The Day of Pentecost
Peter informed the enquirers on the day of Pentecost that they were witnessing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit which had been poured out on those sitting in the house where they had assembled. After having been filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to speak with other tongues, or in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-21. Peter excoriated and indicted those who listened for their misbehavior in relation to Christ. Acts 2:22-36. And they, being convicted of their conscience, asked Peter and the other Apostles what they should do. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:37-39.
Christ had promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4. Luke 24:49. He had received of the Father the permission to give it and had made good His promise by shedding forth that which they saw and heard. Acts 2:33. So, they were baptized and they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was manifested in a number of various ways and means, called the “gifts of the Spirit.” Heb. 2:4.
The Comforter
Christ had told the Apostles that He was going away to the Father to prepare a place for them. John 14:2, 3. He assured them that He would not leave them comfortless, or as orphans. John 14:18. He promised to give them another Comforter that would not be taken from them, but would abide with them forever. John 14:16. This Comforter He called “The Spirit of Truth.” He, or it, would dwell with them and be in them. John 14:17.
The Comforter, to which He referred, is explained to be the Holy Spirit which the Father would send to them through His Name. The Comforter, or Holy Spirit, would teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance. John 14:26. John 15:26. He explained to them that if He did not go away, the Comforter (or the Holy Spirit) would not come to them, or be given to them. John 16:7. But when they received the Spirit of Truth, it would guide them into all truth and would reveal to them things to come.
The original word translated “Comforter,” is said to be used for one who gives aid, and denotes a legal assistant, counsel, or instructor. Young’s concordance gives it, “One called alongside.” The Holy Spirit was all of this to the Apostles. Christ termed the Holy Spirit “Another Comforter.” Christ Himself was a comforter, or Advocate. I John 2:1. But there was a differentiation, Christ is the propitiation for sins. I John 2:2. The Holy Spirit is never said to be this.
Watering the Good Seed
Christ sowed the good seed when He preached the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. Matt. 13:37. Luke 8:1, 11. He also sent the twelve to sow the seed of the gospel. Luke 9:1, 2. And later on the seventy. Luke 10:1-9. The seed having been sown, there was of necessity the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as a shower, or rain on dry ground to cause the seed sown to germinate.
There is a prophecy of this in Isaiah: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My spirit upon the seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: they shall spring up like grass amid waters, like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’ ” etc. Isa. 44:3-5. REV. VER. This prophecy received an initial fulfillment on the day of Pentecost and the Apostolic era. It will have a grand and glorious fulfillment after Christ returns.
Christ used water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. He said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified).” John 7:37-39. And on the day of Pentecost and afterward, many came forward and drank of the living water that came forth from Christ—even the Holy Spirit.
So we read of believers being made and added to the ecclesia. Acts 2:41,47. Acts 4:4. Acts 5:14. As a result of speaking and preaching under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31) many were converted. Acts 6:7. Acts 12:24. Acts 19:20. This included the Gentiles. Acts 13:48. Acts 14:27. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:52. Many ecclesias sprang up and were established. Acts 14:23. Through the rain of the Holy Spirit the ecclesias were spiritually well-watered.
The Predicted Drought
However, the shower or rain of the Holy Spirit was not to continue indefinitely. God had foretold the coming of a long period of spiritual drought and dryness. “Behold, the days come, said the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11,12. This period of dryness must be between the Apostolic age and the return of Christ, who will come down like rain, or as showers that water the earth. Psa. 72:6.
New Testament Scripture ended in about A.D. 96 with the book of Revelation from God. There is no evidence of the Spirit gifts in operation since the Apostolic era. There is no evidence of direct communication between God and man since then. God has been silent for a long period of time.
Micah prophesied that it would be this way. He stated, “Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.” But as for the prophet Micah, in contrast to his prophecy concerning a dearth of prophets, he declared that he was “full of power by the Spirit of the Lord.” Mic 3:6,7,8.
This period of time prophesied by Amos and Micah must be that which is between the end of the Apostolic era and the return of Christ. As there is a long dry spell in the land of Israel between the months of April and October, so there is a long spiritual dry spell between the Apostolic era and the return of Christ. We must be living during this predicted period now, because there has been no Holy Spirit inspired prophecy since the last book of the New Testament by the Apostle John in A.D. 96. There has been no Holy Spirit rains, or showers since the days of the Apostles. Where do we see or find any Spirit inspired prophets like Micah, “Full of power by the Spirit of the Lord”? Why is there no new Scripture since the New Testament was completed?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One