Contrary to what some people are taught, there were not 120 men, women, and children speaking in tongues all at the same time, nor were the Apostles or anyone else disgracefully staggering and stumbling around in an upper room, (or anywhere else) as if they were drunk on that Day of Pentecost! If they had been, there would not have been almost 3,000 souls added to the Assembly that day!

The proper context of Acts chapter one and two

In the first chapter of the book of Acts of the Apostles, Luke starts out by informing Theophilus that he had already written him concerning the things that YAHshua had done and taught. Luke then proceeds to tell him what he knew about YAHshua's Apostles from the time YAHshua made His ascension 10 days before Pentecost.

Acts 1 (I) The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that YAHshua began both to do and teach, (2) Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments unto the Apostles whom He had chosen: (3) To whom [the Apostles] also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them [the Apostles] forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of YAHWEH:

The commandment to the Apostles mentioned above is: "that the remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem." (See Luke 24:47).

Continuing: the Apostles were told to wait in Jerusalem.

Acts 1 (4) And, [YAHshua] being assembled together with them [the Apostles], commanded them that they [the Apostles] should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the FATHER, which, saith He, ye [the Apostles] have heard of Me. (5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye [the Apostles] shall be baptized with the *Holy Spirit not many days hence.

Skipping down to verse 8: YAHshua commission the Apostles as His witnesses.

Acts 1 (8) But ye [the Apostles] shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you [the Apostles]: and ye [the Apostles] shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

After YAHshua's ascension, the Apostles returned to Jerusalem and stayed in an upper room.

Acts 1 (13) And when they [the Apostles] were come in, they [the Apostles] went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

During these days, the Apostles continued steadfastly in prayer with the women, and Miriam the mother of YAHshua, and all the Brethren which numbered about 120.

Acts 1 (14) These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of YAHshua, and with His Brethren.

Where, according to the Scriptures, did they continue steadfastly in prayer with one accord? The answer to that is found in Luke 24:51-53 and Acts 2:43-47.

Luke 24 (51) And it came to pass, while He [YAHshua] blessed them [the Apostles], He was parted from them, and carried up into Heaven. (52) And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: (53) And were continually in the TEMPLE, praising and blessing YAHWEH. Amen.

Acts 2 (43) And fear [reverence] came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles. (44) And all that believed were together, and had all things common; (45) And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (46) And they, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the TEMPLE, and breaking bread [Easterners have always called eating a meal "breaking bread"] from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (47) Praising YAHWEH, and having favour with all the people. And YAHWEH added to the Assembly daily such as should be saved.

Verses 15-26 tells of the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas. Verse 26 tells us that Matthias became the twelfth of the Apostles. Again, the acts of the Apostles is the subject that Luke is writing about.

Acts 1 (15) And in those days [the 10 days between YAHshua's ascension and Pentecost] Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about a hundred and twenty,). ... (26) And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.

Acts 2:1 continues from 1:26 about the same subject, the acts of the Apostles. "They" in acts two refers to the Apostles and NOT to the 120 men, women and children as many people falsely believe. 

Acts 2 (I) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they [the Apostles] were all with one accord in one place. 

As the above scripture declares, they were in one accord in one place. Were they there in a "tarry meeting" praying down the Holy Spirit as is commonly taught? Absolutely not! They were in the temple, where YAHWEH placed HIS name, keeping the Feast of Weeks  as a great many devout men from every nation under Heaven came to Jerusalem to do as long as the Temple was still standing.

Deuteronomy 16 (9) Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. (10) And thou shalt keep the Feast of Weeks unto YAHWEH thy Elohim with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto YAHWEH thy Elohim, according as YAHWEH thy Elohim hath blessed thee: (11) And thou shalt rejoice before YAHWEH thy Elohim, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which YAHWEH thy Elohim hath chosen to place HIS name there.

The Feast of Weeks is also called the Feast of Harvest, the first-fruits of your labors, and it is called Pentecost in the New Testament. This festival was one of the three festivals that was a pilgrimage festival.

Exodus 23 (14) Three times you shall keep a FEAST [PILGRIMAGE FESTIVAL-H2287-chagag] to ME in the year. (15) The Feast [festival-H2282-chag] of Unleavened Bread  shall you keep: seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt); and none shall appear before ME empty: (16) and the Feast [festival-H2282-chag] of Harvest, the first-fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field: and the Feast [festival-H2282-chag] of Ingathering, at the end of the [agriculture] year, when you gather in your labors out of the field.

The great many devout men from every nation under Heaven who continued to come to Jerusalem for YAHWEH'S annual holy days as long as the Temple was still standing also included the believing Gentiles. As proof of this, it was three and one half decades after YAHshua’s death that James the brother of YAHshua was killed in the Temple area at the Passover festival held at Jerusalem. The Gentile members of the New Covenant Congregation were also there to observe the Passover season (the Days of Unleavened Bread). Most people have been falsely taught that the Gentile believers in YAHshua were separated from the so-called Jewish Feast Days that YAHWEH ordained for HIS people (HIS people also includes the believing Gentiles). Proof that the Gentile Believers in YAHshua did come together on YAHWEH'S Feast Days in the Temple is found in Eusebius Pamphili Ecclesiastical History, book two, chapter 23, page 127. In his account of James's death, Eusebius (a fourth century historian) makes the following statement.

{So, stand upon the turret of the Temple that you (James) may be visible on high and your words may be easily heard by all the people, for because of the Passover all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, have come together.}

Continuing:  Acts 2 (2) And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the **house where they [the Apostles] were sitting. (3) And there appeared unto them [the Apostles] cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them [the Apostles]. 

(It is most interesting to compare the appearance of Tongues as of by fire and the sound of a mighty rushing wind with the sight and sound of a roaring fire, the trumpets, the voice of YAHWEH and the Glory (Shekhinah) of YAHWEH that usually appeared when YAHWEH was present in Old Testament times.)

Continuing:  Acts 2 (4) And they [the Apostles] were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other [different] ***tongues [languages], as the Spirit gave them [the Apostles] utterance. (5) And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under Heaven. (6) Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together [inside the Temple area], and were confounded [perplexed], because that every man heard them [the Apostles] speak in his own language. (7) And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these [the Apostles] which [who] speak Galilaeans? 

It is falsely believed that YAHWEH made each of the thousands of people present hear what everyone who was speaking in different languages were saying all at the same time. As an example, some people believe that when Peter was giving his speech that all the thousands of people heard what he was saying in the language that was spoken in the land where they were born. If that were true they would have all received the spiritual gift of the interpretations of tongues and it would not have been necessary to speak in different languages (plural). However, the spiritual gift that was used there that day was the gift of speaking in different languages (plural) in order to be heard by each of the thousands present. 

Acts 2 (8) And how hear we every man [of us-NOT of the Apostles] in our own tongue, wherein we were born? (9) Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, (10) Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them [the Apostles] speak in our tongues the wonderful works of YAHWEH.

It is obvious that the twelve Apostles who were spoken of as the "Galilaeans" spoke inside the Temple area as the Spirit gave them utterance to different groups, according to each group's language. Though  many people incorrectly picture the Temple as one huge building, it was a huge complex of buildings and grounds capable of having several audiences centered near any given spot. 

 It does seem reasonable that while one of the Apostles was speaking in one language for the Parthians another one would be maybe fifty or sixty feet away speaking to the Medes in their own tongue where they were born. In this manner, several of the Apostles could have been speaking at the same time. If this is what happened it would be natural for one of a particular language to walk over to hear the apostle that was speaking with the gift of speaking in tongues to that particular group. In this orderly manner, the twelve so-called  "Galilaeans" who were speaking all the languages mentioned in verses eight through eleven spoke the wonderful works of YAHWEH with the result of almost three thousand souls being saved on that Day of Pentecost. 

It should not be too surprising if the recorded speech of Peter to those who were dwelling at Jerusalem was made in Aramaic or Hebrew. Surely a great many of the devout men from every nation under Heaven who were present spoke Aramaic as well as retained their original Hebrew that they spoke before the dispersion and spoke the language of the country where they were born. That is how Peter gave so many people at the same time the explanation of what was going on. With that in mind, one can see where these two different classes of people fit into what is being said about them. There were those who were amazed and wondered why and how this was happening. There were also those who mocked or scorned the Apostles because they did not believe what was being said to them.

Acts 2  (12) And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? (13) Others mocking [scorning] said, These men [the Apostles] are full of new wine. (14) But Peter, standing up with the eleven [the Apostles], lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: (15) For these [the Apostles] are not drunken, as ye ****suppose (assume--feign), seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 

Neither the Apostles, nor the Apostles with the 120 men, women, and children were babbling what the people thought was gibberish and staggering and stumbling around with so much Holy Spirit and power that they appeared drunk as is commonly taught!!! It was out of scorn that the mockers accused the Apostles of being drunk as though the Apostles had impairment of their mental faculties. Most of us have probably heard a person say to us, "you must be drunk," in response to being told something that that person did not believe. This was the same response that the mockers and scorners gave because they did not believe the gospel (the good news of YAHshua, our Salvation).

Continuing:  Acts 2 (16) But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel [Joel 2:28-27]; (17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith YAHWEH, I will pour out of MY *Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: (18) And on MY servants and on MY handmaidens I will pour out in those days of MY Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

This prophesy could only begin to be fulfilled at this time for the same reason that YAHshua told the Apostles that He must go away first before the Comforter (Holy Spirit) could come. YAHshua had to be *****glorified first.

John. 7 (37) In the last day, that great day of the Feast [the day following the seven day festival of Sukkoth (Tabernacles)], YAHshua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. (38) He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (39) (But this spake He of the [Holy] Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that YAHshua was not yet glorified.)

Before that time, was there any reason to expect YAHWEH to pour out HIS Spirit in mankind's sinful bodies? YAHshua had not yet paid for mankind's sins with His own blood that He shed on the stock of a tree. He had not yet taken His own blood to the Heavenly Sanctuary to YAHWEH to atone for mankind's cleansing. (This was portrayed by the high priest once a year taking the blood of the sacrifice into the most holy place in the Tabernacle on the day of Atonement.) After YAHshua cleansed mankind from his sins with His own blood, their bodies became a temple of the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 6 (19) What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the *Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of YAHWEH, and ye are not your own?

Those who believed in the remission of sin through YAHshua the Messiah asked Peter and the other eleven Apostles what they should do.

Acts 2 (37) Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles [not to the 120], Men and brethren, what shall we do? (38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of YAHshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as YAHWEH our Elohim shall call.

To receive YAHWEH'S Holy Spirit we must repent and be baptized every one of us in the name of YAHshua the Messiah to the remission of our sins.

Repent means to change and turn back from our ways to YAHWEH'S ways.

To Baptize in the name of YAHshua means to immerse both by His name and by his authority. When we use YAHshua's name we are also using YAHWEH name. (The name YAHshua means YAHWEH saves or YAHWEH'S Salvation. "YAH" is the contraction of YAHWEH and "shua" means salvation or saves.) When we invoke the names and the authority of YAHWEH and YAHshua we are also invoking their *Holy Spirit which is a vital part of their being.

When we go through the symbolism of baptism we are publicly confessing that YAHshua died for our sins and we are symbolically joining Him in His death, burial, resurrection and way of life. When we go down into the water we are symbolically being cleansed of our sins. When we come up out of the water, we are symbolically rising with YAHshua in His resurrection from the dead. Also as we come up out of that watery grave we are also committing ourselves to the newness of life with a cleansed body not ruled by our own sinful wills, but by the will of YAHWEH. That is the reason that YAHshua baptizes us with YAHWEH'S Holy Spirit. Being immersed in HIS Spirit (HIS Wisdom, HIS Understanding, HIS Counsel, HIS Might, HIS Knowledge, HIS Reverence, and HIS Righteousness) helps us to live according to YAHWEH'S will! HalleluYAH!

It is urged that each one of you who have not been baptized for the remission of sins in the name of YAHshua our Messiah to do so as soon as possible. Shalom!

* YAHWEH'S Holy Spirit is HIS divine characteristics, attributes, or HIS very essence. {YAHWEH'S essence is the intrinsic (essential nature) or indispensable properties that serve to characterize or identify HIM. HIS essence (characteristics or attributes) is surely sevenfold.} Those basic seven (YAHWEH'S number denoting completeness) characteristics or attributes are: HIS Wisdom, HIS Understanding, HIS Counsel, HIS Might, HIS Knowledge, HIS Reverence, and HIS Righteousness. For proof of this, Click here for the article "YAHWEH'S Holy Spirit". The article can also be found by typing in the following on your Internet Browser:

www.members.cox.net/arkiehobbs/page_5.htm

**HOUSE: From Josephus Wars of the Jews (book 5, chapter 5) in his description of the Temple:

Now, about the sides of the lower part of the temple, there were little houses, with passages out of one into another; there were a great many of them, and they were of three stories high; there were also entrances on each side into them from the gate of the temple. But the superior part of the temple had no such little houses any further, because the temple was there narrower, and forty cubits higher, and of a smaller body than the lower parts of it.

(Also, YAHshua called the temple "My FATHER'S house".)

John 2 (16) And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My FATHER'S house a house of merchandise.

*** To understand the truth concerning the gift of speaking in tongues, Click here for the article "Tongues within the New Covenant Assembly."  The article can also be found by typing in the following on your Internet Browser:

www.members.cox.net/arkiehobbs/page_6.htm

**** It should be pointed out that the word #5274 (in Thayer's Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament) can be translated either "assume" or "suppose." In this particular scripture, word #5274 should have been translated "Assume," instead of "suppose." "Assume" in the American Heritage Dictionary meaning #5 is to "feign." The word "feign" means: 1 (a) To give false appearance of; pretend; to sham; (b) To represent falsely; pretend to: 2 to invent; make up; fabricate: to pretend.

*****Before YAHshua's death He said the following:

John 17 (I) These words spake YAHshua, and lifted up His eyes to Heaven, and said, FATHER, the hour is come; glorify THY Son, that THY Son also may glorify THEE: (2) As thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal Life to as many as THOU hast given Him. (3) And this is life eternal, that they might know THEE the only true Elohim, and YAHshua Messiah, Whom THOU hast sent. (4) I have glorified THEE on the earth: I have finished the work which THOU gavest Me to do. (5) And now, O FATHER, glorify THOU Me with THINE OWN SELF with the glory which I had with THEE before the world was.

At the same time that YAHshua was glorified, He fulfilled the wave sheaf offering by ascending and being accepted as the first Sheaf of the Firstfruits. 

Leviticus (9) And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying, (10) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the Firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: (11) And he shall wave the sheaf before YAHWEH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. ... (15) And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: (16) Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering [on the day Pentecost] unto YAHWEH.

He was the fulfillment of the sheaf offering just after He spoke with Mary when she came to His empty grave on the first day of the week during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 

John 20 (17) YAHshua saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My FATHER: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My FATHER, and your FATHER; and to My Elohim, and your Elohim.

The apostle Paul also tells us that YAHshua was the Firstfruits of the Resurrection to Eternal Life.

I Corinthians 15 (20) But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the Firstfruits of them that slept [die]. (21) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive. (23) But every man in his own order: Messiah the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah's at His coming. (24) Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to YAHWEH, even the FATHER; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. (25) For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. (26) The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

T.A.H.