The Pentecost
48" x 48" oil with gold leaf
by Rosemarie Adcock
The Day of Pentecost, the 50th day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was when the Holy Spirit was given to the Church with the spiritual gifts that were distributed to God's people. The story is found in the book called The Acts of the Apostles, and the day that is considered the birth of the Church.
The 9 different fruits on the table represent the 9 fruits of the Spirit recorded in the book of Galatians. Although some gifts can't really be displayed, there are others that are more visually apparent:
The Gift of Tongues is displayed in the woman at the far right pointing to her lips with the bird singing.
Gifts of Healing are displayed as the man, with fingers laced with the gold leaf, touches the head of the sheep. Sheep are a common metaphor God used in His word as He described His people.
The gift of the Pastor/Teacher and Prophecy are displayed in the center, with the man being inspired to speak as he understands God's Word placed on the table in front of him.
The Gift of Service and Giving is displayed in the woman in red with the bowl of fruits.
The Gift of Mercy is displayed as the woman in blue is feeding the dove.
The flames of gold leaf on all the people is how the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost is described in the book of Acts, having descended on the people like flames, and they began to speak in tongues (miraculous other languages). The dove at the top center is a symbol of the Holy Spirit as He was described descending on Jesus when He was baptized.
There are teeny gold bits on the birds and sheep, which are used as a symbol of life given by the Spirit, who moved over what the Bible describes as the formless void at the Creation.