THE MEANING OF PENTECOST FOR TODAY
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Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.
Professor of Theology and Church History
Andrews University


NOTE: The essays I posted recently on ADVENTISTS AND PASSOVER
generated considerable interest. A good number of pastor requested my
suggested PASSOVER ORDER OF SERVICE and celebrated Passover with their
congregation for the first time this year. Since we are now in the
PENTECOST SEASON, I would like to submit few excerpts from my research on
GOD'S FESTIVALS IN SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY dealing the continuity, meaning
and relevance of Pencecost for Adventists today.
	For the sake of brevity, I am leaving out the historical survey of
the observance of Pentecost in the Old Testament, New Testament, and the
Early Church, focusing instead on the observance of Pentecost today. In
this two segments essay I am examining the meaning of Pentecost for today.
In the final essay I will propose how to celebrate Pentecost today.


THE MEANING OF PENTECOST TODAY

	Our study of the meaning of Pentecost in Scripture and history
shows that the meaning of the feast is largely determined by the five major
events that occurred during the fifty days of waiting by the disciples in
the Upper Room, namely, (1) the resurrection of Christ, (2) His ascension,
(3) the inauguration of Christ's heavenly ministry, (4) the bestowal of
spiritual gifts, and (5) the birthday of the Christian church. These events
are part of the unitive celebration of Pentecost. Let us reflect on their
meaning and relevance for today in the light of the preceding Biblical and
historical survey of Pentecost.

	The Resurrection of Christ. The first Christian Pentecost began on
the day Christ arose as " the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep"
(1 Cor 15:20). "Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those
that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection
took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before
the Lord. . . . The sheaf dedicated to God represented the harvest. So
Christ the first fruits represented the great spiritual harvest to be
gathered for the kingdom of God. His resurrection is the type and pledge of
the resurrection of all the righteous dead. 'For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
with Him.' 1 Thess 4:14."5
	As the offering of the first sheaf marked the beginning of the
fifty days of the Jewish Pentecost, so the resurrection of Christ as the
first fruits of redeemed humanity marked the beginning of the fifty days of
the first Christian Pentecost. Christ's resurrection, however, not only
marks the beginning of Pentecost but also gives the joyous mood to the
whole period of the feast.
	The early Christians honored Christ's resurrection during the fifty
days of Pentecost by standing for prayer and by refraining from fasting and
mourning. While at Passover they commemorated Christ's suffering and death
by fasting and mourning, at Pentecost they celebrated His resurrection by
refraining from fasting, mourning, or kneeling. "One might say," as Thomas
J. Talley points out, "it is the Pentecost that celebrates the
resurrection."6
	The Pentecostal experience brought home to the disciples the
reality of Christ's resurrection. On several occasions, Christ announced to
His disciples that the Son of Man must die and rise on the third day (Mark
8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Matt 12:40; John 2:19), but they could not understand
"what rising from the dead meant" (Mark 9:10). But as the risen Savior
appeared on numerous occasions to the disciples during the first "forty
days" (Acts 1:3) of Pentecost, they finally grasped the reality of His
resurrection.
	On the day of Pentecost, Peter boldly proclaimed: "This Jesus God
raised up, and of that we are all witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Pentecost was the
proclamation and celebration of Christ's resurrection. From that day on,
the resurrection became the center of the apostolic preaching, because it
revealed the fundamental basis of the Christian faith (Acts 3:14; 4:10;
8:35; 13:33; 17:3, 31; 23:6).
	Pentecost affords us an opportunity to reflect on the significance
and import of Christ's resurrection for our lives today. Christ's
resurrection is not merely the restoration to life of a dead body, but it
is the emergence of a new order of life. It is the embodiment of eternal
life and the beginning of the future resurrection. The nature of Christ's
resurrected body is a mystery to us. The empty tomb testifies to this fact.
The women "did not find the body" of Jesus in the tomb (Luke 24:1-3, KJV).
Jesus' resurrection was a bodily resurrection, yet His body had new and
surprising powers transcending physical limitations. He appeared and
disappeared to His disciples in a room with locked doors (Luke 24:31, 36;
John 20:19, 26). Our Lord's body had been transformed into the kind of
"spiritual body" Paul describes by saying: "It is sown a physical body, it
is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor 15:44).
	There is power in Christ's resurrection. That is why Paul wished to
"know him and the power of his resurrection" (Phil 3:10). It is a power
that can be experienced in the present and in the future. In the present,
we experience the power of Christ's resurrection by leading a new life by
the power of God who raised Christ from the dead (Col 2:12; Rom 6:4). "If
then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Col 3:1-2).
	In the future, we will experience the power of Christ's
resurrection when we all will rise because He has risen: "He who raised
Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also
through his Spirit which dwells in you" (Rom 8:11). Pentecost affords us an
opportunity not only to commemorate the resurrection of Christ, but also to
seek the power of the risen Christ to walk in newness of life while
awaiting for the final transformation of our mortal bodies to a glorified
state (Rom 8:22-23; Phil 3:10, 20).

	The Ascension of Christ. Pentecost celebrates not only Christ's
resurrection but also His ascent to heaven. The book of Acts informs us
that at the end of forty days of apparitions and discourses, Jesus left His
disciples to ascend to heaven (Acts 1:3-11). Apparently that was not His
first ascent to heaven, because, according to John, Jesus told Mary
Magdalene on the day of His resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I have not
yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am
ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John
20:17). Later that day, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, He must have
already ascended and returned, because He told His disciples: "See my hands
and my feet, that it is myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has no
flesh and bones as I have" (Luke 24:40). He also gave the opportunity to
the doubting Thomas to touch Him (John 20:27). The purpose of these
appearances was to authenticate the reality of Christ's resurrection. Luke
suggests that an ascension occurred in the evening of the resurrection
after the various discourses of Jesus with His disciples (Luke 24:50-51).
	The delay of a few hours between the resurrection and the ascension
was designed to impress on Mary Magdalene that He was now entering into a
new glorified state. During the forty days when Jesus appeared to the
disciples, most likely He came down to them from His heavenly abode;
otherwise, it is hard to explain where He was during the interval of these
manifestations.
	The ascension described in Acts (1:3-11) represents Christ's last
departure, which put an end to His temporal apparitions and discourses. The
ascension was a formal leave-taking. In a dramatic way, it indicated that
the transitional period was over and now Christ was entering a new phase of
His redemptive activity. He departed after forty days of manifestations,
most likely in view of the fifty days of Pentecost. This would give the
disciples ten days to prepare for the reception of the Holy Spirit that He
would send them on the final day of Pentecost.
	The sacred texts point to two aspects of Christ's ascension: on the
one hand, His celestial glorification, which occurred on the day of His
resurrection; on the other hand, His final departure, which took place
after a period of apparitions and discourses. Pentecost affords an
opportunity to commemorate both of these events.
	The manner of the ascension is described in a few simple words: "As
they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their
sight" (Acts 1:11). The purpose of this plain description is not to magnify
the triumph of the resurrection, but simply to point out that after a
period of companionship with His disciples, the risen Savior withdrew His
visible presence from the earth, not to manifest it again until His return.
	The ascension is a prelude to Christ's descent at the end of time.
"While they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by
them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking
into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come
in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This angelic
discourse establishes a clear connection between the ascent of Christ to
heaven and His return to earth at the end of time.
	Pentecost affords us an opportunity to reflect not only on Christ's
departure from this earth, but also upon His return to this earth. It
reminds us that the present stay of Christ in heaven is a transitory stage
in His redemptive plan. He will reside in heaven "until the time for
establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of
old" (Acts 3:21).
	The ascension teaches us that Christ will come as He departed (Acts
1:11), descending from heaven upon the clouds (1 Thess 4:14-16, Rev 1:7)
while the redeemed ascend to meet Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:17). While
we are awaiting that glorious day, we must "seek the things that are above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Col 3:2), so that "when
Christ who is our life appears, then . . . [we] also will appear with him
in glory" (Col 3:4).
	Commemorating the ascension during the Pentecost season can give "a
lift" to our spiritual life by inspiring us to look up to heaven, where
Christ "always lives to make intercession" for us (Heb 7:25). We may call
this our spiritual ascension. We look to heaven to thank Jesus for working
hard to bring to consummation His redemptive mission. It is this
reassurance that motivates us to live "waiting for and hastening" the
glorious day of His coming (2 Pet 3:12).

	The Inauguration of Christ's Heavenly Ministry. The ascension
constitutes the transition from Christ's redemptive work on earth to His
intercessory work in heaven. Thus, Pentecost affords us the opportunity to
celebrate also the inauguration of Christ's heavenly ministry. We noted in
chapter 6 that upon His ascension Christ was exalted to a position of honor
and dignity by being seated at the right hand of God (Acts 2:33; 5:31; 7:55).
The "right hand" is a symbol of the supreme honor, power, and authority
with which Jesus was invested. By being invited to sit at the right hand of
God (Acts 2:34; Eph 1: 20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3, 13), Christ was installed to
His heavenly ministry. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is
seen as the evidence of the official enthronement of Christ to His heavenly
ministry (Acts 2:33).
	According to Ellen White, "The Pentecostal outpouring was heaven's
communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished. According
to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as
a token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven
and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people."7
	Christ's intercession in the heavenly sanctuary is perhaps the most
ignored chapter of His redemptive ministry. Systematic theology books
devote hundreds of pages to the study of Christ's atoning sacrifice, but
few, if any, to the study of Christ's intercessory ministry in the heavenly
sanctuary. The impression is that Christ is on a leave of absence between
His ascension and return, presumably recovering from His exhausting earthly
mission. It is not surprising that many Christians have no idea about what
Jesus is doing in heaven.
	Pentecost affords us an opportunity to remember that Jesus is not
on vacation; rather, that He has been ministering on our behalf since His
ascension as "Priest" (Heb 7:15; 8:4), "High Priest" (Heb 2:17; 3:1),
"Mediator" (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 8:6), and "Intercessor" (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25). We
have seen that through His intercessory ministry, Christ sustains the
Church (Rev 1:13, 20), mediates repentance and forgiveness to believers
(Acts 5:31; 1 John 2:1-2; 1:9), makes our prayers acceptable to God (John
16:23-24; Rev 8:3), provides us with the invisible and yet real assistance
of His angels (Heb 1:14; Rev 5:6; 1:16, 20), and bestows upon us the
essential gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). The fact that Jesus is
actively ministering in heaven on our behalf gives us reasons to believe
that He will soon return to bring to consummation His redemptive mission.

	The Bestowal of Spiritual Gifts. Pentecost celebrates not only the
inauguration of Christ's ministry in heaven, but also the beginning of the
bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit on the Church. The two are interrelated
because it is Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary that makes the
ministry of the Holy Spirit possible on earth.
	Before His ascension, Christ promised to send to His disciples the
Holy Spirit: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you" (Acts 1:8). Christ's promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost
when His disciples "were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4) and
"great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33). The manifestation of the Holy
Spirit continued after Pentecost through the gifts bestowed for the work of
the church.
	The gifts of the Spirit are as diverse as the ministries in the
Church, but share a profound unity because they come from one Spirit and,
like the members of the human body, share the same goal (1 Cor 12:4-31).
Some spiritual gifts, such as those of apostles, prophets, teachers,
evangelists, and pastors, relate to the ministerial functions of the Church
(Eph 4:11; 1 Cor 12:28). Others gifts, such as service, teaching,
liberality, works of mercy, (Rom 12:7-8), words of wisdom, faith, the gift
of healing, and working miracles (1 Cor 12:8-11), concern the ministry of
the church at large. The practice of charity is itself a gift of the Holy
Spirit (1 Cor 14:1). The success of the Christian life, as well as the
functioning of the Church, depends entirely on the presence of the gifts
of the Spirit.
	The bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit at Pentecost is likened to
the "former rain" that ripened the Spring wheat harvest that in a spiritual
sense was gathered in at the beginning of Christianity. Near the close of
earth's history, another bestowal of spiritual gifts is promised to equip
the Church for the final harvest of the earth. This final outpouring of the
Holy Spirit is likened to the falling of the latter rain that in Palestine
ripened the fall fruit harvest.
	The celebration of Pentecost today affords us the opportunity not
only to commemorate the outpouring of the early rain on the day of
Pentecost, but also to pray for the unprecedented outpouring of the latter
rain of spiritual power to make us fit to be laborers together with God in
the final harvest of the earth.
	The disciples prepared themselves for the reception of the Holy
Spirit on the day of Pentecost by earnest prayer, confession and forsaking
of their sins, and consecration of themselves to God. "Under the influence
of the Spirit," writes Ellen White, "words of penitence and confession
mingled with songs of praise for sins forgiven. Words of thanksgiving and
prophecy were heard. All heaven bent low to behold and to adore the wisdom
of matchless, incomprehensible love. Lost in wonder, the apostles
exclaimed, 'Herein is Love.' They grasped the imparted gift. And what
followed? The sword of the Spirit, newly edged with power and bathed in the
lightning of heaven, cut its way through unbelief. Thousands were converted
in a day."8
	The celebration of Pentecost challenges us to do the same
preparatory work to receive the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We
often lament the Laodicean lukewarmness that seems to prevail in the
church. The solution to the problem is to be found, not in the introduction
of new styles of worships or special seminars on church growth, but in the
Upper-Room-type of preparation for the reception of the Holy Spirit. When
"with one accord" (Acts 1:14) we come together to seek the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit to cleanse our lives and to energize us for service, then
we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to finish the mission of the
Church.

	The Birthday of the Christian Church. Pentecost affords us the
opportunity to commemorate also the birthday of the Christian church.
Perhaps the most popular national holiday in most countries is the one that
celebrates the birthday of the nation, often as a result of bloody wars to
gain freedom from dominating powers. Americans celebrate their national
birthday on July 4, known as "Independence Day." As the Americans
commemorate the birthday of their nation on Independence Day, so Christians
celebrate the birth of their Church on Pentecost.
	We noted in chapter 6 that Christ instituted the Church when He
called the twelve disciples and trained them to become His witnesses. But
He constituted the Church on the day of Pentecost when He qualified them
for their calling by the power of the Holy Spirit. On that day, Christ's
followers were consolidated into a new body with the conviction and courage
to preach the Gospel to the ends of the world.
	 Pentecost commemorates also the birthday of the mission of the
Church. Before Pentecost, the disciples were all fearfully shut up in the
Upper Room. After the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they
boldly went out to witness for their risen Savior. Throughout the book of
Acts we are reminded that Christians became witnesses as a result of the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. "We all are witnesses" (Acts 2:32). "We are
witnesses to all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in
Jerusalem" (Acts 10:39; cf. 3:15; 5:32; 10:41; 13:31). The gift of tongues
that were intelligible to "devout men from every nation under heaven" (Acts
2:5) underscores the universal scope of the Christian mission.
	The Feast of Pentecost reminds us every year that the Christian
church was founded by Christ, not to perpetrate itself as a self-serving
organization but to extend the divine provision of salvation to men and
women everywhere. Pentecost challenges us to work, not only to improve the
facilities and programs of the local church, but also to save those who are
perishing outside the church. Pentecost invites us yearly to come together
with one accord to seek the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, so we can
become fit to labor together with God in the final harvest of the earth.

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Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Professor of Theology and Church History
Andrews University
4990 Appian Way
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
samuele@andrews.edu