"When
the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one
place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there
appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them."
Acts 2:1-3 NKJV
Today
we find ourselves just one week away from what many might say is the most
important day in the history of the Church.
I speak of course, of the Feast of Pentecost, the day most consider to
be the birthday of the Church. My
personal feeling is that the importance of this day cannot be overstated, and
for numerous reasons it has become, to me, a day of high expectation and
watching. Although I believe and teach
the immanency of our Lord’s return for the rapture of His Church, I believe
this day is the most intriguing one of the year to watch and listen for the
call to come home.
Over
the years, many of the best teachers of our generation have taught wonderful,
informative lessons on this particular feast day, and I have personally profited
from them all and have shared many of their words with you in the past. Today I have chosen an article by one of my
favorites, Jack Kelley of gracethrufaith.com,
to share with you. The biggest reason I
chose to do so is his explanation of the importance of the story of Ruth
concerning this feast day, and how it pictures the relationship between Christ
and His Church. So enjoy Jack’s teaching
today and see for yourself what the stories of the Old Testament can tell us of
our future.
The Feast of
Pentecost A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Pentecost comes in the early summer
(mid May-mid June). It’s the only Levitical Feast Day between the
three spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and the
three in the fall (Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles). The Hebrew name
for this Day is Shavuot, which means weeks, so in Israel, it’s often called the
Feast of Weeks.
This is because it’s supposed to
occur seven weeks after the Feast of First Fruits (Lev. 23:15-16). Deut. 16:9 confirms this. “Count off
seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.”
The first cutting of the grain took place on the Feast of First Fruits.
Since First Fruits was the first day after the Sabbath that follows Passover,
it was always observed on a Sunday. Shavuot, being seven weeks later, was
always on a Sunday, too, and celebrated the beginning of the summer harvest.
But in 140 AD, following the final
defeat of the Jewish nation after the bar Kochba revolt of 135 AD, the
Sanhedrin changed the focus of Shavuot from the summer harvest to the giving of
the Law. They did this because Shavuot was one of the three feasts all Jews
were required to observe (Exodus 23:14-17 tells us Unleavened Bread and
Tabernacles were the other two) and the defeated and dispersed nation would no
longer have any national harvests to celebrate. From that time on, the
countdown began from the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day
the Israelites left Egypt. So now Shavuot can come any day of the week
and takes place on the 6th day of the Hebrew month called Sivan, which is the
traditional day Moses received the Law from the Lord. Making this change
placed the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai exactly seven weeks after the Exodus
from Egypt and preserved the Feast of Weeks in Jewish life.
Christians call this day by its
Greek name, Pentecost. Pentecost comes from a word that means “50 days.”
That’s because there were 50 days from the Sabbath that followed Passover
to Shavuot (Pentecost).
Early Christians also changed the
way the various dates are determined, although we’ve retained the Sunday
requirement for Pentecost. Christians now start counting on the day we
call Easter Sunday, which is officially the first Sunday after the first full
moon that follows the Spring Equinox. We count Easter Sunday as day one, so
Pentecost is always 49 days after Easter and always comes on a Sunday. By
counting Easter Sunday on both ends of the span, we can arrive at 50 days
(Pentecost) and still keep the celebration on the 7th Sunday after Easter.
What
is Pentecost?
As I said, Jews now celebrate
Pentecost (I’ll just use its Greek name to avoid any more confusion than
necessary) as the day Moses received the Law on Mt. Sinai and the nation of
Israel was born (Exodus 19-20). Christians celebrate it as the day
the Holy Spirit came upon the Disciples in Jerusalem and the Church was
born. (Some scholars see the historical and prophetic fulfillment of
Pentecost in these two events.)
Acts 2 describes that day for us. On Pentecost, the followers
of Jesus were all gathered together in one place when a sound like the blowing
of a violent wind filled the house where they were staying and what seemed like
tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each of them. They were
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as He enabled
them. Just before He ascended into heaven Jesus told them to expect this (Acts 1:8) and now it was happening.
Since Pentecost was one of the feasts where attendance in Jerusalem was
required, there were God-fearing Jews from many other countries in Jerusalem,
swelling its normal population substantially. The sound of the wind had
alerted those who were nearby and as they came closer to see what it was, each
one of these pilgrims was amazed to hear the disciples, who were all Galilean,
speaking in his own language.
Peter got their attention and
explained what was going on. It was the first public presentation of the
gospel since the Lord’s death and resurrection, and when Peter had finished,
3,000 of those gathered around had accepted his message and were baptized, and
the Lord continued adding to their number daily.
If you agree with my view that the
parables of Matthew 13 describe the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and that
the parable of the yeast (Matt. 13:33) predicts how the Church will be
filled with sinners, you’ll be interested in the fact that unlike all the other
Levitical Feasts that call for unleavened bread (no yeast), Pentecost calls for
two loaves of bread baked with yeast (Lev. 23:17). In the Bible leaven, or
yeast, is a model of sin because it causes the dough to begin spoiling.
Other Jewish Pentecost ceremonies
also reveal a subtle hint of the coming Church. In synagogues, the Book of Ruth
is read on Pentecost. The story of Ruth has been called “The Romance of
Redemption.” It’s about Naomi, a Jewish woman from Bethlehem who lost
her land due to a famine in Israel and was forced to flee into neighboring Moab
(Jordan), where there was no famine. Shortly thereafter her husband
passed away leaving her penniless and alone in a foreign country.
After the famine had ended, she
returned to Bethlehem accompanied by Ruth, a gentile woman who had sworn never
to leave her. Ruth was a Moabite who had married one of Naomi’s sons (who
also died) making her Naomi’s daughter-in-law and a destitute widow as well.
Once back in Bethlehem Naomi’s close
relative, a prominent Jewish man named Boaz fell in love with Ruth and married
her. In the process he also regained Naomi’s land as her
kinsman-redeemer. Both these events were accomplished according to the
Law. For Naomi it was the law of redemption (Lev 25:25), and for Ruth it was the law of
leverite marriage (Deut. 25:5-6).
The modeling here is dramatic, with
Naomi in the role of Israel, destitute and alone, Ruth as the Church, the
gentile bride, Boaz as the Messiah, and the story itself as a prediction of the
relationship that would involve all three of them. In the process of
redeeming Israel, the Messiah takes a gentile bride. In doing so, He saves both
from their destitute condition and restores Israel’s Land. The
identification of the Church with Pentecost began in the prophecies of Ruth. To
learn more about these incredible prophecies, and enjoy one of the world’s
classic love stories, read Ruth’s Story.
By the way, Boaz was the son of
Rahab, the harlot from the Book of Joshua (read “The Gospel in Joshua … The Story of Rahab”
). His great-grandson David became the King of Israel. Rahab and Ruth are
both listed in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 1:5), and King Solomon named one of the
pillars at the entrance to the Temple after his ancestor Boaz.
When’s
Your Birthday?
By tradition, Enoch, one of the
patriarchs from Genesis 5, was born on the day later to be known as
Pentecost. Enoch’s name means “teaching,” a primary function of the Church (Matt. 28:19-20). For this reason many
scholars see him as a “type” of the church as well. Genesis 5:21-23 indicates that Enoch had a
close relationship with God and was actually taken live (raptured) into Heaven
before the Great Flood. Pre-Trib scholars see this event as one of several Old
Testament hints that the Church will disappear from Earth before the Great
Tribulation.
These same traditions also hold that
Enoch was taken on his birthday. So here’s a man, identified with the Church,
perhaps being born and raptured on the day that would become Pentecost, the day
the Church was born. Will the Church be raptured on our birthday,
too? Personally I don’t believe the Rapture of the Church will be the
prophetic fulfillment of any of Israel’s Holy Days. But if I’m wrong and
the Rapture does fulfill a Levitical Feast, Pentecost seems to be the most
obvious candidate.
As you probably know, I believe the
reason no one on Earth can accurately predict the day of the Rapture is because
it’s a number specific event, not a date specific one. In Romans 11:25 Paul implied the church has a
“full number,” when its ranks will be considered complete. When that
number is reached the Church will “come in,” which means it will arrive at its
scheduled destination, like when a ship “comes in.” Jesus said the
destination of the Church is His Father’s house (John 14:2). Put it together, and I believe it
means we’ll be raptured as soon as the predetermined number of Christians has
been born again, no matter what day it happens to be.
Soon
And Very Soon
No matter what day it happens to be,
one day soon now, all who are in Christ, having heard and believed the Word of
Truth, the Gospel of our salvation (thereby receiving the seal of the promised
Holy Spirit) will suddenly disappear from the face of the Earth along with all children
and others who are intellectually incapable of making informed choices about
their eternal destiny. In one instant we will have been going about our
daily routines here on Earth and in the next we’ll be standing in the presence
of our Redeemer, our sins forgiven and forgotten, and all our imperfections
gone. Among us will be all the faithful dead of the Church Age, reunited with
perfected bodies and restored to eternal physical life. Together we will begin
the most incredible journey of exploration and realization ever dreamed of, and
it will last forever.
Neither we, nor the unbelieving
world, will have received any advance warning of the timing for this event; it
will have come totally by surprise. Maybe it will happen on Pentecost, maybe
not. But one thing is certain, when it does happen, none of us will care one
bit whether we had predicted it’s timing accurately. We will only express in
unimaginable joy our gratitude for being there.
For it is by grace you have
been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
– not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephe. 2:8-9)
As it is written: No eye has seen,
no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who
love Him – but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:9-10).
You can
almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 05-23-15.
Every day, more and more people are
coming to the conclusion that the current situation we as a world find
ourselves in, is in fact, a sign of the approaching rapture of the Church. If
you are not a member of the body of Christ, understand that God has provided a
way for all to be saved by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sin. It
is through His sacrifice that we can be saved and spend eternity with Him as He
has promised us. Have you made the choice to accept Him as your Savior and
Lord? If not, I hope you will consider doing it today. You can do this by
simply praying a prayer like this one:
Jesus
I know I am a sinner and have broken your commandments and sinned against you.
I believe you died and rose again for me as a sacrifice for my sins. I ask you
to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart so that I can begin to live for
you. Amen.
If you have done that, know that as
a child of God we are promised an escape from the trouble to come, and
deliverance to eternal life with Him by way of the rapture of the Church. An event, by all accounts, which is
approaching faster than many expected.
Keep watching.
