On the evening before Jesus was crucified, he gave his disciples a comforting message:

Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.…And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth.…All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.…When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. (John 14:1–26; 15:26 NIV)

The scene changes to early morning: "At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ’If you are the Christ,’ they said, ’tell us.’ Jesus answered, ’If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I ask you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God’" (Luke 22:66–69 NIV).

Was Pentecost a Historical Fact?

According to Luke, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place" (Acts 2: 1 NIV).

Was Pentecost Predicted by the Ancient Prophets?

"This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel [about 800 B.C.]: ’In the last days, God says I will pour out my Spirit on all people.…The sun will be turned to darkness.…And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’" (Acts 2:16–21 NIV).

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs.…David [about 1000 B.C.] said about him, ’I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken…you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in your presence’" (Acts 2:22–28 NIV).

Peter continues: "This prophecy was speaking of Jesus whom God raised from the dead and we all are witnesses of this" (Acts 2:32 NLT).

When Did Pentecost Occur?

"On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after the resurrection [about A.D. 31], the believers were meeting together in one place" (Acts 2:1 NLT).

Where Was Jesus on the Day of Pentecost?

On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke to a great crowd gathered in Jerusalem and said, "Now he [Jesus] sits on the throne of the highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he has promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out on us, just as you see and hear today" (Acts 2:33 NLT).

Therefore, Christ was sitting at the right hand of his Father pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost about A.D. 31, long before 1844.

The throne of God has always been located in the most holy place in heaven. "The Lord said to Moses: ’Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover’" (Lev. 16:2 NIV).

Paul literally explodes with joy and excitement when he says, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary, behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went in before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 6:19, 20 NIV).

What Happened on the Day of Pentecost and Later?

On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm [something like Hurricane Katrina without the damage] in the sky above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." (Acts 2:1–4 NLT)

The noise was so intense that people came running from all parts of Jerusalem. They represented sixteen nations from throughout the Roman Empire.

They were beside themselves with wonder. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. Peter’s words convinced them deeply, and they said to him and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."…Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all." (Acts 2:7, 37–41 NLT)

The three thousand new believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, returned to their homes in the far reaches of the Roman Empire telling the good news about the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. The Christian Church was born. Paul took the good news as far as Rome. I have walked on the Appian Way, where Paul, as prisoner, was led into the city and placed in the same Mamertine Prison where Peter was also said to have been imprisoned.

According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down and Paul was beheaded by Nero about the years A.D. 67/68. Paul echoed the words of Peter at Pentecost: "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us" (Rom 8:34 NIV).

Visit Spectrum’s Message Board for an ongoing discussion of this quarter’s Sabbath School topic, "The Gospel, 1844, and Judgment"

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