If the counter on Google is correct, this is our 70th post. There is something biblical about that number.

I would never write this anywhere except on the Dusty Disciples, a place to bear one’s thoughts even when far removed from the Christian norm if there seems to be a biblical basis for the thought. What I write is more of a question than a statement.

The giving of the Holy Spirit to first century believers on Shavuot (Pentecost) is not unique in history. When Moses needed support to minister to the people of Israel, the LORD told Moses…

I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone. (Num 11:17)

By the LORD’S design, part of the Spirit originally given to Moses was transferred and placed on “seventy of Israel’s elders who are known as leaders and officials among the people” (Num 11:16). These seventy men became the origin of the Sanhedrin who ruled over Israel during the first century. In Jewish tradition, these seventy men laid hands on others to pass their authority and power of the Spirit to each succeeding generation. The Spirit placed on these men and the subsequent prophets was referred to in the Greek text as “the Spirit of Christ in them” (1 Pet 1:11). Scripture tells us that the origin of the Spirit on Yeshua came from the LORD (Matt 12:18)(Luke 4:18) and the Spirit given to believers “goes out from the Father” (John 15:26). Therefore, the Spirit on Yeshua, present day believers and the prophets of old is the same Spirit, one that originates from the LORD.

However, the phrasing of the passage (Num 11:17) makes it unclear if Moses lost a proportional part of the Spirit on him when the Spirit from Moses was “put on” the seventy. This question has some value since Moses is a “type and picture” of Yeshua. Was Moses like Adam who gave up a portion of himself to create Eve and became incomplete apart from Eve? Otherwise, why not say, “I will put the same Spirit on the seventy that I put on you”? The Hebrew position of the Chumash is clear, “Moses was like a candle that is used to light others; though it gives them light, its own flame is undiminished”. Yet, we know from Paul that the surpassing glory given to Moses “was fading away” (2 Cor 3:13). Was the glory fading because it was passing from Moses to the seventy? If not, what was the cause of the fading glory?

When the woman was healed by Yeshua from the flow of blood, “Jesus realized that power had gone out from him” (Mark 5:28). Further, why was it necessary for Yeshua to leave before the Helper could come (John 16:7)? Could the power of the Spirit on Yeshua’s earthly ministry have been diminished like the fading glory on Moses on the day of Shavuot? Although such a position would find no support in Christian circles and sounds too limiting on the unlimited power of the LORD, the outpouring of the Spirit in a measured, not unlimited portion, would explain why miracles and wonders seemed to decrease during the later part of the first century.

In the first century, the Apostles received the Spirit of Yeshua on the day of Shavuot. With this Spirit the Apostles were able to perform “many wonders and miraculous signs” (Acts 2:43). By the example of Moses, these men laid their hands on others empowering them with the Spirit (Acts 8:13). Over time, the natural progression of these activities caused the Spirit to be spread among many believers. Although each believer received the Spirit, the outpouring on the individual believer appeared to diminish with each succeeding generation. Further, those laying on the hands may have lost part of the Spirit’s power over time. Near the end of Paul’s life, he appeared to lack the power to heal the stomach ailment of Timothy (1 Tim 5:23). This failure may have been due to the laying on of hands, a “fading” phenomenon similar to what Moses experienced, or simply a lack of geographic proximity to minister to Timothy. Although each believer might receive a smaller portion of the Spirit on them, the total cumulative power of the Spirit had not decreased, but had been distributed over a greater number of believers.

We know from scripture that the LORD limits the power of His Spirit on the earth. The prophet Joel talked of a future time when “I (the LORD) will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy…I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:39-29). Peter quoted this scripture on the day of Shavout, but there appears to be a future time when this will occur again.

The passage in Joel indicates that the LORD, as part of His Own plan, chooses to limit the power of His Spirit on the earth, but why limit the ultimate power of the Spirit on the earth? Perhaps the LORD chooses to limit his power because God is a consuming fire and a stronger measure might be more than the earth can bear before the appointed time. According to Joel, “wonders in the heavens and on earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke” (Joel 2:30) will accompany the outpouring of the Spirit inculding the darkening of the sun and the moon turning to blood. Maybe the creation just cannot survive a large dose of the Spirit, but is “being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Pet 3:7).

What additional passages are there in the Bible to support or refute a measured outpouring of the Spirit on Moses or on the day of Shavuot that did not increase when distributed to believers? As a side note, Elisha requested “a double portion” of the Spirit that was on Elijah (2 Kings 2:9). Although Elisha “asked a difficult thing” (2 Kings 2:10), apparently the request was granted, beyond the capability of Elijah, because Elisha saw Elijah disappear in a whirlwind.

In either case, a measured outpouring or unlimited outpouring of the Spirit, the conclusion is the same. All believers must strive for unity, one with another, to collectively combine the power of the Spirit given to us.

Remember, only on the Dusty Disciple do I dare. Scott