How Long?*

Current events including wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, as well as a sharp increase of racial and ethnic hatred, and intolerance towards the Word of God, and people of faith, cause us to ask "How long?" in regard to the return of Christ. There are those who troll and deride any suggestion of the possibility that there is coming a Day of the Lord, a day of judgment and of Christ's return. They even reject the belief in the resurrection of Christ, or the existence of miracles. Some of this denial comes from within the church itself! However, scripture warns us of this dangerous denial, especially in connection to the last days, and Christ's return. Peter wrote to stir up the pure minds of the believers, and remembrance of the words of the prophets, saying: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water: Whereby the world that was, being overflowed with water, perished..." (2 Peter 3:1-6). The scoffers that are now so prevalent are yet another prophetic sign of the last days. These scoffers deny the possibility of a day of judgment and return of the Lord, because they claim that judgment has not happened since the beginning of an admitted creation. However, judgment did strike the earth, and the physical evidence exists that testifies to a great global flood. Peter continued to write: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men...beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (v. 7-8). The same prophetic Word of judgment that released the deluge of flood waters is still active, and, this time, that Word will release stored up fire rather than water. As we see the increase of ungodliness around us, and question the timing of the judgment, Peter assured us that the Lord's timing follows a certain pattern for the following reason: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness' but is longsuffering toward us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (v. 9). The judgment that some scoff of as eternally delayed, is delayed just long enough to allow all to repent who will repent and be saved. Our behavior should reflect this knowledge as we take the Gospel to all nations, as Jesus commanded His disciples to do, so that all may be given the opportunity to hear, repent, and be saved. (Following through with this Great Commission from Christ, I have written an ebook, "The Shroud of Turin: A Perfect Summary", which is made available for free. The instructions for getting this free ebook are found at the conclusion of this post.) However, make no mistake, the day of judgment against ungodliness, and the return of Christ is ordained, and will happen according to the plan and timing of God. New heavens and a new earth come forth out of this event. This knowledge of the unstoppable, sudden day of the Lord, when a cataclysmic heat will melt all of the elements, requires a certain lifestyle and manner from us, a lifestyle of holiness and godliness (v. 11-12). If we truly believe that this day approaches, and soon, then it should be reflected in our behavior. Peter wrote: "...look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation...beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.. To him be glory now and for ever. Amen." (v. 14-18). In Matthew Chapter 24, Jesus is asked by His disciples' the question of "When?": "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (meaning "the end of the age")? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation (meaning "ethnicity against ethnicity"), and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All thses are the beginning of sorrows...And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains...For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Mt. 24:1-22). After this time of terrible tribulation, Jesus said that the sun and moon will be darkened, the stars will fall, and the heavens shaken - then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven: "...and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (v. 29-30). Jesus taught this to His disciples, and to us, from the Torah, and the Prophets, as He taught all things. In answering the question of "When?" for His disciples, Jesus cited Daniel the prophet who wrote of an abomination of desolation, which upon occurring, Jesus said, people should run for their lives. Jesus was referring to a prophecy in Daniel 9, as Daniel gave an account of what happened when he read a prophecy written by Jeremiah: a prophet reading a prophet. This prophecy from Jeremiah (see Jer. chapters 23, 25, 27, 29) brought Daniel to prayer and fasting in repentance for his sins, and the sins of his people: "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even from departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land." (Dan. 9:5-6). Daniel had read the prophet Jeremiah, who had written of a certain mysterious time frame of seventy years, that would come to mean much more than would appear on the surface. What Jeremiah wrote brought Daniel to repentance seeking God's covenant and mercy "to them that keep his commandments" (v. 3-20), and this repentance immediately brought a revelation from the angel/man, Gabriel, concerning "How long?". This revelation included the timing of the arrival of the Messiah, His death, and "the overspreading of abominations" to be committed by the Anti-christ, who "shall make it desolate". (v. 21-27). As we read from Mt. 24 above, Jesus also spoke of the tribes of earth mourning when they would see the sign of the Son of man. The prophet Zechariah wrote this: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech. 12:10). The image of a pierced Christ, Daniel's Messiah who is cut off, whether found in scripture, or upon the Shroud of Turin for example, brings a spirit of mourning and repentance upon the souls of men who will look upon Him. Zechariah also prophesied that the LORD would make Jerusalem "...a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zech 12:2-3). This small geographical area has become, and will continue to be, the focus of all the nations' hatred and threats, as we hear regularly from speeches given in the United Nations, and see on the news. As the prophet warned, those nations will tremble, and be cut in pieces as the LORD defends Jerusalem and Israel. God will keep His covenant with Israel, and restore them, with the questions of when?, and how?, being answered according to what the prophets have written: "In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. 13:1). The Lord answered another question of "When?" as asked by those who will be martyred for their faith: "...How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Rev. 6:9-11). Believers are being martyred now for their faith in various nations across the earth, a martyrdom that could one day be seen in America as well. As we consider the other signs of the last days that we have read about above, we know that when asking the question, "How long?", we receive the answer that we have a wait of only a little season. How long before the church wakes up to the lateness of the hour, stops accepting wickedness, and obeys 2 Chron. 7:14 in seeking the LORD in repentance and prayer? All are sinners, but God sent His Son to shed His blood for all. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 3/5/23 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.TheShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

The Torah = The Law and the Prophets*

Church history, including some of its important leaders and influencers like Martin Luther, St. Augustine, the Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea, were filled with Anti-Semitism. As well as having a disregard for the commandments of God as they appeared in the Torah, or Old Testament, because of that contempt for the Jews, the Church also disregarded scripture in order to appeal to pagan converts. The commandments regarding the sabbath and the Feasts of the LORD were changed or ignored resulting in the spiritual impoverishment of the Church, and the removal of the Church from its Torah and Jewish foundation. The phrase, "the law and the prophets" appears five times (five is the number of grace) in the Old Testament, but it appears ten times (ten is the number of completion) in the New Testament! So why does the Church systematically exclude the law and the prophets from its direct relationship with grace? Let us look at the mentions of "the law and the prophets" in the New Testament. Jesus said: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Mt. 7:12). The intention of this Torah principle that Jesus taught is based on one of the two great commandments, again from the law and the prophets, which we will see later. John the Baptist, whose purpose was to prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus, was connected by Jesus directly to the law and the prophets which preceded John, including His revealing of John the Baptist as Elijah, the great prophet of Israel (Mt. 11:11-14, see also Lk. 16:16). Jesus was tested by Torah lawyers on His knowledge and interpretation of the law, and He answered them according to the law when asked: "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Mt. 22:36-40, see also Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18). Regarding the Torah, Jesus revealed: "...it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle (small mark over a Hebrew letter) of the law to fail."(Lk. 16:17). The Torah is not about legalism, but it is about teaching us that God is a good God. This is the source of the grace of God - His goodness towards us. Jesus reminded His disciples when He met with them after His resurrection, that He had told them of what would happen to Him when He was previously with them :...that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things." (Lk. 24:44-48). Everything concerning Christ was written beforehand in the Torah. At that same time, Jesus also spoke about another promise from the law and the prophets: "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (v. 49). Jesus is referring to the promise in the prophets that God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. This outpouring, as recorded in Acts 2, occurred on the Feast of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks. Again, we must say that the Church has not been taught the ordained and prophetic Feasts of the LORD. In another example of the law and the prophets in the New Testament, Jesus was travelling into Galilee, in Bethsaida, where He called Philip as a disciple, and told him, "Follow me." (Jn. 1:43). Then Philip went to Nathaneal and told him: "...We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathaneal said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see." (v. 45-46). Jesus had seen Nathanael in the Spirit, and said to him: "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." (v. 47-48). Nathanael was amazed that Jesus had seen him in this manner beforehand, and proclaimed to Jesus: "...Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Jesus answered: "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these...Hereafter, ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." (v. 49-51). When Paul arrived in Antioch, he was in the synagogue on the sabbath. The law and the prophets had been read during the service, and then Paul was invited to speak (Acts 13:13-16). Paul then opened up the Torah in a manner that revealed the sovereignty and goodness of God to His people throughout their history (v. 17-21). Then Paul spoke to them about how the Torah brought the people of God to the provision of His salvation: "...he (God) raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel." (v. 22-24). The people in the synagogue had been reading the law and the prophets on the sabbath, and Paul brought them the Gospel of salvation out of the same law and the prophets. When Paul was brought to trial before Felix, the governor of Cesarea, by false accusers among the Jews who wished him dead. Paul defended himself before the governor saying: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets: and have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." (Acts 24:14-16). As Paul said, our consciences towards both God and man are developed and ordered by the law and the prophets, and Paul structured his life upon the knowledge of them. As Jesus said (above), all the law and the prophets hang upon our keeping the two great commandments relating to our love for God, and equally, our love for our neighbor, man. The last few years of Paul's life were spent in Rome, where he was kept under house arrest, and would eventually be executed.
However, scripture tells us how Paul spent this time: "And when they had appointed him a day (for his hearing), there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not." (Acts. 28:22-23). The Church of believers was founded through Paul and the other apostles through the revealing of the truth of Christ in the law and the prophets. Paul also wrote that the Jews have an advantage in every way because the oracles of God have been entrusted to them. These oracles include the Torah, the Word of God. The fact that some may not believe does not make the faith of God expressed by His Word, without effect. God is going to judge the world righteously based upon His Word, whether they believe or not: "...yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. (Rom. 3:1-5, see also Ps. 51:4)). Because of this, Paul wrote that one is not a Jew who is one outwardly, by circumcision in the flesh: "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. 2:28-29). This also is directly from the law and the prophets. We need both the Old Testament and the New Testament, both of which are wrapped into Yeshua, Jesus. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 1/8/23 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook. You can also get a free ebook titled "The Shroud of Turin- A Perfect Summary" at www.The ShroudofTurin.org/freebook.

A Covenant of Law or Grace?*

We are to be at a whole new level of understanding covenant. This includes the everlasting covenant, which is spoken of fifteen times in scripture. You can also find more information on this topic in my book "Law, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Godliness", available through Amazon. The following is the first mention of "covenant" in scripture, as God spoke to Noah after the flood: "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth...And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no longer become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth....This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen. 9:13-17). Although the rainbow has been used in a profane manner in our times, it is really a sacred reminder of the mercy and grace that God sovereignly promises to all living on earth to assure them that He would not bring another destructive flood. In Gen. 6:8, we read that Noah found (attained) grace in the eyes of God. Grace is something attained between God and man. Jesus taught that the days of His return would be as the days of Noah (Lk. 17:26), so we need to understand now especially what it means to attain grace with God. The prophets wrote about the new covenant by which grace would be attained between God and man. Jeremiah wrote: "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers...which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days...I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour..., saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). Ezekiel also wrote about a new work of grace by God: "Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek. 36:25-27). We know that we are washed with the water of the Word of God. The LORD desires a relationship with all flesh, and has desired it since the beginning, or Bereshiet in Hebrew, whose individual pictographic letters mean "the son of God crushed, His hand on the cross". Revelation tells us that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. This move of God in our hearts and spirits prophesied in Jeremiah and Ezekiel is repeated in the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:10-12, where the LORD God concludes His covenant promise: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." This work of grace is created by God within us. Jesus taught what is called The Sermon on the Mount, or The Beatitudes, to His disciples, not to the crowd at large (Mt. 5:1). Jesus didn't just choose disciples. He taught and trained them in discipleship by Word and Spirit. The blessings of the Kingdom of God that were taught by Jesus that day to His disciples, reflect the perfect unity of the Word, or the Law, and grace produced in the new heart and spirit by God. Those who are blessed by God according to this sermon are the poor in spirit, or the humble. The Kingdom of God belongs to them. Those whose soft hearts mourn are the ones who receive the comfort of God. The meek, strong in faith but self-sacrificing, who put themselves last in the earth, will inherit it. Those with a hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is created by a new heart and spirit, will have that hunger satisfied. Those whose hearts and spirits show mercy to others through grace and the love of God's Word in them, will receive mercy themselves. Those whose hearts have been purified in the manner promised by the prophets above, will see God. Those whose new hearts and spirits cause them to be peacemakers in the middle of strife, will be called the children of God. Those who have been persecuted and reviled because their hearts love righteousness, and love the Righteous One, Jesus, can rejoice in this life because they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and will receive their great reward in heaven (Mt. 5:3-12). These who have sought after the new heart and spirit promised by God, live these blessings, and are living according to Kingdom principles. The covenant of grace does not operate separate from the Torah, the Law. Jesus assured His listeners that He didn't come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will not pass away until even the finest points of it are fulfilled (v. 17-18). In this context, Jesus told His disciples to be salt and light in the earth (v. 12-16). The Law of the Torah is not limited to the written letter, but it is joined with the Spirit of God, and the spirit and soul in man. This is grace. It is in this understanding that Jesus told us: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (v. 48). Paul wrote of a circumcision that was not outward, but inward, a circumcision of the heart, which makes one a Jew. It is Spirit, rather than letter, which receives praise from God, rather than men (Rom. 2:28-29). The letter of the written Word must become living Spirit within us. David, confronted by his terrible sin, sought this saving renewal that could only be attained by this work of God in him: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51, excerpt). This is the grace work within David of the LORD's Spirit through the Law, the Torah, that David had treasured in his heart. The Word, it is written, is quick and powerful, like a two-edged sword, cutting to our deepest parts and discerning the thoughts of our hearts. James the apostle wrote: "But whoso looketh into (stooping into) the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:25). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/11/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Coming Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost*

                          

 

The Feast of Shavuot is specifically timed by God to come 50 days, or seven weeks, from Passover. The name additional name, Pentecost, for this feast comes from the spacing of 50 days. It is for the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest:

"And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD."  Lev. 23:15-17

Shavuot is one of the three mandatory feasts of the LORD commanding the presence of Israel:

^"Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, [which is] in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD."   Ex. 23:14-17
This feast of Shavuot or Pentecost is assigned by the LORD to a specific place, both in the Old and New Testaments, as we will see. Describing this feast, the LORD promised to send an angel to protect and lead the Israelites to the place "which I have prepared".  v. 20
Jesus also told His disciples that He was going to "prepare a place" for them.
In the case of Shavuot, the Israelites would be brought to Mt. Sinai, in the wilderness, where the LORD would appear before them to give them the Torah.
According to the Midrash, which contains the teachings of the Rabbis based upon their studies of scripture, there is a description of that first Shavuot, when the LORD appeared before all of Israel on the mountain. The Midrash speaks of flames of fire which came to each individual at Sinai: "On the occasion of the giving of the Torah, the Children of Israel not only heard the LORD’s Voice, but actually saw the sound waves as they emerged from the LORD’s mouth. They visualized them as a fiery substance. Each commandment that left the LORD’s mouth traveled around the entire camp and then came back to every Jew individually.... God’s voice (sounding as thunderings, plural), as it was uttered, split up into seventy voices, in seventy languages, so that all the nations should understand."
These writings from the Midrash show us that, as with all of the other feasts, Shavuot/Pentecost, also had a prophetic significance that was revealed and fulfilled in the New Testament. Knowing from the Midrash the story of the giving of the Torah at Shavuot, the New Testament event in the Upper Room on the Feast of Pentecost, would have had a great effect on the Jewish witnesses present. As the angel had led the Israelites to Mt. Sinai, the place prepared by the LORD, in the New Testament fulfillment, they were all in one accord in one place (Acts 2:1). As with the Rabbinical account of the giving of the Torah at Shavuot, they experienced the waves of sound as a mighty rushing wind in the Upper Room (v. 2). They knew of the words of fire resting on each individual at Mt. Sinai, and experienced the same in the Upper Room on Pentecost (v. 3). The account of God’s voice speaking to all mankind in every language of the world at Sinai, would be repeated in the Upper Room at Pentecost (v. 4-12). As God gave the Torah on that first Shavuot at Sinai, God was also giving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, in the Upper Room (Acts 2:4).
Jesus taught that everything that He said was the fulfillment of those things "which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Palms concerning me." (Lk. 24:44). He "then opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (v. 45). He needed them to know that everything concerning Him, including His death and resurrection, had been written in the scriptures beforehand. Understanding this concept of His prophetic fulfillment of scripture, Jesus then told them that He was sending upon them the promise from His Father. They were to wait in Jerusalem, again a specific place,  "until ye be endued with power from on high."  (v. 49). Upon the receiving of that promised power, which is the Holy Spirit, they would go and preach repentance and remission of sins among the nations in His name  (v. 47).
When John the Baptist was prophesying of the Messiah, he said:
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  Mt. 3:11-12
Not only did John connect Messiah to the Pentecost baptism in fire of the Holy Ghost, but he connected the Messiah to the wheat harvest, which is also part of the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost. That wheat harvest speaks to the gathering in by God of His people.
Jesus also spoke by parable of the ingathering of the wheat harvest (Mt. 13:24-30). In this parable, He revealed that the worthless counterfeit wheat that had been sowed amongst the good wheat by an enemy would be separated out at the time of harvest (Shavuot/Pentecost), and then thrown into the fire.
As mentioned at the beginning, this mandatory gathering together for the feast of Shavuot/Pentecost is for the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. The principal of first fruits is prophetically significant. Jesus is directly connected to it as being the "first fruits":
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept...For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."  1 Cor. 15:20-23
Because Christ fulfilled the principal of first fruits of the resurrection, now all who are in Him can follow Him in the same manner. The Jews looked to Messiah to reign and rule for their immediate benefit at His first coming, but God wanted Him to become the First Fruits of the resurrection for the eternal benefit of many. Upon His soon return, however, He will indeed rule and reign.
Pentecost/Shavuot is next week. Pray that you are prepared. Pray that the Shavuot blessings of the giving of the Torah and the power of the Holy Spirit create a much needed revival in our land, especially during this pandemic.

 

*The above is based upon the 5/17/20 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson. 

To Contact/Submit prayer requests/Support the ministry/Order the book, "NAZAH-White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling", and to help us get out the message, to contribute to the Book of Remembrance for Sean Stevenson:

Dr. Kenneth Stevenson
P.O. Box 154221
Waco, TX  76705

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

http://endtimeschool.com/

everlastingcovenant@ymail.com

To watch/hear Dr. Stevenson's complete message:

https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8

Sermon.net/EverlastingCovenant
 

Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.
 

Dr. Stevenson's newest book is now available:
  

To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8     http://endtimeschool.com/ 

To send testimonies for the Book of Remembrance to be published in the memory of Sean Stevenson:
 

You can send your testimonies to:

everlastingcovenant@ymail.com or PO Box 154221, Waco, TX  76705.

 



                                                                   Sean Stevenson