Pentecost was one of the Jewish Feasts listed in Leviticus 23. In some places it is called The Feast of Weeks, coming about seven weeks (fifty days) after the offering of the First Fruits of the harvest. We can see the Jewish nature of this Feast in Acts 2 because we read:
· There were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. (Acts 2:5)
· Both Jews and converts to Judaism. (Acts 2:11)
· Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:14)
· Men of Israel. (Acts 2:22)
It comes as a surprise to some Christians that there were no Gentiles present on the Pentecost of Acts 2 as they hold the view that the ‘church’ began at Pentecost. However, for Peter this was not the start of something new; rather it was rooted in the Old Testament and spoken about by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16), as this pamphlet makes clear.