Acts 2:1-21

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.” (Acts 2:4)

The history of the early church was far more complex than Luke would have us believe. But we may still accept that it began with “a determinative Jerusalem Pentecost” that gave the church its impetus and character. The essential historicity of this event has been firmly established (see Dunn, Jesus , pp. 135–56). To an outside observer, it might have appeared as an outburst of enthusiasm within the sect of the Nazarenes. To the believers, it was an episode of critical importance in the history of salvation (see Martin, p. 70), for it saw the fulfillment of the Father’s promises in the prophecies of Isaiah 32:15 and Joel 2:28–32 (cf. 1:14f.), indicating thereby that a new age had dawned and that the kingdom of God had come (see disc. on 1:6).

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