Bleeding Edge

This is Pentecost, with Spirit coming down as a lick of fire and engulfing the apostles…

That is when the 12 tribes of Israel who were the original Jewish people mentioned in the Bible — were given the Spiritual Wisdom from the heavens up above as foretold by Jesus in his farewell address…

The 12 apostles symbolically represent the 12 tribes of Israel, and the gentiles and the nations outside of Judaea upon whom the Apostles preached once they processed the gift of gab and language translation…

The Pentecost, is the first time the Spirit spoke directly to the twelve apostles, signifying the renewal of the covenant between God and humans.

The 12 apostles were the original students and missionaries of Jesus’ teachings and formed the beginnings of the new Christian church.

When Jesus needed to pick students who would later spread his teachings, he chose a core group of 12 men to represent these tribes.

This number helped reinforce his status as a Jewish prophet bringing new teachings to the world.

While many Christians believe in the 12 apostles as a factual and literal account, some Christians also believe that Jesus actually had a much larger circle of students, and disciples — however the 12 stuck close by with him and always traveled together up until the end.

In the Bible, the apostles’ role was to study closely with Jesus when he went into seclusion.

They were prepared for his death, and resurrection, in order to keep the faith alive.

After Jesus’ resurrection, they spread his teachings and laid the groundwork for the continuation of the Christian religion, but only after the Spirit gave the primary 12 students the necessary wisdom and the language skills at the gathering of the Pentecost where the flames of heaven licked their scull and entered into their brain the word of the Lord…

In Mathew 10:1-4, Jesus commissioned these apostles together with James son of Alphaeus, Jude, Philip, Simon the Zealot, Peter and Thomas. Most of the apostles later became known for establishing the early church, great exploits and tragic deaths.

Outspoken, Peter — the “Rock” and my namesake, was also known as Simon-Peter.
Peter was a fisherman when he met Jesus, and he became the leader after Jesus ascended to Heaven. Andrew, also a fisherman, was Peter’s brother. James was the son of Zebedee, and the elder brother of John. Bartholomew and Philip were good friends who had joined Jesus late during his ministry. James son of Alphaeus became known as James the Just. He never drank alcohol, nor he ate meat. Thomas became famous for doubting that Jesus had resurrected. Matthew and Philip traveled widely, preaching to large crowds as far as Ethiopia and Persia. Mark the Evangelist spoke fluent Greek, and is credited for writing one of the gospels under Peter’s instructions.
Other apostles in the New Testament include Stephen, Paul, Silas, Timothy and Barnabus, as well as Titus, Andronicus, and Junia. Junia is mentioned as the first female apostle.

So yes, indeed Christ’s students were far more numerous, and they were far more than the “twelve ones” but the original story speaks of the twelve apostles being the first ones… and they were called the disciples.

And here is the glorious dozen: The 12 original disciples of Jesus were Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas.

And it all came about because they received the Spiritual Wisdom that gave the first 12 men, the words and the means, to spread the Gospel of Jesus, and the teachings of the Lord, amongst the People of all Nations.

And here is what the true Pentecost story looks like:

According to the Bible and church history, at the Pentecost the 12 apostles and other Christians that were assembled in an upper room of a Christian home in Jerusalem, received the Holy Spirit for the first time.

This caused them pain and panic at first — but soon enough they found that they had got a gift and from then on, they were able to speak in tongues, which meant that pilgrims from many nations gathered in the city to hear the word of the Apostles and somehow they all simultaneously understood them — in their own unique languages…

Go figure.

The works of the Lord are incredibly vague here — but the results are anything but opaque. Indeed the results are monumental and that is why some Christian Religious leaders and authors of the first centuries and even the famed Augustine and John the Chrysostom, considered the Pentecost as the highest mystery for the human race and for all Christians.

Because the act of receiving Divine Spiritual Wisdom is nothing to sneeze at…

Indeed, after Jesus was gone, his apostles and other close followers waited in prayer in a large room for a sign as he had promised them.

On the day of the Jewish feast called the Pentecost, which yearly occurred 50 days after the Passover, the sound of a strong wind filled the room where the Christians waited, and flames in the shape of tongues rested on each of them.

Following this anointing, they lost the fear of persecution that had been oppressing them and went out and preached to the gathered crowd.

This marked the beginning of the expansion of the Christian faith.

Yours,

Dr Churchill

PS:

Christians throughout the world celebrate the Pentecost 50 days after Easter, though because of the difference between western and eastern calendars, Easter and Pentecost are celebrated on different days in the West and the East.

Because Pentecost always falls on a Sunday, it is a holiday in Christian countries, and in many European countries the Monday after Pentecost is a holiday as well.