The day of Pentecost or
Shavuot as it is called by the Jews today, has been quite important throughout
biblical history. It is a Spring harvest feast beginning with the barley
harvest followed by the wheat harvest. It is called the Feast of Weeks being a 7-week
period beginning with the wave sheaf offering by the high priest and
culminating on the 50th day in a Holy Day convocation on the day of
Pentecost where the priest waves two loaves of bread made from the grain before
the Lord.
It is a feast of ingathering and is signified by the
'Counting of the Omer'. An omer is a unit of measure that is one sheaf.
Normally, we are used to counting down to a holiday or our birthday, or
the last day of school for instance, "Only 8 more days of school!" As
Pentecost is an ingathering or an accumulation of the harvest, we count up to
the day of Pentecost as sheaves are added.
The Jews believe, as do I, that God thundered the Ten
Commandments from Mt. Horeb on
the day of Pentecost. God gave his first instructions directly to the people of
Israel on
how he wants them to conduct their lives on this day. God through his
lovingkindness and grace has on this day provided men the means by which they
can develop the very character of God, if they will only listen and obey.
Though they agreed to comply completely with God's Law that
day, their history shows they were unsuccessful. So much so that God granted
them a bill of divorcement, cut them off from his grace and blinded their eyes
from the truth.
Isa
29:10-14 KJV For the LORD hath poured out
upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and
your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (11)
And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one that is
learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: (12)
And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray
thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
According to Daniel, this book is sealed up until the time
of the end. (Dan 12:4)
Who do we know who is worthy to open the book that is
sealed? (Rev 5)
(13) Wherefore the Lord
said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with
their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far
from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: (14)
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a
marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall
be hid.
Because the house of Jacob turned away from God and began
teaching instead the traditions and precepts of men, God cut them off as you
would a branch that is diseased until a time in the future when they are healed
and can be grafted back in. Until then the Gentiles were to be given the truth
of God and his Holy Spirit. They were wild branches grafted into root of The
Branch, Jesus Christ, in order to make the true descendants of Israel, the
natural branches jealous.
Rom
10:17-21 KJV So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (18)
But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the
earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (19)
But I say, Did not Israel
know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them
that are no people, and by
a foolish nation I will anger you. (20)
But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I
was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. (21)
But to Israel he
saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and
gainsaying people. (Isa 65:1-2)
Rom 9:30-33 KJV
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after
righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. (31)
But Israel,
which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of
righteousness. (32) Wherefore? Because they
sought it not by faith, but as it were by the
works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; (33)
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence:
and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
(John 12:43)
Rom 11:11-28 NKJV I say then, have they stumbled that they
should fall? Certainly not! But through
their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. (12) Now if their fall is
riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more
their fullness! (13) For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am
an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, (14) if by
any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are
my flesh and save some of them. (15) For if their
being cast away is the reconciling of
the world, what will their
acceptance be but life from the
dead? (16) For if
the firstfruit [Jesus Christ] is holy, the lump is
also holy; and if the root is holy, so are
the branches. (17) And if
some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were
grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness
of the olive tree, (18) do not boast against the branches. [the ones
that were cut off] But if you do boast, remember
that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. (19) You will say then, "Branches were broken
off that I might be grafted in." (20) Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off,
and you stand by faith. Do not be
haughty, but fear. (21) For if God did not spare the natural
branches, He may not spare you either.
(22)
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell,
severity; but toward you, goodness, if
you continue in His goodness. Otherwise
you also will be cut off. (23) And they
also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God
is able to graft them in again. (24) For if
you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted
contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches,
be grafted into their own olive tree? (25) For I do
not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to
Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. (26) And so
all Israel will be saved,
as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB; (27) FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I
TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS." (28)
Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the
election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
Jesus came to his own to preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom
of God
but they received him not, (John 1:1) the stone which the builders
rejected. (Matt 21:42) And
as result they were spiritually blinded and remain so today until that future
time when God will open their eyes to the truth and pour out His Holy Spirit so
that they can understand and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah. How
long will their blindness continue?
Isa
6:9-12 KJV And he said, Go, and tell
this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but
perceive not. (10)
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their
eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand
with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (11)
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted
without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly
desolate, (12)
And the LORD have removed men far away, and there
be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Luk 21:20 KJV And
when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Luk
21:24-25 KJV And
they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall
be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled. (25) And
there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Peter spoke of God pouring out His Spirit and quoted from
Joel chapter 2 in his Pentecostal sermon when he stated:
Act
2:16-21 KJV But this is that which was
spoken by the prophet Joel; (17)
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: (18)
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my
Spirit; and they shall prophesy: (19)
And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood,
and fire, and vapour of smoke: (20)
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before
that great and notable day of the Lord come: (21)
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
We have no record of these wonders in heaven taking place
at this time. This pouring out was but a type of a future pouring out of God's
Spirit yet to come.
Joe
2:28-32 KJV And it shall come to
pass afterward, that I will pour out my
spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: (29)
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out
my spirit. (30) And I will shew
wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of
smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the
great and the terrible day of the LORD come. (32)
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on
the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion
and in Jerusalem
shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in
the remnant whom the LORD shall call. [A remnant who have not defiled
themselves with women.]
Rev
6:12-13 KJV And I beheld when he had
opened the sixth seal, and, lo,
there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became as blood; (13)
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
These
passages are describing the same event!
So this final pouring out of God’s Spirit doesn’t take
place until the sixth seal. There’s something else that takes place at the
sixth seal.
God has shown us through his Holy Day Plan that he is a God
of order and certain times on his calendar carry a certain significance. He has
set certain days on his calendar as 'moedim' or sacred appointments.
- God
thundered His Law, the Ten Commandments from Horeb on Pentecost. (Exo
19:11; 20:1)
- I believe
that the day Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on him like
a dove was most likely on Pentecost. (Mat 3:16)
- God poured
out his Holy Spirit to start His church on this day some 1984 years ago on
Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4)
- When and how
do you think our God of order, who is consistent, who does not change, who
has given us a pattern and a model for His entire plan for mankind will
graft back in the House of Jacob and seal them with his Holy Spirit?
Isa
25:7-9 KJV And he will destroy in
this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all
nations. (8) He will swallow up death in
victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. (9)
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our
God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the
LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
The long awaited Messiah whom they have waited for has
arrived. Just as God rent the veil in twain at the death of Jesus and gave us
direct access to His throne of grace, God will tear this veil from their faces
as well and give them a new heart, and a new spirit.
He will take away their stony heart, and will give them a heart of
flesh. He will put His spirit within them, and cause them to walk in His
statutes, and they shall keep his judgments, and do them. (Eze
36:26-27)
This won’t happen through man’s doing. Not by power, or by
might but by God’s Spirit.
Zec
4:5-7 KJV Then the angel that talked
with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said,
No, my lord. (6)
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the
word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not
by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7)
Who art thou, O great mountain?
before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a
plain: and he [the governor of Judea (Zec
12:6)] shall bring forth the headstone [the one that the builders rejected, the one that has
become chief of the corner] thereof
with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
God
will pour out His Holy Spirit on the house of Jacob and all flesh, the
veil will be removed, Jesus Christ, the headstone, will
be acknowledged as the Messiah and as this good news spreads, the counting of
the omer begins! The final harvest, the ingathering of believers begins! These are the eleventh hour laborers who
receive the same gift of the Holy Spirit as those who labored in the heat of
the day. These are they who were not defiled with women, who remained true
to God's Law as they knew it. Who did not follow after other gods or after the
Catholics, or the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Protestants or after Islam. And with them will be an innumerable multitude
of believers who came out of the tribulation to be redeemed by God. The last
shall be first, and the first shall be last. (Matt 20:6-16)
When the following events take place it is still after the
sixth Seal and before the seventh.
Rev
7:1-4 KJV And after these things I saw
four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds
of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor
on any tree. (2)
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the
four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (3)
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads. (4) And I heard the number
of them which were sealed: and
there were sealed an hundred and forty and four
thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
[and the tribes are listed. The tents of Judah
first. (Zec 12:7)]
Rev
7:9-10 KJV After this I beheld, and, lo,
a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands; (10)
And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Rev 7:13-14 KJV
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes? and whence
came they? (14)
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rev
14:1-4 KJV And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb
stood on the mount Sion,
and with him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having his Father's name
written in their foreheads. (2)
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice
of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their
harps: (3) And they sung as it
were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders:
and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four
thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. (4)
These are they which were not defiled
with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God and to the
Lamb.
Mat
20:6-16 KJV And
about the eleventh hour he went out,
and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the
day idle? (7) They
say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into
the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall
ye receive. (8) So when
even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the
labourers, and give them their hire,
beginning from the last unto the first. (9) And
when they came that were hired about
the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. (10) But
when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and
they likewise received every man a penny. (11) And
when they had received it, they
murmured against the goodman of the house, (12) Saying,
These last have wrought but one
hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and
heat of the day.
We have been warned back in Romans 11:20-21 not to complain
when these branches are grafted back in lest we be cut off.
(13) But he
answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou
agree with me for a penny? (14) Take that thine is, and go
thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. (15) Is it
not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I
am good? (16) So the last shall be first, and the first last:
for many be called, but few chosen.
The veil will be removed at last from the eyes of the house
of Jacob, the remnant whom the LORD shall call, and the house of Israel will
be restored and receive their reward, and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit on
Pentecost. The eleventh hour laborers are the natural branches who were once cut
off now being grafted back in and joining with the innumerable multitude who
have already accepted Christ. Those who say that Christians claim there is no
salvation for the Jews need a better understanding of the feast of Pentecost.
Oh, and those two loaves of bread the high priest waves on
Pentecost. What's that all about and why are there two? One for the Jew (Israelite)
the natural branch, and one for the Gentile, grafted in! They are both
firstfruits unto the LORD! (Lev 23:17)
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