by Timothy W. Burnett
Starting with verses 2-4, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the holy ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave the words."
While every body sat in the temple, a sound from heaven suddenly broke the silence. To understand what that sound was it helps to remember that earlier, Jesus Christ told them to wait for the promise from God. The promise was to be God's gift of the holy ghost. Given this, we can safely conclude the sound represented holy spirit. It is impossible for spiritual things to be directly perceived by our five senses and science. So the sound had to be miraculously provided by God. It is interesting to note that the word spirit came from a word that referred to wind. So it is quite fitting that God would give the sound of wind while pouring out holy spirit.
A vision of cloven tongues like fire was given to them. And the tongues sat upon each of them. They had already been taught earlier that speaking in tongues would be available. So when the time was right, God gave them the perfect cue to start speaking. It was a vision of cloven tongues sitting upon them. Istn't that so cool! They saw the vision and immediately acted on it. To speak in tongues simply means to speak in languages which are foreign to the person speaking. Please understand that they were not possessed into speaking in tongues. They freely started speaking by their own cognition and according to God's will. And as they started speaking, the Spirit gave the words.
A study of the words "sat upon" also shines more light. It came from an earlier word that referred to a continuous pressing downward upon something. It presumes that the thing being pressed down can not come out. For those who wish to study this in more detail, it is the Greek word "epi." It is used in Acts 10:44 where Peter ministered the holy ghost to gentiles, "While Peter yet spoke these words, the holy ghost fell on all them which heard the word." How did they know it fell on them? "For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God." This shows that speaking in tongues is directly tied to the holy ghost permanently pressing downward upon somebody. In this record Peter had to teach them, but in Acts 2:4 the disciples had already been taught about speaking in tongues. They just didn't know when to start. This is why God gave the vision of cloven tongues pressing downward upon each of them.
In Acts 2:4 we see the first record of people being baptized with holy spirit and getting born-again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God which lives and abides forever (1Peter 1:23). These are the ever abiding words from God which sprang out of them as rivers of living waters when they started speaking in tongues. They were saved from having to endure the terrible day of tribulation that is still to come in the future. They became God's dearly beloved children who will one day live in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. Guess what? Contrary to popular belief, this precious salvation is still available today. Praise God for His rightly divided word which does not change!
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