> Why at Acts 8:17 is elambanon imperfect? Is it because the Spirit never went
> away? Or is it because there was more than one Samaritan, and so imparting it
> was a process which took place over a period? Or are we reading too much into
> the tense?
It apparently means the latter: that there were many people to pray
over, and as they were prayed for (each in turn), they received the Holy
Spirit. The question, "Is it because the Spirit never went away?" IMO, reads
more into the text than it is saying here. That is, that each "receiver" would
be constantly receiving the Holy Spirit from then on does not seem to be what
Luke has in mind with the expression we have in the Greek text. That is not to
say that constantly being filled with the Spirit might not be a valid biblical
concept, but it doesn't seem to be what Luke is saying here.
-- David L. Moore Director Miami, Florida, USA Department of Education dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com Southeastern Spanish District http://www.netcom.com/~dvdmoore of the Assemblies of God