Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 2

This weekend we remember the day that the apostles were together, for celebrating Shavu’ot (weeks), or Feast of Weeks in commemoration of the Spring harvest and the giving of the Law unto Moses at Mt. Sinai. They were hiding afraid all together in one place because they were afraid for what the people might do against the followers of Christ Jesus now he was not there any more.

The Pentecost Mosaic, in the center is the dove of the Holy Spirit with the twelve apostles below. This is one of the oldest mosaics in the church dating from 1125 AD. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They knew how much Jeshua (Jesus) did find the Torah so important that it should be taken as the most important book to follow. And now at the Feast of Weeks they were there together to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses and to read together those Holy Writings.

Pentecost recognizes the writing of the Law upon our hearts as it is written:

But this shall be thecovenant that I will cut with the houseof Israel: After those days, declares Yahweh, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. (HBRV Jer 31:33)

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. they new that those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires and are victims of those desires but also of those ideas and connections with the world (Romans 8:5-6). As such the disciples were still too connected with the world and not yet liberated by the Power of God, the Holy Spirit.

This was soon to be changed by the promise of the prophet Jeshua becoming reality. In his name the grace of God’s Power came over them and gave them incredible forces to reach people and to bring them to the only One God Jehovah in the name of Christ. Gods Law was totally placed in the hearts of the disciples and them was given the power to come out for it.

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1 And in the fulfilling of the day of Shavuot, they were all with one mind
in the same place.
2 And suddenly a sound came out of the heaven, as a groaning spirit along by a violent wind!
And it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3 And tongues as of fire appeared to them, being distributed, and it sat on each one of them.
4 And they were all filled of the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave ability to them to speak.

5 And Jews were living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation of those under the heaven.
6 And when that sound occurred, all the people gathered and were perplexed because they were hearing each man among them who were speaking in their own language.
7 And all were amazed and marveled, saying to one another,
Behold, we can’t grasp this, are not all these, those speaking, Galileans?
8 And how do we hear each in our own language in which we were born,
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those living in Mesopotamia, both Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the regions of Libya over against Cyrene, and the temporarily residing Romans, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians; in our own languages we hear them speaking the great wonders of Yahweh?

12 And all were amazed and puzzled, saying to one another, What could this be?
13 But ridiculing, others said, They are full of sweet wine.
14 But standing up with the Eleven, Peter lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, Men, Jews, and all those living in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words:
15 For these are not drunk, as you imagine, for it is the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which has been spoken by the prophet Joel, 17 “And it shall be” in the last days, Yahweh says, “I will pour from My Spirit on 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 also I will pour out My Spirit on My servants and hand maids in those days,” and they shall prophesy.
19 “And I will give wonders in the heaven above,” and miraculous signs “on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the “coming of the great and glorious day of Yahweh.”
21 “And it shall be that everyone who shall call on the name of Yahweh will be saved.” (Joel 2:28-32)

22 Men, Sons of Israel, hear these words: Yahshua the Nazarene, a Man from Elohim, having been approved among you by works of power and wonders and miraculous signs, which Yahweh did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know, 23 This man, who was set apart was for this, by the foreknowledge and will of Elohim, you delivered into the
hands of the wicked and you crucified and killed.
24 But Yahweh loosed the cords of Sheol and raised Him because it was not possible that He be held in Sheol.
25 For David said as to Him, “I always foresaw my Adonai before Me, because He is at My right hand, that I not be moved.
26 For this reason My heart rejoiced, and My tongue was glad; and My flesh also will dwell on hope, 27 because You will not leave My soul in Sheol, nor will You give Your pious one  to see corruption. 28 You have revealed the road of life to me. You will fill me with gladness with your presence. (Psalm 16:8-11)

29 Men, brothers, let me speak boldly with you to say to you as to the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us until this day.
30 For he was a prophet, and he had known that oaths that Elohim had sworn to him, that Of the fruit of your loins I shall establish a king upon your throne (Psalm 132:11)
31 foreseeing, he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, “that His soul was not left in sheol, nor did His corpse see corruption.” (Psalm 16:10)
32 This Yahshua, Yahweh raised up, of which we all are witnesses. 33 Then being exalted to the right of Yahweh, and receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He
poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 For David did not ascend into Heaven, but he says, “Yahweh said to my Adonai, Sit at My right hand 35 until I place those who are enemies to You as a footstool for Your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
36 Then assuredly, let all the house of Israel acknowledge that Yahweh made known this same Yahshua whom you crucified, He is both Yahweh and Messiah.
37 And hearing, they were touched in the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men, our brothers, What shall we do?
38 And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, each of you in the name of the Yahshua Yahweh for the forgiveness of sins, that you may receive the gift of the Spirit of Holiness.
39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Master our Elohim shall call.
40 And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation.

41 And some of them readily received his words and believed and were baptized. And there were added in that day about three thousand souls.
42 And they were continuing steadfastly in the doctrine of the apostles, and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 And fear came to every soul, and signs and many mighty deeds occurred by the hands of the Apostles in Jerusalem.

44 And all the believers were echad and had all things common.
45 And they sold possessions and goods and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
46 And continuing steadfastly with one mind day by day in the sanctuary, and breaking bread from house to house, they shared food in gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 they were praising Yahweh while finding favor before all the people. And everyday our Master would add to those who lived among the congregation.

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Preceding: Hebraic Roots Bible Book of The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1

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Related articles from like mined people:

1. Pope Francis I on the Holy Spirit
2. Montanus considered himself to be the Paraclete: Sancta Claus is not God
3. Every Christian should take care to die to the Torah, so that he can live for YHVH/JHWH the Elohim Jehovah God. Sin in us should be crucified with the Messiah. > Breathing to teach
4. A Great Gift commemorated
   That night he stressed that they had to be in union with him and his Father like he was with his Father, so that the world could be convinced that Jehovah God had sent him who was taking the bread of life.
5. Manifests for believers #5 Christian Union
   Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptised into {Or in; also in verse 15} the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:13 NIV) asked Paul already at the torn municipality of Corinth.
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   Jesus also warned us to be careful not to follow the will of men but the Will of God. And that is what we should carry in our hearts and should try to do. God did not give any dogma‘s. Those were given by human institutions. We should be aware that we should not be members of a Church of men, but of a Church of Christ as some want to call it, or better of a Church of God.
   
6. Our hope– The anchor of the soul
   The hope of the Gospel is absolutely certain for two reasons: the first is that God always keeps His promises. The second is that God swore with an oath to fulfil the promises – he swore by Himself because there is none greater than Him.
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   When we consider God’s promises, we think of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle says (2 Corinthians 1: 20) “All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” The letter to the Hebrews we are reading says much about Jesus, who is the heir of all things, spoken of in the Prophets, the express image of God, exalted now at God’s right hand, to be a faithful high priest, a Mediator. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Not from everlasting to everlasting, like God, as many who claim to be his followers say: that is one of the false doctrines which we are warned against in this letter).
7. Timely Growth
   We all have ways we can grow; matzah is there to flatten us out and remind us that this growth might not fit neatly into our schedule.  Which is why I am excited, because after spring comes summer and with summer comes … camp a time for growth for so many of our children!
8. Is it wise to annul the Pentecostweekend
   There are the Christians with Pentecost, the first and second communions and the sacrament of conformation by the Roman Catholics, special Biblestudy weekends by Biblestudents and protestant groups as well as by many Jewish groups who also celebrate the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire Israelite nation assembled at Mount Sinai. For several protestants and Jews the weekend is used to commemorate the first harvested fruits. Shavuot, Shavuos  or Shabhuʿoth as the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost is also called, was in the old times the commemoration of the first day on which individuals could bring the Bikkurim (first fruits) to the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3).

From groups with other ideas than us and like-minded brethren:

Related readings on Ascension:

1. “Made Subject to Futility”
2. Mountaintop Experiences
3. Mourning for the Ascension of Christ
4. On Christ’s Ascension
5. The Spirit of God and the Word of God #3

Related readings on Pentecost:

1. EnCampMent on Shavuot
   Shavuot, the holiday commemorating our national memory of the Revelation of the Torah at Sinai. In the words of Rashi, it was there at Sinai that we encamped at the foot of the mountain as “one nation with one heart.”
   
2. Revealing Jewish Camp
   In the Midrash we learn, “There are three ways to acquire Torah, with fire, with water, and with wilderness” (Midrash Numbers Rabbah 1:1). This Midrash could be understood to mean that we acquire Torah through passion (fire), immersion (water), and through a long trek in unknown land (the wilderness). Shavuot coming means that the end of school is close at hand. And with the end of school, the camp season is around the corner. This Midrash seems to be lived out at Jewish camp.
3. Revelation and Sustaining Our Community
   ” Why are we talking about the matter of Shmita at Sinai?” Which is to say that the entire Torah is given at Sinai, why is this Torah portion outlining an ancient technique of creating a sustainable agriculture introduced as the laws that God “spoke to Moses in Mount Sinai”? It seems strange to single this law out. And maybe even more strange in that the Torah was given in Diaspora and this law was only going to be applicable in the Land of Israel.
4. Return To Eden
   In many ways Shmini Atzeret is a completion of the Sukkot holiday. But what is Simchat Torah? When I was young I understood it simply to be the day that we celebrate the completion of the liturgical reading of the Torah. Would it not make more sense to celebrate the reading about the creation of the world on Rosh HaShanah? Of even on Shavuot the time we received the Torah? Why do we start reading the Torah on Simchat Torah?
5. Wheeled Conveyances
   Today is a national holiday in France in honor of Pentecost. I’d heard of Whit Sunday, the English version, but had somehow missed out on Pentecost.
6. Following Jesus: An Amazing Adventure!
   Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, the day Christians traditionally celebrate the birthday of the Church. It was on this day nearly 2000 years ago that Jesus completed his mission on earth with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
7. Binitarians
   “Often our heads become stumbling blocks to our hearts. We cognitively admit that the Holy Spirit is a Person in the triune Godhead, but we live as functional binitarians. Comfortable with Father and Son, we are not quite sure how to interact with the Spirit….” —Dick Brogden
8. Tuning-in to the Holy Spirit
   Today’s readings show us that this event radically transformed the scared disciples into courageous witnesses to the murderous Jews. St. John places emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace to the disciples in Jesus’ words: “Peace be with you.” How can we as Christians become so powerfully transformed that we become transforming witnesses to others and abide in Christ’s own peace? How can we have this powerful transforming experience?
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   God’s Spirit is with us from the moment of baptism with the same power that we see in the Pentecost event. But why aren’t we transformed like the disciples on Pentecost? Why aren’t we on fire with the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is with us but we cannot experience His power until we learn how to dispose ourselves properly and tune-in to His frequency. Today’s readings show us ways of tuning-in to the Holy Spirit.
9. Pentecost: So What? Now What?
   After preaching about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit yesterday morning a woman came to speak to me. She told me that she was a missionary to part of Outer Mongolia! Well that got my attention and respect and so I asked her to tell me about the Church where she serves. She told me a lot of things but to be honest I didn’t pay much attention after she told me one statistic because I was so blown away by it. She said that in 1990 there were three known Christians where she served, now there are an estimated 50,000. Even if there has been a miscalculation or overestimate that is still an incredible figure.
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   On Ascension Day Jesus didn’t just send his disciples out to join Him in mission, instead he told them to return to Jerusalem and await the promised Holy Spirit. I wonder if Jesus was teaching them this lesson? That they couldn’t do what He had called them to do in their strength and with their own resources, they needed to be filled with and then learn to rely on, the Holy Sprit.
   Well Pentecost has come and gone but its implications face us everyday and never more so than we face something we are called to do that seems so daunting as to be all but impossible. Whenever we feel like that, whenever we feel inadequate or incapable of doing what God has called us to do, we need to hear afresh the choice and invitation the Angel gave Zerubbabel
10. Pope Francis’ Pentecost Homily.
    Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who build, programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort, our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often we follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to abandon ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. We fear that God may force us to strike out on new paths and leave behind our all too narrow, closed and selfish horizons in order to become open to his own. Yet throughout the history of salvation, whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness and change, and demands our complete trust
11. He Still Speaks…
    I was reminded in different ways how this Earth is not our forever home, and that we are all stewards and wanderers here…stopping for just a brief moment next to eternity. (Even though, as another friend pointed out, we will return with Jesus some day, this planet in its current state is not our ultimate home…)
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    God still speaks through His Holy Spirit, just as He did on that first Pentecost… He loves us all so much… I hope all my family in Christ had a beautifully blessed Pentecost Sunday. And may this new week include many opportunities for us to hear His voice in the way we’ve been created.
12. Monday in Whitsun-Week.
    Consider that light came into the world through the operation of the Holy Spirit.

Related articles

• Pentecost (learningwithlittlesaints.wordpress.com)
  God chooses and prepares leaders to accomplish His plan.
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  Pentecost took place 10 days after Jesus’ Ascension and 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. Pentecost means the fiftieth. Pentecost was a Jewish festival, at that time it was called the Feast of Weeks. Many Jews had come to Jerusalem to celebrate. Now, Pentecost would be known in the Christian faith as the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. Once they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they were able to preach the Gospel to people and many Christians were baptized. For that reason, Pentecost is also called the birthday of the Church.
• Today’s Bible Reading (acts 2:1-11) (prayers4reparation.wordpress.com)
  All were filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
  Staying in Jerusalem were religious Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered, all excited because each heard them speaking in his own language.
• Pentecost (frstephensmuts.wordpress.com)
  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
• Speak My Language (thoughtfulbeliever.wordpress.com)
  One of the pitfalls that many organizations and leaders encounter is that they forget they have to speak the language of the people.  It is very easy when you are part of organization to fall into using your own lingo and endless number of acronyms.  If another person is part of the organization then they understand completely what you are communicating but if the person is an outsider than the communication falls apart.  The connection is then lost outside the organization so if you are in business, you lose a sell; if you are a nonprofit organization, you lose a potential new member.  There is nothing that is more frustrating than people talking and you cannot understand a word that is being said.
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  If we are not speaking in the language of the people, then our message will not be received.  If people do not understand us, then they will become frustrated and ignore us.  After all, don’t we all want others to speak our language?
• Father Callan’s Commentary on Acts 2:1-11 (stjoeofoblog.wordpress.com)
  The days of the Pentecost. The word days is singular in the Greek. Taken in the plural, as in the Vulgate, it means the period of fifty days from the Pasch to Pentecost; in the singular it signifies the fiftieth day after the Pasch, or the day of Pentecost itself. Pentecost means fiftieth (day ) . It was one of the three great feasts which all males among the Jews were obliged to celebrate in Jerusalem. It lasted but one day, on which they offered to God bread made from the grain of the new harvest and some sacrifices. Cf. Ex 23:16; Lev 23:15; Num33:26; Deut 16:9.
• A Rushing Mighty Wind (my-faith-and-fitness.com)
  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.  ³ 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.
• Pentecost Preaching (brentkuhlman.wordpress.com)
  This event is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy too.  Joel 2 to be precise.  “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.”  And now it’s happening.  So when the last days begin?
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  The Holy Spirit is miraculously bestowed – manifested in the power of the wind and fire so that His church and His pastors are equipped and prepared to be a witness to Jesus, the Savior of the world, in word (Acts 2:14-36, 38-40) and deed (Acts 2:42-47).  So that in the preached Gospel, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper the forgiveness or salvation that Jesus won for the world is bestowed to died-for sinners like you and me!  That you believe that not only did Jesus die for the world but that He died For You!
• Acts for today! (livingmoreabundantly4christ.com)
  The Spirit of God was promised to God’s sons and daughters and that promise was first fulfilled on the day of Pentecost! He has not reneged or removed that promise. The Holy Spirit is necessary and available to every follower of Christ today! It is through God’s Spirit that we are wooed to Christ and it is by that same Spirit we will move and operate in our giftings as we serve Him. The same giftings and blessing that those men and women received on the day of Pentecost are the same giftings and blessing that we can receive today!