The arrival of a new era by the Holy Spirit

The power of words

It was Pentecost yesterday. About 2000 years ago, the Holy Spirit, the third rank of the Trinity, came down above the disciples. This was as Jesus promised. This pouring of the Holy Spirit gave birth to the world’s first church, the Jerusalem Church. And the work of preaching the cross of Jesus Christ and the gospel of the resurrection (good news) to the whole world began. It is recorded in the work of the Bible Acts.

The events of Pentecost are written in the Bible like this. By the way, it was Luka, a doctor and historian, who wrote Acts. 1 On the day of Pentecost, everyone was gathered in one place. 2 Suddenly, a violent wind blew from heaven, and it echoed throughout the house where they were. 3 Also, a fiery tongue appeared and stayed on each one. 4 Then everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in the language of another country, as the Spirit would let them speak. (Acts 2: 1-4)

Pentecost means the 50th day of the festival. The 50th day from what is the 50th day from the Passover festival. In other words, it is the 50th day since Jesus died on the cross. On that day, the Holy Spirit, God himself, came down from heaven. Pentecost (Holy Spirit Advent) celebrates this.

Pentecost is very important to Christianity, to the church, to Christians. It is one of the three major Christian festivals, although it is not yet recognized compared to Christmas (the birth of Jesus) and Easter (the resurrection of Jesus). South African Reformed minister Andrew Murray, who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, wrote: ” The pouring of the Holy Spirit is the culmination of Christ’s work. The birth in Bethlehem, the redemption achieved on the cross, the power of resurrection, and the glory of ascension. These are all preliminary steps. The goal, the crown, is the advent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost comes last, which is the largest of the Christian rituals, because there are realizations and completions of other rituals. It was the highest Christian holiday, and both Christmas and Easter were actually prepared for Pentecost.“

It is said that this era is a time of great transformation. Alvin Toffler, an American futurist, published the book “The Third Wave” in 1980. In his book he said that the first wave was the agricultural revolution that occurred thousands of years ago, the second wave was the industrial revolution that occurred 500 years ago, and the IT revolution (Information Tecnology) that is about to occur. He advocated that a post-industrial society would come. I think that insight was a great hit. The information revolution is happening at an alarming rate on an ongoing basis.

Even in the spiritual world, I think we can say that the present age is a new revolutionary era. I think that we can express it with three waves like Toffler. The first wave is the Jesus Revolution & Pentecost Revolution by Jesus and the Early Christianity, the second wave is the Reformation by Luther and Calvin 500 years ago, and the present age is the third wave era, the new Holy Spirit era. Now is the time when the Holy Spirit is working with tremendous momentum and the world mission is being completed. Bible translation is progressing rapidly. In the 20th century, the Pentecostal movement, the charismatic movement, and the healing movement took place, and the gift of the Spirit and the five -fold ministries were restored. Indeed, we can see that the work of the Holy Spirit has been restored and is approaching the work of Jesus and the Early Christianity. Supernatural healings occur throughout the world, revealing the signs and wonders of the gospel. The trend is accelerating in the 21st century. Furthermore, when the corona wreck makes it impossible to travel around the world, the Internet is used and the gospel is explosively spreading to the world.

Regarding the modern holy spirit movement (charismatic movement), Mr. Yasuo Furuo, one of Japan’s leading theologians and an emeritus professor at ICU (International Christian University), said as follows. ” Even though human beings are spiritual beings, there is intellectual education in modern times, but spiritual education is not done. There is a problem in modern society. Moreover, human spirituality Christianity, which is supposed to be a problem, has lost spiritual things. It is the charisma movement that tries to recover the lost things and fill the hungry part. In that sense, it means more than just one religious phenomenon, it means criticism of the times. In other words, is this what the world should be like today? It is this charismatic movement. “

Such a prophecy is recorded in the book of Joel in the Old Testament. Children of Zion. Have fun and rejoice in the Lord your God. For the LORD will give you the first rain, the heavy rain, and the first rain and the second rain, as before, for your righteousness. (Joel 2:23) The apostle Peter preached after Pentecost, citing the book of Joel. He explained that this Pentecost was the “first rain” prophesied by the prophet Joel. The first rain was fulfilled in Pentecost. Then did latter rain come later? It haven’t come yet. The latter rain is about to begin. However, in my personal opinion, looking at the work of the Holy Spirit around the world today, I feel like it’s starting to rain. And from now on, the “latter-rain” prophesied by Joel, the overwhelming pouring of the Holy Spirit, will come. Let us not give up and wait for the pouring of the Holy Spirit, just as the apostles believed in Jesus’ promise and prayed for the Holy Spirit.

The arrival of a new era by the Holy Spirit

Post navigation

Leave a comment

Recent posts

recent comments

archive

Category

Meta information

コメントを残すコメントをキャンセル