“'And you shall count for yourselves
from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the
wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day
after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the
LORD. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave [loaves] of two-tenths [of
an ephah]. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. [They
are] the firstfruits to the LORD.” Leviticus 23:15-17 NKJV
Fifty days after the Feast of
Firstfruits comes Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks. We know it as
Pentecost, which is derived from the Greek word “penta” meaning fifty. It
also has other names such as the Festival of Weeks, the Festival of Reaping or
Ingathering, and the Day of Firstfruits. It occurs at the end of the
wheat harvest in Israel, which is why it is associated with the theme of
harvesting and the bringing of a sacrifice of grain to the Lord. Yet it
is also a time of celebrating the harvest of the land, which includes all seven
of the fruits of the land listed by God in the book of Deuteronomy.
“For the LORD your God is bringing
you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that
flow out of valleys and hills; “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig
trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey;”
Deuteronomy 8:7-8 NKJV
There are a couple of things I have
found particularly interesting about this feast day. The first is, while all the other Levitical
feasts call for unleavened bread, Pentecost is the only one in which leavened
bread is used. Traditionally leaven is
considered a model of sin, and it would be fair to say that the Church is
populated exclusively by forgiven sinners. Something else I personally found
interesting is the tradition in Israel of reading the book of Ruth during this
time. Considered to be one of the greatest love stories to be found in
the Bible, it is a story of how a Gentile, (non-Jew), was "redeemed",
or bought with a price, by a "kinsman" or relative (who was a Jew)
according to Jewish law, and then becomes the bride of her redeemer. This story
is situated in Bethlehem with the events transpiring during the fifty days
between the barley and wheat harvest. The redeemer (Boaz) takes his bride
at the end of that time or at the Feast of Pentecost.
Because this story demonstrates how
a Gentile could become a Jew, we can also see a perfect example of how Jesus
Christ can redeem all who choose to accept His sacrifice, thus becoming His
bride, the body of Christ. We find this was illustrated by the events
which occurred on the Feast of Pentecost that followed fifty days after the
resurrection of Jesus.
“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. And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every
nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together,
and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then
they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all
these who speak Galileans? “And how is it that we hear, each in our own
language in which we were born? “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those
dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, “Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome,
both Jews and proselytes, “Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own
tongues the wonderful works of God.” Acts 2:1-11 NKJV
Because the Feast of Pentecost was
one of the three feasts in Israel that were compulsory to attend, Jerusalem was
full of Jews from different lands. It was for this reason that the Holy
Spirit gave the apostles the ability to speak in different languages, allowing
the Gospel to be shared with everyone who was there. This is the day that
many consider to be the birthday of the Church as not only did God send the
Holy Spirit to indwell all who believe, but also arranged for the good news to
be spread to other countries by virtue of these Jewish pilgrims returning home
with the message of Jesus Christ.
The sixth of Sivan is a day which
certainly has many different events associated with it. While Christians celebrate it as the birth of
the Church, Jews celebrate it as the birth of the nation of Israel and the
giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai. Yet
curiously, one central theme can be
found in all of these events and that is redemption. The Old Testament
Law was given, Enoch was raptured, Ruth who was a Gentile was redeemed, and the
Church was born and given the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell. One overriding question is, though, as the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit, is this a
day that the Church might look to as a possible day of redemption, or even
possibly a wedding?
“For we know that the whole creation
groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we
also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our
body.” Romans 8:22-23 NKJV
As we have seen, there are more than
a few references to a "rapture" type event associated with the Feast
of Pentecost. Will the Church be raptured on its birthday? Of course, no one
knows and I certainly can't say for sure but I hope I'm not the only one who
finds it more than curious that there seem to be so many events common to this
particular day of the year. Jesus commanded us to watch for His return, and I for
one think it very important to take Him at His word. I'm watching every day,
and I hope the words I share with you in these pages encourage you to watch as
well.
There is one more thing, however,
that I feel should be included in any discussion of Pentecost. I can
never talk about this day without sharing something we are told by the Jewish
historian Josephus in his work “Wars of the Jews”. This is of
course, non-biblical, but it is also something I have found fascinating and
consider believable in light of the proven historical accuracy of the works of
Josephus.
"Besides these, a few days
after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,]
a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account
of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and
were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve
such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their
armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.
Moreover, at that feast which we call PENTECOST, as the priests were going by
night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform
their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, THEY FELT A
QUAKING, AND HEARD A GREAT NOISE, AND AFTER THAT THEY HEARD A SOUND AS OF A
GREAT MULTITUDE, SAYING, "LET US REMOVE HENCE." (end quote) Josephus, "Wars of the
Jews" VI. V. 3
Wouldn’t we all love to hear the
trumpet sound and the call to come home in light of what we see the world
becoming all around us right now? Will it be on this day? I have no
idea, but I do know we are called to share the same Gospel that the disciples
did on that Pentecost so many years ago. Make it a point to tell others
of the gift of redemption which is available to all who choose to believe in
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.
The feast of Pentecost is only three weeks away, and with the events we have been witnessing lately, it would not surprise me at all if we were to hear the trumpet and call at any time. If you have never accepted the gift
of eternal life offered to us by the sacrifice of Jesus, simply pray a prayer
like this; Jesus I know that I am a sinner, and have sinned against
you. I believe you loved me enough to send your Son Jesus to die for my sins,
and that He rose from the dead so that I can live. Forgive me of my sins
and come into my life and help me to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Keep watching.
