The miracle of the cloven tongues.--Misapplication of a
prophecy of Joel.
In the Acts of the Apostles, a passage from Joel the prophet is spoken
of by Peter, as foretelling what is called the miracle of tongues: At
the end of forty days Christ appeared to his disciples at Jerusalem, and
being assembled together with them, they were commanded not to depart
from Jerusalem until certain things should take place. Now the writer
of the Acts forgot what he said in his Gospel, if he wrote both, for he
there tells us that Christ ascended the day of his resurrection, or at
most, the day after. Taking what we can glean from the four Gospels, and
taking the probabilities of the case into the account, the disciples,
a very short time after the death of Jesus, returned to Galilee. The
public mind was greatly moved against Jesus, which was more or less
directed against his followers, and as none of them were remarkable
for courage, it is hardly probable that they would tarry in Jerusalem,
especially as there was nothing to keep them. But according to the
writer in Luke, at the end of the forty days they were still in the
city, and were commanded not to leave until certain things took place.
He next says, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place. 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 as
of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance." (_Acts_ ii. 1, 2, 3, 4.)
This is something truly wonderful, and we are astonished that so strange
and important an event has found no place in history--especially as
a report of it must have been circulated far and wide, for the writer
says, that "there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews out of every nation
under heaven," who came to see for themselves. The writer includes other
people besides Jews from every nation, and says: "Now when this was
noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded;"
and among these were "Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the dwellers
in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia"--people from "Phrygia,
Pamphylia, Cretans and Arabians"--and all heard spoken the language of
their native countries.
Josephus lived not long after this time, and if he did not reside
in Jerusalem, he must have been often in the Jewish capital, and if
anything so wonderful as this had taken place, he certainly must have
heard of it, and it was not possible for him to forget it when he came
to write his history, especially as things of no comparative importance
are fully noted by him.
These things are so wonderful, that it is necessary to explain them by
the direct action of the Deity, in fulfilment of prophecy. The writer
has Peter make a speech, and Peter tells the crowd that they need not
be surprised, for what had just happened had all been foretold, and was
nothing more than the fulfilment of a prophecy of Joel, who said: "And
it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour put my
Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaids I will pour out in those
days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will shew wonders in
heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and
vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come." (_Acts_ ii.
17, 18, 19, 20.)
All this has nothing more to do with, or has no more reference to, the
miracle of the cloven tongues than it has to the assassination of Julius
Caesar in the Roman Senate. The Jews, at the time referred to by Joel,
were suffering under great afflictions. There had been a most severe
drought, and the land had been devoured by the locust, the canker-worms
and caterpillar. As all calamities which befell the Jewish people were
referred by them to the displeasure of God on account of their sins,
Joel exhorts them to repent, and promises, if they do, the Lord will
come to the rescue. "Then will the Lord be zealous for his land and
pity the people. He will send down rain, and the floors shall be full of
wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will
restore to you the years that the locust had eaten, the cancer-worm and
caterpillar and palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you. And
you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the
Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you. And ye shall know
that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and
none else: and my people shall never be ashamed."
Now follows what Peter was made to say was the prophecy which foretold
the miracle of the cloven tongues. "And it shall come to pass afterwards
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your
young men shall see visions." Which means, I will pour out my blessings
("Spirit") on all flesh, including the servants and handmaids--they
shall be universal, and not confined to any class. Then all the young
and the old shall rejoice and be happy. Their happiness shall be of
the most exalted kind, unalloyed with care, like delightful dreams and
visions. As the prophet had said in the beginning of this chapter: "Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all
the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for
it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great
people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be
any more after it, even to the years of many generations." (_Joel_ ii.
1, 2.)
Referring to this terrible calamity which was to come, that the fear of
it _might not interrupt this general state of happiness_ which is spoken
of, the Lord tells the people that he will give them timely notice, that
they may be prepared: "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the Lord come."
(_Joel_ ii. 30, 31.) There could not be a state of universal joy among
the people, such as is described, as long as the "great and terrible day
of the Lord" might overtake them any moment. There could be no happiness
where there was constant fear. The Lord promised that a timely warning
should be given. Now what has this beautiful and sublime poem to do with
the miracle of the cloven tongues?