What does ‘Pentecost’ the word literally mean?
It’s Greek for “feast of fifty.” In Hebrew, the celebration is called Shavu’ot. Commemorating God giving Moses the Ten Commandments (and the rest of the Mosaic Law) on Mount Sinai, which according to tradition was 50 days after the Passover.
The feast of Pentecost was a perfect moment for the Christian church to be born, because Jewish worshipers were gathered to Jerusalem from all over the ancient world. When the disciples started speaking in tongues from the Upper Room, people were shocked to hear mysteries in their native languages, and the power of God was poured out freely on the streets, effectively starting Christianity. Even more importantly, thousands started believing in Jesus and took that belief back with them to their home countries once the feast was over, and spreading the new movement across the Roman empire like a wildfire...