The Standard September 19, 2026
The author who wrote the largest volume of the New Testament text is Luke, a Greek physician, who penned both a gospel and the Book of Acts. In his sequel he describes the acts of the Holy Spirit and the resulting impact on the early church. Some people call it the Acts of the Apostles. In the second chapter Luke describes what happened in Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus, during the Jewish Feast of Weeks, 50 days after Passover.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:1-4
The Jewish men who had come from all over to celebrate the feast heard these disciples speaking of the mighty works of God in their own languages. They would have recognized the obvious significance of seeing tongues of fire resting on each disciple. In the Old Testament there were two specific occasions where God descended in the form of fire, one related to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and the other taking place during the dedication of the temple Solomon had built.
“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.” Exodus 19: 16-18
“When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’” 2 Chronicles 7:1-3
While the Old Testament instances were huge and awe-inspiring, the New Testament occurrence is more powerful in possibly a less visible way. In Acts 2 Luke describes more than the Holy Spirit merely coming down to visit us; the Spirit came down to dwell within us. Amazingly, Christians are like individual mini temples. God changes us dramatically from the inside out; his personal presence is with each of us.
