The holy days tell a story more dramatic and exciting than any work of fiction ever dreamed of by man!

We are living right in the middle of that story. No holy day illustrates that fact better than the day of Pentecost. But to understand where we are today, we need to go back to the beginning of the story.

God’s Power Displayed

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The first verse of the Bible introduces us to the great Creator God—Elohim. But how did God accomplish this mighty task of creating the universe?

“Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee” (Jeremiah 32:17). What was this “great power”? To find out, let’s look ahead in the story.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Verse 1 describes Elohim completing a successful creation project. Verse 2 paints a very different picture. The Earth is in total chaos: shapeless, formless, empty, void. As Herbert W. Armstrong taught, this is possibly millions or billions of years later, after a cataclysmic, universe-destroying spiritual war between God’s forces and Satan’s forces.

And here is the Spirit of the great God—a tremendous spiritual power—about to completely transform this desolate wilderness. The verse reads as if this Spirit is sitting there awaiting orders from God. A colorful picture.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (verse 3).

What a tremendous display of God’s power. He spoke, and it was done! But how? “[God] is the One who said, ‘Let there be light’—and the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters performed the command, and ‘there was light’—instantly! The Holy Spirit is a miracle-working power. It overcomes obstacles” (Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 20; emphasis added throughout).

In Mystery of the Ages, Mr. Arm­strong likened the Holy Spirit to electricity. He talked about Henry Ford, the “maker of the Ford car,” who used thousands of workers, working at machines powered by electricity, to actually do the work of making them. “In the same manner, God the Father is Creator. But He ‘created all things by Jesus Christ.’ Jesus is the Word. It is written, ‘He spake, and it was done’ (Psalm 33:9). God tells Christ what to do (John 8:28-29). Jesus then speaks, as the workman, and the Holy Spirit is the power that responds and does what Jesus commands.”

The creation of light was just the first step: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. … And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind … and it was so. … And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven … and it was so. … And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind … and it was so” (Genesis 1:9, 11, 14-15, 24).

These were not small jobs! If the Holy Spirit is like electricity, it is no little electrical generator. This is a tremendous power at God’s command.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power …” (Romans 1:20). In other words, you can clearly see just how much power God has by looking at the creation—the heavens and Earth. What a detailed, intricate, vast, complex project! Yet all of the thinking and planning that had been going on for millennia, all the complex detail in God’s mind, was all put into action—living reality—by the power of the Holy Spirit. “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30).

Mr. Arm­strong explained God’s creative process: “By your eyesight you can see something across the room, or see to the sun or even to stars that are many times the size of our sun, only much farther distant. … In like manner, God can project His Spirit to any place, regardless of distance, but through His Spirit God is able to act on such objects or to change it as He wills” (ibid).

What is the Holy Spirit? It is God’s power. Perhaps we think of the Holy Spirit as being separate from God, as if the Holy Spirit gives God His power. But in fact, the Holy Spirit is God’s power! The power He possesses IS the Holy Spirit. He is the source of that power. Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13 show He is the “fountain” of the living water that represents His Holy Spirit.

We can see from creation, and from the Bible, how powerful God is. As Jer­emiah said, nothing is too hard for God!

Recreating Himself

Genesis 1, beginning in verse 2, describes the re-creation of the Earth. Before this, using the Holy Spirit, God had created the angels. He had created Michael and Gabriel and Lucifer. Using the Holy Spirit, He had created the universe. And then, He had watched everything destroyed by the angelic rebellion.

With this re-creation, He was doing something quite different. This time, God was recreating Himself (Genesis 1:26-27). God made man in His own form and shape because He wanted more God beings in His Family—who could exhibit His own righteous character. He wanted children who could be trusted with that same universe-creating power of the Holy Spirit, never to misuse it—who could expand the joy of His God-family life throughout the universe.

To complete such a mighty job requires the mighty power of God!

However, power in the wrong hands corrupts. Thus the right use of absolute power requires absolute righteousness! These children needed the same character that God Himself has.

So God made man mortal (Genesis 2:7). He knew we would have to be put through a training period before we could be trusted with eternal life and supernatural power. This way, if a person chose to rebel, God could just allow him to die and return to the dust of the ground.

But make no mistake: God wanted man to become a full-fledged God being! He wanted to give His children all the power He possesses! That was why He created man.

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God intended man to rule all creation. He created the abundance of animal and plant life for us to learn to rule. The whole idea of man being mortal was a temporary thing.

Incomplete Creation

Scripture shows that God put within man a spirit—a human spirit that distinguishes man from every other creature.

“To make it possible to bridge the gap—or to make the transition of mankind, composed wholly of matter, into spirit beings in God’s Kingdom, then to be composed wholly of spirit, and at the same time to give man a mind like God’s—God put a spirit in each human,” Mr. Armstrong wrote in The Incredible Human Potential. We each have a human spirit. But God never intended our creation to end with just having that one spirit. As Mr. Armstrong said, God put that there merely to bridge the gap to where we could one day have His Holy Spirit without measure—just as He has.

“[M]an was made from his creation (and birth) with the one ‘human’ spirit that became an integral part of man. But he is mentally and spiritually incomplete; he was made to need another spirit—the Holy Spirit of God—and when that gift of God is received, God’s ‘Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God’ (Romans 8:16) …” (Mystery of the Ages). As mortal human beings, we are incomplete! It makes perfect sense that God created us to need the Holy Spirit to be a complete creation when you consider what God intends for us!

In fact, until we actually become spirit beings—part of the God Family and filled with the power of God without measure—we are an incomplete creation! That’s what every person who has ever lived was intended for. This mortal body is just a step in a process.

Let’s continue with the story: “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:8-9). The tree of life represented the Holy Spirit. At this point, God was offering it to Adam and Eve.

But God also allowed Satan into the garden! This demonstrates that God wanted to test man before giving him eternal life. The plan for man was quite different from the angelic plan. This plan centered around this fact: man had to grapple with human nature, and he could sin. He had to build character.

A Historic Juncture!

We know how this story unfolds: Satan succeeded in convincing Adam and Eve to go their own way. A fascinating development occurred at this point: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden. … [H]e drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24).

God had created man to need the Holy Spirit—yet here He cut him off from it!

This is how God sets the scene for the entire Bible. We have a race of beings, only half complete, now given free reign to run loose on the Earth—not even having access to the one thing that could complete them!

This event was a super-important juncture in history! From this point, God could prophesy what would happen to man. He knew that mankind, now free to multiply and create nations and civilizations, governments and education systems—having only the human spirit, dominated by human nature, left to itself—was doomed to fail! He knew people wouldn’t be able to keep His law. He knew that when He later called out the nation of Israel, that they, being carnal, would fall away from Him. He knew in the last days perilous times would come (2 Timothy 3:1).

In fact, God knew that, unless He intervened, man would annihilate himself from the Earth! (Matthew 24:21-22).

But that is not all. God also had supreme confidence in something else. He also knew that if He placed within man just a small measure of the Holy Spirit—the awesome power with which He had created the universe—then He could have a channel of communication with those individuals. He could help them follow His spiritual law. He could guide them, rear them up as His own children, teach them, help them to overcome and master their human nature. He knew the Holy Spirit could combine with their human spirit, and all the things that were impossible before would be possible!

Just as with the material creation—where all of the thinking and planning, all the complex detail in God’s mind, was put into living reality by the power of the Holy Spirit, so would it be in the spiritual creation—the creation of the sons of God: It would all be made possible by the power of God! Through the Holy Spirit, God would have the family He yearned for.

That is the beginning of an incredible story. Today, we in God’s Church are living right in the middle of this same story. And on the day of Pentecost, we focus on exactly where we are in the story.

A Heart to Obey

From the time of Adam, mankind set about creating his own civilization, cut off from God. He immediately began messing things up, just as God knew would happen. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). God Himself had cut man off from the Holy Spirit. He knew it would get bad. But it still grieved Him to see what man was doing to himself!

As time went on, when God was later dealing with the ancient Israelites, He knew they didn’t have the capacity to obey His spiritual law. Still, He longed for a people with the heart to obey—a complete heart (Deuteronomy 5:29).

In fact, God knew exactly what mankind needed to be able to obey! They needed a submissive and childlike heart, governed and led by the Holy Spirit. Notice the promise God makes in Ezekiel 36:26-27: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

The promise of the Holy Spirit did not end with Israel. It was God’s intention all along to give the Holy Spirit to all flesh! “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh …” (Joel 2:28). God is overflowing with anticipation for the day that all mankind will possess the Holy Spirit!

So—the question logically follows: Why did God cut man off from it?

A Select Few

God didn’t just leave man completely to himself. He called out a tiny, select few—maybe one or two in a generation, maybe a handful—and gave them the ingredient they were lacking, the Holy Spirit. Those few God then used for His purposes.

Look through the first several verses of Hebrews 11, which name some of these special individuals—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them …. [T]hey desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:13, 16). These were people whose spiritual lives were a success! Even in the midst of evil times, even struggling against their own sinful nature, they were able to overcome.

Understand: Though God gave them spiritual power, He forced nothing on them. These individuals yielded to the guidance of that power of God.

Consider Joseph: He was a true success! He obeyed God. He was given the supernatural ability to interpret dreams. Even the pharaoh could see God’s Spirit in him (Genesis 41:38). He prospered in every way.

Moses, too, was very close to God. On at least two occasions, he fasted for 40 days—impossible without God’s power. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the first five books of Bible. Numbers 11 records an instance where God took from that same Spirit that was in Moses and temporarily gave it to the 70 elders who served under him, and suddenly they all began prophesying! Moses clearly possessed God’s Spirit.

Other Old Testament examples of people with the Holy Spirit are explicitly stated in Scripture: Gideon (Judges 6:34); Samson (Judges 14:6). 1 Samuel 16:13 says that when Samuel anointed the teenager David as king, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” Other examples include Elijah and the other Old Testament prophets (2 Peter 1:21).

During this time God was being extremely selective. These were just a few people among tens and hundreds of thousands. However, these people still provided proof that the Holy Spirit worked! Fleshly man could undergo the process of becoming a spiritual creation. One by one, God was actually calling out and preparing these individuals for life in the God Family. He was getting them ready to responsibly assume all the power that He Himself has!

Look at the big picture of the Bible—the main thread of the story—and you see this dominant theme: 1) a world cut off from God; and 2) a tiny few individuals whom God worked with, and who struggled and fought and, ultimately, with the power of the Holy Spirit, were spiritual successes.

As we will examine later, there are also some God specially selected and worked with who failed.

Christ: Spirit Without Measure

The culmination of this period of God’s utmost selectiveness with the Holy Spirit is prophesied in Isaiah: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Here is a prophecy of a mortal man who would use the Holy Spirit perfectly. Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy, in part, during His first coming; He will completely fulfill it at His return.

Look at what this power of God is capable of producing in the life of a human being! Isaiah describes what power a human being can have with the Spirit of God!

In the final years of His physical life, Christ performed numerous supernatural miracles: He multiplied scarce food supplies, summoned fish into His disciples’ nets, stilled stormy weather, healed multitudes of sick, cast out demons—even resurrected the dead. And perhaps most amazing of the miracles of Christ’s life: He kept God’s physical and spiritual laws perfectly (Hebrews 4:15).

Yet, as powerful as He was, Christ said in John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing”! The correspondence course explained, “Few realize that His miracles and obedience were not done by any supernatural power of His own. They were done through the power of the Father! Jesus explained: ‘The Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works!’ (John 14:10). The Father dwelt in Him through the Holy Spirit!” (op cit).

John 3:34 says that Christ had the Holy Spirit without measure. That is what each of us is striving to have.

Christ Promised the Holy Spirit

During one of His sermons, Jesus reaffirmed what the prophets of old had said—that the Holy Spirit would one day be made available to all flesh.

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy [Spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit wasn’t yet come to the main congregation of God’s people. In the Old Testament, it was only a few leaders who received it. However, once Christ was resurrected—just a short time after He gave this message—the Holy Spirit filled the entire body of believers.

This Last Great Day message is also a prophecy that at the second resurrection, following the Millen­nium, anyone who sincerely desires it will be able to receive the Holy Spirit liberally!

Notice—this says that once the Holy Spirit was given (which, at this point, was just a little ways off), humans would be able to have God’s power flowing from them like rivers!

John 16:7 confirms that the Holy Spirit wasn’t generally available before Christ’s resurrection, but Christ promised it to His disciples. He reiterated that promise just before His ascension: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father …. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy [Spirit] not many days hence. … But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy [Spirit] is come upon you …” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

Let’s now look at the fulfillment of that promise.

New Testament Church Begins

It happened on Pentecost, a.d. 31. “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 all filled with the Holy [Spirit], and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). This had never happened before! These people were filled with God’s power!

The Jews who witnessed this event were totally perplexed. What was happening? Peter stood up and explained, going straight to the prophecy in Joel 2: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh …” (Acts 2:17). This awe-inspiring display of divine power heralded the beginning of the time when all who would seek the Holy Spirit could receive it—the beginning step of the spiritual creation of the whole of man­kind. Mr. Armstrong explained, “It opened the era foretold by God long ago when He said to His ancient nation Israel, and through it to the whole world, ‘The days come … that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. … I [not man, but God ] will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts’ (Jeremiah 31:31, 33; Hebrews 8:8-10).

“This mighty rushing of the Spirit down to our Earth marked the advent of the power which God would use to engrave His law within the hearts of those who surrender themselves to Him! It is the power of His Holy Spirit, which He offers to place within us! That is why God made this such a spectacular and momentous event. It was of tremendous import to all mankind” (ibid).

But still, we have to ask: Why just a small group? Acts 1:15 shows there were only about 120 of them. By the end of Acts 2, that number had multiplied to a few thousand. That is far more than had ever possessed the Holy Spirit before, but still a pretty small number.

Why, even when God began to fulfill Joel 2—the promise to give His Spirit to all flesh—was He still keeping the bulk of humanity cut off from access to it?

Most professing Christians don’t know why. Most “Christians” don’t know how it would ever serve God’s purpose to obscure spiritual truth from someone.

Possessing God’s Power

What happens when God puts a measure of His power within man?

For the answer, let’s first look at how spiritually weak Christ’s disciples were before receiving the Holy Spirit. During Christ’s ministry, they fought with each other; they couldn’t stay awake with Christ on His last night; when the soldiers came to take Christ, they fled in fear; with Christ gone, outside Jerusalem Peter three times denied he had even seen Christ!

What a change came over these men once they were given God’s power! They preached boldly, convincingly—even when their lives were in danger! They healed people; Peter became so powerful, even those in his shadow were healed; they cast out demons; Acts 9 shows Peter even raising Tabitha from the dead. These ordinary mortal men were able to perform many of the same miracles that Christ did!

The apostles only received a small portion of Holy Spirit—compared to Jesus Christ, who had it without measure. They still were not complete. But look what the Holy Spirit did through him! God’s power is so awesome, even a little bit can dramatically change our lives!

The power of the New Testament Church in the last century was also quite impressive. Mr. Armstrong was a voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord—make straight in the desert a highway for God! (Isaiah 40:3). Zechariah 4:8-9 shows that with his own hands, Mr. Armstrong started and finished the Philadelphian era. He exhibited tremendous fruits over the course of his ministry. And how did he do it? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). He used God’s power!

As majestic as his works were, however, remember that at the end of his life, Mr. Armstrong said he hoped he was 51 percent righteous. Mr. Armstrong knew he wasn’t yet a complete creation! He was a work in progress.

Is that discouraging? No—what an encouragement. Look at what God was able to do through the apostles! Look at what God was able to do through Mr. Armstrong. Even with just a small measure of Holy Spirit.

And God has put this same power within us.

Earnest of the Spirit

Our physical creation was just the first step of our creation. But God implants within us a tiny portion of the Holy Spirit to begin the second step—the spiritual part of our creation.

Paul explains, “[A]fter that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). God’s people responded to God’s calling, repented and were baptized, at which point they received the Holy Spirit. But notice: It was just the earnest—a tiny down payment. The portion of the Spirit the Christian receives is merely God’s guarantee they will receive the fullness of that Spirit later.

That little bit of God’s power doesn’t make us a complete creation. We are still incomplete!

What does it mean to be a complete spiritual creation? It means having God’s perfect character. That is something God can’t just give us—not even if He suddenly filled us head to toe with Holy Spirit! We will only be a complete spiritual creation if we strive and strain and work to develop character. It involves countless choices of right over wrong on the part of each individual. The Holy Spirit is simply the power that fuels that process.

Mr. Armstrong wrote this: “The Holy Spirit will open one’s mind to understand God’s instruction on how to live, but it will not force one to live God’s way—it will not pull or push one. Each Christian must take his own initiative, though God’s Spirit will give him help, faith and power. But it is ‘as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ (Romans 8:14)” (The Incredible Human Potential).

Now we’re beginning to get at the answer to our question: Why did God cut mankind off?

The Importance of Character

Let’s return to the electricity analogy. Electricity can be used to do amazing things—powering whole cities, or rooms of powerful computer equipment. But it can also be a deadly power if it is misused.

What would happen if God suddenly just poured out His power onto people who didn’t have the character to use it? Of and by itself it does not impart righteousness. As Mr. Arm­strong said, the Holy Spirit leads, “but never pulls, pushes, shoves, or forces” (“What Do You Mean … the Unpardonable Sin?”). If it was suddenly given in full measure to unrighteous people, you can be sure the Earth quickly would again become tohu and bohu! Looking at the Earth today, can’t we agree that mankind is able to mess things up enough without such tremendous spirit power?

The fact is, human beings need to be taught and instructed, little by little. Within those He has specially chosen, God implants the tiniest portion of His great power. He uses that Spirit to work with us, and we demonstrate to Him an increasing ability to yield to it. He guides and nurtures us, so we will develop the character to follow Him perfectly—to perform good works using the power of His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:10).

What God is creating in Spirit-begotten, Spirit-directed humans is the supreme masterpiece of all His works of creation! The physical creation is merely a means to this end—the spiritual creation of human beings into God beings! Ordinary dust-of-the-ground human beings, mortals who would live and die in 70 or 80 years, are being implanted with the Holy Spirit, transformed through the process of conversion, developing God’s perfect character through trials, tests, experience and obedience, overcoming and growing spiritually—maturing, practicing in using that spiritual power—until one day, God will be able to invest complete confidence in us, giving us the Holy Spirit without measure—and translating us from flesh into spirit—born sons of God!

Remember, Christ had the Holy Spirit without measure from birth. What did that power allow Him to do? Even as a human being, He was able to live perfectly. God gave Him that power because He had the character to handle it, and yielded to it perfectly. That is what we are striving to achieve—growing in the Spirit each day until the day we will have it without measure and will exhibit God’s character perfectly.

Human Nature Can Triumph

At this point, we must ask again, why is the Holy Spirit given only to the firstfruits now?

Ephesians 1:13 shows that the Holy Spirit seals us. But that doesn’t mean we have made it. The “seal” only refers to God’s end of our salvation. “How­ever, the seal can be ‘broken’ or left in doubt—by our actions. It’s not guaranteed—yet” (Malachi’s Message). As magnificent a power as the Holy Spirit is, it will not of itself overrule our human nature.

Once Adam sinned, and God cut off access to the Holy Spirit, God could prophesy exactly what a failure man would be left only with the human spirit. But did you know, even though God knew the Holy Spirit was the only way for man to succeed, He also knew that a great many of those given the Holy Spirit would also fail? God repeatedly prophesied that many who had the Holy Spirit would still be overcome by their human nature!

In this end time, we have lived through probably the worst failure of Spirit-begotten human beings in man’s history.

The Laodicean era—95 percent of God’s people turning their back on Him—is proof that human nature can triumph over the Holy Spirit!

As powerful as the Holy Spirit is, it is not powerful enough of itself to give God the Spirit-born family He passionately yearns for!

God can’t just pour out His Spirit and expect everything to work out!

That fantastic, universe-creating power of God—the Spirit that instantly responded when God commanded “Let there be light”—the power that recreated the whole Earth in just seven days—is absolutely helpless to fulfill God’s earnest desire and to create real, Spirit-born sons. That is, unless it is matched with our total cooperation!

Righteous character is the supreme creation of all because it is the hardest creation—and the most precious!

Decently and in Order

Why did God establish the Church? That’s a question we ask on Pentecost. Here is a major part of the reason: To nurture us along in this difficult process of character development.

God established a government structure, with apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and deacons; He’s given us all sorts of tools—His Word to study, literature to aid our understanding, fellowship with other Spirit-begotten brethren.

And on top of that, God has given us the heart to obey. Using the power of the Holy Spirit, God is writing His law in our hearts even now! He’s using His Church—men like Peter, Paul, John, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Flurry, the ministry—to perfect us, to turn our hearts to Him. The Church is here to help us—so God can complete this supreme spiritual creation in us.

So why are we the only ones, out of all the people in the world, who understand Pentecost? Why are we here and they’re not?

Because when the time comes to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, God knows he will need help in beginning this spiritual creation in the rest of humanity. “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). God knows there must be an organized government, an educational structure, staffed by at least thousands of God beings who have done it—who have bridged the gap—made the transition from flesh to spirit!

The world’s Christianity is deceived into thinking the Holy Spirit is a separate member of the Godhead. NO! It is a power! It is an awesome power intended for use by the Family of God—people of character who have been carefully trained to use it.

We are learning to use that power now. We are growing in it daily. We are praying for it daily; renewing our minds daily; increasing our measure of Spirit daily; learning how to yield to it; growing in spiritual power; bearing spiritual fruits. As we use the Holy Spirit, just like Christ prophesied—even today, among God’s Spirit-begotten people—the Holy Spirit flows from within us like rivers of living water!

So when the time comes to pour out that Spirit on all flesh, we will be ready—ready to teach, ready to help people go through the very process we are going through today.

The Holy Spirit in Prophecy

Pentecost marks a major milestone in God’s master plan. And just as Pentecost would be impossible without the festivals that precede it, none of the fall holy days would be possible without Pentecost! Christ cannot return on the Feast of Trumpets without His Bride to accompany Him. The worldwide education program in the Mil­lennium cannot take place without Spirit-born educators who are there to assist Jesus Christ. God can’t give His Spirit to all flesh—He can’t complete man’s spiritual creation—until we, the firstfruits, have been perfected, harvested, and are prepared to assist Him.

Again—what does God plan to do with the Holy Spirit?

To the house of Israel, who failed so miserably as a carnal nation, He says, after bringing them out of the captivity of the Great Tribulation, “Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:28-29). God will give them what they lacked, and shower them with attention, educating them in how to keep the law they couldn’t keep before.

Several chapters in Ezekiel describe the headquarters temple in Jerusalem, which will be fully staffed by Spirit-born headquarters personnel. Chapter 47 (especially verses 3-5) shows that the living waters of the Holy Spirit will be flowing abundantly from that temple! And it’s not as though the farther away you get, the less abundant it becomes. Isaiah says the knowledge of God will cover the Earth, as the waters cover the ocean beds (Isaiah 11:9).

“Wherever the stream goes, every living creature that swarms shall live. … On the bank of the stream, along both sides, every sort of food-tree shall grow; their leaves shall not wither and their fruit shall never fail; every month they shall bear fresh fruit, thanks to the water that flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit shall serve for food, their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:9, 12; Moffatt). We’ll be right there, teaching people how to use that Spirit—that healing power. The law will go out from Jerusalem. And we’ll be writing that law on their hearts.

John had a similar vision: “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. … And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. … And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:1-2, 17). The tree of life will again be made available to the nations! Mankind will no longer be cut off. And just as Christ prophesied, the living water will be given freely to all who seek it.

Do we want to be there? As that water pours out from Christ’s throne, do we want to be sitting beside Him? Then we must be letting that living water flow through us today.

Rejoice in the feast of the firstfruits! Celebrate our part in this story! And work to make sure you are part of the firstfruits harvest, so you can help our Father and Husband share their spiritual power with the world!

Royal Vision, May-June 2003