“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:4)

Our culture is torn apart by differing forces and movements. Many people desire that we come together in peace and harmony by recognizing what we have in common. Others say unity is achieved by stressing the uniqueness and autonomy of each individual. But the unity and harmony our culture seeks has already been achieved by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He was poured out on that day on the disciples of Jesus with great power manifested by intense fervor and zeal. The Holy Spirit enabled each of the disciples to speak in languages they did not know to people who did: Jews who were in Jerusalem from other parts of the Roman Empire, all gathered for the harvest feast of First Fruits. And the first fruits of the New Covenant were gathered in the church that day. 3000 people believed and were baptized.

On that Pentecost the great manifestation of the Holy Spirit was the miraculous speaking in tongues. This signified that the Lord was uniting humanity in His Kingdom thereby reversing the curse of Babel (Genesis 11) which had resulted in division, hatred, prejudice and disharmony. At Babel humans came together to achieve glory for themselves in man made religion and works of the flesh. On Pentecost the Lord established His Church as the New Israel. Unlike national or ethnic Israel, the Lord was bringing together people from all nations and languages. Now in Christ all can be united by the Holy Spirit in common faith, not by their own works or by following religious laws, but by the work of Jesus on the cross.