Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Lawlessness Increased

I wrote the blog Truth or Trump in 2019. The premise was that Christians frequently invalidate their witness via their engagement with mammon.  I illustrated how we all are subject to ideological, economic, and political manipulation via propaganda. Some are more prone to manipulation than others.

Can you guess what is depicted here?

I have begun reconciling with one of my children who deconstructed and walked away from the faith in favor of leftist ideology. I say reconcile because I am guilty of viewing him through the lens of accusation and offense that characterizes so many “left versus right” debates. I called him a Marxist. He implied that I was a Fascist. At the end of the day all of our debates were rooted in the right to control “stuff” Karl Marx and bankers call it capitol.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:10

Nothing has really changed since the last election. The Donald is hyperbolically talking about 500 and 1000 percent tariffs on China, which produces most of our stuff, but apparently is charging too much for stuff we want. There are tariffs on NATO countries because they don’t pay their fair share for the weapons that protect our stuff from people we might need to kill because they want to take our stuff. Left and Right square off over who has the right to do what. Arguments are often framed as compassion for minorities and the underprivileged versus the rule of law and or the righteousness of God. At the end of the day, it always comes down to the allocation of stuff. Some are angry because immigrants without stuff risk their lives for the opportunity to get stuff. We should give them stuff because they don’t have stuff. Americans are mad because people without stuff are taking stuff from those who claim they have more rights to stuff because they were born in the land of plenty of stuff. The unspoken implication is that God demonstrates His preference for people via stuff.

At one point amidst our ideological jousting, my son posted a meme of Donald Trump immediately after he was shot.  It expressed regret that the shooter had missed. I became offended and I blocked him for a few days. I had succumbed to the very media manipulation I claimed to oppose.

Woe to me! Luke 17:1-4

It occurs to me that one of the greatest threats within the body of Christ in the last days is,

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” 

Matthew 24:12

Lawlessness is looting and violence. The very first murder resulted from a dispute over whose stuff was better. Genesis 4 I’ve always emphasized “lawlessness” in my understanding of Mathew 24. Then I recognized that my love for my own son was growing cold because I regarded his worldview as lawless. Those who departed were never with us, 1 John 2:19 I reasoned. That lawlessness will increase is a pure matter of fact. It will not be rectified until The Day of the Lord. Jesus was warning against becoming loveless due to our unmet expectations of others.

Long story short, things came to a head and we started dealing with the root of our anger and frustration that we had been projecting onto media narratives.

Today I am listening and seeking to understand more than being understood.

The reason I mention it here is that I’ve been meditating on the fellowship the body of Christ seeks to cultivate. Biblical Fellowship is koinōnía –  the share which one has in anything, intercourse, intimacy. I’m asking the Lord to reveal the root cause of what is preventing true koinōnía and the unity of the faith. Ephesians 4:11-14

I’ve been reading a book my son recommended that has helped to shape his post-deconstruction worldview. It is a book that I previously wouldn’t have touched with a ten-foot pole because its author is an admitted leftist. Reconciliation and understanding in my relationship with my son were my purpose. But the Lord is using it to answer my original question.

On Amazon

As it turns out, the book is well-sourced and solidly rooted in research. To paraphrase Henry Kissinger, history, as most of us know it, is the history of the winner, which is the state. The difference in Zinn’s work is that history is framed from the perspective of the losers, or what some Christians errantly call “the least of these” today.  Zinn said his point is not to grieve for the victims and denounce the executioners… Victims, themselves desperate and tainted with the culture that oppresses them, turn on other victims. While not mentioned by Zinn, the history of the church, especially the English Reformation, is a perfect example. The words of Isaiah and Paul began to echo in my mind as I read. “No one is righteous, not one…” And Micah,

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:8

Zinn quotes,

“The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.”

Page 10

The first chapter covers the indigenous Haitians whom Christopher Columbus abused and murdered in the name of Jesus for gold, based on the God given authority granted to him in Romans 13. Adolf Hitler also cited Romans 13.

“Didn’t the first Christians share everything they had?” asked my son. “As a matter of fact, they did,” I said. It’s probably no coincidence that we are hitting on this very topic in our Bible study this week.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

Awe is Phobeo – terror, the Greek word from which the English word phobia is derived. More on fear in a bit

Political ideologies and historical narratives aside, money and possessions are always the root cause of love growing cold. It frequently manifests first in a loss of trust. This loss may be engendered by miscommunication, conflicting viewpoints regarding how something should be done, or spent, or genuine greed or malice. The accuser of the brethren then presents us with categories into which we divide ourselves. The accuser in Revelation 12:10 is katēgoréō in Greek from which we get the English word category. We are leftists, fascists, Marxist millennials, boomers, right-wing extremists, white supremacists, lawyers, plaintifs, and accused…

“You were trusted but you didn’t meet my expectations. Now you are untrusted!”

Distrust then manifests as fear. Fear of being duped, which in turn is fear of losing control, leads us to question our discernment. When our discernment is in question we can’t even trust ourselves. So we bear down and become more guarded against categories of people we imagine will take our freedom, our stuff, and our illusions of control. Others do the same. It is within the context of the preservation of stuff and control of it that our limbic system and amygdala interpret stuff as self and self-preservation becomes paramount.

“Oh no! They aren’t doing that to me! They’re not getting my stuff!” We say.

Lawfare and warfare are the end result

Hence, we keep coming back to the first step toward freedom as believers.

Deny self.  Mathew 16:24

It’s easy to point the finger at the world and say, “What do you expect? It’s the world.” But Christians and Christian ministries are often no different. Sometimes they are worse. They might begin in sincere obedience to the Lord. Then their love grows cold as projects, buildings, supplies, positions, agendas, and capital to purchase and run it all overwhelm the original vision. People step on the proverbial toes of others and kick others to the curb in the name of countering any opposition to their agenda, which they have mistaken for God’s will. Like proverbial empty beer cans thrown in the trash when drained, we watch burned-out workers and volunteers disappear like silhouettes into a sunset, never breathing their names again. Victims of emotional and spiritual abuse are gaslit and dismissed in Jesus’ name, which has become synonymous with a given ministry, church corporation, or mission. Glorified self and personal pride are projected onto God as genuine moves of God are supplanted by fundraising as we market the God of our “stuff” ridden agendas in Jesus’ name.

The church ceases to be a spiritual society when it is on the lookout for the develoment of its own organization.

-Oswald Chambers-
-My Utmost for His Highest-

I served a ministry run by a guy I’ll call FP for over a decade. He began by pulling homeless and trafficked Honduran children off the gang-ridden streets of Comayagua. It was a beautiful thing. But building a home for kids without stuff in a foreign country without stuff was harder than FP expected. As time went on the children became marketing tools for their own provision. I was the video-producing marketer. “If I build it they will come”, he’d say. There were about twenty kids at first. FP prophesied there would be three thousand people living in his refuge. The actual number maxed out at eighty.

Construction on one building would begin until they ran out of money. So FP began “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. He’d advertise plans for another building. That money would, in turn, be used to complete the first project. The chain continued, and a miniature Ponzi scheme was born in Jesus’ name. The bigger the Ponzi scheme got the more weight FP had upon his shoulders. He began traveling 360 days per year as an itinerant Preacher/ prophet.  A salesman by trade, FP had mastered the appeal to the love of self in others. “I see you going on a mission trip to Honduras!” he’d prophecy to the wealthy middle-aged women with low self-esteem. They would invariably weep because God had seen them and called them to missions. Oh, the significance!!

Then they’d write a check.

“The end justifies the means.” Said FP

“I’m saving children’s lives!”

Some people saw through the chicanery and began to confront him. “You don’t like how I’m doing it? Well, I don’t like how you’re not doing it! He bit back. That’s when image management became the priority. “Don’t touch God’s anointed!” FP’s wife, TP, warned. Of course, FP had his public relations henchmen, one of whom was me, to guard his reputation. “I’m his armor bearer!” I’d proudly proclaim. After all, I was helping to build a system to save orphans for God!! There is a website with myriad people calling FP out for abuse and false prophecy. I am all over it, anonymously defending the man who, at the time, I truly believed was the real deal. In truth, I was blind to the fact that I was falling for the same appeal to self.

“Your videos probably raised a million dollars!” He’d say.

Oh, the significance of me!!

“I didn’t know you thought like that,” Cathy says. “Neither did I.” Pride is blinding. We rarely see it clearly in ourselves except in retrospect after we have repented.

I’m not sure if FP’s depravity increased over time or if God simply opened my eyes. But we had to part ways because the spiritual abuse and deception became too much to ignore. There were points along the way where I thought the growing conflict between us would turn physical. FP had a violent temper and he saw no reason to repent. For a while, I thought it was my job to convince him to repent. Yet the Lord was after my repentance. I knew my time with FP was done. But the Lord would not release me while I remained in active offense. I remember standing in the chapel above the Refuge in Honduras we’d helped to build when I was prompted by the Lord to pick up two stones. I heard in my mind “You can throw them at FP and be just like him. Or you can release him to me and I will release you.” Weeping, I dropped the stones and forgave. A month later we moved to the mountains. That was six years ago.

Back to Acts 2

I suspect that the economic selflessness described in Acts 2 is not a picture of a system of economics to be implemented by the church in fulfilment of a Seven Mountains Mandate to change the world. Neither do I believe it is a purposeful rejection of capitalism in favor of Socialism and Communism as liberation / social gospel adherents assert. I don’t believe the newborn church in Acts 2 sold all their possessions to care for the poor because they pitied them. Rather they relinquished ownership of their stuff because they realized that no one on earth owns anything. Economic freedom begins with a clear understanding that God is the owner and provider of everything. The freedom and power to relinquish material possessions and the accompanying illusions of control only come with genuine and utter dependence on Him. That dependence is never a product of mere desperation. Rather, it is a product of absolute trust. That trust results in peace beyond understanding as it whispers,

“I know that I know that my Father will provide all that I need.”

Given that stuff seems to be the root driving force behind all politically powered lawfare and warfare, in and out of the church, it makes sense that God would begin the first church with the renunciation of all attachments to stuff. I suspect the fear of God that came upon the believers at Pentecost was the catalyst that initially fueled their detachment from stuff. The koinōnía that empowered the Acts 2 Church to fulfill its call is not possible amidst our obsession with the stuff of self-gratification. The freedom from self manifested in stuff and the control of it was the soil in which the teachings of the Apostles could come to life. They had the revelation that they were a family. Then

God, (not themselves) added to their number every day.

The reconciliation of all of God’s children – all of Abraham’s descendants, both Issac and Ishmael, is the ministry of reconciliation to which all in Christ are called. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

As we will see, the early church fell on brutally hard times filled with suffering and persecution. Every Apostle was tortured and or martyred. Hence, I suspect the model presented in Acts 2 is not a method for economic altruism, let alone individual comfort, peace, and prosperity. Rather it was and is vital preparation for the endurance that was and is required for the coming days.

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mathew 24:12-13

By the way, the featured images are not of lawless leftists or Neo Nazis wreaking havoc in the streets, but Philadelphia Eagles fans rioting over a football game that their team won.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Pentecost Continued…

Peter’s Sermon Part 1

Peter the Apostle did not start out as an Apostle. And while he was not “THE ROCK”, as the Catholic Church asserts, he was definitely Smart Like a Rock. Peter occasionally began with what looked like understanding, only to prove he had very little, if any, real understanding of what Jesus taught until Holy Spirit crashed in at Pentecost to lead him and others into all truth.

There was a rushing wind, and onlookers heard what sounded like mindless babbling and assumed everyone was drunk.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

Acts 2:14-16

Peter begins with an appeal to reason. One hundred twenty men and women, the devotion of which was clearly evidenced by their ten days of prayerful obedience, were not drunk, especially at 9 AM in the morning. He could have begun with the age-old irrefutable proposition,

“The Lord told me…”

I mention this because some people believe that the litmus test for God’s presence and voice is the defiance of all reason and logic. Of course, God can and does transcend our perceptions of reality and truth. However, eccentricity is not proof of Holiness. Rather, it proves that God works despite our weirdness and weakness. 1 Corinthians 1:27-31 is not a call to be foolish. It is a declaration of God’s character and purpose. He is the author of truth that includes the laws of logic and reason. The scientific method is the fruit of devout men and women who recognized complexity and design and sought to know more about the designer through his design.

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.

Proverbs 25:2

This is important as we contrast the beginning of the church with the body of Christ today, because there has been a growing anti-intellectual movement within the charismatic stream since the 1990s.

In any case, Peter began his argument logically according to scripture, and in the context of God’s ultimate eschatological plan.

And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Joel 2:28-32

Some people read Joel Chapter 2  in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Israel by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 70AD. This is called Preterism. Preterists assert that what Jesus called

…great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be...

Mathew 24:21

took place in full in 70 AD. Preterists tend be be postmillennial or amillenial regarding the 1000-year reign of Christ in Revelation 20.

Jesus’s declaration, “It is finished!” – teléō (paid in full) on the cross is interpreted as His statement of completion. They believe that since Jesus has been given all authority and is seated on the throne then God’s rule on earth is already established. Postmillennialists claim we are in the 1000-year reign the end of which culminates with the return of Christ. In contrast, Amillennialists claim that the millennial reign in Revelation 20 is metaphorical. In both cases, it is the job of the church on earth to “Christianize” society in preparation for Christ’s return.

In contrast, premillennialists see Christ returning after the great tribulation to judge the world and establish the thousand-year reign on earth. The end times began on Pentecost and continue today until “It is done!” in Revelation 21:6. The beginning of the end is marked by the fulfillment of the first part of the prophet Joel’s declaration.

And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

The complete fulfillment is on God’s timeline, not ours, as described in the very eschatological chapter three of 2 Peter.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

2 Peter 3:8

Let the reader note, the mere fact that one verse follows another does not in itself imply an immediate and linear chain of events.

In my opinion, the beginning of Joel 2 describes the scene when Jerusalem was sacked in 70AD, which is itself a prophetic foreshadowing of the future great tribulation. The concluding verses mark the beginning of the last days, marked by Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh and the church being born. The remaining events appear to reflect those described in places like Mathew 24.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earmth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mathew 24:29-31

Another important point for contemporary Bereans is that Peter immediately goes to scripture in his interpretation of the present event. His prompt was from Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth. John 14:26, John 16:13, 1 John 2:27

Prophetic declarations abound today. Much of it is person-centered and is better defined as words of knowledge. Some represent false signs and wonders. Other prophecies are just foolish babble. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 One of the best ways to test prophecy as we are commanded in 2 Thess 5:19-22 is by determining who or what is glorified. Genuine prophecy is characterized by new and or deeper revelation of God, His glory, and His plan as it is outlined in scripture. At the very least, it does not add to or contradict scripture. Galatians 1:8-9 Hence, Peter at Pentecost is the perfect example of genuine prophetic preaching.

Peter concludes his quotation of Joel with,

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Acts 2:21

I find it notable that Peter only quotes the first part of Joel 2:32. The full context of Joel 2 is eschatological yet Peter homes in on soteriology (the study of salvation) as he begins his apologia.

I often see contemporary believers mired in debates related to the end times. Even unbelievers are drawn by discussions about the anti-Christ, the mark of the beast, etc. U.S. presidents and other world leaders are popular candidates. Most of this reflects too much time spent on social media and TV rather than searching the scripture.

Peter remains Christocentric in his approach.

…For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Joel 2:32

among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls?

The overarching theme that we often water down or neglect entirely is that if salvation exists, then there is something from which people need to be saved. Any conversation regarding the end of the age (the eschaton) must include the reality that any one of us could meet our end before tomorrow. If those who call on the Lord are saved, then those who don’t are not. And what exactly does it mean to call on the Lord?

So often, I see false conversions because Jesus is framed as a proverbial magic happy pill to make whatever discomfort we may be experiencing go away. The teens and adults to whom we minister, frequently tell me,

“I got baptized because I thought it would make everything better.”

“It didn’t.”

How can there be understanding of our life in Christ if there is no understanding of our condition and destiny apart from Him? Life in Christ is not a call to live our best life now. It is a call to sell everything we have up to and including our very lives in the flesh for an eternal inheritance, the down-payment of which is the indwelling of Holy Spirit while we live on earth. Ephesians 1:11-14 Life in Christ on earth is not a free ticket out of fire and tribulation. It is a promise of fire and tribulation into and through which He will accompany us.

It often seems that we don’t want to tell people the whole truth because we think we need to market Jesus. We might mention condemnation and hell in passing. Then sell Jesus like a used car instead of preaching His entire Gospel. Fearing God is no longer phobeo – terror as in the terror of being accursed for twisting or redacting God’s Word. Fear is most often translated as “awe”. Contemporary awe is sweet like the awe of biting into a delicious piece of cake. One man equated the presence of God to mainlining Jesus like heroin as he motioned sticking a needle into his vein.

“So good!…”

Whatever happened to,

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:28-29

Clearly, Peter, who had sworn he would die with Jesus, then denied him three times less than two months before, was now fully convinced and ready to walk his talk. He boldly proclaimed,

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 

Many of us are ready in season and out of season to share the gospel with broken people. But how many of us have proclaimed the same truth to those with the desire and power to marginalize or destroy us?  Even as I write, powerful ministers are being exposed as wolves for their abuse of those they claimed they were called to serve. I’m talking about decades of abuse and cover-up with no sign of repentance. The overarching theme in all of these cases was multitudes of people who knew but didn’t say anything because they were afraid of repercussions.

Peter sets the standard in the opening of his sermon. It is a standard of boldness in proclaiming truth regardless of the consequences. It would seem that he had a revelation of his true identity. It resulted in his being persecuted for righteousness’ sake and ultimately crucified like Christ. Some historians claim he was crucified upside down per his request because he didn’t think he was worthy of being crucified like Jesus. 

Chew on that.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Pentecost

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Acts 2:1-2

Pentecost is the 5th of eight feasts, sometimes called the second of three Great Feasts of the Lord established before God created man.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,

Genesis 1:14

Seasons in Hebrew is mow`ed, an appointed time, meeting, or feast. A place of, assembly, congregation… God appointed These Feasts, which were formally established in Leviticus 23.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

Leviticus 23:1

Convocations is miqra’ something called out, i.e. a public meeting, a rehearsal.

Pentecost is the conclusion of the Feast of Weeks. A week is seven days. Seven weeks is 49 days. The fiftieth day is Pentecost. Pente is fifty. The Feast of Weeks follows the Feast of First Fruits, the beginning of the forty-nine-day harvest marked by a daily counting of the Omer. An Omer was a dry measure that would be about two quarts of wheat today. The counting of the Omer signified the connection between Passover and the giving of the Torah (The Ten Commandments) to Moses on Mount Sinai or Shavuot. Shavuot was the first Pentecost.

It is important to note that the Great Feast of Passover, which originated in Exodus 12, contains three feasts, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Jesus was the fulfillment of all three feasts. Biblically speaking, Fulfillment means to give the correct interpretation of something. Think of it as the difference between seeing a photograph of someone and then meeting them for the first time in person. The meeting is the fulfillment. Jesus fulfilled all three Feasts. He was crucified on the day of Passover. He was in the tomb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He was resurrected at the commencement of the Feast of First Fruits. Hence, Paul is speaking literally in 1 Corinthians 15.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20

The God’s chosen people were rehearsing the death and resurrection of Jesus for at least 1500 years but missed Jesus when He came. That should give all of us reason to pause and reflect.

Shavuot

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 

Exodus 19:16

The giving of the Law, the Torah, the Ten Commandments came amidst a storm after three days of consecration. Some versions say sanctify.

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

Exodus 19:10-11

Consecrate is qadash –  prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate.

In Acts chapter two, the 120 had consecrated themselves in prayer. They were of one accord. Accord in Greek is homothymadón

Homothymadón is a unique Greek word, used 10 of its 12 New Testament occurrences in the Book of Acts, helps us understand the uniqueness of the Christian community. Homothumadon is a compound of two words meaning to “rushalong” and “in unison”. The image is almost musical; a number of notes are sounded which, while different, harmonise in pitch and tone. As the instruments of a great concert under the direction of a concert master, so the Holy Spirit blends together the lives of members of Christ’s church.

– Strongs Concordance-

The first Pentecost was characterized by rebellion of all involved, including Moses, who broke the first tablets in a fit of rage when he saw the Israelites worshipping the golden calf. In contrast, the fulfillment of Pentecost was characterized by radical obedience to the command of Jesus among all involved. The first Pentecost took place after three days of waiting for the law. It seems to me those three days were a foreshadowing of three days in the tomb before the fulfillment of the law came in the resurrected Jesus.

The fulfillment of Pentecost came after ten days in the upper room. We know it was ten days because Jesus ascended on the 40th day of the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost came ten days later. The first Pentecost began with thunder and lightning, a thick cloud, and a very loud trumpet blast... The fulfillment of Pentecost came with a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, that filled all the house… The people were terrified on the first Pentecost. The fulfillment of Pentecost  brought the comforter.

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

The promised Holy Spirit came. Then Galilaens, Parthians, and Medes, Elamites, and Mesopotamians, Judaeans and Cappadocians, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene, strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, heard everyone speak the in their own language.

Approximately two thousand years after God confounded the language of men at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, Holy Spirit restores the understanding of the very same people groups at Pentecost.

The motivation for building a tower to heaven was self glorification.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:4

Name is Shem, ironically pronounced Shame.  It means reputation, fame, and glory. They wanted to glorify their name, not God’s.

And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Genesis 11:6

The people in Genesis 11 were of one accord to glorify themselves. Therefore God broke the accord.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

Genesis 11:7

In contrast, the 120 were in one accord. Holy Spirit came, restored thier understanding and they did

hear them speak in their tongues the wonderful works of God.

Acts 2:11

How ironic that the root issue in Genesis 11 is rectified in verse 11 of Acts 2.  It’s no coincidence that self-glorification remains the core struggle for the body of Christ today. Let’s pay attention as we move on in Acts. Are the Apostles and disciples primarily focused on their identity, authority, gifting, and power? Or does their spiritual self-esteem take a back seat for His namesake and glory?

Maranatha