The Day of the Pentecost

Hello, I am a student at BYU-Idaho and am taking a class about the New Testament this year.  This blog will be where I will have the chance to record some of my learning and studying experiences.

First Entry

What was the Pentecost?

The Pentecost, meaning "fiftieth", was a celebration by Jews that   fifty days or seven weeks after the feast of the Passover.   This celebration was also referred to as the feast of the harvest and feast of the first fruits and was a time to give thanks and gratitude unto God.  I like to think of it as a Biblical Thanksgiving.
In Acts 2, the Spirit is poured out onto the apostles and others when they had gathered to celebrate the Pentecost.   Several began speaking and preaching in languages previously not known to the speakers.  Everyone was able to be taught in their own language.  Peter used this opportunity to teach about the Resurrection, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost. Peter also believed this to be part of the fulfillment of a prophecy found in Joel 2:28:

 28 ¶And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will ^apour out my^bspirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall^cprophesy, your ^dold men shall ^edream dreams, your young men shall see ^fvisions:

After this experience, many became converted and were baptized.

This day of Pentecost demonstrated several gifts of the spirit.  The obvious one being the gift of tongues. 

There was also the gift of believing the testimony of others and the gift of faith, as shown by the many conversions. 

I think that it was interesting that God chose the day of the Pentecost to provide his people with this experience. It might have been the closest thing they had to General Conference at this time. The wide range of people taught also allowed for more witnesses of the Gospel.

Sources:  LDS New Testament Student Manual and King James Bible