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PENTECOST
Was observing Pentecost important to the apostle Paul?
"For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not
have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem,
if possible, on the Day of Pentecost" (Acts 20:16).
"But I [Paul] will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost" (1 Corinthians
16:8).
The Scriptures record that, on at least these two occasions, Paul carefully
arranged his schedule according to where he wanted to be on the Festival
of Pentecost. The only logical reason for Paul to "tarry in Ephesus
until Pentecost" would be to observe this feast day with the gentile
Christians there. As with Paul's instruction to gentile Christians in
Corinth to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, here we again find an
obvious indication that early Christians, Jew and gentile alike, observed
God's annual festivals.
What biblical events are associated with the Feast of Pentecost?
"The LORD our God made a covenant with us [ancient Israel] in Horeb
... The LORD talked with you [ancient Israel] face to face on the mountain
from the midst of the fire" (Deuteronomy 5:2, 4).
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one
place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from
heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw
what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on
each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit ..."
(Acts 2:1-4, NIV).
On Pentecost, according to a respected Jewish tradition, God established
Israel as His holy people-through His covenant with them-after He spoke
the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai. A special relationship
between Him and the Israelites was sealed at that time. They then became
known as the "congregation of the LORD" (Numbers 27:17).
Equally important, Pentecost is also the anniversary of the beginning
of Christianity under the New Covenant. It was on Pentecost that God
first made His Spirit available to all who would repent-thus beginning
the Church, which He commissioned Christ to build (Matthew 16:18). Pentecost
is especially significant to Christians because on that day God established
the New Testament Church.
Pentecost represents God using His Church-those who are converted, revitalized
and transformed by His Spirit-to do His work in this current age of
Satan's spiritual dominance over humankind.
After Jesus' resurrection, what did He tell His disciples?
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
The first part of this prophecy was fulfilled when, on the Feast of
Pentecost, Christ's disciples received the Holy Spirit and began their
work of proclaiming His gospel to the world (Acts 2:1, 4-18). Their
lives began to miraculously change. This spiritual transformation, made
possible by the power of the Holy Spirit, is the third major step in
God's master plan of salvation.
God's gift of His Spirit began the fulfillment of the prophecies in
Jeremiah 31:31-33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27. He promised to make a new covenant
with the community of faithful believers. Through the Holy Spirit He
promised to write His laws on their hearts and minds and no longer only
on tablets of stone, as in the time of Moses. It was on the Feast of
Pentecost of Acts 2 that the Church of God-the faithful believers in
Christ imbued with God's Spirit-was founded and began preaching Christ's
gospel to the world.
Anciently the Festival of Pentecost only anticipated a converted body
of believers, but now it annually acknowledges and celebrates the importance
of the Church and its work in God's plan.
Does the Bible refer to the Feast of Pentecost by other names?
"And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of
wheat harvest ..." (Exodus 34:22).
"On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the LORD an offering
of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do
no regular work" (Numbers 28:26, NIV).
The Greek word pentekoste, which means "50th," became the
New Testament name for the Old Testament "Feast of Weeks"
because it occurs 50 days (seven weeks plus one day) after the first
weekly Sabbath that falls during the Passover and Feast of Unleavened
Bread (Leviticus 23:10-16).
Pentecost was also known as "the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits
of your labors" (Exodus 23:16). This name foreshadowed the establishment
of the New Testament Church. Christians are those "who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit" and those who are "redeemed from
among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" (Romans 8:23;
Revelation 14:4). James writes, "Of His own will He brought us
forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of
His creatures" (James 1:18).
The festivals that follow Pentecost point to God's plan for bringing
the rest of humanity to repentance. The aspects of God's plan represented
by the three spring festivals-Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost-have
already occurred. But the prophetic implications of the last four festivals,
observed in the autumn of each year, are yet to be fulfilled.
United Church of God
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