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Pentecost - significant elements
buildontherock
2021-01-052026-06-27

Significant elements of Pentecost can be distilled by comparing and contrasting Pentecost of the Old with Pentecost of the New Testament. A study like this is very humbling because, just as I believe that I have seen improvements on what I was taught, it means that others have been doing the same and someone else will improve on what I am saying. To me it seems blatantly obvious that the Holy Spirit was not first made available at Pentecost but it was SHED ABROAD at Pentecost. That is what Paul was explaining to the gentile Romans (Romans 5:5). Before that it was confined to a select group. Once you have a good understanding of the subject of Baptism then read on to understand why I am so convinced. You can also check for why this is an important part of the Pattern for life given by God.

It might also be useful to consider a summary of the subjects presented in articles on the subject of Pentecost:

Significant Elements of Pentecost

The Holy Spirit was active immediately following Passover in both the Old Testament (Exodus 13:21) and New Testament (Matthew 13:21 and Matthew 27:52-53). Consider the following:

  • They (the Holy Spirit and Passover) were made separate matters since Passover in both the Old Testament and New Testament (separation from Egypt in the Old, separation from the sinful world in the New).
  • They had the pillar of fire in the Old and He breathed on them and said receive the spirit in the New
  • God was with Old Testament Israel in the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:7) hence they had the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are the Temple of God in the New and it was how the Father revealed things to Simon Peter (Matthew 16:17).
  • The Law, the Spirit and marriage are linked through Pentecost (The marriage at Sinai in Exodus 20 vs the marriage of the Church – 2 Corinthians 11:2, John 6:44, Romans 2:14-15).
  • What do you mean when you say that they did not have the Holy Spirit or that it was only working with them but not in them? How can something affect your thoughts and attitude without being in you?

People claim that the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. It seems to me that it was not. The doctrine about the Holy Spirit working with them but not in them is an unscriptural invention drawn from John 14:17 contrived to cope with the volume of evidence against the theory. The earnest of the Spirit is given at baptism which is symbolic of Passover not Pentecost (Colossians 2:12). We also see the evidence in Acts.

Acts 2:3-4 [KJV] 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.
Acts 2:37-39 (KJV) 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? 38 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.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit not given it for the first time. What do we see almost immediately after the fulfilment of Passover.

John 20:18-23 (KJV) Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Verses 22 and 23 are together but people often quote the first part separately to give credence to their claim that it was intended for the future. It was a commitment that He started at that point, before Pentecost. Both in the Old and New Testaments the Holy Spirit is given at Passover not Pentecost. In the Old Testament it was represented by water and fire e.g. water in the cloud and of course the pillar of fire. In the New Testament it was given by the laying on of hands following Baptism, which is symbolised by the Red Sea and is part of the Passover season. Then comes Sinai where we get Pentecost, but something special was added by Christ immediately after His Resurrection.

Nobody owns the Holy Spirit. Even Paul said that after all of his effort he could be a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27). It is given as a seal and can be taken away.

Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (KJV) Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 5:4-5 (KJV) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

The concept of the Holy Spirit with you and not in you suggests that somehow it becomes something that is completely under your control. In reality it always works the same way, it is Christ and the Father joining with our spirit and there is no difference before and after any point in time, that is just how it works.

Hebrews 1:6-7

So what did happen at Pentecost? What does the cloven tongues of fire mean? To start with let us explore Hebrews 1:6-7.

Acts 2:3 [KJV] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Hebrews 1:6-7 (KJV) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

In Hebrews the writer is combining scriptures from two separate places (1) let all the angels of God worship him..., (2) maketh his angels spirits..., but where are those places? Where does he get this from and what does he mean? By the way, notice that the fire was cloven, one part for the Father and one part for Christ.

Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire

The second part is easy to spot.

Psalms 104:1-4 (KJV) Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: 4Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

But taken on its own the phrase does not make sense. The first thing that we need to establish is that the Hebrew word translated as angel has an everyday meaning.

    H4397 mal'ak
  1. a messenger.
  2. (specifically, of God) an angel.3.
  3. thus, also) a prophet, priest or teacher.

It means messenger and that is what is being spoken of also in Hebrews. He turns His messengers into spirit beings and his servants, who are the same messengers, into flames of fire (fire purifies and gives light). One of the problems with understanding this verse is unscriptural beliefs about angels. According to the Bible angels are our older brothers. We were created lower than them for a time but will be like them eventually. When Christ explained the Kingdom of God He explained it in terms of angelic behaviour i.e. marry and not marry.

Spirits represent the apostolic work in the Church. Apostolic has to do with being sent. In general, spirit relates to God acting through an agent, e.g. His Church. At present it is by the earnest of the Spirit, but later as fully formed spirit beings i.e. in the resurrected Church as described in Revelation. In Revelation 5:6 it says referring to the eyes and horns in the imagery of Christ(horns demonstrate the power)that these are seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. The word for sent forth is apostello and is clearly the source of apostle. Since there were not seven apostles, this refers to the function of spreading the Gospel by the seven churches, but apostles did more than just talk, they also demonstrated the power.

The first place that we find apostle in Revelation is in chapter 2 verse 2 dealing with the Synagogue of Satan. The Church was able to recognise and distinguish a fake Jew from a real one and by extension, fake apostles from real ones. Revelation shows us various ways of looking at the Church. 7 spirits (seven being a word of completion) show that this one message was sent to the world by His apostles that are complete and whole as a group.

In Psalms and Hebrews, quoted above, angel and minister is referring to the same subject by using different words, and the action of maketh applies to both, in other words it is taking place to produce two outcomes on the same subject. The previous verse tells us that all angels worship him. It is His angels/messengers that are made spirits and these spirits are sent to the world. The angels made spirits begins with Passover where Christ purchased our eternal lives which we then redeem after Baptism by the laying on of hands when we are given the earnest of the Spirit. On the other hand the made flame of fire is what happened at Pentecost and together these prepared them to be sent to all the world as apostles. There is a greater fulfilment of this at the Resurrection.

Christ said then when He left He would send His Spirit. Was it the same spirit that was in John the Baptist?

let all the angels of God worship him

The first part of the scripture is somewhat more challenging. The writer of Hebrews said let all the angels of God worship Him. Where does that come from? Some people believe that it comes from Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 32:43 (KJV) Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

That is what it says in the KJV and that is not very helpful. In The New Living Translation it says this:

Deuteronomy 32:43 [NLT] Rejoice with him, you heavens, and let all of God's angels worship him. Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles, and let all the angels be strengthened in him. For he will avenge the blood of his children; he will take revenge against his enemies. He will repay those who hate him and cleanse his people's land.

The NLT introduces God's angels to the sentence. Is that what Christ intends us to focus on in Hebrews? The Hebrew manuscripts that were preserved and used by the Rabbis is called the Masoretic Text. The NLT has used different manuscripts, the LXX or Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Old Testament that also predates the New Testament. In researching this I came across an article at the website of CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministy entitled What verse is Hebrews 1:6 citing and why isn’t it in my Old Testament? by Luke Wayne, dated Oct 2, 2017, https://carm.org/what-verse-hebrews-1-6-citing-why-not-in-my-old-testament#footnote2_ogej7i0 which sheds even more light on it than they realise. The article claims that a reading of Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich, The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (HarperCollins Books, 1999) 193 presents the reading as:

Rejoice, O heavens together with him; and bow down to him all you gods, for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and will recompense those who hate him, and will atone for the land and his people, (Deuteronomy 32:43, 4QDeutq, Dead Sea Scrolls).

The word translated gods is Elohim. Another place to be considered for the origin of the verse in Hebrews is Psalm 97,

Psalms 97:7 (KJV) Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.

You can check this one for sure and see that the word translated god is Elohim. Now let us go back and see what the writer of Hebrews was saying.

Hebrews 1:6-7 (KJV) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

These angels are Elohim. They are of the family of God and have the same nature. God makes all his messengers to be elohim. They are sons of God just as we hope to be: immortal elohim. The elohim of God is us in the future with our elder brothers the angels. This is what is given in type on the day of Pentecost. The Church is accepted as the immortal bride of Christ signifying the same nature i.e. elohim and we all worship Him.

With You and soon in you

I cannot reconcile the knowledge that Joshua had the Holy Spirit in him (Numbers 27:18) with a belief that the Spirit was not in the disciples before Pentecost. If the Holy Spirit was not in these seventy then how did they accomplish this?

Luke 10:17-19 [KJV] And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

To me at the root of this misunderstanding is a lack of comprehension of what is explained by Philippians, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, Philippians 1:19 (KJV). Notice that it is the Spirit of Christ and hence would not be available when He was human on earth. This same Spirit is the Spirit of God. Notice the two used interchangeably in the same verse.

Romans 8:9 (KJV) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

And in the same chapter

2 Corinthians 3 [KJV] Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: 3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. 12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

In verse 3 Paul points out that he is talking of the Spirit of the living God which represents the Father as dominant. In verse 17 he shows that it is the Spirit of the Lord and Lord refers to Christ. So we understand that it would not be available by Christ's power while He was mortal, but at all other times. Christ in the old form would have been available to John the Baptist before Christ's conception but the New Christ with the experience of mortality (Hebrews 4:14-15) who can comfort us from personal experience, would only be available to him in the flesh while He was a man. Furthermore the new Spirit, that by the suffering of Christ had earned the Kingdom, would not be available until after His resurrection. Thereafter the Spirit would not have been as it was in the wilderness when Christ fasted and Satan claimed to own the world, it would now be a Spirit of power over all the Earth having wrested it from Satan. So the Spirit that was with them in the form of Christ was later in them as is now in us by the Holy Spirit. In other words the Holy Spirit during Christ's mortal life was an exceptional situation of having the wholly spiritual Father somehow combine with a fully mortal Christ. Furthermore that Christ was constrained by although having bested Satan He had not yet given His life as ransom for humanity. That presented certain limitations because He had not yet discharged all of His obligations.

Why was the Spirit not available?

According to the scripture what prevented the spirit was the Resurrection.

John 7:39 (KJV) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

I understand glorified to refer to the Resurrection. That is when Christ was changed as is seen by Him having no blood but still sustaining a physical body. There was no pain or blood when Thomas poked around in the wounds that were only three days old. In John 20:27 Christ told him to put in his hand not just his finger. There is more to that than can be covered here so we just leave it as that.

The Comforter

Christ said that they should wait and receive power at Pentecost. Was that power the Comforter? I think not. Actually, to be precise they were to receive another comforter. Comfort tends to give you peace of mind. I propose that the another comforter had to do with some extremely vivid memories that would assist them in preaching the Gospel, but lets begin with John.

John 14:13-31 (KJV) And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 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. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 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. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

They were to receive another comforter so what comforter did they have then? At the time their comforter was Christ living with them. They knew Him. This is explained in verses 15-17. In verse 18 Christ emphasized that it would be Him just in another form. He then went on to further explain how it works. Although they had access to the Holy Spirit for other things (including access to the Father) their comfort came from Christ who consoled Thomas. Further explanation is given in verse 23. Although they would continue to have the access to the Father which He promised them, it would be we at that time in the future, and not just the Father represented in the Holy Spirit as it was at that time. In verses 13-14 they were given the right to approach the Father. The only way that I know that would be possible is if the Father did it (John 6:44) and that would not be done bodily (Matthew 16:17) but through the earnest of the Holy Spirit in them to identify them as His (John 10:27). II Corinthians 1:21-22 [KJV] says, Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; [22] Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. It would be the Father who sealed them upon Christ's request. Now back to John 14, in verse 26 Christ elaborates further. The Comforter would be the Holy Spirit sent by the Father on Christ's authority but would now include Him (Christ their present comforter as memories including everything that he had told them). At the incident with Thomas Christ fit the description that He gave them of what spirit is and what a comforter is. The power was something else which we examine later as the Promise of the Father.

John 16:1-21 (KJV) These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. 17 Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. 19 Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

One function of the Holy Spirit was to replace Christ as comforter i.e. as the source of their peace of mind. Christ spelled out the job of the comforter in verses 8-15, where among other things, He explains that the Comforter part of the Holy Spirit would receive of Him and hence speak as it would come from Him. The summary is in verse 8, And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Just so that we are on the same page the Hebrew for reprove means to confute i.e. to prove a person, argument, or claim to be absolutely false, invalid, or incorrect using clear evidence or strong logic. This means that it is to show the world that its understanding of these matters is false. The comforter's job was (i) to correct people's understanding of what is sinful - the bad, (ii) what is good character/righteousness - the good, and (iii) what judgement i.e. his official pronouncement (rewarding good or bad) truly is. The world did not believe Christ about His Law and so the Comforter would do the convincing (sin is the transgression of the Law [I John 3:4]). It will have to convince the world of what is the right way to live because He will not be there to do it. It will have to convince the world that there will be a judgement (rewards for good or evil) and what that judgement is because even the prince of this world has had to face judgement. The Holy spirit will guide them into truth (thy word is truth [John 17:17]) because they would need knowledge and understanding which the Holy Spirit would help them recall as memories of Christ. The Comforter would do all of these things so the Comforter was critical to Pentecost. Take note that this is exactly what Peter did at Pentecost. But the Comforter as Christ bodily, did more, and was required before Pentecost. At Pentecost the Comforter was given additional power which we will discuss in a while.

Baptism of the Holy Ghost AND baptism of fire

John and Christ had different types of baptism.

Matthew 3:11 [KJV] 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:
Luke 3:16 [KJV] John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
Acts 1:4-5 [KJV] And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
John 1:33 [KJV] And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

Baptism in the name of the Holy Ghost according to Matthew 28:19 is done by all servants of God. Baptism with fire and with the Holy Ghost seems to be different.

Matthew 28:19 [KJV] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Is baptism in the name of the Holy Ghost the same as baptism with the Holy Ghost? It does not appear to be the same to me. First of all Matthew 28:19 is widely considered to be a spurious scripture and to establish doctrine on the evidence of something like that would for me be reckless. I would encourage the readers to investigate that on their own. On the other hand what the other scriptures are saying is sequential and prophetic. John baptised with water. This was followed by Christ baptising with the Holy Spirit not many days hence but what about the baptism with fire? The baptism with fire appears to follow the baptism with the Holy Spirit. First let us look at the context of what Matthew said.

Matthew 3:10-12 [KJV] And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 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: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Matthew began by recording John referring to Psalm 1.

Psalms Chapter 1 [KJV] Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The psalm actually explains the whole process in detail except for the matter of repentance and conversion. In the psalm the tree does not change and neither does the ungodly. In contrast the emphasis in the book of Acts is upon repentance and change. First notice what Paul added.

I Corinthians 10:1-2 [KJV] Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

The pillar of fire was the same as the cloud.

Exodus 13:21-22 [KJV] And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exodus 14:19-20 [KJV] And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

They were baptized in the cloud but they were not enveloped, it was over them. I propose that the cloven tongues did the same as the pillar of fire. It represented Christ leading them and illuminating the way forward. That baptism by fire was not intended to destroy but to lead to salvation. At the same time there must be a baptism to remove all corruption because corruption cannot inherit incorruption. What we are cannot inherit what we must be in order to truly be the bride of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:35-50 (KJV) But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Baptism of the Spirit and of fire appears to be completed when we become immortal but is now being done as a transition by an earnest that leads to salvation. Consider panning for gold where the Holy Spirit acts as water and also does the smelting by fire so that the gold is refined. On the other hand humans can be filled with the HS as much as we can handle, like John the Baptist. The Holy Spirit is what produces the good fruit whether by nurturing the tree or refining what is there. With no Holy Spirit there is no fruit worthy of repentance and hence no forgiveness.

Matthew 12:31-33 [KJV] Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

So now let us put what Matthew said in context.

Matthew 3:1-11 [KJV] In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 11 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:

John encouraged people to admit their sins. Even Pharisees and Sadducees recognized that they had sins and needed to change. He explained that he could assist them with recognizing the need but the challenge for them was to bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. That challenge was to be met by someone else.

The spirit that you have determines your future. Christ can make a change to that spirit by the Holy Spirit. If you refuse the Holy Spirit then your future is damnation.

Mark 3:29-30 [KJV] But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

John was limited to water unto repentance but Christ introduced the Holy Ghost, and with fire. John's ability was necessary but ended with repentance. It worked in the daylight. Christ continued from there with the Holy Ghost and continued with fire. That works in the darkness. They both lead to salvation if we follow. Repentance is not the end.

There is no question that people have been receiving the Holy Spirit before Pentecost.

Mark 12:36 [KJV] For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Psalms 51:11-13 KJV Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Luke 1:15 [KJV] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
Luke 1:41 [KJV] And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
Luke 1:67 [KJV] And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

The Holy Spirit is not static. It depends on things that we do not completely understand but includes how prepared our heart is to accept it. When was this to happen?

Luke 11:11-13 [KJV] If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

God does not hold off giving us an earnest (down payment) of the Holy Spirit but the climax of the thing that I understand to be baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire comes at the Resurrection.

The promise of the Father

What was this promise that Luke wrote about?

Luke 24:49 (KJV) 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.

many people believe that it was the Comforter and scriptures such as these are given in support of that.

John 14:16-17 [KJV]And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 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 14:26 [KJV] 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 15:26 [KJV] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16:7 [KJV] Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

But take another look at what Luke said in context.

Luke 24:46-49 KJV And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  48 And ye are witnesses of these things.  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.

He says nothing about a Comforter. The Comforter was His promise not the Father's. The promise had to do with being endued with power. That is what the Holy Spirit was intended to achieve in Acts.

Acts 1:4-5 [KJV] And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

They had been baptized by John with the baptism of repentance but now it was to be the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Luke did not write about the comforter. It was John. The promise in Acts must be something that Luke was aware of and had previously written. Up to that point what they had was the same as what others were given all through the Old Testament. They were now to be given something special that was not available before. The power to preach the Gospel to the world including to gentiles. The Holy Spirit and eternal life was already given but only to a select few and primarily Israelites. Consider the story of the thief on the cross, John the Baptist's father Zechariah, and also his mother Elizabeth, the prophetess named Anna (notice that she was a prophetess), John the Baptist himself and so on? When did the Holy Spirit stop to restart its availability? The answer is also hinted at in John.

John 7:37-38 (KJV) In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Notice that it is not Christ that this blessing would flow from. Let us read more of what Luke actually said in context.

Acts 1:1-8 [KJV] The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 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: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Verse 8 says that they were to receive power, not the Holy Spirit. They already had that. If you think otherwise then the first question that I want to ask is from Acts 1:2 which was just quoted above. How did Christ give commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen. Was the Holy Ghost around at that time? But they had to wait for the Holy Ghost to come upon them as recorded in verse 8. It did not say receive for the first time, it says come upon. From Old Testament time the Holy Spirit came upon people like Balaam so that he prophesied. The Holy Spirit came upon Othniel (Judges 3:9-10), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Jephthah (Judges 11:29) and Samson (Judges 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). It also came upon seventy people as far back as Numbers (Numbers 11:25) and the same thing happened when the apostles received power. Ezekiel obviously had the Holy Spirit but we see times when it came upon him and gave him power (Ezekiel 2:2, Ezekiel 3:24). I could cite others. Why is it considered to be so strange in Acts 2 or when Christ told His disciples to wait for power from the Holy Spirit? It is the same thing that happened to Philip in Acts 8:39, when he was taken away from the eunuch. It does not mean that you do not have the Holy Spirit before or that you will or will not have it after.

It is obvious that when we read of the Holy Spirit we are reading of different things at different stages.

The HS is the earnest. Was that given?

The HS was the source of supernatural power. Was that given?

The HS was the comforter. Was that given?

What was given at Pentecost and what does given mean? As I see it one thing that was given was the ability to pass the HS to others i.e. it flowed from them. It was now theirs to give. They were given power not initial use of the Holy Spirit. Before that they could only receive the HS but now they could extend the family by giving it. Giving life is a feature of a marriage. That union takes place at Pentecost. This ability to produce based on the relationship is what was ascribed to Mary and Joseph before their actual marriage. The betrothal was sufficient to legally produce seed.

John spoke of the Comforter but the Comforter was given soon after the Resurrection so that Christ could comfort Thomas. The Comforter is the Holy Spirit but is the Holy Spirit the Comforter? No. The Holy Spirit goes beyond comforting. According to the definition given earlier the comforter has an evangelical function ascribed to it in John 16:8 by the meaning of reproveor confute and that was added in the New Testament. Notice what John said:

I John 2:1 [KJV] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Your defence attorney or advocate has a duty to refute. If you look at Job, he had no comforter (Job 16:2) or advocate because he was pleading to represent himself (Job 9; 13; 16:21). Comforting is a feature of the Holy Spirit that was added by Christ after the resurrection. Job never had it.

I submit that the promise of the Father was not the Holy Spirit but was assisted by the Holy Spirit. It was the power to spread the Gospel and share the Holy Spirit, features of the Holy Spirit available only after the marriage to the Church.

Genesis 5:29 [KJV] And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
Genesis 18:3-6 [KJV] And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
Genesis 24:67 [KJV] And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

He could not fully comfort a wife before marriage. Some elements of comforting are reserved for marriage.

growth and development

It is that side of marriage that we see in the disciples in Acts 2. The disciples were all hand picked by Christ and were drawn directly by the Father. Now the power is given to the disciples as was picked up by Matthew.

Matthew 16:15-20 [KJV] He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 18:17-20 [KJV] And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If you go back to Matthew 18:3 you will see that Christ was talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. He was telling His disciples about how to get there. He talked about saving and going after lost sheep. At the end of the conversation He revealed that they already had tremendous power. That is the power that they were promised in Matthew 16. By Matthew 18 they already had power to decide who was or was not a part of the Church. Christ said that He would be in their midst and the only way that he could do that is by the Holy Spirit. Maybe that is what people mean by the Holy Spirit working with others but the change that was taking place inside them was the Holy Spirit. Calling people was something that Christ formerly reserved for Himself but He was now shifting the job to His disciples. It started in Matthew 4:19 where He promised to make them fishers of men. By Matthew 28 Christ now had all power. He could now give them full power in His name and that is what He did.

Matthew 28:18-20 [KJV] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Remember that I said earlier that Matthew 28:19 was spurious, but it is right in the middle of the extract that I just used. The problem with Matthew 28:19 is that it has been modified to provide evidence for the Trinity, but part of the verse is valid and needs to be for Matthew 28:20 to make any sense. The part that is valid is Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in my name. It does not go on to say that we will be with you just I am with you alway. Christ is the only authority necessary for His Kingdom and it is His Kingdom that is the objective of Baptism. That is what the whole Bible supports.

John records the sequence because from John 15:4-5 they were expected to bear fruit (implying marriage of church) but were not yet ready. By John 21 they were ready but they needed direction because Peter decided that he was going fishing when the job was to be a fisher of men. Christ appeared and He asked them if they caught anything and they said no. He told them where to let down the nets and they caught a bounty. He then impressed upon Peter what his coming role was. By Acts 2 Peter was ready and understood his direction. He knew that he had to take the lead when the signal came. The signal was the trigger to become a fisher of men. Luke said that they had to wait on a signal (Luke 24:49) where they would be clothed with the Spirit not receive it for the first time. Now through their preaching the Church is to be extended i.e. bear fruit. Through their actions people are exposed to the truth and drawn to Christ and they are many more than Christ did directly. The disciples had been growing in the power of the Holy Spirit all along.

Romans 8 says that this tremendous growth could not take place without the Holy Spirit in them. It is the only way that we are converted and grow. Let us pick up some from verse 4.

Romans 8:4-7 [KJV] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

There had to be a spiritual change in the minds of the disciples not just with them. People know Romans 8:7 by heart but it is frightening how we are able to forget what we know and what is obvious when we are bamboozled by spiritual sounding rhetoric. You cannot grow spiritually without the Holy Spirit full stop. The disciples grew spiritually hence they had the Holy Spirit. They got additional power to be fishers of men and caused the Church to bear fruit.