The festival of Pentecost or the Day of Pentecost was, as
most church-going people are aware, the day on which God sent the
promised Comforter or the Holy Spirit. It was the day on which
the New Testament(NT) church began. The day of Pentecost, as
many theologians have said, is the BIRTHDAY of the Christian
Church.
The word "pentecost" is a Greek word, not used in the Hebrew
of the Old Testament(OT), and means FIFTIETH. In the OT this
special day was called the feast of WEEKS or FIRST FRUITS
(Ex.23:16; Lev.23:15-21).
The ancient Israelites dwelling in Palestine were
predominately an agricultural society with a SPRING harvest of
GRAIN and a FALL harvest of FRUITS. The harvest of grain in the
Spring always BEGAN during the feast of UNleavened Bread which
feast started on the 15th day of the first month of the year in
their calendar. In fact, God was very specific about WHEN this
first harvest was to be started.
There was to be a small cutting of the grain done by the
priests on the day after the Sabbath during this Unleavened Bread
festival. This small cutting was called the WAVE SHEAF
(Lev.23:10-15) and it was waved before the Lord in the
Tabernacle(and later the Temple). This cutting of the grain(which
was Barley in actual fact) and waving it before God, once done,
signified that the early spring harvest of Barley and Wheat could
now be harvested.
The Israelites were to count from this "wave sheaf day"
(which was the first day of the week) SEVEN SABBATHS and the day
after the 7th Sabbath (again the first day of the week) was to be
observed as a Holy Day, called the Feast of Weeks or First
Fruits. Because there were 50 days from the wave sheaf day to the
day of the first fruits (Lev.23:15-16), it became known as the
day of Pentecost by NT times.
I realize there is much debate still going on among the
festival observing organizations within the Churches of God, as
to the correct COUNTING (when to start the count) to arrive at
the day of Pentecost. There was much debate among the Jews
themselves after the return from the 70 years captivity in
Babylon and at the time of Christ. The Pharisees counted one way
and the Sadducees counted another way. The main body of Judaism
today observes this festival on Sivan(the 3rd month of the Hebrew
calendar) the 6th. It is not the purpose of this article to
establish and prove which is the correct way to count to
Pentecost. It can be somewhat of a technical study to answer,
and I have done so in other study articles which the reader can
request.
The Jews used the word Pentecost to indicate not only the
Feast Day itself, but, the WHOLE SEASON of fifty days preceding
it. This is why Luke (who wrote the book of Acts), when writing
down the events that occurred on the SPECIFIC DAY of Pentecost
- the 50th day from the wave sheaf offering - wrote: "And when
the day of Pentecost was FULLY COME...." thereby telling us that
these events were on the actual feast day of the First Fruits
itself, and not on some other day of the 50 day Pentecost season.
The Israelites were instructed on HOW to rejoice on this day
in Deuteronomy 16:9- 12.
As this was the SECOND of the THREE annual festival seasons
(Deut.16:16), it drew large crowds to the central festival site
of Jerusalem. In the time of Christ, the Jews came from near and
far to celebrate this festival day at Jerusalem, that is why Luke
reported, "There were staying at Jerusalem devout Jews from every
nation under heaven....." (Acts 2:5-11).
The apostles of the early Church soon became aware that as
the FIRST cutting of the FIRST harvest was waved and presented
before God upon the FIRST day of the week, so Jesus PRESENTED
Himself after His resurrection to the Father on the FIRST day of
the week (compare John 20:1-18 with Matthew 28:9) as the FIRST of
the First Fruits of the Spiritual harvest. They became aware
that the WAVE SHEAF represented CHRIST, the First of God's
harvest of humans to be gathered in from physical flesh and
blood to Eternal Spirit life, or immortality. Paul later wrote:
"But now is Christ RISEN from the DEAD, and become the
FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept.....But every man in his own
order: Christ the FIRSTFRUITS; afterwards they that are Christ's
at His coming" (1 Cor.15:20, 23)).
The apostles could see that the early spring harvest, the
FIRST HARVEST of the two main harvests in Palestine, typified the
harvest that God was now reaping into His Kingdom - the SPIRITUAL
harvest of people who would REPENT, be BAPTIZED, and receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. All these people would be part of the
FIRST resurrection(Rev.20:1-6) at "Christ's coming" as Paul put
it.
The apostle James, talking about, and talking to Christians,
said: "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that
we should be kind of FIRSTFRUITS of His creatures" (James 1:18).
John, given a vision of the coming of Christ, the
resurrection and the 144,000 in Revelation 14:1, wrote:
"......These were redeemed from among men, being FIRSTFRUITS unto
God and to the Lamb" (verse 4).
PENTECOST - AN IMPORTANT DAY TO THE APOSTLES
Put yourself into the shoes, or should I say sandals, of one
of the 12 apostles - maybe Andrew, Thomas, Philip or John. You
would belong to the House of Judah, raised in the Law, and from a
youngster, taught to observe the festivals "of the Lord" as given
in Leviticus 23 and elsewhere in the books of Moses.
You have been with Christ during His three and one half year
ministry. You have seen Him observe the day of Pentecost, as
well as the rest of the feasts and you have observed them with
Him. You know that Jesus had never spoken against the festivals.
You know He had never said they were to be "done away with" at
His death. On the night He was betrayed you heard Him speak
about another Comforter that He would send to be IN you (John
14:15-17). After Jesus' death and resurrection which you had
been witness to, you were there just before His ascension into
heaven and heard that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was to come
not many days hence (Acts 1:4-5). You knew that the SPECIFIC DAY
that the Holy Spirit was to come had not yet been revealed, but
that Jesus had said that you and all the apostles were to wait in
Jerusalem until it had arrived.
Forty days had gone by since Jesus' resurrection (Acts 1:3)
and in ten days would be the feast of Pentecost or Firstfruits.
That day arrived, and you, together with the other disciples,
were assembled in one place to observe this festival day just as
you had done during Christ's ministry and before, while growing
up in the local synagogue (Acts 2:1). The Holy Spirit had not
arrived up to this day, and you really had no idea WHEN it would
arrive. But on this particular Pentecost, SUDDENLY, as the
striking of lightening, from heaven there came "......as a
RUSHING MIGHTY WIND, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of
FIRE, and it SAT UPON each of them" (Acts 2:2-3).
You were probably for a few seconds NUMB with shock, the
hair on the back of your head stuck straight up as like the
quills of the porcupine when defending itself from an enemy. Your
breath was blown out of you, and you were frozen in whatever
position or stance you were in at the time. Maybe cold sweat was
immediately pouring out of your skin. For a few seconds it seemed
like you were living the craziest dream or nightmare of your
life. You were speechless.
Then you began to realize this was the Holy Spirit, the
Comforter, sent from the Father to FILL you with His POWER and
NATURE (Acts 1:8; 2:4). And what POWER that was!! Within
minutes you and the others with you, were speaking languages that
you had never learned. You were able to communicate to those of
different nationalities all gathered in Jerusalem for this feast
of Pentecost.
You can well remember that Peter was so INSPIRED in
preaching that day, that about 3,00 people were led to REPENTANCE
and BAPTISM (Acts 2:38-41).
Can you see how this day of FIRSTFRUITS would have become
VERY SPECIAL to each person present at this assemblage in
Jerusalem? This Pentecost was the BEGINNING of the NT Church of
God which EXPLODED on the scene with THOUSANDS of new converts
because of the POWER of the Holy Spirit. Would YOU ever be able
to forget such a day?
Even though it was a feast day BEFORE this event took place,
NOW it had even GREATER meaning! Now, with every year that
comes, you celebrate it in a new and better way, with greater
spiritual insight, and with greater thanksgiving and praise to
God, for sending His comforting and saving POWER of the Holy
Spirit (Rom.8:9,11).
Although Paul was not converted on the day of Pentecost,
after he was converted, he too saw the importance of that day.
To him also, it was a very important day of the year. Notice
Acts 20:16. Paul was determined not to visit Ephesus or Asia for,
".....he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem
the day of Pentecost."
The Greek word translated "to be" is "genesthai" (see the
Interlinear Greek/English NT by Berry, p.376). The ANALYTICAL
GREEK LEXICON page 79 says this word can mean - "to be kept,
celebrated, solemnised, as festival, Mat.26:2 etc......."
The LIVING BIBLE renders this verse 16 as, "Paul had decided
against stopping at Ephesus this time, as he was hurrying to get
to Jerusalem, if possible for the celebration of Pentecost."
Some may want to argue that this verse does not specifically
say Paul was observing the day of Pentecost, but only that he
wanted to be in Jerusalem by that day. This argument becomes
very weak in the light of Acts 18:21 and 1 Cor.5:7,8. A number
of past and recent Christian scholars have come to see that the
NT church continued to observe the feasts of the Lord, as well as
availing themselves of the Temple worship(Acts 21). Christianity
at first would have been thought by many as just another
religious sect among the Jewish people.
Doubtless the day of Pentecost was still an important
festival to be observed by Paul and all the disciples of the
early church. In fact, it was probably more important to
them now, under the NT dispensation, than under the OT. It was
the day to remember the great gift from God, of the Holy Spirit.
ALBERT BARNES in his "Notes on the New Testament" written in
the 19th century, has this to say, in part, on 1 Cor.16:8,
"......the great festivals of the Jews were well known among most
of the cities of Greece, as there were Jews in them all who were
scrupulous in their observances. It is no improbable
supposition, also, the Christians everywhere regarded this day
with deep interest, as being the day on which the Holy Spirit
descended on the apostles and on the people of Jerusalem......"
PENTECOST AND EARLY CHURCH HISTORY
From very early times the celebration of the day of
Pentecost has been observed by the LARGE professing "Christian"
church, the church that has become known as the Roman Catholic
Church.
The Catholic writer, FRANCIS WEISER, in his book "Christian
Feasts and Customs" says this on page 248.
"....Pentecost was held annually from a very early date...."
and "....Pentecost must have naturally suggested itself as a
complementary festival (to the Passover) commemorating the
fulfilment and fruit of Christ's redemptive task and of His
resurrection....."
The WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, article 'Pentecost' says, in
part, "From at least the 200's, Christians celebrated Pentecost
on the seventh Sunday after Easter as one of their greatest
feasts....."
The oldest secular writings we have concerning the
celebration of Pentecost is dated in the 2nd century (100-200
A.D.). The CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA states, "The first mention of
a Christian Pentecost is found in the 'Epistola Apostolorum' of
the mid-2nd century in the east......" ('Pentecost' Vol.11, page
109).
On page 248 of the book CHRISTIAN FEASTS AND CUSTOMS by
Weiser, we learn this:
1. In the 3rd century Origen and Tertullian spoke of
Pentecost as a GREAT feast - the latter mentioning it as a
well-established Christian feast.
2. Bishop Eusebius (339) called it "all blessed and all
holy, the feast of feasts."
3. John Chrysostom (407) used in his sermons on Pentecost
such phrases as: " Today we have arrived at the peak of all
blessings, we have reached the capital of feasts, we have
obtained the very fruit of our Lord's promise."
So, we have the clear testimony of history showing that
Pentecost - the festival day - was observed as a Christian feast
from the beginning of the NT church of God. And is STILL
observed today by not only the Roman Catholic and Anglican
churches but many Protestant fundamental churches also. Sure
they may observe it at a different calendar date than most
churches of God that observe it also, but that is another
question altogether. The point of this article is to demonstrate
that a very large part of Christianity has and does believe in
observing the festival of Pentecost.
PENTECOST IN TRANSITION
The Pentecost festival has undergone various transitions
during the centuries by the large Universal church. Writing as a
Roman Catholic, Francis Weiser, in his book that I have
previously quoted from, has this to say:
" During the EARLY centuries, just THE DAY itself was
celebrated in the Western church. AFTER the SEVENTH century,
however, the WHOLE WEEK came to be considered a time of festive
observance. Law courts did not sit and servile work was
forbidden during the ENTIRE octave. The council of Constance
(1094) limited this prohibition to three days. Pope Clement
14th, in 1771, abolished Tuesday as a prescribed holyday.
Finally, in 1911, Pope Saint Pius 10th abolished Monday as a
holyday of obligation; but most European countries, both Catholic
and Protestant, still observe it as a legal holiday " (Christian
Feasts and Customs, pages 248-49).
It is plain to see, as history shows us, that the festival
of Pentecost has always been observed - always been regarded as a
important Christian Holy day. From the time of the first
apostles and the NT church to the time of today and the large
denominations of the Christian world, the feast of weeks or first
fruits, the Pentecost festival, has been, and still is proclaimed
as a festival of the Lord.
The name WHITSUNDAY is also a name that is branded on the
Day of Pentecost in certain parts of the world.
The WORLD BOOK Encyclopedia tells us this: " Pentecost was
later called Whitsunday or White Sunday because the newly
baptized wore their white baptismal robes on that day....."
(article 'Pentecost').
As you have seen in this article, the DAY OF PENTECOST is
recognized by most of the Christian world as one of the GREAT
festivals of the Lord. So indeed it is, for the MEANING of this
wonderful feast is not only very PERSONAL, but very important for
ALL NATIONS on this earth. The meaning of this feast day relates
a PART of the very plan of Salvation that the Eternal God is
working out here below in the lives of all humans that will have
ever lived on this good green earth.
......................
The Greatest Meaningof the Feast of Pentecost! by
Keith Hunt
Have you wondered about old Joe or Sue who died never
accepting Jesus as their savior? Or have you wondered about
Tammy who was killed at the age of three in a car accident, maybe
the little baby that never lived to be a year old, or the jungle
native that never heard the only name whereby you can be saved?
Are they lost forever? Will they be consigned to face the second
death in the lake of fire?
Let's make one thing VERY CLEAR. Your Bible plainly teaches
that there is ONLY ONE WAY to salvation and the Kingdom of God -
that way is through JESUS CHRIST only - see John 4:6; 10:9; Acts
4:8-12. You CANNOT obtain Salvation by being a "good" baby, a
"good" heathen, or a "good" anything, IF you do not KNOW Jesus
Christ as PERSONAL savior. And let me state just as STRONGLY -
there is no such doctrine taught in the Bible as "purgatory" or
that man has some "immortal" soul that goes to a neutral place
until the living saints pray and give money or deeds to get them
into God's heaven.That idea is not in the Bible, but it is not
the subject of this article to prove that teaching is false. It
must be dealt with in another article.
So what IS the ANSWER to the above question? what about
those who lived and died NEVER KNOWING about Jesus Christ as the
saving Messiah? Are the people mentioned above LOST forever?
NO, my friends! Not at all. The Festival of PENTECOST
reveals SOME of the answer.
THE GREATEST MEANING OF PENTECOST
The Greek word for Pentecost means "fiftieth." It was the
50th day after the "wave sheaf" day, which was the first day of
the week(as we have proved in other studies), after the weekly
Sabbath during the feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev.23:5-16). This
wave sheaf day BEGAN the SPRING harvest in Palestine under Old
Testament Israel. It was the BARLEY and WHEAT harvest. This
harvest was to be over in 7 weeks(49 days) and on the morrow
after that 49th day or seventh Sabbath(a weekly Sabbath) was the
festival of FIRST FRUITS or Pentecost (so it was always on the
first day of the week, for it represented the first harvest).
This spring harvest was the first in Palestine, the second,
more of a fruit harvest, came in the fall of the year, and when
that harvest was over there was the celebration of the feast
called, the festival of Tabernacles.
The DAY of PENTECOST represents the FIRST harvest. In
previous studies on this feast day we have shown and proved that
this first harvest pictures and is symbolic of the saints of God
throughout all ages, from Adam to the coming of Christ in glory
to rule the earth. Jesus was the FIRST of the first fruits of
mankind to be raised to Eternal immortal life from flesh and
blood to divine spirit life. Christians, those who are true
children of God as called FIRST FRUITS (James 1:18). They shall
rise to meet Jesus upon His return to earth, at the last trump,
when they will be resurrected from the grave or changed from
flesh and blood life to immortal life (1 Cor.15; 1 Thes.4;
Rev.11).
These saints will be the FIRST harvest of God into His
family and Kingdom.
As SHOCKING as it may sound to many of you, it is IMPOSSIBLE
to become a Christian UNLESS God the Father CALLS and CHOOSES you
to be one. I want you to mark these verses in your Bible - John
6:44, 65. And NONE can be saved but through CHRIST (Acts
4:8-12). And FURTHER, the Father at this time, in the ages from
Adam to the coming of Jesus in power and glory, is NOT CALLING
very many(relatively) to Salvation (1 Cor.1:26).
The whole world lies in deception (Rev.12:9). Yes, that
includes the Roman Catholic and Protestant world. God is only
calling and choosing to Salvation at this time, a FEW! They are
the "salt" of the earth, the "very little flock" (as the Greek
is) that Jesus spoke about. They are the FIRST FRUITS of the
Father (James 1:17,18). They will be the harvest that is
gathered in at the last trump and the return of Jesus, as
foretold by all the holy prophets since the world began.
The festival of the 50 days of the Pentecost harvest, the
FIRST harvest only, represents only those called and chosen to
Salvation, to be in the FIRST resurrection(Rev.20), at the
gathering harvest to life eternal, when Jesus returns from
heaven, which must receive Him UNTIL the RESTITUTION OF ALL
THINGS, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy
prophets since the world began (Acts 3:20,21).
There is to be MORE gathered into God's Kingdom AFTER Christ
comes again and is sitting on His throne ruling the nations with
a rod of iron (Rev. 19:11-21; 20:1-6).
There are to be MORE HARVESTS to gather in the spiritual
fruit of God's work, just as there was more than one harvest in
Palestine for Israel to gather in the physical.
The saints of this first harvest - this first fruit
(Lev.23:15-17) - Pentecost harvest - saints of both the Old and
the New Covenants (two loaves of Lev.23:17) shall rule with
Jesus Christ as He sits on David's throne in Jerusalem, governing
this whole earth for a wonderful 1,000 years - the age to come -
the world to come, that Paul and the other apostles preached
about (see Heb.2:5; Luke 1:31-33; Rev.3:21; Jer.3:17-18; Isaiah
9:6-7; 11:1-9; Micah 4:1-4; Zech.14; Rev.19:11-16; 20:1-6).
There are dozens and dozens more scriptures that foretell the
promises from God about this wonderful world tomorrow that is to
come for one thousand years, beginning at the glorious return of
Christ Jesus. We have in-depth studies on this specific topic and
doctrine for those who want to know more concerning this truth of
that age.
It is during this thousand year period that ANOTHER HARVEST
of lives for the Kingdom with take place (Mat.25:31-46). In this
parable Jesus is already sitting on His throne when this harvest
is to start. The harvest here mentioned will continue through
to the end of the thousand year period. Many sections of
Scripture show that physical people will live and multiply on
this earth during that period of time commonly called the
Millennium. God's Spirit will be poured out to all nations,
millions upon millions will be called and chosen to know Christ
and the only way to salvation, at that time and in that age.
The FIRST harvest will have been completed. The feast and
day of Pentecost will have been fulfilled, the typology of that
great festival will have come to pass, the first harvest will
have been gathered in, and now the thousand year harvest will
begin. Countless more flesh and blood humans will see the light
and truth, will accept Jesus as their personal Savior, and find
the way into the one fold, the family and Kingdom of God.
BUT what about those who died NEVER KNOWING about Jesus?
Will THEY get a chance to HEAR, and to accept Him as their Savior
and find Salvation?
OH YES, INDEED! The Father has provided His plan of
Salvation with a SECOND resurrection for them AFTER the thousand
years is over (see John 5:25-29; Acts 24:15; Rev.20:4-6).
Notice it in Rev.20:11-13. Read it in Mat.12:38-42. The
BOOK OF LIFE (Salvation) is OPENED to them, to the small
(young/insignificant) and the great (old/famous).
Yes, the Eternal wishes for everyone to come to the
knowledge of the truth and to repentance. He desires all that
will come when He knocks on their door, to enter His Kingdom.
The Lord will have mercy upon all. He will give EVERYONE a FAIR
chance for His Salvation. But it is some NOW, and some LATER,
and some STILL LATER (2 Peter 3:9; John 6:45; Rom.9:14-18;
11:25-36).
The Father is CALLING NOW, some to be His first fruits, for
the first resurrection, for the first harvest that is pictured by
the 49 days of the feast of weeks and the final day of Pentecost
- the 50th day, the first day of the week to represent the first
harvest of human lives into His family and His fold.
You who are reading these words, if you hunger and thirst
after righteousness, if you will open the door when Jesus knocks,
He will come in and make His abode with you. Then He will help
you endure to the end. He will help you remain in a humble
repentant attitude. He will save you by His grace through faith
into His everlasting Kingdom.
On the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two God poured out
His Holy Spirit. It came to beget those disciples as the literal
sons and daughters of the Father in heaven. That Spirit in us
witnesses with our spirit that we are the CHILDREN of God, and if
children then HEIRS of God, and JOINT-HEIRS with Christ, to be
glorified together upon His coming again (Rom.8:9-18).
The Spirit imparts to us the very nature and LOVE of God and
as long as it remain in us, we shall be saved by its LIFE
(Rom.5:1-10).
God is saving by His Spirit, those He calls and who become
His elect. He is saving them to be His FIRST FRUITS of His feast
of the Pentecost harvest. This is the FIRST part of the
GREATEST MEANING of the Pentecost festival. The SECOND part of
the meaning of this feast, is that it reminds and pictures to us
that there is MORE THAN ONE HARVEST OF SOULS to come in the plan
of Salvation for mankind, as we have seen above.
What a WONDERFUL FESTIVAL is the Day of Pentecost. The
meaning and portent of this feast is FOR TODAY AND FOR TOMORROW
AND FOR ALL HUMANS WHO HAVE LIVED AND WILL YET LIVE.
The Salvation plan of the Almighty God will be accomplished,
and it will be done and perfected "....NOT by might, nor by
power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, says the Lord of hosts" (Zech.4:6).
So it is written, so it shall come to pass.
TO BE CONTINUED ………………………..
Pentecost MeaningsTaken from the book by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi
"God's Festivals - In Scripture and History, Part 1 -
The Spring Festivals" page 234 - 250
THE MEANING OF PENTECOST TODAY
Our study of the meaning of Pentecost in Scripture and
history shows that the meaning of the feast is largely determined
by the five major events that occurred during the fifty days of
waiting by the disciples in the Upper Room, namely, (1) the
resurrection of Christ, (2) His ascension, (3) the inauguration
of Christ's heavenly ministry, (4) the bestowal of spiritual
gifts, and (5) the birthday of the Christian church......
The Resurrection of Christ. The first Christian Pentecost
began on the day Christ arose as "the first fruits of those who
have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15: 20)......(I have shown in other
studies that Jesus was placed in the tomb at the beginning of the
15th day of Nisan, after the 14th day had ended. As He was
therefore in the tomb or the grave, for three days and three
nights, He was resurrected AFTER the weekly Sabbath was over,
in the first hours of the FIRST day of the week. This was when
the Sadducees cut the Wave Sheaf, after the weekly Sabbath,
within the first hour or so of the first day of the week. The
Wave Sheaf was then prepared for to be offered and waved before
the Lord in the Temple on the morning of the First day of the
week, what we call Sunday. Jesus was the fulfilment of the
cutting and the waving of the Wave Sheaf, both done on the first
day of the week. One at the beginning of the first day, what we
would term as Saturday evening, and the latter on the morning of
the first day. See my studies "The Truth about Luke 23: 54' -
"How the NT uses the word 'Evening' " - "When was Jesus placed in
the Tomb" - Keith Hunt).
The Pentecostal experience brought home to the disciples the
reality of Christ's resurrection......On the day of Pentecost,
Peter boldly proclaimed: "This Jesus God raised up, and of which
we are witnesses" (Acts 2: 32). Pentecost was the proclamation
and celebration of Christ's resurrection From that day on the
resurrection became the center of the apostolic preaching,
because it revealed the fundamental basis of the Christian faith
(Acts 3: 14; 4: 10; 8: 35; 13: 33; 17: 3,31; 23: 6)....Pentecost
affords us an opportunity to reflect on the significance and
import of Christ's resurrection for our lives today......
Jesus' resurrection was a bodily resurrection, yet His body
had new and surprising powers transcending physical limitations.
He appeared and disappeared to His disciples in a room with
locked doors (Luke 24: 31, 36; John 20: 19, 26). Our Lord's body
had been transformed into the kind of "spiritual body" Paul
described by saying, "It is sown a physical body, it is raised a
spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15: 44).
There is power in Christ's resurrection. That is why Paul
wished to "know him and the power of his resurrection" (Phil.3:
10)......In the present, we experience the power of Christ's
resurrection by leading a new life by the power of God who raised
Christ from the dead (Col. 2: 12; Rom. 6: 4)......In the future,
we will experience the power of Christ's resurrection when we all
will rise because He has risen: "He who raised Christ Jesus from
the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His
Spirit which dwells in us" (Rom. 8: 11).
Pentecost affords us an opportunity not only to commemorate
the resurrection of Christ, but also to seek the power of the
risen Christ to walk in newness of life while awaiting for the
final transformation of our mortal bodies to a glorified state
(Rom.8: 22- 23; Phil. 3: 10, 20).
The Ascension of Christ. Pentecost celebrates not only
Christ's resurrection but also His ascension to heaven......The
ascension described in Acts (1: 3-11) represents Christ's last
departure, which put an end to His temporal apparitions and
discourses. The ascension was a formal leave-taking. In a
dramatic way, it indicated that the transitional period was over
and now Christ was entering a new phase of His redemptive
activity.....
The sacred texts point to two aspects of Christ's ascension:
on the one hand, His celestial glorification, which occurred on
the day of His resurrection; on the other hand, His final
departure, which took place after a period of apparitions and
discourses. Pentecost affords an opportunity to commemorate both
of these events.
The manner of the ascension is described in a few simple
words: "As they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud
took Him out of their sight" (Acts 1: 11).......
The ascension is a prelude to Christ's descent at the end of
time. "While they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two
men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why
do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up
from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go
into heaven" (Acts 1: 11). This angelic discourse establishes a
clear connection between the ascent of Christ to heaven and His
return to earth at the end of time.
Pentecost affords us an opportunity to reflect not only on
Christ's departure from this earth, but also upon His return to
this earth. It reminds us that the present stay of Christ in
heaven is a transitory stage in His redemptive plan. He will
reside in heaven "until the time of establishing all that God
spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old" (Acts 3:
21).
The ascension teaches us that Christ will come as He
departed (Acts 1: 11), descending from heaven upon the clouds (1
Thes. 4: 14-16 ; Rev. 1: 7) while the redeemed ascend to meet
Him in the clouds (1 Thes. 4: 17). While we are waiting that
glorious day, we must "seek the things that are above, where
Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Col. 3: 2), so that
"when Christ who is our life appears, then....(we) also will
appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3: 4).
Commemorating the ascension during the Pentecost season can
give "a lift" to our spiritual life by inspiring us to look up to
heaven, where Christ "always lives to make intercession" for us
(Heb.7: 25). We may call this our spiritual ascension.....
The Inauguration of Christ's Heavenly Ministry. The
ascension constitutes the transition from Christ's redemptive
work on earth to His intercessory work in heaven. Thus, Pentecost
affords us the opportunity to celebrate also the inauguration of
Christ's heavenly ministry.....By being invited to sit at the
right hand of God (Acts 2: 34; Eph. 1: 20; Col. 3: 1; Heb. 1:
3,13), Christ was installed to the heavenly ministry. The
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is seen as the
evidence of the official enthronement of Christ to the heavenly
ministry (Acts 2: 33)......
Christ's intercession in the heavenly sanctuary is perhaps
the most ignored chapter of His redemptive ministry. Systematic
theology books devote hundreds of pages to the study of Christ's
atoning sacrifice, but few, if any, to the study of Christ's
intercessory ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The impression
is that Christ is on a leave of absence between His ascension and
return, presumably recovering from His exhausting earthly
mission. It is not surprising that many Christians have no idea
about what Jesus is doing in heaven.
Pentecost affords us an opportunity to remember that Jesus
is not on vacation; rather, that He has been ministering on our
behalf since His ascension as "Priest" (Heb. 7: 15; 8: 4), "High
Priest" (Heb. 2: 17; 3: 1), "Mediator" (1 Tim. 2: 5; Heb. 8: 6),
and "Intercessor" (Rom. 8: 34; Heb. 7: 25). We have seen that
through His intercessory ministry, Christ sustains the Church
(Rev. 1: 13,20), mediates repentance and forgiveness to believers
(Acts 5: 31; 1 John 2: 1-2; 1:9), makes our prayers acceptable to
God (John 16: 23-24; Rev. 8: 3), provides us with the invisible
and yet real assistance of His angels (Heb. 1: 14; Rev. 5: 6; 1:
16, 20), and bestows on us the essential gift of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2: 33).....
The Bestowal of Spiritual Gifts. Pentecost celebrates....the
bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit on the Church. The two are
interrelated because it is Christ's ministry in the heavenly
sanctuary that makes the ministry of the Holy Spirit possible on
earth.
Before His ascension, Christ promised to send to His
disciples the Holy Spirit: "You shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1: 8). Christ's promise was
fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when His disciples "were filled
with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2: 4) and "great grace was upon them
all" (Acts 4: 33).....
Some spiritual gifts, such as those of apostles, prophets,
teachers, evangelists, and pastors, relate to the ministerial
functions of the Church (Eph. 4: 11; 1 Cor. 12: 28). Other
gifts, such as service, teaching, liberality, works of mercy,
(Rom. 12: 7-8), words of wisdom, faith, the gifts of healing, and
working of miracles (1 Cor. 12: 8-11), concern the ministry of
the church at large. The practice of charity is itself a gift of
the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14: 1). The success of the Christian
life, as well as the functioning of the Church, depends entirely
on the presence of the gifts of the Spirit.
The bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit at Pentecost is
likened to the "former rain" that ripened the Spring wheat
harvest that in a spiritual sense was gathered in at the
beginning of Christianity. Near the close of earth's history,
another bestowal of spiritual gifts is promised to equip the
Church for the final harvest of the earth. This final
outpouring of the Holy Spirit is likened to the falling of the
later rain that in Palestine ripened the fall fruit harvest.
The celebration of Pentecost today affords us the
opportunity not only to commemorate the outpouring of the early
rain on the day of Pentecost, but also to pray for the
unprecedented outpouring of the latter rain of spiritual power to
make us fit to be laborers together with God in the final harvest
of the earth.....
We often lament the Laodicean lukewarmness that seems to
prevail the church. The solution to the problem is to be found,
not in the introduction of new styles of worships or special
seminars on church growth, but in the Upper-Room-type of
preparation for the reception of the Holy Spirit. When "with one
accord" (Acts 1: 14) we come together to seek the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit to cleanse out lives and to energize us for
service, then we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to finish
the mission of the Church.
The Birthday of the Christian Church. Pentecost affords us
the opportunity to commemorate also the birthday of the Christian
church.....
We noted....that Christ instituted the Church when He called
the twelve disciples and trained them to become His witnesses.
But He constituted the Church on the day of Pentecost when He
qualified them for their calling by the power of the Holy
Spirit......
Pentecost commemorates also the birthday of the mission of
the Church....After the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, they boldly went out to witness for their risen Savior.
Throughout the book of Acts we are reminded that Christians
became witnesses as a result of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. "We are all witnesses" (Acts 2: 32). "We are witnesses to
all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in
Jerusalem" (Acts 10: 39; cf. 3: 15; 5: 32; 10: 41; 13: 31).....
The Feast of Pentecost reminds us every year that the
Christian church was founded by Christ, not to perpetuate itself
as a self-serving organization but to extend the divine provision
of salvation to men and women everywhere.....
Pentecost invites us yearly to come together with one accord
to seek the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, so we can become
fit to labor with God in the final harvest of the earth.
The Observance of Pentecost Today
...........I will submit a few suggestions on how we can make the
season of Pentecost an occasion to express our thankfulness to
God and seek for a fresh provision of the enabling power of the
Holy Spirit.
A Season to be Thankful. Pentecost is a season to be
thankful for material and spiritual blessings....We can be
thankful Christ rose as the first-fruits of redeemed
humanity (1 Cor. 15: 20). His resurrection is the guarantee of
our resurrection. We can be thankful Christ ascended to heaven to
begin a special intercessory ministry in our behalf......We can
be thankful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.....
How can we express our thankfulness to God during the season
of Pentecost? No hard and fast rule can be laid down, because
spiritual realities are expressed in different ways by different
people. ....The new Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal has a good
section of hymns for the Pentecost season. Hymns such as 562,
"Come, Sing a Song of Harvest," reminds of Pentecost as the
harvest season when we bring in gratitude our first fruits to
God.
Come, sing a song of harvest,
Of thanks for daily food!
To offer God the first fruits
It's old as gratitude.
Long, long ago, the reapers,
Before they kept the feast.
Put first-fruits in a basket
And took it to the priest.
Shall we, sometimes forgetful
Of where creation starts,
With science in our pocket
Lose wonder from our heart?
May God, the great Creator,
To whom all life belongs,
Accept these gifts we offer,
Our service and our songs.
And lest the world go hungry
While we ourselves are fed,
Make each of us more ready
To share our daily bread.
..........Floral Decorations. Pentecost is connected with the
Spring harvest season when nature blooms, trees and flowers
blossom. In Temple times, pilgrims from all over Palestine
brought their first fruits to the altar....From this ceremony
developed the custom of decorating homes and synagogues with
small bundles of wheat, plants, and flowers for Pentecost.....In
keeping with the Biblical traditions of the celebration of Spring
harvest at the Feast of Pentecost and the Fall harvest at the
Feast of Tabernacles.....On both occasions, our churches could be
decorated with some of the produce of the season....can serve as
forceful incentive to thank God for His bountiful blessings......
First Fruits Thanksgiving Offering.
A practical way to express our gratitude to God for His material and spiritual
blessings is by bringing a special offering.....we can find
in the feast the theological incentive to express our gratitude
to God for His material and spiritual blessings through a special
thanksgiving offering.....
"Pentecost Renewal Week. The disciples spent the ten days
before Pentecost engaged in spiritual exercises to prepare their
hearts for the reception of the Holy Spirit. Adventist churches
conduct in the Spring a "Spiritual Emphasis Week.".......
With minor changes in the scheduling, it could be made to
coincide with Pentecost.....By so doing both events would
coincide.....By spending at least the week before Pentecost
seeking for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this
week could be called "Pentecost Renewal Week.".....
Pentecost Sermons........The seven Sabbaths from Passover to
Pentecost offer to the pastor a unique opportunity to ignore
temporarily the promotion of significant aspects of the church
life, and to focus instead on the redemptive accomplishments of
Christ's first Advent. The series of seven sermons can start with
the suffering and sacrifice of Christ and continue with Christ's
resurrection, ascension, inauguration of His heavenly ministry,
the bestowal of spiritual gifts, and the birth of the Christian
church.
Some topics such as the heavenly ministry of Jesus or the
bestowal of spiritual gifts, are so rich in meaning and
experience that they could well be presented as a series of
Pentecost sermons.....seven Sabbaths of Pentecost could be
devoted to reflecting upon various aspects of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit. Some of the questions that could be considered are:
How do we receive the gifts of the Spirit? How do we know which
spiritual gifts we have received? How do we cultivate or use our
spiritual gifts?.....
Some of the topics could be: the secret of Pentecostal
revival, the need today for Pentecostal zeal, the characteristics
of a Pentecostal church, conditions for the outpouring of the
Latter Rain.
Another subject that would be most appropriate for a series
of sermons during Pentecost is Christ's ministry in the heavenly
sanctuary. Many Christians do not have the faintest idea about
what Jesus is doing in heaven......"consider Jesus, the apostle
and high priest of our confession" (Heb. 3: 1). Consider
(katanoeo) mean "to look at with reflection," "to
contemplate."......
Equally important to consider during Pentecost are the
benefits we derive from Christ's intercessory work. These are
great truths that not only appeal to the intellect but also have
a direct impact upon our daily Christian living. It is reassuring
to know that Christ's work in heaven gives us constant access to
God (Eph.2: 18), mediates repentance and forgiveness to believers
(Acts 5: 31; 1 John 2: 1-2; 1: 9), makes our prayers acceptable
to God (John 16: 23-24; Rev. 8: 3), provides us with the
invisible yet real assistance of His angels (Heb. 1: 14; Rev. 5:
6; 1: 16, 20), and bestows upon us the essential gift of the Holy
Spirit (Acts 2: 33).
Taking time every year during the Pentecost season to deepen
the understanding of vital aspects of Christ's redemptive mission
can enhance our appreciation of what our Savior has done and is
doing for us. Most Christians receive much of their religious
education at church during the worship service. The purpose of
the annual feasts, such as Pentecost, is to provide an
opportunity during the course of the year to lead Christians
into further understanding and experience of the great truths of
the plan of salvation.....
...........................
Those extracts from Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi's book first
published in 1995, were compiled in May 2000.
TO BE CONTINUED
Points on PentecostCompiled and with added Comments
by Keith Hunt From various books I have in my library, we can obtain some
facts and some fiction as to the truths we have or do not have
concerning the great Feast of Firstfruits or Weeks (as it is
called in the OT) and known in the NT as Pentecost.
All capital lettering for emphasis is by myself, Keith Hunt.
From the book "Jewish Holy Days" by Coulson Shepherd,
chapter called "SHABUOTH - Feast of Pentecost."
"Shabuoth.....It falls on Sivan 6 and 7 in the Jewish
calendar" (The Jewish month Sivan corresponds to May and sometimes
takes in the early part of June. Sivan 6 for Pentecost was the
Pharisees' calculation as to when to observe it. The Sadducees
and Samaritans did not agree with the Pharisees. According to the
Bible the Sadducees were correct. All the technicalities of HOW
to count to Pentecost is covered in-depth in my other studies on
the subject of Pentecost - Keith Hunt).
This festival day is also called FEAST OF WEEKS (Ex.34: 22)
as Shabuoth means WEEKS.
It is also known as the Feast of Pentecost, because it falls fifty days
after FIRSTFRUITS, and the word Pentecost means FIFTY or FIFTY
DAYS.
In Bible times, the FIRST fruits of the fields and orchards
from the SPRING harvest were brought to the Temple as an offering
to the Lord. It is celebrated today in synagogues and Jewish
homes as a thanksgiving festival. Because the beautiful story of
RUTH is laid in the time of the BARLEY harvest, the book of Ruth
is read in synagogues on the second day......
TRADITIONALLY, the holiday is also the commemoration of the
giving of the Ten Commandments. It is the zeman mattan torathena,
the time of the giving of the law. That is why the eve of the
first day, Sivan 6, is observed by many Jewish people with the
reading of the Scriptures. In some synagogues the entire NIGHT is
spent in such study......(It will be noted that the writer says
"Traditionally" because as we shall see in more detail later,
this was a tradition introduced by the Pharisaical Jews after 70
A.D. to give more meaning to Pentecost as it was only a minor
festival in the Jewish calendar. They added that tradition to put
Pentecost on the same level with Passover and Trumpets, Atonement
and Tabernacles. There is no proof from the Bible that the Ten
Commandments were given to Israel on the day or feast of
Pentecost. If it had always been a known fact that such had been
the case, it hardly seems possible that Moses or some other
writer of either the OT or the NT would not have mentioned the
fact, but such a fact cannot be found being mentioned anywhere in
the Bible - Keith Hunt).
Continuing with the words of Coulson Shepherd:
"The Biblical basis for this happy holiday is found in
Leviticus, chapter 23, where the SEVEN FEASTS of Jehovah are
given.....Just as Passover and Unleavened Bread have PROPHETIC
significance, and look to 'Christ our PASSOVER sacrificed for us'
(1 Cor.5: 7); and Firstfruits points to His RESURRECTION ( The
cutting of the first sheaf of the firstfruits of the Barley
harvest was done immediately AFTER the weekly Sabbath by
the Sadducees. contrary to what most teach and believe, Jesus was
not put in the tomb until AFTER the 14th day had ended and the
Sabbath of the 15th day, the first day of the feast of Unleavened
Bread had begun. Hence three days and three nights later, Jesus
came out of the tomb, was resurrected, not on or at the end of
the weekly Sabbath, but AFTER the Sabbath was over, and so His
resurrection fulfilled the typology of the cutting of the wave
sheaf which was also cut after the weekly Sabbath was over. All
this is fully explained in my studies called "When was Jesus
placed in the Tomb" and "How the NT uses the word 'evening' "
together with my study called "The truth about Luke 23: 54" -
Keith Hunt).
Shepherd continues:
"The Day of Pentecost was the BIRTHDAY of the Church when
the Holy Spirit, the Ruach K'doshen, came to unite the Jewish
believers of that day into one loaf or body. The scriptural
account of the fulfillment of Shabuoth is found in the beginning
of the book of Acts.....
Shabuoth points to Christ as the HEAD of the Church that
came into existence on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit
united the believers in that body and, since then, all true
Jewish and Gentile believers are not only indwelt by the Holy
Spirit, but are baptized into that same body.
In the Passover preparations, all leaven had to be
removed....the second Feast of Jehovah, Unleavened Bread, is
combined with the Passover observance....(correctly from
the Scriptures, the Passover on the 14th day, at the beginning of
the 14th, was eaten with unleavened bread, but the feast of
Unleavened Bread came a day later, on the 15th until the 21st
day. All leaven was to be out of the homes by the beginning of
the 15th. Unleavened bread was to be eaten for 7 days, from the
15th until the 21st. All of this truth is covered in my many
studies on the Passover Feast - Keith Hunt).
We shall finish quoting from Mr. Shepherd with these words:
" .....in the Feast of Pentecost, they were specifically
instructed to bake the wave- loaves WITH leaven. there is NO SIN
in the HEAD of the Church; but who can deny that there is sin in
the MEMBERS. And there will be sin in the members of His body
until we will be made like Him (Phil.3: 20-21; 1 John 3:
2)....."
From the book "God's Appointed Times" by Barney Kasdan,
chapter 4, called "Shavuot":
"......This holy day is better known by TWO other names.
Jewish people know it as SHAVUOT (Weeks) because it occurs SEVEN
WEEKS after a SPECIFIC event (Deut. 16: 10). Geek-speaking Jews
and many non-Jewish Christians called this day 'Pentecost'
(fiftieth) because it occurs fifty days after the given day
(Lev.23: 16).
Shavuot is designated as a time of thanksgiving for the
EARLY harvest......Traditional Jewish observance of Shavuot is
MULTI-faceted, and has EVOLVED somewhat from Biblical times. As
recorded in the Torah, Biblical observance centered around grain
and animal offerings. Part of the WHEAT offering was baked into
TWO LOAVES of LEAVENED bread, a striking CONTRAST to the matzah a
few weeks before. LEAVEN symbolically represents SIN. These two
loaves were brought into the Temple and, with GREAT ceremony,
waved in every direction before the Lord. This act was a public
statement of GOD'S PROVISION for all His people (Mishna Bikkurim
3: 2).......
Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., MODERN
Jewish observance of Shavuot has CHANGED. It is still a time to
remember God's faithfulness; however, and ADDITIONAL, fascinating
TRADITION has EVOLVED. Rabbis discovered that the Israelites came
to Mount Sinai in the THIRD month after Passover (Ex. 19: 1).
Shavuot is the day Moses received the Law to deliver to the
people....." (This writer and again later, from other writers, we
have admission that this idea that God gave the law to Israel
on Shabuot, or Pentecost, was an ADDED tradition that EVOLVED
AFTER 70 A.D. More interesting facts of why this tradition was
added by the descendants of the Pharisees we shall see shortly -
Keith Hunt).
Continuing with Kasdan's words:
"This conviction effects the customs of this holy day. The
synagogue is usually decorated in greener, flowers and baskets of
fruit to symbolize the harvest aspects of shavuot. The Scripture
reading is Exodus 19 - 20 (the giving of the Law), and Ezekiel
1 (the prophet's vision of God's glory). The scroll of Ruth is
also read since it takes place during the spring harvest.
Another special CUSTOM, Tikun Leil Shavuot (Preparing for
the Arrival of Shavuot), DEVELOPED from the Jewish people's love
for the Torah. Traditional Jews stay up the first night of this
holy day studying the Torah....." (We are seeing a number
of customs and traditions, such as observing this feast for TWO
days and not one day as given by the Lord, introduced and added
by the Jews over the centuries. We shall yet see more they added
to this Feast day - Keith Hunt).
"Talmudic Rabbis attributed a Messianic significance to
Shavuot. In Tractate Sanhedrin 93b of the Talmud an interesting
discussion is recorded concerning some of the details in the
scroll of Ruth. Spiritual significance is ascribed to the six
measure of barley Ruth presented to Boaz (Ruth 3: 15). Some
Rabbis considered these six measures representative of six famous
descendants of Ruth.....these six include David, Daniel and
King Messiah......
Home celebration of Shavuot follows many of the same customs
of other Biblical holy days.....
A traditional holiday dinner with foods symbolizing Shavuot
is then served. Milk products are appropriate because Scripture
is often described as 'the milk of the word' (1 Pete 2:2...)"
New Testament Observance
Continuing with what Mr. Kasdan writes:
"This festival is mentioned a number of times in the NT New
Testament). Rabbi Saul of Tarsus planned his travels in
correlation with Shavuot (1 Cor. 16: 8). The most famous record
of this holy day appears in the book of Acts....Acts 2: 1-5, 12).
This account is interesting considering the background of
Pentecost. To the traditional Jewish community it has always been
a day of thanking God for the EARLY harvest, trusting in a LATTER
harvest.....
Acts 2 reveals amazing details that confirm the Jewish
background of this NT Pentecost. Ezekiel 1 is the traditional
reading from the prophets for the day of shavuot....the glory of
God....Ezek.1: 4. Imagine thousands of Jewish worshippers
leaving the Temple after the morning service (at the third hour,
Acts 2: 15) having just read the passage from Ezekiel 1. Suddenly
some of the same manifestations of the Holy Spirit started to
appear before their eyes! No wonder they were amazed and
perplexed by the windstorm and the fire. It certainly got their
attention! .....
These Jewish pilgrims, who had come from all over the
dispersion, were hearing the impossible.....Having received their
undivided attention through these acts of God, Peter was able to
preach a powerful sermon about Messiah Yeshua, and 3000 Jews
responded to salvation. the FIRSTFRUITS of believers had come in
a wonder-full way!
The apostle James, in his letter to the Jewish believers
(James 1: 1), emphasizes this historical fact as he reminds his
readers: 'Having made his decision, He gave birth to us through a
word that can be relied upon, in order that we should be a kind
of FIRSTFRUITS of all that He created' (James 1: 18).
The theme of Shavuot can best be summed up by the word
REVIVAL. Israel was called to praise God for the first fruits of
the ground, knowing that these early fruits assured the latter
harvest. This also applies to the spiritual Kingdom of God. The
first fruits of believers at Shavuot virtually guarantees a
REVIVAL in the LATTER-DAY spiritual harvest for Messiah. Now we
can understand why God included Shavuot in the THREE required
festivals......As Passover speaks of REDEMPTION, Shavuot speaks
of REVIVAL, especially during this era. The message of Shavuot is
one of great hope and joy. May the day come soon when the Holy
Spirit will be POURED OUT on the house of David, and they will
all look, in faith, to the one who was pierced (Zech.12: 10).....
End of quotes from Barney Kasdan.
From the book "The Jewish Festivals - History and
Observance" by Hayyim Schauss, chapter ten called "The Festival
of Shavuos."
".....The word Shavuos means weeks, and was therefore used
to designate the festival that ended the weeks of the grain
harvest....The grain harvest started with the reaping of the
BARLEY and after seven weeks ended with the cutting of the
WHEAT.....The beginning of the grain harvest was marked by the
sacrifice, at the sanctuary, of the OMER, the FIRST-SHEAF of the
newly cut BARLEY; fifty days later, at the close of the harvest
period, TWO loaves of bread, baked from the WHEAT of the new
crop, were offered as a sacrifice.....
There was NO EFFORT made, EVEN IN LATER Biblical times, to
TIE UP the festival with a HISTORIC EVENT; it remained, through
all that time, an AGRICULTURAL holiday, a festival of the
COMPLETION of the GRAIN harvest. In none of the books of
the Bible is there ANY TRACE or MENTION of Shavuos in CONNECTION
with the GIVING of the Torah."
(Here it is repeated once more by a Jewish man. On the
cover of his book it states that he taught for over quarter of a
century at the Jewish Teachers Seminary in New York, and, in Los
Angeles, at the College of Jewish studies and the University of
Judaism. He was the author of many books and articles on the
Jewish religion, its customs, ceremonies and folklore. We have
already seen that this idea of God giving the Law to Israel on
the feast of Pentecost, was an added idea, an idea that evolved
from the minds of the descendants of the Pharisees, after 70 A.D.
to put the feast of Pentecost on par with the other Feasts of the
Lord, and not just as festival of harvest thanksgiving, for
the firstfruits harvest of the promised land, which it had been
from the time of Joshua, when Israel inherited the land of
promise and tilled and sowed and harvested the land -
Keith Hunt).
Continuing with the words of Schauss:
"Without a fixed date...Shavuos is the only festival for
which there is no fixed date, and it was therefore a matter of
great discussion in the period of the second Temple. The
Pentateuch does not state on what day of the month Shavuos is to
be observed. It says only that it is to be celebrated FIFTY days
after the offering of the OMER, the FIRST sheaf of the BARLEY
harvest, which was to be offered on 'the morrow after the
Sabbath.' Thus, the Sadducees, the party of conservative priests,
interpreted this as meaning that the OMER was to be offered the
first Sunday of Pesach, and that Shavuos, therefore,
would always fall on the SEVENTH SUNDAY after Pesach. However,
the Pharisees, who sought to interpret the Torah in accordance
with the CONDITIONS OF THE DAY, interpreted the word Sabbath, in
that case, as meaning not Saturday, but the day of rest, the
first day of the festival. According to the Pharisees, therefore,
it was necessary to offer the OMER on the SIXTEENTH day of Nisan;
Shavuos, therefore, coming on the SIXTH day of Sivan.
The Pharisaic TENDENCY BECAME STANDARDIZED as the procedure
for ORTHODOX Judaism, and to this very day Orthodox Jews begin
'counting' S'firoh, on the SECOND day of Pesach (The S'firoh is a
form of benediction in connection with which the fifty days
between the supposed offering of the omer and the observance of
Shavuos are counted. Daily, after the evening prayers, the days
and weeks are counted off and the fiftieth day is Shavuos).
Among the SAMARITANS and the KARAITES the time for the
observance as RECOMMENDED by the SADDUCEES is followed, and
Shavuos is always observed on a SUNDAY.
The FALASHAS, the black Jews of Abyssinia, have still a
THIRD date for Shavuos. They observe the TWELFTH day of
sivan....In ancient days there was still a FOURTH date for the
observance of the festival. The Book of Jubilees, a product of
the days of the second temple, orders the observance of Shavuos
in the MIDDLE of Sivan, that is, the FIFTEENTH day of the month.
(Again, let me state that the Bible itself shows the correct
way to count to Pentecost. In this case, and on that particular
point, the Sadducees were correct. I have presented a full
detailed study explanation of the correct counting to Pentecost
in other studies - Keith Hunt).
Back to the words of Hayyim Schauss:
"The Giving of the Torah...Shavuos retained its character
as a NATURE festival LONGER than ANY other of the Jewish
holidays, but it could NOT REMAIN SO FOREVER. It took on, IN
TIME, a NEW, HISTORIC significance and a NEW SPIRITUAL content.
It appears that as far back as the days of the SECOND
Temple, Shavuos was a TWOFOLD festival. It was the festival of
the WHEAT harvest, when a sacrifice was offered from the NEW
WHEAT crop; it was also considered the observance of the PACT
entered into between God and mankind. At LEAST, that is the
INTERPRETATION presented in the previously mentioned 'Book of
Jubilees.' The festival is celebrated, ACCORDING TO THIS BOOK,
as a symbol that the pact God made with Noah, in which He
promised no further general flood, is renewed each year.
HOW WIDESPREAD this interpretation of Shavuos was in the
days of the second Temple we DO NOT KNOW, for we cannot tell if
the above presents the thoughts of the MASSES of the folk or just
a SMALL GROUP. But the book does show us that in the days of the
second Temple there was already a DEMAND fro a NEW INTERPRETATION
of Shavuos on an HISTORICAL basis.
At any rate, Shavuos DID NOT PALY A GREAT ROLE in the Jewish
life of those days. It was obviously a festival observed ONLY IN
THE TEMPLE, and not to any NOTICEABLE EXTENT OUTSIDE of
Jerusalem.
The holiday first ATTAINED IMPORTANCE when it BECAME the
festival of the giving of the Torah, of God revealing Himself on
Mount Sinai. Through this ASSOCIATION with the giving of the
Torah, Shavuos ATTAINED a great importance and BECAME an exalted,
spiritual festival; a festival no longer associated with
AGRICULTURE and NATURE, but symbolic of the spiritual TREASURES
and CULTURE that the Jewish people posses."
(Let me stop here and comment. What we have seen is the
Jewish mind commenting on a Jewish feast that at one time was
looked upon as not that great, when compared to Passover and
Tabernacles. A Feast that was outside of the Temple and
outside of the city of Jerusalem, not that well celebrated. It
was hard for the Jews to understand this feast of firstfruits in
any real spiritual way. They could relate Passover and
Unleavened Bread to the coming of Israel out of Egypt, being
delivered from bondage into freedom. They could sure understand
spiritual insights from that feast, especially as they
were under the Roman heel during much of the period of the second
Temple. They had a hard time to understand the feast of
Firstfruits, Pentecost, in any other way but as a thanksgiving
feast for all the blessing of the new harvest of the land. So
some, through the book of Jubilees, had tried to put a little
more into the feast by inventing and tying the feast with God and
Noah and the promise of seedtime and harvest....really still a
nature festival, but with some historical connection to add a
little spice to it, well adding some spice as they thought it
would, and as they thought it needed. What the mind of men will
do to try to improve on what God has given, when they do not
understand the mind and plan of God. Instead of waiting on the
Lord to reveal His secrets in His time, they feel they must do it
their way and invent and add to God's ways and feasts, make
things up as they go along, to please and satisfy their
pleasures. Of course these inventions and additions to the feast
of Pentecost were setting the stage for the biggest invention and
addition to Pentecost that arose from the minds of the Pharisees
descendants after 70 A.D. that being the idea that God gave the
Ten Commandments and the law on the feast day of Pentecost to
Israel.
The NT Christians had no need to invent such an addition to
Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit to fill them with power,
might, and the very NATURE of God as a BEGETTAL, to form the very
spiritual body of Christ, the very NT Church of God, was
then forever the spiritual reality of a truth and mystery of the
Kingdom of God. It was forever then the BIRTHDAY of the NT
Church. It was a day of SPIRITUAL REVIVAL. A day of the WORKING
and the POWER of the Spirit of God, a forever REMINDER of what
the Spirit of the Lord can do on this earth and in the personal
lives of individuals, making them into the VERY CHILDREN of the
Father, very brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus, and the
enlargement of the FAMILY of God - Keith Hunt).
Back-tracking a little and then continuing with Mr. Schauss'
comments:
"This holiday FIRST ATTAINED IMPORTANCE when it BECAME the
festival of the giving of the Torah, of God revealing Himself on
Mount Sinai. Through THIS ASSOCIATION with the giving of the
Torah, Shavuos ATTAINED a great importance and BECAME
EXALTED......
In the nineteenth century Shavuos was given NEW significance
by REFORMED Jews, as a day of CONFIRMATION. Till the beginning of
the nineteenth century (and amongst Orthodox Jews to this very
day) only BOYS went through the BAR MITSVAH ceremony,
individually, on the sabbath nearest to their thirteenth
birthday. This was mainly a private family celebration. REFORM
Jews, when they modified the synagogue worship, also CHANGED Bar
Mitsvoh to CONFORMATION. They included GIRLS in the ceremony, set
aside a DEFINITE day of the year for it, and made it a COMMUNITY
FESTIVAL. The early leaders of Reform Judaism selected SHAVUOS as
the day of CONFIRMATION, because it is the holiday of the
confirmation of the Jewish people in their faith by Moses. It is
also the day on which the Book of Ruth is read in the synagogue,
telling of Ruth's acceptance into the fold of Israel.
This INNOVATION was accepted into the PROGRESSIVE
communities and gave NEW vitality and life to this old
festival....."
End of quotes from the book "The Jewish Festivals" by Hayyim
Schauss.
We have seen the perpetual proclivity of the Jewish people
and religious leaders in particular, to be constantly modifying,
introducing and adding variations to God's original Festivals of
the Bible, to somehow make them ever more popular and relevant
to Jewish life, to supposedly give them new meaning and new life.
The truth is that the festivals of God need no additions,
adoptions, or inventing historical events to hook up with them
that are not directly revealed to be part of them as
given in the Bible itself (Keith Hunt).
We finish this "Points on Pentecost" study by quoting from
Theodor Gaster's book "Festivals of the Jewish Year - a modern
interpretation and guide." Dr. Theodor Gaster was a well known
scholar of religion and civilizations of the Near East and wrote
numerous books on those subjects. The following is taken from
chapter 5 called, "The Feast of Weeks."
"In the Bible, the Feast of Weeks plays a somewhat minor
role beside the major seasonal festivals of Passover on the one
hand and Booths (or Ingathering) on the other. It is simply the
end of the barley harvest, and its distinctive feature is the
presentation to Jehovah (apart from special sacrifices) of an
offering consisting, according to one version of the Law
(Deut.16: 10), of whatever one feels prompted to give, or,
according to another (Lev. 23: 17), of two loaves made out of the
new corn. The festival we are told, is to take place a full seven
weeks after the sickle has been first applied to the standing
grain (Deut. 16: 9).
It is easy to dismiss this early phase of the festival as
nothing but the product of a crude, unsophisticated age, and to
think one has explained the presentation of firstfruits by
collecting parallels from other parts of the world, without
stopping to penetrate to their significance. The truth is,
however.....the underlying meaning of the festival is at once
SUBTLE and PROFOUND. Two ideas are combined, and each is capable
of an extension and development of far-reaching import.
The FIRST is based on the common Oriental principle that
land belong to him who 'quickens' it, or brings it under
cultivation. Since, it is here affirmed, the earth obviously
depends for its fertility not only on the lobors of MEN but ALSO
on the co-operation of GOD, who furnishes it with RAIN, WIND and
SUNLIGHT, HE too is necessarily a part owner of it. The
presentation of FIRSTFRUITS is thus no mere taken of THANKSGIVING
or mere submissive rendering of tribute.....It is the PAYMENT to
God of the DIVIDEND on His INVESTMENT. To withhold that payment
is an act not of impiety but of EMBEZZLEMENT.
Translated into broader terms, what is here proclaimed is
that the relation between GOD and MAN is NOT one of master and
servant but of MUTUAL DEPENDANT PARTNERS in a JOINT ENTERPRISE of
CONTINUOUS CREATION......
The SECOND idea....stems from the fact that primitive man
regards anything new and unused as being fraught with potential
peril, much as an infant might regard a new toy. The FIRSTFRUITS
of the harvest....are therefore consigned.....that the newness
may be taken away and the rest thereby rendered 'safe.' (This we
have seen is the type in analogy of the consecrating of the part
to consecrate the whole, a little leaven leavening the whole lump
principle. As the firstfruits is consecrated and made holy to
God, so the rest of the harvest is holy to God and put into His
safe-keeping - Keith Hunt).....
The important thing, however, is not so much the why as the
how of the ritual; the danger of the new thing is removed by
bringing it into contact with some ETERNAL BEING to whom it is
NOT new, inasmuch as He transcends the limitations of our own
temporal existence. Behind the symbolism of the primitive
procedure, therefore, there lies once again a PERMANENT,
UNIVERSAL MESSAGE: the ONLY immunity against the terror of the
new things is to try to see them in the light of ETERNITY, and
the only protection against the perils of human existence is to
dedicate the prime portion of it to God. Thus, even in its
rudimentary stage, the Feast of Weeks possessed its own
SPIRITUAL VALUES." (Now, as they say, that was quite the mouth
full. Putting it in less sophisticated words, we here have the
truth being spoken about of the new creation of mankind, but not
new to the creator as such in the eternal plan of things created,
yet new for a special purpose in His plan of creation. The
firstfruits of the new is dedicated to God and so the whole of
the firstfruits harvest is made holy. As we see all this in the
light of the eternal plan of the Almighty, the new is no terror
but a happy rejoicing in that which God is bringing forth on the
earth, as He deals with the human race - Keith Hunt).
Back to the words of Mr. Gaster:
"For JUDAISM, however - especially after it had outgrown
its Palestinian origins - these ALONE were NOT SUFFICIENT. The
presence and activity of God had to be recognized at this season
NOT ONLY in the phenomena of NATURE but also, and on
parallel lines, in SOME crucial EVENT of HISTORY.
Accordingly, IN THE FIRST CENTURIES OF THE COMMON ERA,
inspiration and INGENUITY combined to produce the necessary
development.
The Scriptural narrative states clearly (Ex.19: 1) that the
children of Israel reached Mount Sinai in the THIRD month, to the
day, after departing from Egypt. This, it was now argued, does
NOT MEAN that a full three months elapsed, but ONLY that the
event took place IN THE THIRD MONTH OF THE YEAR, and in that case
the giving of the Ten Commandments MIGHT (WITH A LITTLE LATITUDE
AND FANCY) be MADE to coincide with the Feast of Weeks. The
festival THUS BECAME the birthday of Israel, the anniversary of
the day on which the Covenant had been concluded between God and
His people and the Law first revealed. Such, ever since, has been
its PRIMARY significance....."
End of quotes from Theodor Gaster.
I will finish this study by saying: Once more we see how the
Jewish mind can and once did, relate to the significant spiritual
harvest festival understanding of the first harvest gathered in
starting with the first Wave Sheaf offering during the Feast of
Unleavened Bread and finishing with the one day Feast of
Pentecost, 50 days later, or 7 weeks later. But, as we have also
seen, this was not enough for the Jews to bring this Feast Day up
to the prominence and festive splendor as was already practiced
in the first celebrated Feast of Passover/Unleavened Bread and in
the fall Festivals which had the Feast of Tabernacles at its
center. To bring Pentecost up to par with the other two
festive seasons an HISTORICAL event would have to be added.
Within the first few centuries of THIS ERA, this age of A.D. it
was relatively easy to invent the idea that the giving of the Law
and Old Covenant was presented to Israel on this VERY DAY, the
50th day from the Wave Sheaf offering, the day that came to be
known in the NT age as Pentecost.
We have seen admitted, by these Jewish scholars, that such
an added invention was never a part of Jewish teaching BEFORE 70
A.D. for as we have seen noted, there is not one book, or one
verse, anywhere in the entire Bible that speaks of the day of
Pentecost or Feast of Weeks, as the day that the Law was given to
Israel, a note or a mention of such a fact, as being the truth,
could hardly go un-mentioned by all writers of the books of the
Bible, if such was the historical truth handed down from the time
of Moses.
While it may be nice and may be convenient to so add this
invention of the later than 70 A.D. Jews, to our celebration of
Pentecost, and while it may make good sermonizing to add to the
truth of the Holy Spirit coming on the Day of Pentecost, as the
Bible does record in a clearly specific manner, as it may sound
logical to say the Law was given on Pentecost and the Holy Spirit
came on Pentecost to help us fulfil the that law, the truth of
the matter still remains that while we can prove from the Bible
the Spirit did come on Pentecost, we cannot prove that God gave
the law to Israel on Pentecost day. As we have seen even the Jews
up to and not until AFTER 70 A.D. had any teaching that the Old
Covenant was given on the Feast of Weeks or Firstfruits.
There is plenty within the Bible itself for us to sermonize
with, concerning the Festival of Pentecost, and its meaning as to
spiritual realities, both from the Old Testament and from the New
Testament. I have presented one such study on the meaning of
Pentecost from the old to the new, and I will present another
such study as to the meanings of the Pentecost season and the
very day itself, as taken from book one on the Spring Festivals
by Dr. Samuel Bacchiocchi, called, "God's Festivals - in
Scripture and History" (his book two covers the Fall Festivals of
God). Dr. Bacchiocchi presents some good insights to the meanings
of this great Festival of the Lord, enough meanings to keep any
minister busy for many years, as they preach "in season and out
of season" (2 Tim.4: 1-2).
..................................
Pentecost Typology:The Spirit, and Israel's Jubilee "Fifty" Compiled by
Keith Hunt
The following is taken from the book "The Arithmetic of God"
penned by the scribe Don Kistler as he was fasting and praying in
a church building, away from his family for nine months. Capital
letters are sometimes mine and sometimes by Mr. Kistler.
"The next number is a precious one to me, it is 50 - the
Spirit and Jubilee....Fifty is the number connected with the
Spirit, Holy Spirit and a Jubilee. Its Spirit was poured
out at the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus.
The word "Pentecost" means 50. 'And you shall count unto
you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you
brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be
complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall
you number FIFTY days; and you shall offer a new meat offering
unto the Lord.' That's Leviticus 23: 15, 16.
I wonder how many have read that scripture? The sheaf of the
FIRSTFRUITS on the morrow after the Sabbath, of the FIRST DAY OF
THE WEEK as in Lev.23: 10-11, representing....Christ. 'But now is
Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them
that slept.' That's 1 Cor. 15: 20.
The new meat offering (actually new "grain" offering - Keith
Hunt) that was offered 50 days after the waving of the
firstfruits, representing the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit.......the firstfruits were waved before the Lord on the
first day of the week or on the morrow after the Sabbath." (This
first fruits offering represented the risen Christ, through
the power of the Spirit of God. The work of the Spirit of God
raised Jesus from the grave into glorified eternal life. He was
the first of the firstfruits. The harvest of the new grain
could now begin in the land of Palestine when this firstfruits
sheaf had been waved before the Lord God. It is the work of the
Holy Spirit that will gather in all the children of God into
the first harvest gathering at the resurrection when Jesus
returns to this earth. The power of the Holy Spirit will raise
all those saints of God into that resurrection glory at the
coming of Christ. All this truth I have covered in other studies
- Keith Hunt).
Back to the written words of Don Kistler:
"Now let's go into the Court of the Tabernacle. The court of
the Tabernacle was 50 cubits wide. 'The length of the Court shall
be an hundred cubits, and the breadth FIFTY every where, and the
height five cubits of fine twined linen.' That is Ex. 27: 18.
Here is seen the number FIVE, for GRACE, 50, for the SPIRIT, Who
is called the 'Spirit of Grace' in Heb.10: 29 ?
It will be seen that 100 stands for the children of promise
or the Elect. This hanging of the Court that was 50 cubits in
length JOINED UP with the hanging of the long side which was 100
cubits long, so does God give the Spirit to EVERYONE EVERYWHERE,
whom He calls. 'For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to ALL that are far off, even as MANY as the Lord
our God shall CALL.' That's Acts 2: 39.
Let's take JUBILEE now. Israel had what is called the year
of Jubilee every 50 years. 'And you shall number SEVEN SABBATHS
of YEARS unto you, seven times seven years; and the space of
seven sabbaths of years shall be unto you FORTY-NINE years. The
you shall cause the TRUMPET of the JUBILEE to sound on the TENTH
DAY of the SEVENTH MONTH, in the day of ATONEMENT shall you make
the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall
hallow the FIFTIETH year, and proclaim LIBERTY throughout the
land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a JUBILEE unto
you; and you shall return every man unto his possessions, and you
shall return every man unto his family.' That's Lev.25: 8-10.
This year of JUBILEE, in which every man returned unto his
own possession, is a PICTURE of the REIGN of Jesus and His
saints, when all Israel shall return to its possessions and the
ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs of
everlasting joy. I'd say that means JUBILEE. 'And the ransomed
of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.' That's Isaiah
35: 10.
Here is the word 'ransomed,' so that meant 'redeemed,' and
it is connected with Israel's return of JUBILEE.
Then when 20, the number for REDEMPTION, is multiplied by
50, the number of years connected with the year of JUBILEE, the
product is 1000, the number of years of the Millennium reign as
in Revelation 20: 4-6.
The blowing of the TRUMPET was connected with the year of
JUBILEE and the returning of the people to their possessions.
'And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat
off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and
you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the GREAT TRUMPET SHALL
BE BLOWN, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the
land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall
worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.' That's
Isaiah 27: 12, 13.
'Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which
caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I
have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of
them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from
them: for I have poured out my SPIRIT upon the house of Israel,
says the Lord God.' That's Ezekiel 39: 28, 29.
From this it is seen that there is to be an OUTPOURING of
the SPIRIT on Israel bringing great JOY. We find that in 1 Peter
1: 1 and in 1 Thes. 1: 6.
This is WHY the number 50 is CONNECTED BOTH with the HOLY
SPIRIT and with the YEAR OF JUBILEE. In the year of Jubilee they
were to proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land. In 2 Cor. 3:
17 we read, 'where the SPIRIT of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY.'
The word of God tells us that CREATION shall be DELIVERED
from the Bondage into the GLORIOUS LIBERTY of the CHILDREN of
God. See Romans 8: 21. Israel shall also have rest from her
bondage in the GLORIOUS year of JUBILEE, or the 1000-year
reign. see Isaiah 14: 1-3. that should do it for number 50......"
End of quote from Don Kistler.
Well let me add. The wonderful Typology of the Wave Sheaf
offering, representing the risen Christ, the first of the
firstfruits, the first harvest of new crop then beginning,
representing the harvest of new believers in Christ Jesus, the 50
days that this harvest continued unto the day of Pentecost, the
50 cubits width of the Court of the Tabernacle, the 50th year of
Jubilee, the seven times seven days or seven weeks from the wave
sheaf offering to Pentecost, seven complete sevens, the seven
times seven years of sabbaths to the 50th year of Jubilee,
whence LIBERTY and FREEDOM was proclaimed throughout the whole
land. All this by the POWER and MIGHT of the Eternal God
through His great and wonderful HOLY SPIRIT.
Jesus was raised from the dead through the power of Spirit.
He comes to live within His followers through the power of the
Spirit, those who are now being brought into the new harvest of
God by the Spirit. The first harvest of saints to be gathered in
at the coming again of Christ to this earth, will be by a
resurrection of those saints through the power of the Spirit. The
regathering of Israel and Judah from the land of their enemies
and being brought back to Zion with singing and joy, at the sound
of the trumpet call, when Christ comes again, will be all done
through the power of the Spirit. The freedom for all nations on
earth from the bondage of sin and the Devil, when Jesus comes to
reign for a 1000 years, will be accomplished by the power of the
Spirit.
All this symbolism and typology of truth is moulded and
shaped around seven times seven weeks and years (the complete and
perfect number times the perfect number) finished by a 50th day
or 50th year....Pentecost....a JUBILEE of BLESSING, all
accomplished through the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT, poured out so
MIGHTILY on that great Feast of Pentecost as recorded in Acts
chapter two.
"Not by might, nor by strength, but by My SPIRIT, says the
Lord of hosts" (Zech.4: 6).
...................................
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment