The Coming of the Holy Spirit

KEY VERSE: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” —Acts 2:4

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:1-7, 12, 13

WHEN JESUS WAS raised from the dead, he appeared to his disciples on a number of occasions in various places for a period of forty days. The last time he was with them, Jesus instructed them “not to depart from Jerusalem, … but wait for the promise of the Father. … Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4,5) Before his death, Jesus described the event in these words: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost [Spirit], whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”—John 14:16,26

Obediently, the disciples remained in Jerusalem, and on the fiftieth day after our Lord’s resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit as promised. This momentous event was accompanied by three important signs: First was a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind. God’s power, was invisible and mighty, like the wind. Secondly, cloven tongues of fire came to rest on the apostles’ heads, indicating that they now were God’s chosen mouthpieces. Third was the gift of speaking in other languages. The witnesses to this amazing sign were “Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.”—Acts 2:2-4; Acts 1:5

Citizens of all the then civilized world who were gathered at Jerusalem now had a representative who could converse with them in the language of their nation. The time had come for people of all nationalities to hear God’s message, with no language barrier to impede its proclamation. A sample of the remarkable number of nations present is given in Acts 2:9-11; these proclaimed, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

The Jews, born in many lands, now heard—not gibberish—but rather, “the wonderful works of God.” We are told that Peter stood up and delivered an enlightening discourse, as recorded in Acts 2:14-16. He referred to several Old Testament prophecies, showing how they were fulfilled by Jesus. In particular, he emphasized David’s words, explaining that David could not be speaking of himself but rather of his future son, Jesus. In conclusion he said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”—Ps. 16:8; 110:1; Acts 2:36

The opening words of Peter’s discourse made reference to the fulfillment that very day of the prophecy of Joel 2:26-30. What the on-lookers in Jerusalem witnessed was the Holy Spirit, given by God, working in the lives of the apostles. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gave them the capability to speak in languages other than their own, Peter showed that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled—God’s Holy Spirit was being poured out upon his “servants and … handmaids.”—vs. 29

Although Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy in its entirety, God’s Spirit will not be poured out upon “all flesh” (vs. 28) until the kingdom of Christ is established upon the earth. First, God’s special servants, being chosen during the Gospel Age, would be the beneficiaries of this blessing. Later, after all the “elect” (I Pet. 1:2) have been called and found faithful, the ransom benefits of Jesus will be made available for the entire world of mankind—‘all flesh’—and God’s Holy Spirit will then be poured out upon them.

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