How Pentacostal are you?

Before I begin this section of Acts, I'd like to introduce you to It has a ton of Bible study tools that can be very helpful.

The text for today is Acts 2:1-13. I'd recommend reading it before and after having read what shannonthinks about it.

It seems to me that to get what is happening here we must have in mind two events: 1. The celebration of Pentacost and 2. the baptism of Jesus.

Let's first look at it in light of Jesus's baptism. In Luke's gospel, John the Baptist predicts a new baptism that only Jesus can do whick will involve the Holy spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). When Christ was baptized, the Holy Spirit was manifested in a visible form, and there was some heavenly audio ("This is my Son...") This was the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The parallel's are obvious. The new phase of ministry to be done through Jesus' new body (the church). This is the baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit that John the Baptist spoke of. The Holy Spirit comes on the new body of Christ in a physical form. There is some more heavenly audio (the sound like the blowing of violent wind). And the new phase of ministry is commenced.

Now let's look at Pentacost and see what is symblolic about the church being birthed on this day. Pentacost literally refers to the fact that it is 50 days after Passover, and we learn about the original purpose of it from Leviticus 23:15-16. It is to be the celebration of harvest where the very first fruits are presented to God. Synbolically, we are about to witness the first harvest of souls for God. The very first fruits will come right after PEter speaks.

Later Judaism also saw Pentacost as a time to remember and celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses (the time which the first covenant was cememnted between God and the nation of Israel). Here on the celebration of that event, the New Covenant is introduced to all nations (as is sybolized by the list of nations in 10 and 11).

We might say then that being a Pentacostal church is one that is:
A. Presenting a sacrifice of harvested lives to God
B. Relishing in the New Covenant (the Kindom of God)

I'm interested in your observations.