Tongues of Fire
Published on: 25.5.2023
The Festival of Shavuot
By: Dr. Juergen Buehler, President.
For the Jewish people, Shavuot (Hebrew for “weeks”) marks the events described in Exodus 19, when God came down in flames of fire on Mount Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites seven weeks after their Exodus from Egypt. This is considered the moment Israel was born as a nation, called to be a “light to the nations.” (Isaiah 49:6)
For Christians, the same festival is known as Pentecost and also recalls the events of Acts chapter 2, when “tongues of fire” descended on 120 followers of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room, fulfilling his promise that “the Comforter” would soon come to them. The Church was born that day, and “endued with power” to fulfill its Great Commission.
A Universal Message
Israelites at Mount Sinai
The Ten Commandments gave humanity an expression of God’s nature and character – His holiness and glory. God’s people were called to reflect that divine character in their daily lives.
The giving of the Law was a most awe-inspiring moment for the Israelites. The Bible indicates they heard the very voice of God speaking forth each commandment. Trembling, they pleaded with Moses that it was too much; that from now on God should just talk to and through him.
Rabbinical tradition holds that every word God spoke that day was like the stroke of a hammer on an anvil. With each stroke on the anvil, which was Mount Sinai, sparks (or tongues) of fire flew outward. A first century Sage, Rabbi Yochanan, maintained that it split up into seventy languages – matching the languages spoken among the seventy nations. In other words, Israel realized from the beginning that the Torah would be significant not only for Jews, but for all mankind.
It is, therefore, no coincidence that “tongues of fire” would later descend on human flesh on the Day of Pentecost, when praises to God were heard by “devout men, out of every nation under heaven,” and “that every man heard them speak in his own language.” (Acts 2:5-6) Like Israel at Sinai, the Church received a universal commission to go forth from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth with a message of hope, salvation and love – based on God’s very character. It reached the entire known world at that time, and today people from literally every nation, tribe and tongue have been added to the divine movement sparked on the Day of Pentecost.
Tongues of Fire
One of the ancient Hebrew manuscripts found in the Qumran caves is called “The Tongues of Fire” scroll. The fragments that survived tell of how tongues of fire would descend on the High Priest and speak through the Urim and Thurim and the stones on the breastplate of the High Priest. Josephus Flavius gives a similar description of God speaking to the High Priest by illuminating letters engraved on the breastplate. In other words, to Jews of that day tongues of fire represented the unique privilege of the High Priest to communicate with God.
What a moment, then, for those who saw tongues of fire descending on the 120 on the Day of Pentecost. The fire did not come down on the High Priest, but on ordinary fishermen from Galilee, yes and even on the women. The message was clear: God wanted to communicate with everyone. Thus Peter stood up and cited the Prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17-18)
Tablets of Stone
On the first Pentecost at Sinai, Moses descended with “tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18) When the Holy Spirit later descended on the early believers in Jesus, He came to write God’s laws on the human heart. That is a core essence of the New Covenant, according to Jeremiah 31:33 (see also Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). Even the most hopeless heathen can be transformed to display the very character of God. Paul says, “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” II Corinthians 3:3.
This was most powerfully seen in the disciples, who stopped fearing man and arguing about who was greatest among them, and united with “one heart and one soul” to boldly proclaim the Gospel.
Pentecost means God can transform our lives. May the Holy Spirit descend on us again with fire!
火舌
發表於：25.5.2023 五旬節
作者：尤根布勒博士，ICEJ總裁。
對於猶太人來說，Shavuot（希伯來語中的“星期”）標誌著出埃及記 19 章中描述的事件，當時上帝在西奈山的火焰中降臨，並向以色列人頒佈了十誡，在他們出埃及幾週後。 這被認為是以色列作為一個國家誕生的那一刻，被稱為“萬國之光”。 （以賽亞書 49:6）
對於基督徒來說，同一個節日被稱為五旬節，也讓人想起使徒行傳第 2 章的事件，當時“火舌”降臨到聚集在馬可樓的 120 名耶穌追隨者身上，履行了祂關於“保惠師”即將到來的應許。 教會在那一天誕生，並“被賦予能力”來完成它的大使命。
普世信息
以色列人在西乃山
十誡向人類表達了上帝的本性和品格——祂的聖潔和榮耀。 上帝的子民被呼召在他們的日常生活中反映上帝的品格。 頒布律法對以色列人來說是最令人敬畏的時刻。聖經表明他們聽到了上帝說出每一條誡命的聲音。他們顫抖著懇求摩西說這太過分了。從現在開始，上帝應該只透過他與祂交談。 拉比傳統認為，那天上帝說的每一句話都像錘子敲在鐵砧上。 在西奈山的鐵砧上每敲一下，火花（或火舌）就會向外飛出。 一世紀的先賢拉比約卡南 (Rabbi Yochanan) 堅持認為，它分為七十種語言——與七十個國家之間使用的語言相匹配。 換句話說，以色列從一開始就意識到妥拉不僅對猶太人而且對全人類都具有重要意義。 因此，“火舌”後來在五旬節那天降臨在人身上絕非巧合，當時“那時，有從天下各國來的虔誠的猶太人，住在耶路撒冷。這聲音一響，許多人都來聚集，各人因為聽見門徒用他們各自的鄉談說話，就甚納悶，” （使徒行傳 2:5-6）就像在西乃山的以色列人一樣，教會接受了普世使命，要從耶路撒冷出發，將盼望、救恩和愛的信息傳遍地極——這是基於上帝的品格。 它當時傳遍了整個已知世界，今天，來自各個國家、部落和方言的人們都加入了五旬節那天引發的神聖運動。
火舌
在毘蘭洞穴中發現的古希伯來語手稿之一被稱為火舌捲軸。僅存下來的碎片講述了火舌如何降臨到大祭司身上，並透過烏陵和土明以及大祭司胸甲上的石頭說話。 約瑟夫·弗拉維烏斯 (Josephus Flavius) 以照亮刻在胸甲上的字母作比喻，描述上帝與大祭司說話。 換句話說，對當時的猶太人來說，火舌代表大祭司與上帝溝通的獨特特權。 那麼，對於那些在五旬節那天看到火舌降臨120人來說，那一刻是多麼美好啊。 大火並沒有降到大祭司身上，而是降到了加利利的普通漁民身上，是的，甚至還降到了婦女身上。 信息很明確：上帝想與每個人交流。 彼得就這樣站起來引用先知約珥的話：“『上帝說：在末後的日子，我要將我的靈澆灌凡血肉之軀的。你們的兒女要說預言；你們的少年要見異象；你們的老人要做異夢。在那些日子，我要把我的靈澆灌，甚至給我的僕人和婢女，他們要說預言。 （使徒行傳 2:17-18）
石版
在西乃山的第一個五旬節，摩西帶著“上帝用手指寫的石版”降臨。 （出埃及記 31:18）當聖靈後來降臨在耶穌的早期信徒身上時，祂來將上帝的律法寫在人心上。 根據耶利米書 31:33（另見希伯來書 8:10；10:16），這是新約的核心要素。 即使是最絕望的異教徒也可以改變，以顯示上帝的品格。 保羅說：“而你們顯明自己是基督的書信，藉着我們寫成的。不是用墨寫的，而是用永生上帝的靈寫的；不是寫在石版上，而是寫在心版上的。”哥林多後書 3:3。 這一點在門徒身上表現得最為強烈，他們不再懼怕人，不再爭論誰為大，而是“一心一意”合一起來，大膽地宣揚福音。 五旬節意味著上帝可以改變我們的生活。 願聖靈帶著火再次降臨在我們身上！