What Didn’t Happen in the Upper Room!

The following is an excerpt from a message preached by Rev. Loudly Tonguels of the First Church of the Upper Room located on the middle east side of town at 120 Gathering Pl. Pentacoastal, Florida.

“. . . Jesus told ‘em to go wait, everyone say wait. [wait] Everyth’n always turns out alright if we just wait on the Lord. Can you say Amen? [Amen Brother Loudly] So there they were in the upper room, all 120 of ‘em, just a pray’n and a wait’n on the Lord, when all of a sudd’n [come on now] there was a sound of a rush’n mighty wind . . so that it filled the whole room where they were sit’n . . . and then fire came a shoot’n out off their heads . . . and they all . . . everyone say all [all] And they all began to speak with other tongues. [shouts and clapping from the congregation] Then they all got so filled with the Spirit they came a stumbl’n and a tumbl’n out of that upper room. . .”

Is that really how it happened, or was Rev. Loudly just re-preaching it the way he’s always heard it preached? During my twenty years of sitting under charismatic, pentecostal ministries Pastor Tonguels’ interpretation has been a fairly common portrayal of Acts 2:1-4, minus the dramatization . . . in most cases anyways. But can we be serious for a moment? For the record, I believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, and have been a personal partaker of this promise for many years. So just for clarification purposes, whether tongues is for today or not is not what is under review in this article, but the setting of the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two is. Hence, I do not believe that the disciples were in, near, or around the upper room at all when the promise of the Spirit fell upon them. I know this is somewhat of a sacred cow amongst charismatics, but it’s time this one got tipped over. So before you pull out your religious branding iron, let’s take a moment to consider the facts, shall we?

What we know about the “Upper Room”

There are references to an “upper room” in Mark 14:15 and Luke 22:12.

And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there. (Mark 14:15)

And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there. (Luke 22:12)

In both instances the Greek word [anogeon] is used. This word literally means, “upper chamber.” Both accounts also describe the room to be “large” (Greek – megas). This was the room that was used by Jesus and the disciples for Passover (Pesach) on the night Jesus was betrayed.

In addition to the verses mentioned above, the “upper room” was also described as a “guest room” (Greek – kataluma: a lodging place, guestchamber, inn).

¹³And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; ¹⁴and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” (Mark 14:13-14)

¹¹ . . . And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples? (Luke 22:11)

By the way, the “inn” that Joseph and Mary tried to check into in Luke 2:7, is the same Greek word for “guest room”, (kataluma). The “upper room” used by Jesus and the disciples was most likely made available for groups and out-of-towners coming in for the regular Jewish feasts. Let’s not forget that during in the Second Temple period Jerusalem was the center of Jewish worship and culture. Many large rooms such as these would have been required during the annual feasts.

Another “Upper Room”?

In Acts chapter one we have another appearance of the word “upper room” in our English translation. However, an entirely different word was used in Greek to describe this “upper room.”

¹³When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.¹⁴These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.¹⁵At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together). (Acts 1:13-15)

Here,the Greek word translated “upper room” is [huperoon] which means: a higher part of a house, apartment on 3rd floor, or upper chamber. (The same word also appears later in Acts 20:8.) Whether or not it was the same “upper room” as the one they used on Passover is rather irrelevant. It is, however, rather curious that since Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and also Acts, why would he use a different Greek word to describe the same “upper room”? He may have simply used two different terms in describing the same room, there really is no way to tell.

Location, Location, Location!

Regrettably, the general assumption is that since the disciples were in the “upper room” in Acts chapter 1, naturally that is where they would have been in Acts chapter 2 also. This discourse should prove to bring doubt to that assumption at the very least, but even more so, to establish the true location of Acts chapter 2 having been “in the temple” and not the “upper room”.

The “upper room” is where the disciples were staying,

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; (Acts 1:12-13)

but it is not where they were “continually” praying!

⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:51-53)

The same Luke wrote both passages that we just read. The first one says after Jesus ascended they left the Mount of Olives and headed straight for the “upper room”. This verse only shows the immediate destination upon arrival in Jerusalem. Since Luke so poignantly declares it was “a Sabbath day’s journey”, we should recognize two important facts; their carefulness in following the Jewish custom of limited travel on the Sabbath, and in this context, it was limited to what happened on that particular day only. Remember, the day of Pentecost didn’t come for another ten days after Jesus’ ascension. The point here is that there are “ten days” between the events of Acts chapter 1 and Acts chapter 2. When we read these two chapters together the tendency is to assume that there is no time lapse, and therefore wrongfully assume the same location to be the “upper room” for both chapters.

So where were the disciples during those “ten days” between the day Jesus ascended and the day of Pentecost? Let’s not strain our minds over something that Luke made so very clear.

⁵¹And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: ⁵³And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. (Luke 24:51-53)

Notice that this passage is telling us what the disciples did on an ongoing basis after Jesus’ ascension, and not just on the day of His ascension as in Acts chapter 1. The “upper room” is where the disciples were staying, but “continually in the temple” is where they were praying. There are several obvious evidences that we will now look to as further proof that the disciples were literally in the temple on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell upon them.

What exactly does Acts 2 say?

Let’s look closely at what it actually says concerning the whereabouts of the disciples in Acts 2.

¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:1-2)

The fact that they were all “in one place” does not say much in and of itself, for they could have all been “in one place” in the “upper room” as well as the temple. However, in verse 2, the rushing mighty wind filled all “the house” where they were sitting. So then, it will be the words, “the house”, that will identify exactly where they were. The Greek word for house that is used here is [oikos] and means: a dwelling – lit. or fig. :- home, house (-hold), temple. What is interesting is that this Greek word was never used to describe the “upper room” anywhere in scripture. Therefore, we have no immediate grounds in directly associating the “house” in Acts 2 with the “upper room” elsewhere.

With this in mind, let’s look at another passage that does use the Greek word for house (oikos) in order to draw a comparison.

¹⁷And he (Jesus) taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house (oikos) shall be called of all nations the house (oikos) of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. (Mark 11:17)

Obviously Jesus was referring to the literal, physical temple in this verse. It is possible to use the Greek word (oikos) in a figurative, non-physical sense such as “a particular family household”, however, its literal use here as well as in Acts 2 is enough evidence in itself to solidify a strong comparison. Consequently, since the literal, physical use of (oikos) by Jesus was referencing the actual temple itself, and never the “upper room”, we can only assert that its use concerning the “house” in Acts 2 is speaking of the literal, physical temple as well.

Um . . Excuse me . . Could you tell me what time it is? Jerusalem time, that is!

Sometimes it’s the little details that help us understand the scriptures the most. Did you ever happen to notice that Luke actually mentioned what time of day it was when the Holy Spirit fell? As Peter stood up to address the growing crowd who supposed the disciples were drunk, he said,

¹⁵For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. (Acts 2:15)

For the Jews, the day started at 6:00 a.m. so the third hour would have been 9:00 in the morning. The accusation that the disciples were drunk was simply preposterous since the Jews never drank at such an early hour, as Peter affirmed. The third hour of the day just so happened to be the hour of prayer in the temple, and even the most immoderate among the Jews did not violate this principle. If the disciples would have been anywhere at 9:00 a.m. on the very important “Day of Pentecost”, it would have most certainly been in the temple. Some have wrongly assumed the disciples were not aware of when the promise of the Spirit was going to be given, but why wouldn’t they know? More than likely Jesus told them, and they would have been fully aware of the promise of the Spirit being the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost.

As we read earlier, Luke was careful to detail that the journey from the Mount of Olives to the “upper room” was just a Sabbath day’s journey, (and thereafter they were continually in the temple praising God). If the disciples were so conscientious not to violate the Sabbath day’s journey limitation, they most certainly would not have been absent at the hour of prayer in the temple on the day of Pentecost just ten days later.

It is completely absurd to imagine the disciples being held up in some “upper room” some distance away from the temple, being filled with the Spirit in secret, then “bursting” out of the “upper room” making their way down the street to the temple, where they then continue their speaking in tongues in the presence of all the faithful “hour of prayer” attendees. Not to mention Paul said, speaking to King Agrippa, that everything was done in the open for all to see.

²⁶The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. (Acts 26:26)

Pentecost? Where else but the temple?

There was, after all, a reason why Jesus said to wait “in Jerusalem” for the promise of the Spirit.

⁴Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days (ten days) from now.”(Acts 1:4-5)

They were supposed to wait in Jerusalem because that’s where the temple was. I know it seems innocuous, but it really is that simple. Jesus knew his death was the fulfillment of the Feast of Passover, his resurrection was the fulfillment of the Feast of First Fruits, and the promise of the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower believers was the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost. He also knew that each Feast would have to be fulfilled on the actual day of the Feast and also be surrounded by and fully enveloped in the simultaneous events of those particular Feast days. So the Feast of Pentecost must have of necessity been fulfilled in the Temple itself so as not to disassociate the Feast of Pentecost with its actual fulfillment.

All in all, I believe it does matter that we get this one right. Accuracy is always intended, but almost never automatic. May this sacred cow (the upper room scenario) never again be allowed to roam freely amongst His precious sheep.

by John Wiertzema

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