Acts 2:1:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:2:
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:3:
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Acts 2:4:
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I feel that it is always important that we pay attention to what is said and what words surround (precede and follow) the text of concern. The first thing I see is that these men were being obedient and they expected the LORD to do the miracle He had promised. The eleven had no doubt in their minds that they would receive the Comforter, the Holy Ghost.
I am continually confronted with the foolish statement, ¨If God would do, today, the miracles that He did in the Bible, I would believe.¨ Jesus taught for forty days after He rose from the grave and it is recorded that He taught as many as five hundred. In the first century women and children were not numbered, only the adult men were counted. This indicates that the number of persons, men, women and children (Under the age of thirty) could have been as many as fifteen hundred or more. And yet there appears to have been less than ten percent that believed and they were the witness´.
When Jesus taught in His home-town He was unable to do many miracles because the people knew Him there as Mary´s son. When we look around the world, into the areas filled with new believers, in the less advanced cultures we see God doing great things because their faith is so strong. In the industrialized nations, we are well educated and, mistakenly, pour our faith into other men and their science. Even so, men and women of like faith with that of mine, see the LORD doing wonderful works in our lives every day. And we work toward the unity of the believers every day.
Acts 2:5:
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Acts 2:6:
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Acts 2:7:
And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans?
Acts 2:8:
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Acts 2:9:
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Acts 2:10:
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Acts 2:11:
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
This passage is, more oft than not, pulled apart and abused. (NOTE) I am not making a case against the speaking in tongues, the heavenly language. But this passage, absolutely cannot be used to support the practice either! The text, very clearly, points out that the tongues spoken and commented on in this passage is that of languages, known to men. If we will not try to sell our personal agendas and simply pray, read and submit, the Holy Spirit will show each of us that one very, very great miracle took place here.
We´ll take Peter here for our example and Peter would have been, most likely, speaking in Aramaic and that is what he would have heard himself speak and yet the Jew from Egypt, the non-believing Egyptian, the Jew and the non-believer from Crete and so on, heard the words he spoke in their own, native, tongue. I count seventeen languages that the same word was heard in. Peter was a fisherman, not well educated, and yet the men and women from at least seventeen nations understood what he said and they heard it in their native tongues.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:2:
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Acts 2:3:
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Acts 2:4:
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I feel that it is always important that we pay attention to what is said and what words surround (precede and follow) the text of concern. The first thing I see is that these men were being obedient and they expected the LORD to do the miracle He had promised. The eleven had no doubt in their minds that they would receive the Comforter, the Holy Ghost.
I am continually confronted with the foolish statement, ¨If God would do, today, the miracles that He did in the Bible, I would believe.¨ Jesus taught for forty days after He rose from the grave and it is recorded that He taught as many as five hundred. In the first century women and children were not numbered, only the adult men were counted. This indicates that the number of persons, men, women and children (Under the age of thirty) could have been as many as fifteen hundred or more. And yet there appears to have been less than ten percent that believed and they were the witness´.
When Jesus taught in His home-town He was unable to do many miracles because the people knew Him there as Mary´s son. When we look around the world, into the areas filled with new believers, in the less advanced cultures we see God doing great things because their faith is so strong. In the industrialized nations, we are well educated and, mistakenly, pour our faith into other men and their science. Even so, men and women of like faith with that of mine, see the LORD doing wonderful works in our lives every day. And we work toward the unity of the believers every day.
Acts 2:5:
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Acts 2:6:
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Acts 2:7:
And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans?
Acts 2:8:
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Acts 2:9:
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Acts 2:10:
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Acts 2:11:
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
This passage is, more oft than not, pulled apart and abused. (NOTE) I am not making a case against the speaking in tongues, the heavenly language. But this passage, absolutely cannot be used to support the practice either! The text, very clearly, points out that the tongues spoken and commented on in this passage is that of languages, known to men. If we will not try to sell our personal agendas and simply pray, read and submit, the Holy Spirit will show each of us that one very, very great miracle took place here.
We´ll take Peter here for our example and Peter would have been, most likely, speaking in Aramaic and that is what he would have heard himself speak and yet the Jew from Egypt, the non-believing Egyptian, the Jew and the non-believer from Crete and so on, heard the words he spoke in their own, native, tongue. I count seventeen languages that the same word was heard in. Peter was a fisherman, not well educated, and yet the men and women from at least seventeen nations understood what he said and they heard it in their native tongues.