Comments on Acts 2 v1 Pentecost is also known as the Festival of Weeks. It is called Weeks because it is a week of weeks, or seven weeks after Passover. The title Pentecost comes from the Feast occurring on the fiftieth day. See Lev. 23:15-21 for the command regarding the observance of this Feast. Among present day Jews the Festival is most commonly called Shavuot, which translates to "weeks". The Festival celebrates the onset of Summer and requires the participant to bring the first fruits of the harvest to the Temple. It also commemorates the Lord's giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, which represents the continuing redemption of Israel. The Lord freed Israel from Egypt at the Passover and then granted them the Law at Sinai. The Law represented a means by which they might continue to be a free people. It would be natural for the disciples to continue the tradition of ingathering for the Feasts, hence their all being gathered into one place. Jesus as of yet had not made it plain to them the Law of Moses was fulfilled (cf. Acts 10), so they continued with the Jewish religious practices. Which also explains why there were so many Jews from different nations present as v. 5-11 indicates. Why the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost? The Feast of Weeks is when one it to bring the first fruits of the harvest in to the Temple as an offering of thanks. Here, the first fruits of Jesus' sacrifice, the first band of disciples, were gathered together to the Temple for the first time. And the Spirit is poured out for the first time in this manner according to the advocacy of the Son per v. 33. v12 "What meaneth this?", it means that the Spirit is now to be poured out in all languages upon all nations, cp. v. 39. But, the early Church doesn't really grasp this until the events of Acts 10. v13 The locals who spoke Aramaic and didn't understand the foreign languages didn't realize the disciples were speaking in foreign tongues and so they thought they were babbling drunks. v15 "the third hour", i.e., 9 a.m. v16-21 Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32 as a proof text for the Spirit being poured out upon the people. We consider Joel's prediction more of an eschatological event than a historical one given the "in the last days" statement, cf. D&C 95:4. Peter's quotation fits the contemporary setting well with the exception of the "in the last days" part and the inclusivity statements on v. 18 and 21. Peter at this point is still assuming the Gospel is going to natural Israel only. It isn't until ch. 10 that he realizes that all nations are to ministered to. Is Peter's presentation of the Joel quote acontextual? If we assume a strict reading of him saying this prophetic prediction is now fulfilled, then that would be the case. However, Peter doesn't do this. What is happening here is the ushering in of the Time of the Gentiles, cf. Luke 21:24, D&C 45:24-28. With this new dispensation the Spirit will go to all nations and all people who call on the name of the Lord are granted salvation in full fellowship with natural Israel. What Peter doesn't appear to be grasping is the Day of the Lord is not imminent at all, but is thousands of years off, cp. 1:6. They are ushering in a new dispensation that is to last well beyond their lifetimes, but they are looking forward to seeing it now. This new dispensation will see the fulfilment of all of the events predicted by Joel in the quotation, just not as soon as Peter was thinking. Which is not uncommon, as Joseph Smith and many of the early Church leaders of our time were of the same attitude, assuming the Day of the Lord was imminent, cf. D&C 130:14-17. v24 "not possible that he should be holden of it", since Jesus did not abuse his mortal flesh in any way he could not be justifiably denied immortal flesh, hence the resurrection. This is the key to the why of resurrection. No other mortal didn't abuse their flesh, and therefore didn't deserve immortal flesh. It is not until Jesus acts as intercessor to those who repented of their sins that anyone else deserved to be resurrected. v25-28 Peter quotes Ps. 16:8-11. v29 What Peter is saying is that David was a real guy who was a prophet who testified of these things well in advance. Peter could prove it because David's tomb was still among them, so here was a prediction fulfilled. Also, it is clear that David could not be the Holy One who didn't undergo decay as his tomb was right there and he was obviously decayed. Thus, David couldn't have been referring to himself in v. 25 as the "Holy One". He must have been referring to someone else, and Peter states it is Jesus in v. 32. Paul uses this same line of argumentation in 13:33-37. v33 The Son's intercessory actions before the Father permit Him to send the Holy Spirit out in a new dispensation. The "promise of the Holy Ghost" referenced here is the same as that in 1:4, and also see 1 Ne. 10:11, 3 Ne. 15:23. See the comments on John 16:7 in LDSS Vol. 3, No. 24 for a more extensive discussion of this subject. This promised Holy Spirit is granted to, or the promise continues with, the latter-day Church in D&C 88:1-5. v34-35 Another proof text of David's predicting the messiah from the Psalms. Jesus uses this same Psalm in Matt. 22:43-45. The intent of the proof text is to say: The Lord (i.e., God) said to my (i.e., David's) Lord (i.e., the messiah to be exalted).... v39 "the promise", i.e., the gift of the Holy Ghost mentioned in the preceding verse and in v. 33. "to all that are afar off", at this point Peter is probably thinking of scattered Israel as opposed to the Gentiles. It is not until Acts 10 that Peter realizes that the gospel is now to go to all nations. v43 Some ancient manuscripts append "in Jerusalem; and great fear was upon all" (NAS) to the end of the verse. v44-46 What we would call the Law of Consecration is observed, cp. 4:32-37. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.