third Spring event was the day of Firstfruits. Significantly, Christ rose from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection on exactly this day (cf. Lev. 23:11; John 20:1; I Cor. 15:20). Just as the barley sheaf had reminded Israel of God’s ability to complete the Spring harvest, so the resurrection of Christ “gave personal assurance that every believer in that nation would be raised from the dead”[3] just as Daniel 12:1-3 prophesied (see Part V, Chapter 5, of this series). As in the case of the day of Passover, so in the case of the day of First Fruits: the special calendar days seem to be “markers” on which Christ executes a fulfillment of the plan of salvation.

The final Spring event, of course, was Pentecost. Exactly on this day the Holy Spirit came down to earth (Acts 2:1). Did this advent of the Holy Spirit “fulfill” the picture of the feast of Pentecost? Hulbert suggests that just as the baked bread pictured the Spring harvest that organically united the grain which had started becoming available on the previous day of Firstfruits into an eatable form (bread) for practical use, so the advent of the Holy Spirit made practical the resurrection life of Christ.[4] Israel could have nationally enjoyed Christ’s resurrection power if it had accepted Him as the Messiah. Pentecost, Hulbert says, marked the giving of all spiritual provisions to live the life of the Kingdom under the New Covenant—if the King were accepted.

What of the Fall calendar cycle involving the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles? The NT writers report no events that fit these special days. This fact has already been noted in the Appendix of Part IV of this series. The Spring cycle has been “fulfilled”; the Fall cycle has not. The implication of Scripture is that the Fall calendar, too, will one day be “fulfilled”. Some future event will answer to the Feast of Trumpets. On some future Day of Atonement Israel may nationally confess its sin and recognize that Jesus, after all, really was the Messiah (cf. Isa. 53). During some future Feast of Tabernacles, Israel may enter its promised rest as the millennium finally begins.

Table Four pictures the calendar and its NT “fulfillments”. Compare Table Four with Figure One of the previous chapter. A parallel emerges between Christ’s career and Israel’s calendar. The Spirit’s arrival on the day of Pentecost appears to have provided Israel with every spiritual blessing

the nation would need for Kingdom living. Standing in the way was Israel’s national rejection of Christ that is addressed by Peter in Acts 2 and 3. The background of Israel’s calendar provides valuable insight into the significance of what happened on the particular day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1.

Calendar Event	Picture Given	Historical “fulfillment”
Passover	Judgment/Salvation exodus from Egypt via the judgments and the blood on the doors	Christ’s Judgment/Salvation exodus from Satan’s dominion via the Cross
Unleavened Bread	No continuity between the pagan culture of Egypt and Israel	No continuity between the old life in Adam and the new life in Christ
Firstfruits	Assurance of a future, full harvest by the first barley crop.	Assurance of a future, full resurrection by Christ’s resurrection.
Pentecost	Harvest realized and laid up for use.	Christ’s resurrection power ready for national use by the Coming of the Spirit
Trumpets	Reminder of the following two events	None yet
Day of Atonement	National repentance and confession	None yet
Feast of Tabernacles	Enjoyment of God’s finished harvest	None yet

Table 4.—Israel’s supernaturally-designed calendar as an outline of history.

So far we have studied the historical observations of Pentecost happenings in Acts 2:1-13. We have also looked at the special significance of this day in Israel’s calendar. Now we are ready to examine the interpretation of these happenings given in the NT.

THE DAY OF PENTECOST: THE NT INTERPRETATION