Verses 1-2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 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.
The “they” in verse one above were the 12 disciples, Matthias having replaced Judas Iscariot. The word, Pentecost, means the fiftieth day. It was the second of three Jewish feasts that were celebrated in Jerusalem every year at the seventh week after the Passover. It was to allow the people to be grateful for the harvest of their crops. The number 50 in Scripture is metaphor for freedom, joy, and jubilee. Jesus was murdered during Passover and the event described here happened fifty days after His death. In chapter one of Acts the disciples met in an upper room, but the verse above does not say where this “one place” was located other than it was a house. Notice that the sound from Heaven likened to the sound of a strong wind filled the house they were in, but there is no indication that this sound was also heard outside of the house. The disciples were following Jesus’ instructions recorded In Luke 24:49. “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. What was the promise? “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” John 14:16-17 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 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 14:26 So Luke is recording the event when this promise was fulfilled and the Holy Ghost came to live inside of men and women which He has done down through the centuries and continues to do so today. This filling of each Christian believer is often referred to as the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Application: Notice that the disciples were “with one accord”. The Greek word translated as “accord” is “homothumadon” and it means with one mind or with one passion. Imagine what the Church today would be like if everyone was unified in passion for the Kingdom of God, with passion for the LORD Jesus Christ, and with passion for the lost. Imagine if the Church was together in thoughts and actions, no discord, no power struggles, no pride, and so forth. Perhaps the reason why the early Church was so successful in evangelism and in exercising the gifts of the Spirit including the gifts of healing and the raising of the dead was because they were functioning as one body under the lordship of Jesus Christ: no denominations, no false bibles, no false doctrine, just love and obedience to God and to His Word.
Verses 3-4 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Greek word translated as “cloven” is “diamerizo” and it means to cleave asunder, to cut in pieces, to be divided into opposing parts, or to distribute. The Greek word translated as “tongues” is “glossa” and it means the tongue, a member of the body, an organ of speech, or the language or dialect used by a particular people distinct from that of other nations. So this visible apparition (the appearance of something remarkable or unexpected) is described as something akin to flames of fire yet different in that the shape resembled tongues distributed upon each of the disciples present. And when this appeared, they were filled with the Comforter and spoke with other glossa or languages (tongues) which they had not learned and more than likely did not know what they were saying. They had no choice but to speak out that which the Spirit gave them.
Application: “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:5,6,and 8 Mankind’s tongue can bring joy to others or bring pain. Mankind’s tongue can speak truth or speak falsehoods. In order for men and women to praise God in holiness and purity without influence from their flesh, the world, or the Devil, God takes control of their tongues so that their praise and worship is holy and pure.
Verses 5-6 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 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.
Because Pentecost was a national holiday or celebration, religious Jews had come to Jerusalem from other countries to celebrate it. Naturally, they knew other languages other than Hebrew or Greek. Apparently the promised event involving the disciples had been heard by other people and the news traveled fast so that a crowd of people came to the house and listened to the disciples speaking in other tongues or languages, and they were bewildered because the languages they were hearing were those that they spoke. They were hearing the Gospel in the language of the country from which they came. This was the first telling of the Gospel to people of other languages without a translator.
Verses 7-13 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Galilaeans were not held in high esteem by the rest of the inhabitants of Judah. Judeans looked down on them and considered them to be uneducated and of questionable ancestry. They were on the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. They were also known to be politically active, taking part in protests against the Roman occupation of their land. The Apostle Peter was from Galilee and it is interesting that Jesus who opposed the corrupt religious system of the Jews was raised in Galilee. So most of these disciples had been laborers or fishermen and had not received an education. Therefore the onlookers questioned how they could possibly know all these different languages. And of course, as with any miracle of God, there were scoffers explaining away the miracle by accusing the disciples of being drunk with wine, which was nonsense as new wine was more like grape juice as it hadn’t been fermented to produce an alcohol content.
Verses 14-21 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Remember that Jesus Christ had given to Peter the keys to the Kingdom and so it was natural for him to be the spokesman for the other disciples. The Jewish day began at 6AM, and so the third hour would have been 9AM. The Apostle Peter denied the accusation of drunkenness and explained what was going on, and suddenly he was able to recite Old Testament prophecy from the book of Joel. Why? Because he was filled with the Holy Ghost/Spirit who wrote the book of Joel and so he was able by the power of God to quote Scripture. “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.” Mark 13:11
Application: This prophecy will be discussed in the book of Joel, but notice that the Spirit of God was poured out on all flesh, both men and women. Notice that both men and women shall prophesy which means to bring forth the Word of God and to declare it by divine revelation. Therefore those churches that think the Apostle Paul was commanding women to be quiet in the church (see 1 Corinthians 14:34-36) and therefore do not allow women to prophesy are going against the will of God. A proper reading of the verses in 1 Corinthians will reveal that the Apostle Paul was making a statement of what the Corinthian church felt was correct, and then he rebuked them for this attitude by saying, “What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” In other words, did you men write the Scripture and was it only given to you? And of course, the answer was “no”, God wrote it and He gave it to all flesh. So the Corinthian doctrine and practice of keeping their Christian women silent was not of God and was not Scriptural, and it is not of God or Scriptural today.
Verse 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
The Apostle Peter starts his address to the crowd or multitude by including all the men of Israel as he goes on to accuse them all in the following verses. Jesus was shown to be God, very God, by the things that He did, and everyone knew about the signs, wonders and miracles so they were without excuse. They had to know that Jesus was not an ordinary man.
Verses 23-24 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
The Greek word translated as “determinate” is “horizo” and it means that which has been determined, appointed or ordained. The Greek word translated as “counsel” is “boule” and it means purpose. And the Greek word translated as “foreknowledge” is “prognosis” and it means pre-arrangement. So the sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ on the cross was pre-arranged, and ordained for the purpose of God: to provide salvation from sin, death and Hell.
Just an aside here regarding the Greek word “prognosis”. In English, the word prognosis is a noun and it means the likely course of a disease or ailment, a forecast of the likely course of a disease or ailment, or a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation. In Greek it means a pre-arrangement. So consider the medical profession. When a doctor gives a patient a prognosis, does that create a situation in which there is a pre-arrangement of the disease or ailment? In the spirit world, devils hear the words of men and women and then set out to bring what they say to pass. That is how fortune telling works. A witch or card reader will predict the future for a man or woman and it happens just as predicted because the devils make it happen. The witch doesn’t have the power to effect the future. So do devils, who create sickness and ailments (just read about Job), hear the words of doctors and then bring those words to pass? When a doctor tells a patient they have six months to live, do those words activate the devils who make sure the forecast of the likely course of a disease or ailment comes true? Think about it. Do believers speak life, or death through their words?
The Apostle Peter is on fire in this speech. He doesn’t spare words of condemnation and he lets the crowd know that they killed Jesus and they they are responsible. He reminds them that Jesus rose from the dead, thus showing that the enemy, death, has been conquered. Jesus’ resurrection was not a secret. He was seen by many people for many days between the time of His resurrection and the time of His ascension into Heaven. Nothing that was done to Jesus was hidden, and nothing that He did was hidden. It was all public knowledge and much of it was recorded in New Testament Scripture.
Application: Scripture teaches in the verses above and elsewhere that it was the Jews who killed Jesus. There is no getting around this truth. Often Christian believers are made to feel “anti-Semitic” if they state this fact as it is not cool or acceptable to criticize the Jews or today’s Zionists in most Western countries. But God had His prophets write just that and it is because of this final rejection of God and of His governance that Jesus pronounced the end of the nation Israel in the book of Matthew which came to pass in 70AD. The land mass called Israel today is an invention of the Illuminati and the people claiming to be Jews are really Khazarians as can be proved by DNA testing. Do the research.
Verses 25-28 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
King David was a prophet as well as a king. He prophesied the resurrection of the Messiah in Psalms 16:10.
Application: Christian believers are often confused regarding what they have been taught as the doctrine of the trinity. This is a Catholic doctrine and it is not supported by the Bible. Catholics have multiple gods. They have God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. So they have a mythological series of gods and they also worship Mary. So they are confused and in error. Catholic doctrines or teachings have pervaded the Christian Church. So verses like the one above can be confusing. The truth that the Bible teaches is that there is only one God. He is Father God and He is Spirit and has no physical form. To be understood by mankind made of flesh, God took on a body of flesh called Jesus (Jehovah is salvation) so that mankind could see, touch, and hear Him. It was this body that was tortured, crucified, buried, and then raised up before it started to putrefy. It was this body that God inhabited on Earth that is now in Heaven. And it was the Spirit of God that inhabited the body of Jesus who is now dwelling in people who are Christian believers. Since Father God is Spirit and can be everywhere at all times, this is not a difficult or impossible thing to understand. The body of flesh known as Jesus died and that body possessed, like all physical bodies, a soul which is the mind, will and emotions. So Father God did not allow that body and soul to see corruption or decay. As a result of this miracle, all Christian believers, like King David, can rest in hope in that, as they are like Jesus, so their bodies and souls will be resurrected to Heaven.
Verses 29-31 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
The Apostle Peter elaborates more regarding the prophecy of King David. Remember that King David was revered by the Jews so they would have been more inclined to remain listening and to not walk away, and they would have been able to relate to what the Apostle Peter was saying. It was made clear to them that Jesus was the Christ or the Messiah.
Verse 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
What is a witness? Someone who sees or hears something. “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:” Acts 1:3 Lots of people saw the resurrected Jesus. He walked around openly with His disciples. So there were many witnesses to the fact that God raised Him up.
Application: The difference between Christianity and all the other false religions and belief systems in existence today is that Christians serve a risen Savior, a God who is alive and dwelling in Heaven. All the other so called deities are dead and have been dead and therefore are not gods, or they are deities that have been fabricated and never existed. Only Christianity has a God who is alive and who can be spiritually accessed through prayer and through Scripture.
Verses 33-35 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
The verses above are all part of Christian doctrine. Only when Jesus’ body of flesh died was His Spirit released so that He could then indwell believers as the Comforter or Holy Ghost. The resurrected physical body of Jesus was changed into one that was immortal, and that body is now sitting at the right hand of Father God. Father God is a Spirit and doesn’t need hands. The right hand in Scripture represents power and authority. The Greek word translated as “foes” is “echthros” and it means hated, odious, hateful, an enemy, enmity with God, opposing God, or one that is hostile. James states in James 4:4, “. . . whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” So all those people opposing the LORD Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation are His enemies, and they will all one day be subject to the ruler-ship of Jesus.
Application: Think about what it means to be God’s enemy. When the things of this world take precedence over the things of the Kingdom of God, a man or woman is God’s enemy. And His enemies will be judged and punished. Yes, all people have to live and work and function in this fallen, sinful world, but enjoying and loving it more than enjoying and loving a relationship with the LORD will alienate people from God and from life eternal in Heaven.
Verse 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Again, the blame for the torture and crucifixion of the LORD Jesus Christ is placed squarely at the feet of the house or nation of Israel. The Apostle Peter does not blame Rome. The so-called chosen people in the promised land killed the body of the God who chose them and who set them up as a nation in the land. Again, the “chosen people”, the Jews, tortured and killed the physical body clothing their God while He was ministering on Earth. They did not kill God. No one can kill God who is a Spirit. But they killed Jesus just like they killed the prophets sent before because they did not like the message they were getting from the prophets that convicted them of sin but called them to righteousness. The things of the world were more important than a right relationship with their Creator and God.
Verse 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
The Greek word translated as “pricked” is “katanusso” and it means to prick, pierce, or metaphorically to pain the mind sharply, to agitate it vehemently, or elicit the emotion of sorrow. The Holy Spirit was moving in the crowd and the Apostle Peter’s speech or sermon created unrest in their souls. They didn’t deny the charge that they were responsible for what had transpired in Jerusalem on that day after the Passover. They asked the right and logical question.
Verses 38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
These two verses make up the plan of salvation. Just as the LORD does things in sets of threes, there are three steps to forming a relationship with Him and to being saved from sin, death, and Hell. The first step is to repent. The Greek word translated as “repent” is “metanoeo” and it means to change one’s mind for better or to about face. To repent is to turn away from sin and move in the opposite direction towards righteousness. It has to be a sincere desire to change coming from the heart, and it has to have a sincere feeling of sorrow or sadness for rebelling against God and His love and for offending Him. This repentance leads to prayers to the LORD for forgiveness and an acceptance of His lordship in the physical and spiritual life. This lordship allows for God to lead and work in all aspects of an individual’s soul (mind, will, and emotions). A man or woman has to yield to God entirely and not try to hold onto one part of their life. It is an all or nothing commitment to follow and obey the LORD Jesus Christ who is God, very God.
Application: Many people repent of their sins in a moment of emotional fervor or when pressured by peers or family members. But shortly after repenting, they are right back willfully sinning as before. This is not true repentance. When a person truly repents, they are painfully aware that they are but dust, that they do not deserve God’s forgiveness, and they are humbled before the LORD. Their former life is no longer appealing or satisfying and they want a new life with Christ.
Once repentance has occurred, the man or woman is a Christian believer, and in order to follow and obey Jesus, they need to be baptized in water. Baptism is complete immersion in water. Churches teach that baptism in water is merely an outward sign of obedience and salvation, but if this was true, the individual would have to remain wet all the time to show others this obedience and salvation. It may serve as an outward sign of obedience, but it is more than that. It is the act of dying to self and of receiving the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. It is accepting the payment Jesus made for sins so that there is forgiveness or pardon of sins, remission of the penalty for those sins, and a release from the bondage that sin produces. The debt is cancelled. The man or woman comes out of the water clean in the eyes of God. They are new creations and this is where the term, “born again” comes from. The new believer is following the example of Jesus. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:” Matthew 3:16
Application: Baptism is not optional but mandatory. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 When a baby is born physically, he/she comes out of the amniotic fluid in the mother’s womb but he/she has a spirit destined for sin. When a man or woman is baptized, he/she comes out of the water but now has the Spirit of God indwelling the body so that he/she can be destined for righteousness. Yes, the new Christian believer will still have temptations of the flesh, the world and the Devil and will still sin at times, but there is an awareness and desire to quit sinning, and as time goes by, sin lessens and righteousness becomes a way of life.
The third part of the salvation experience is to be baptized with the Holy Ghost which is the gift of God to all His children. This writer believes that there is a difference between being filled with the Spirit of God/Holy Ghost and being baptized with the Holy Ghost. John the Baptist stated, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” Matthew 3:11 The disciples experienced this when gathered together in a house as described in the beginning of this chapter. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 3:27 All converts have the filling of the Holy Ghost or they would not have faith enough to yield to the call of the LORD unto salvation. But when baptized with the Holy Ghost the convert receives power and receives spiritual gifts. There are nine spiritual gifts as recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and these gifts are given to Christian believers apparently according to their willingness and ability to use them. These will not be discussed here. When the baptism of the Holy Ghost happens, the man or woman has literally put on the Spirit of Christ and can do what Jesus did when ministering on this Earth.
Application: One of the problems with the Church today is that it is living and functioning below its capabilities. Because so much negative teaching has happened over the years against speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues, those gifts of the Spirit have been disregarded along with many of the remaining 6 gifts. Therefore, the Church does not have power against Satan and his army or against evil and wickedness in this world. Are true Christian believers within Christian churches saved? Yes. Are they functioning like Jesus and like the apostolic church? No. Most Christian believers walk their entire earthly lives being filled with the Holy Ghost so that they can battle against their own flesh, the world, and the Devil for their own selves, but they never have the victory outside of their own lives.
Verse 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
The Greek word translated as “untoward” is “skolios” from which comes the English word scoliosis. It means crooked or curved, and metaphorically it means perverse and wicked. The Greek word translated as “generation” is “genea” and it means birth, that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family, or the successive members of a genealogy. Metaphorically it means a race of men very like each other, a perverse race, the whole multitude of men living at the same time, or an age. So since the Apostle Peter was openly declaring the people of Israel to have murdered Jesus Christ, it can be thought that he was saying to the crowd that they needed to separate themselves from the wicked people of Israel and from the wickedness of the time in which they were living by repenting, being baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost. Then they would be in the Kingdom of God and not be in the earthly, perverse and wicked kingdoms of men.
Verses 41-42 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Imagine a sermon that produced 3,000 new Christians! God moved through His disciples and the people felt His presence and responded. One can only imagine the thrill of baptizing that many people in one day. And this was not a passing fad as these new believers continued in their new faith and in their fellowship with the apostles.
Verses 43-45 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
The Greek word translated as “fear” is “phobos” and it means fear, dread, or terror. The people watching all of this and not heeding the call of God were afraid of the apostles and of the growing Church. They had power that the unbelievers did not understand, and people are always afraid of that which they do not understand. The political and religious leaders were not pleased with this outpouring of God’s Spirit either, and they were afraid of losing their hold on the people and of losing their financial gain and prominence. After all, they were the power elite of those days. And to make it worse for them, signs and wonders were being done by Jesus’ apostles. It was most likely assumed by these elite that once Jesus was removed, these signs and wonders that distracted the people from their political and religious desires and dictates would cease, and instead, they were still going on and becoming more frequent as more believers were doing them. It must have been a very frustrating time for Satan’s servants.
Application: As stated at the beginning of this chapter, one of the differences between the apostolic Church and the modern Church is that they were of one accord, and that is part of the reason the Church was so successful and grew rapidly, spreading throughout the known world during the lifetime of the Apostle Paul. And verse 45 above reveals the beginning of God’s “welfare” system. The Church took care of the needs of its people, not the government. This is a lesson that has not been learned in the Western world. When taking assistance from government, people have contracted or covenanted with a satanic system. When taking assistance from the Church, people have contracted or covenanted with God.
Verses 46-47 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (Acts 2)
The early Church used the Temple for their meetings. But they fellowshipped with each other in people’s houses. They praised God continually, and because they were righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, unbelievers could find no fault in them. People wanted to be a part of this new faith, and so the Church grew and glorified God.