Was Pentecost 50 days after the feast of unleavened bread? Christ was crucified on the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread, and I was told that it was 50 days either after his resurrection or after his crucifixion.

This question, addressed to Trinitarian Protestants, regards the *nature* of the incident related by Luke, Acts 2:3, when a manifestation of fiery tongues was seen in association with the eleven, after the ascension of Jesus Christ. It is notable that the only manifestation of the Holy Spirit, *himself*, is when, in a direct involvement between Father and Son, he is seen bodily descending, Luke 3:22, in a dove-like form, upon the newly baptised Jesus. I suggest that the manifestation of tongues is not that of the Person, himself, but rather of *what is being gifted*, as a *result* of the Person’s indwelling. Most Protestant Trinitarian commentators of whom I am aware have viewed the manifestation of the Angel of the Lord, or of other angelic presences (such as the three coming to Abraham, the one with whom Jacob wrestled, the angel seen going up in a flame by Manoah and his wife, and the presence in the fiery furnace) as *temporary manifestations* of He who would, later, be fully incarnate. None, that I know of, attribute any such manifestations as being of the Person of the Holy Spirit, making the visibility of the descent, as a dove, a *unique event*. And I have never heard or read any suggestion that such would ever be expected to happen again to any other person. The Head has been anointed and the body shall receive the anointing via the Head and within that body. Then the fact of tongues only ever being seen to visibly descend upon the eleven, and those directly associated with them and nobody else, might therefore suggest that this event is, also, unique, the only other comparable occurrence being, Acts 19:2, in the case of twelve who, since they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit, could not have been aware of either of the above events and therefore were granted an experience similar to, though differing from, that which was unique. Does the *unique character* of these events not point to a non-repetition of them and point to a considered and balanced attitude that such things have, indeed, ceased ? I am interested in hearing argument, to the contrary, from a Protestant and Trinitarian standpoint. -------------------------------------- As stated below in comment : the unique character of the tongues incident (similar to the uniqueness of the descent) suggests to me a non-repetition and I am looking for reasoned arguments to the contrary.

Just from Wikipedia I have found that the 49 days before Pentecost are called "Pentecost" (there's even "Mid-Pentecost" which is the midpoint from Easter to Pentecost) but in the Western Church I can't seem to find if there is even a name for this time frame. I have found some looser comments that "the 49 days before Pentecost can also be called Pentecost" but I don't know if it's just so loose that they're mixing Western and Eastern. Is there a name for this time frame in the Western Church? And is there a circumstance where the Western Church refers to this time as Pentecost?

Pentecost is the outpouring of graces or anointing coming from the Holy Spirit and the Catholic Church teaches that all graces comes only from the hands of Mary as Mediatrix of all graces. In the Old Testament, there were numerous passages on laying of hands to transfer and confer blessings like in Genesis 48:13-20. In the New Testament, the laying of hands was seen as a means to confer blessings and to receive the Holy Spirit. See Acts 8:17-18, Acts 19:5-6, and in Acts 9:17 wherein Ananias putting his hands on Saul had restored his sight and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. In the Catholic Church there are numerous Church Fathers, Saints, Doctor of the Church and theologians who sees Mary's role as the channel of grace from which the blessing or graces from God comes to men. St. Sophronius says "the plentitude of all grace which is in Christ came into Mary, though in a different way"; meaning that the plentitude of grace was in Christ, as the Head from which it flows, as from the source; and in Mary, as in the neck through which it flows." >All gifts,virtues,and graces of the Holy Ghost are administered by the hands of Mary to whomsoever she desires, when she desires, and in the manner she desires, and to whatever degree she desires." (St. Bernardine of Sienna) A parent either the Father or the Mother can confer the blessings of God to their children. Jesus At the Foot of the Cross establish our relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary as her children as the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the Mother of all the Redeem and the Mother of Church. (John 19:26-27) >St. Augustine the Father of Theology says, "Mary co-operated by her charity in the spiritual birth of all members of the Church" (Glories of Mary by St. Liguori) Does Church Tradition and Teachings sees Mary's maternal role and mediation in the Upper Room as the one who "lay hands" to all the Apostles to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit?

**Christian Pentecost** It is well known that the early Christians were Jews who accepted Jesus, who was also a Jew, as the messiah. These Christian Jews also observed Shavuot, a Jewish holiday but later changed the name to Pentecost (its Latin name). The New Testament Book of Acts 2 explains that the Holy Spirit descended upon the eleven apostles (since the twelfth, Judas', passing). Thus Pentecost is “the birthday of the church.” Interestingly enough, this is similar to the modern Jewish concept of Shavuot which commemorates the revelation of the Torah. Of course, the original meaning of Shavuot was not to celebrate the giving of the Torah at Sinai since the Torah never selected a date for the Sinai revelation. Nevertheless, this was the meaning or how Shavuot was practiced (and still is) during Second Temple times (ie the times of Jesus). Leaving aside the fact that Shabbat was originally on Sunday and that the rabbis later changed it to Saturday and Christians back to Sunday, why don't Christians (who consider themselves to be spiritually chosen, in a sense, nevertheless, keep Pentecost on Saturday, “Sabbath” since this was the date chosen by the rabbis? And why don't Christian also celebrate it as the date of the giving of the Torah? Christians also have a tradition that the Apostles were dressed in white, thus calling Pentecost Whitsunday (white Sunday).

According to Catholic theology, what are the relationships of the seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost to the beatitudes and virtues?

The Feast of the Visitation is held on May 31st (May 30th in Eastern churches), which depending on the year will fall into either the Easter or Pentecost season. It seems really strange to me that the Feast celebrating a pregnant Mary visiting a pregnant Elizabeth is celebrated at a time when the church is focused on the direct aftermath of an adult Jesus being resurrected and the sending of the Holy Spirit. Celebrating an event concerning an unborn Jesus at that time seems to distract from that, whereas it likely would not if it were held sometime later. So why is the Feast of the Visitation held on May 31st, during the Easter/Pentecost season?

In [*Spiritual Maturity*](http://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Maturity-Principles-Believer-Commitment/dp/080248252X) , J. Oswald Sanders describes Pentecost as a reversal of Babel . An online search shows this to be a link made by others, and in a related thesis on the topic , Paul J. Pastor goes as far as to claim: > Pentecost as a reversal of Babel has been widely seen by exegetes since the early days of the Church. Who are some of these early exegetes?

I have heard that some Christians consider it the only sure sign of having received the Holy Spirit, which would seem quite important. If not generally, which groups hold to this belief, and in what way do they consider it necessary? And secondly, does Christian tradition back up this belief? What evidence is there?

I've always assumed that the Holy Spirit did not make his presence known amongst men until Pentecost. Famously, in Acts 2, the Spirit descends upon the first believers, gives them power of speech, and adds tremendously to their power. Jesus clearly foretells the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1 - just before he ascends into heaven - saying: >But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. That Jesus *must* go away before the Holy Spirit comes is attested to in John 16:7 >But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. All of this fit my narrative neatly, thinking, okay - Jesus takes center stage until He returns to the Father, at which point the Holy Spirit comes onto the scene with tongues of fire and such. Sure, he may have "descended on Jesus like a dove" at Jesus' baptism, but he was pretty much quiet in the affairs of men. And indeed, as an eternal pre-existent being much like Jesus, I assume he was around, just not so much involved in the day to day affairs of men. But then, I listened closely to the lectionary this week. I heard something in John 20:22 that I was not expecting. After Jesus appeared to his disciples, after the resurrection, he said: >And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." This seemingly contrasts with a non-involved Holy Spirit. I thought that Pentecost was the "firstfruits of the spirit," the first time the Holy Spirit deigned to dwell amongst men. Am I off my rocker, or am I missing something? In others - was - a. Pentecost supposed to be the first appearance of the Holy Spirit, or - b. am I just making up the idea that Pentecost was supposed to be the *first* outpouring of the Spirit? If (a), how is John 20:22 reconciled? If (b) how could the Holy Spirit come in light of John 16:7? In other words, when did Jesus send the Spirit, and how does it fit with the external witness?

Was that Pentecost, during which the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles in the book of Acts was also a time of jubilee? From what I see, the Pentecost was a holiday to commemorate God's giving Ten Commandments to His people - once every year. And the year of jubilee was established in the Old testament - according to what I can tell from Leviticus 25 - as a year of commemoration of the nation of Israel entering the promised land - once every 50 years. So, was that Pentecost in the Acts also a time of the year of jubilee?

I am writng an Easter play for my children's church class. In it, there's a fictional "villain" who tries to cover up the fact that Jesus rose from the dead because he's in the business of selling animals for sacrifices. My play begins on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. I realize many displaced Jews were in the Holy City this day because of the Pentecost celebration. I've read Leviticus 23: 16-20. My question is: EXACTLY what animals were required for a sacrifice that day? Most of what books I've read on Jewish feasts say only the loaves and the 2 lambs, but looking at verse 19, there's a number of other animals. Also, Pentecost was also known as the Feast of Weeks. Did it only last one day, or one week?

Now a Days we can see the Independent Pentecostal churches all over the world. I want to know When these Pentecost people raised ???? till 19th century there is o news about that people

Wikipedia sayeth in vague generalities: >In Evangelical churches, where a lesser degree of emphasis on the liturgical year is generally placed, Pentecost may indeed be one of the greatest celebrations in the year. In many other cases though, Pentecost may be a holiday ignored in these churches. Perhaps ironically, this includes many Pentecostal congregations. Christians of these traditions may be surprised to learn of the significance assigned to the holiday by others, and in fact in many evangelical churches in the United States, secular Mother's Day is more celebrated than the ancient and biblical feast of Pentecost Specifically, how do Evangelicals who do celebrate Pentecost do it? Pentecost is one of the only two holy days that not only is a carry over from the Jewish tradition, but also a huge gigantic and utterly important point in the history of the Christian Church.

To a first degree approximation, is the following correct? Reformed Theology: Spiritual gifts ceased after the apostolic age. The gifts were important to setup the initial church, but after the initial church was setup, they were no longer necessary. Pentecostalism: People who believe that spiritual gifts are still being handed out. Furthermore, upon openly declaring this belief, they either voluntarily or involuntarily left their (cessation of holy gifts) church to a (holy gifts still exist) church. Charismatic: People who believe that spiritual gifts are still being handed out. However, they stay with their church rather than leave. ## Context Somewhat confused after reading the different Wikipedia entries on Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement . ## Note: Contrary to previous questions; I'm actually not looking for resources; I'm merely trying to understand the distinctions when people throw these terms around.

The Bible refers to people speaking in tongues--most notably at Pentecost. Is this something that legitimately happens today? I've been in church services where speaking in tongues has happened, but it always seems weird and creepy, and those doing it seem like kooks. How can I know if this is legitimate, or if I'm right in thinking it's strange?