ABSTRACT
According to the biblical book of the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus appeared to his disciples following his resurrection and taught them for forty days (Acts 1:3). Then he ascended into heaven, instructing them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come. Once this happened, they were to bear witness to what they had learned from him throughout the whole world. Ten days after the ascension they were still waiting in Jerusalem when one of the annual Jewish festivals called Pentecost was going on. Pentecost, literally “fifty days” (after Passover), occurs in late May or early June when the first fruits of the harvest are gathered. It also came to be remembered as the day when the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, thus ranking it in importance among Jewish holy days second only to Passover.
