Here is the initial post of a thread by Praxeas on CARM:
http://www.christiandiscussionforums...08&postcount=1
Who was There on the Day of Pentecost
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The following shows that it was 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost, including women
120 people initially received the Spirit and spoke in tongues. This number included women
1)Evidence for the 120
The bible tells us 120 continued TOGETHER in prayer and supplication in the upper room....
Act 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)
POINT: Notice the number, about 120 could be more, could be less, but close enough to that number.
POINT: “and said” This shows that the following words by Peter were said WHILE standing up in the midst of 120 or so disciples, not 11 Apostles.
POINT: Notice they CONTINUED in ONE ACCORD in prayer
Read the continuing verses and there is absolutly NO indication of a dispersal. There is no switch in subject, which are the 120 Disciples continuing together.
2)
Acts 1:16-22 Shows what Peter said while standing in the midst of 120 disciples. His speech was about the 11
Apostles and the need to replace one, this is proven by the triple use of the pronoun “us”. So the audience was the 120 (included the 11), the subject was the 11 and the need to replace Judas.
Acts 1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
POINT: this shows two additional MEN, who were NOT Apostles that must have been in that group of 120 in order to be CHOSEN to replace Judas. This is additional evidence that there were more than the 11 and that the Apostles were NOT the only ones that were there but were the subject being discussed.
POINT: Since the subject of discussion was the 11 there is no way of knowing whether it was only the 11 who chose these men or the collective who chose these men.
3)
Acts 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
POINT: The context shows Peter was speaking to a collective group of disciples numbering at least 120, including women. The context shows the subject of the speech was the 11 Apostles and who should replace Judas. The context shows finally how they chose to replace him. Therefore verse 26 shows us NOT who was present only, but the result of Peter's speech and their actions.
POINT: Only a careless reading of this verse would lead one to conclude this was the number of all present. Notice it does not say “the number of men present was 11” but rather the author is telling us who the new Apostle was and that he was added to the remaining number of Apostles. The grammar here in no way tells us the number of who was present only but the result of the vote to replace Judas!
4)
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
POINT: Notice the word THEY. If you read back through Acts chapter 1 you will see THEY can only refer to the collection of Disciples numbering 120.
POINT: Notice next the same context as in chapter 1, they were in ONE ACCORD. Those gathered with Peter and the Apostles were also in ONE ACCORD.
POINT: There is no indication the 11 separated from the rest of the collective. There is no grammatical break indicating anything changed. Men later added the chapters and verses, so a new chapter does not mean anything changed.
POINT: The chronologically, from the meeting with Peter and the 120 the next thing to happen is the outpouring of the Spirit. There is NO OTHER event stated in between so grammatically “they” MUST refer to the antecedent group present in one accord.
POINT: There is NO given number of days between the meeting of 120 to decide on a new Apostle and the events of Pentecost. Nor would it matter. There is no stated rule that says the more days that there are the more disciples would not be present later on. That is fanciful thinking on someone’s part.
POINT: Luke tells the story where Jesus told the 11 and an unspecified number of disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit.
Luke continues Acts from what he wrote in Luke
Luk 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
POINT: Acts is a continuation of Luke, the accounts are parallel. Notice the 11 AND them WITH them?? Notice also they were ALL already in Jerusalem together? The number of disciples in Acts tells us the number in Luke
Luke 24:36-51 shows Jesus appearing, teaching the 11 plus the disciples with them about himself, instructed them to go to Jerusalem and preach repentance and remission of sins and promised them He would send the Holy Spirit ON THEM (not just some of them)
Luk 24:47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
Luk 24:49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
THEN we have this startling account by Luke concerning those disciples, (which were the 11 plus those with them) who had been led out to Bethany by Jesus and returned to Jerusalem
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