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The manifestations associated with the bestowal of the ―new teacher,‖ and the reception of the
apostles‘ preaching by the men of various races and nations gathered together at Jerusalem,
indicate the universality of the religion of Jesus. The gospel of the kingdom was to be identified
with no particular race, culture, or language. This day of Pentecost witnessed the great effort of
the spirit to liberate the religion of Jesus from its inherited Jewish fetters. Even after this
demonstration of pouring out the spirit upon all flesh, the apostles at first endeavored to impose
the requirements of Judaism upon their converts. Even Paul had trouble with his Jerusalem
brethren because he refused to subject the gentiles to these Jewish practices. No revealed religion
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can spread to all the world when it makes the serious mistake of becoming permeated with some
national culture or associated with established racial, social, or economic practices.
The bestowal of the Spirit of Truth was independent of all forms, ceremonies, sacred places, and
special behavior by those who received the fullness of its manifestation. When the spirit came
upon those assembled in the upper chamber, they were simply sitting there, having just been
engaged in silent prayer. The spirit was bestowed in the country as well as in the city. It was not
necessary for the apostles to go apart to a lonely place for years of solitary meditation in order to
receive the spirit. For all time, Pentecost disassociates the idea of spiritual experience from the
notion of especially favorable environments.