What did Jesus say about the holy spirit?
Acts 1:4-8… While he was together with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. He said, “this is what you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 … So, they asked him, “Lord, are You restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Christ Jesus just identified to his disciples that the promised holy spirit was coming. That they would receive power when it came, and they would be his witness’s.
I thought it was interesting his disciples asked about restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time. Equally interesting is that Christ Jesus did not say it wasn’t going to happen, but he said that the timing of it would be controlled by our Father in heaven.
Are there any scriptures pointing to what God had promised about receiving the spirit?
What The Father Has Promised
What do we really know what God has promised to mankind? And will we adapt what we think to align with the Scriptures? Let’s consider the following Scriptures in context as God tells us about his promises.
Isaiah 32:14-17… Here the Scripture identifies that God is going to pour out his Spirit.
Next God speaks about his spirit that is going to be given to the descendants of Israel.
Isaiah 44:1-5… And now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen. 2 This is the word of the Lord your Maker who formed you from the womb; he will help you: Do not fear; Jacob is my servant; I have chosen Jeshurun (up right one). 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants and My blessing on your offspring. 4 They will sprout among the grass like poplars by flowing streams. 5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.”
The blessing and the spirit will be so apparent that all will want to be called the descendants of Israel to the point of changing their name.
What is the meaning of the name Jacob? And what is the meaning of the name Israel? Then what is the meaning of the name Jeshurun?
The name Jacob has several meanings, the first is: seizing by the heel, or supplanting, or to assail, to follow behind, also may God protect.
The meaning behind the name Israel is to rule, contend, have power, prevail over, triumph with God, wrestles with God, or contended with God.
Now the name Jeshurun means, up right one, or erector, to be level, straight, upright and the name is closely related to the name Asher in spelling.
Why does God refer to Israel as Jeshurun? We will consider this thought under the subheading My Servant.
In the Scripture we see that God has promised to pour out his Holy Spirit and blessing upon the descendants of whom? Upon the descendants of Israel and Jacob, and for what purpose?
Ezekiel 36:22-38… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances. 28 Then you will live in the land that I gave your fathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.
God makes it very clear that this is a restoration prophecy not just to the land of Israel but also to the individual. Then God will cause a returning to observances of the statutes and ordinances of God. But in doing so he has promised to give you a new heart and spirit.
New Heart New Spirit
How is our heart tied in with the spirit that God gives?
Ezekiel 11:16-20… The word of the Lord came to me again: 15 “Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those that the residents of Jerusalem have said this to, ‘Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’ 16 “Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone. 17 “Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 “When they arrive there, they will remove all its detestable things and practices from it. 19 And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so they may follow My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them. Then they will be My people, and I will be their God.
Has this restoration prophecy been fulfilled? If it was fulfilled sometime after 458 BCE when Artaxerxes gave the word to restore all, what happened? Did God’s plan fail, or get postponed?
The land has now been given back to the people of Israel in 1948, but have they removed the detestable things and practices from it?
No, because even now today (6/3/23) they are allowing gay pride marches in the land. The are allowing their God given land to be subdivided and given out to the people of Palestine, to those who hate the Jews.
The land still has no peace in it because there has been no fully turning back to observing God’s statutes and ordinances.
Have we seen the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit upon the land or people?
Next we have the prophecy of Jeremiah that God promised to his people.
Jeremiah 32:37-42… Now therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said, ‘It has been handed over to Babylon’s king through sword, famine, and plague’: 37 I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My anger, rage, and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety. 38 They will be My people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way so that for their good and for the good of their descendants after them, they will fear Me always. 40 “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me. 41 I will take delight in them to do what is good for them, and with all My heart and mind I will faithfully plant them in this land. 42 “For this is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on these people, so am I am about to bring on them all the good I am promising them.
God did bring his people back to the land of Israel, but peace and security did not last, even though God promised them a new covenant, not all have accepted it. They rejected the messenger of the new covenant. Malachi 3:1-3
Was this a new thought for you? Do you not realize that God promised a new covenant to the people of Israel? What were the terms for the new covenant? This will be covered in the next subheading.
The New Covenant
Turn your bible back to just one chapter before Jeremiah 32 and let us find out more about this new covenant that God promised.
Jeremiah 31:31-40… Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration— “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.” 35 This is what the Lord says: The One who gives the sun for light by day, the fixed order of moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea and makes its waves roar— Yahweh of Hosts is His name: 36 If this fixed order departs from My presence— this is the Lord’s declaration— then also Israel’s descendants will cease to be a nation before Me forever. 37 This is what the Lord says: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below explored, I will reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they have done— this is the Lord’s declaration. 38 “Look, the days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when the city from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate will be rebuilt for the Lord. 39 A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn toward Goah. 40 The whole valley—the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east—will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”
So, the new covenant included the promise that God would personally teach each one of us his ways. That the forgiveness of sins and wrongdoing would be forgiven. And a promise that the city would never be again demolished or uprooted.
As we noted earlier there is a great mount of turmoil over the city of Jerusalem today. As of now this is an unfulfilled promise, but it is not without due cause. The people of Israel have not abided or lived up to what God asked for. They have not accepted the terms for the new covenant. So, what is God going to do about this problem?
Zechariah 12:7-10… The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord, before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for Him as one weeps for a firstborn.
As I read this passage of Scripture, I can’t help but feel like this has been fulfilled. That the pouring out of spirit in Jerusalem upon the house of David the disciples of Jesus Christ have happened in 33 CE. So, where does that put us today in these prophecies?
The Day of the Lord
Simply said the day of the Lord is about the destruction of the nations who have come against the people of God and the nation of Israel as prophesied by Zechariah.
Next, let’s look at what the apostle Peter said when he gave a speech explaining the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at the time of Pentecost 33 CE and he quotes from the prophet Joel. Let us take a look at that Scripture now.
Joel 2:10-17… The earthquakes before them; the sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars cease their shining. 11 The Lord raises His voice in the presence of His army. His camp is very large; Those who carry out His command are powerful. Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful— who can endure it? 12 Even now— this is the Lord’s declaration— turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love and He relents from sending disaster. 14 Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him, so you can offer grain and wine to the Lord your God. 15 Blow the horn in Zion! Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly. 16 Gather the people; sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber. 17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say: “Have pity on Your people, Lord, and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, where is their God?”
As we read through this first part of the Scripture here in Joel, a lot of you will recognize this as being what has been told or taught you about the three days of darkness. At this time, I’m not trying to tell you it is or is not the teaching of the 3 days of darkness, but that only that your focus be on the point that God is making. That this is the day of the Lord where he brings about retribution and punishment upon the wicked.
God’s Response to His People
Picking back up in the reading from Joel God response to his people.
Joel 2:18-32… Then the Lord became jealous for His land and spared His people. 19 The Lord answered His people: Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine, and olive oil. You will be satiated with them, and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations. 20 I will drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land, his front ranks into the Dead Sea, and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise; yes, his rotten smell will rise, for he has done catastrophic things. 21 Don’t be afraid, land;
rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. 22 Don’t be afraid, wild animals, for the wilderness pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches. 23 Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God, because He gives you the autumn rain for your vindication. He sends showers for you, both autumn and spring rain as before. 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
God Will Restore
25 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust ate, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust— My great army that I sent against you. 26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. My people will never again be put to shame. 27 You will know that I am present in Israel and that I am Yahweh your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.
The Promise Out Pouring
28 After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days. 30 I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awe-inspiring Day of the Lord comes. 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.
Wow, God has promised to pour out the holy spirit upon all peoples. Next he says everyone who call on his name will be saved. God calls them the survivors!
Do you know and use God’s name? But do we need to be somewhere specific to be saved?
They Received the Holy Spirit
Let’s look back in history to see when this prophecy started to be fulfilled.
Acts 2:1-12… And when the day of Pentecost had come (33 CE), they were all together in the same place. 2 And suddenly a sound like a violent rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability to speak out. 5 Now there were Jews residing in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one was hearing them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were astounded and astonished, saying, “Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how do we hear, each one of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and those residing in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya toward Cyrene, and the Romans who were in town, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages the great deeds of God!” 12 And all were amazed and greatly perplexed, saying to one another what does this mean?
Next Peter quotes from Joel then begins to explain the signs of Joel and how it ties in with what happened to Jesus Christ and the resurrection and this pouring out of Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:13-16… But others jeered and said, “They are full of sweet new wine! “But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, “Judean men, and all those who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words! For these men are not drunk, as you assume, because it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
Acts 2:17-31… And it will be in the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it will be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “Israelite men, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this man, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing to a cross through the hand of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, having brought to an end the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says with reference to him, ‘I saw the Lord before me continually, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. 26 For this reason my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced greatly, furthermore also my flesh will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon my soul in Hades, nor will you permit your Holy One to experience decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Men and brothers, it is possible to speak with confidence to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us until this day. 30 Therefore, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendant son his throne, 31 by having foreseen this, he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay.
Peter says that the Christ has been resurrected and they are witnesses of this fact. Next he explains how Christ is sitting at God’s right hand and poured out the Holy Spirit.
Whom Your Forefathers Impaled
Acts 2:32-37… God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. 33 Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into the heavens, but he himself says: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand 35 until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the emissaries, “Fellow brethren, what shall we do?
How do we receive the holy spirit and what should we do?
Repent and Receive
Acts 2:38-39… Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Yeshua for the removal of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 39 For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away—as many as Adonai our God calls to Himself.”
Peter says repent, be baptized in the name of the Lord. Who else was saying or teaching these things?
Matthew 3:1-3… In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 3 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!
John the Baptist was preaching repentance and explaining the baptism of Water, Spirit, and Fire.
Matthew 3:11-12… (John the Baptist said)I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn. But the chaff He will burn up with fire that never goes out.”
The baptism of spirit would be by Jesus Christ.
John 1:32-34… And John testified, “I watched the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him. 33 I didn’t know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”
John the Baptist testified to the coming of the Christ and the baptism of the holy spirit. Next we have Jesus explaining the coming of the helper, the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16-18… “If you love Me, you will keep My commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of Truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
The Spirit of Truth
Christ just admitted that he would be coming as the spirit of truth in chapter 14 of John. He also told his disciples that he would abode with them in verse 23 of the same chapter of John 14.
Next, we have the apostle Peter declaring that they would repent and turn back they could receive the peace of God, and that he would send forth his Christ for them.
Acts 3:18-21… But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled in this way. 19 Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must retain Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning.
Today we are truly waiting for the complete revealing of the sons of God. Also, we are waiting on the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, that heaven itself holds until the appointed time. I think back to the time of the outpouring of Holy Spirit upon Christ Jesus and what did John say he heard from heaven?
Matthew 3:16-17… beloved Son, approved!
My Servant
Why does God refer to Israel as Jeshurun? It has to do with the meaning of the name. Known as the upright one, or erector, to be level, and straight. This name was first made known when Moses used it, in the song he taught the nation to sing just before they entered into the promised land. Deuteronomy 32:15, 33:5 and then at Deuteronomy 33:26.
Now let us look to what Isaiah wrote when God spoke using the name Jeshurun.
Isaiah 44:1-5… “But now hear, Jacob my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen. 2 Thus says Yahweh, who made you, and who formed you in the womb and will help you: you must not fear, my servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour out water on a thirsty land and streams on dry ground.
I will pour my spirit out on your descendants and my blessing on your offspring. 4 And they shall sprout among the grass like willows by a watercourse of water. 5 This one will say, ‘I belong to Yahweh!’ And that one will be called by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand ‘Yahweh’s’ and take the name of Israel.”
Yes, blessed are those who receive the Holy Spirit the true gift of God.
Summary
What should we have learned after reviewing this information from the Scriptures?
The baptism of Holy Spirit was the gift that God had prophesied ahead of time. The pouring out of Holy Spirit cited Scriptures referred to time of restoration when God would introduce a new covenant with all who will receive it. The Holy Spirit will allow them to have a pure heart to worship God. In revealing that info God also had prophesied a time of destruction of all wicked mankind.
So Much More To It
The celebration of Pentecost is so much more than people realize. It was the time that allowed God to bless the people who accepted the new covenant as brought forth by Jesus Christ. By the partaking of the bread and the wine at the Lord’s supper, it was something that was introduced by Jesus Christ for his disciples as they accepted the New Covenant. Christ then became the Passover victim as the blood that was put upon the threshold of our bodies. God accepted Christ as the first fruit of the barley harvest. To those who accepted him as the Christ and received him as the spirit of truth at Pentecost, they too became the wave offering of the two loaves. They are the ones who are given in behalf of the firstborn of the Israelite nation. The Lord’s evening meal was also called the supper of the firstborn and in the Hebrew language it is called the Seudah Maphsehket. Follow the link below for more info about this celebration>
The Passover Problem Solved | Torah Class
My Personal Experience
It was 5/25/23 as we were gathered because it was Pentecost, and it was about 11:30 am while we were discussing the 70-year timeline that Gabriel had given Daniel the prophet. I was just explaining how the nation of Israel was not celebrating the Jubilee year nor were they celebrating the Semitic year properly, that they were off by a year or two. When all the sudden the person I was with received the Holy Spirit and began jumping up and down uncontrollably joyfully praising the God of heaven. We were then directed to take off our shoes and put on linen and to blow the shofar at 12 noon outside then to partake of bread and wine. Once I was back home, I set out to write about the Baptism of Holy Spirit the following weekend.
Then on 6/3/23 around 12 pm after I started writing this article I heard: “I have found favor with Timothy he is the one I have chosen!” This has happened and been said to me at least 8 to 10 times since 2016. Blessed is our God and his king and our Lord Philippians 2:9-11.
Come Lord Jesus
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