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NASB | Acts 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:3 There appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were being distributed [among them], and they rested on each one of them [as each person received the Holy Spirit]. |
Bible Question: Did flames or tongues appear over the heads of the heads of these believers at Pentecost? Please justify your answer if possible. (Again, not a leading question.) |
Bible Answer: Luke uses two similies to describe the momentous events on Pentecost with which Acts 2 opens. In 2:2 the noise was LIKE a rushing wind; in 2:3 the tongues were AS OF fire. So it is not a question of whether it was flames OR tongues. It was tongues AS OF fire. Thus, I believe that it is not incorrect to say that the noise was LIKE a rushing wind but not literally rushing wind, and the tongues were AS OF fire but not literally fire. It is clear that Luke was using metaphor here. Compare it to the usage of the word "fire" in his Gospel, 3:16, in connection with Jesus' baptism. John MacArthur makes an interesting statement about this event. He says, "The disciples could not comprehend the significance of the Holy Spirit's arrival with the Lord sovereignly illustrating what was occurring with a visible phenomenon." And Hank says in his best Ozark Arkanese, "It must have been a sight to behold!" --Hank |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Acts 2:3 | Author | ||
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ElizabethFunke | ||
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ElizabethFunke | ||
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TKB | ||
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DocTrinsograce | ||
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Ray | ||
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Hank |