Showing posts with label Shavuot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shavuot. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
If I Had One Wish*
Today is the Feast of Shavuot, or Pentecost, when God delivered His covenant to the children of Israel from Mt. Sinai. After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, it was also on Pentecost that the disciples of Jesus in the Upper Room received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as He had promised them. The Word of God is not just to be read, but to be absorbed into the inner man, and to be a manner of life for us: "Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her and she shall keep thee...Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not unless they have done mischief...unless they cause some to fall." (Prov. 4:5-8, 14-16). It is about what is in the heart: "Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Prov. 14:32-34). The Prophet Jeremiah prophesied the Word of the LORD promising a new covenant to His people that would not be like the previous covenant which Israel broke. In this new covenant: "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...they shall all know me...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). We claim to be believers in the New Covenant, but it is to be in our hearts - not just our mouths. If I had one wish, it is that we would walk in the New Covenant. Ezekiel wrote about the LORD's promise to sprinkle clean water on us, and cleanse us from all filthiness and idolatry. In the New Covenant we know that we are washed with the water of the Word of God. The LORD also then promised us a new heart and spirit: "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." The LORD also promised to give us His Spirit for a specific purpose: "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). In Psalm 51, David repented for murder, and asked God to renew a right heart in him, and not to take His Spirit from him. David understood that there needed to be an inward work in him by God. Jesus told those who believed in Him that to be His disciples, they must abide in His word. He said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jn. 8:31:32). The wages of sin is death, scripture says, but the power of the work of the truth within us makes us free. The religiously strict Pharisees rejected Jesus' implication that they were "blind", but Jesus told them that the fact that they claimed to be able to see, or understand, meant that their sin remained with them. They claimed to see, but they still walked as if they were spiritually blind. (Jn. 9:40-41). In the Book of Hebrews, we read that although the old covenant and tabernacle were a shadow or pattern of heavenly things, the new covenant is more excellent in every way, established on better promises. This true tabernacle of the new covenant was not pitched by man, but by the Lord Himself, and is the fulfillment of the prophecy we read in Jeremiah above. (Heb. 8:5-6-12). Jesus died to fulfill this promise of God. I have studied the Shroud of Turin for years and all of the evidence gathered, both scientific and scriptural, confirms the Gospel accounts of His suffering and His resurrection. How can we neglect so great a salvation? If I had one wish, it would be that this kind of message would go "viral" and bring in the harvest of God. What was a form of righteousness under the law of Moses, has become righteousness in fact for those who believe by faith. Faith is an inward work of the heart that becomes joined with the Word of God that is heard: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Rom. 10:5-10). This salvation comes to both the Jew and the Greek, or Gentile, by the same manner, by faith. The Gospel is not just to be heard, but to be obeyed, making Paul ask the question that Isaiah prophetically posed: "Who hath believed our report?". Faith comes by hearing, and hearing, by the Word of God (v. 13-17). If I had one wish, it would be to "blow the minds" of people here and around the world with the message, and with the book "NAZAH", because of the time. We were dead in our sins, but Christ made us alive. We once walked according to the course of the world, but now we are quickened in Christ through grace, raised up, and made us sit together in the heavenly places with Christ. What an awesome thing to be made to sit in heavenly places with Christ! We were once completely distanced and separated from Israel, without God, and without hope. But Christ has destroyed that separation, and joined us together and made both one through Him by the cross. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." ( see Eph. 2:1-18). On this Feast of Shavuot, two loaves of leavened bread would be waved before the LORD, a symbol of two peoples being joined through Christ, and filled with His Spirit. We have become fellow citizens with the saints, of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone (v. 19-20). We are being fitted together to grow into a holy temple of God. All of this begins with faith in each heart, "For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Eph. 2:8). If I had one wish, it would be that we have this understanding, for Jesus is coming soon for a church without spot or wrinkle. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 6/5/2022 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, and theshroudofturin.org, endtimeschool.com.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
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. 23:14-17This 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.
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/
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
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.
https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8
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.
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:
To send testimonies for the Book of Remembrance to be published in the memory of Sean Stevenson:
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Our Jewish Feasts-Shavuot/Pentecost*
Continuing our exploration of our Jewish faith, this week marked the observance of Shavuot, one of the Feasts of the LORD given to Israel. According to Lev. 23:15-17, this feast is to be observed 50 days, which includes 7 Sabbaths, after the Feast of First Fruits. Jesus fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits by His resurrection. Shavuot, 50 days later, was fulfilled by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with fire upon the disciples who waited according to His instructions. This event is known to us as Pentecost.
The rabbis teach that Shavuot memorializes the giving of the Law, the Torah, on Mt. Sinai. The later outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost would seem to have no connection to the giving of the Law, but we will see that it is directly connected. It is also directly connected to the prophetic promises made by God regarding the new thing that He would do concerning His Law.
In the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers on this feast day, Acts records:
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4
This miraculous event was witnessed by many devout Jews who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from all the nations of the world to observe Shavuot. These devout pilgrims were visiting the tomb of David, which was located directly beneath the Upper Room, where the disciples were. They heard the disciples of Jesus praising God in the visitors' languages of their various foreign homelands. They wondered how these disciples could be speaking in so many different foreign languages, even foreign languages not commonly known or used in Israel (v. 5-12). The disciples explained that this was the fulfillment of the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by God because of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus (v. 32-33).
Connecting this occasion to the understanding of Shavuot, the receiving of the Torah, Moses documents that the receiving of the Law was the engraving into stone tablets by the fire of God:
"...The LORD came from Sinai (thorny), and rose up from Seir (sacrificial animal as a goat, dread, horror) unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran (place of caverns, to glorify, beautify, adorn, honored by Jehovah), and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words." Deut. 33:1-3, (Ex. 20:18)
Jewish teaching also contains a description of the receiving of the Law on the mountain, with the accompaniment of fire:
"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." Midrash Chazit
In His prophetic promise to His people, the LORD states that He will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. He promises, "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." (Jer. 31:31-33). The prophet Ezekiel wrote of the promise of God to sprinkle His people with clean water to cleanse them of filthiness. He promises to give His people a new heart and a new spirit. He would put His Spirit in them, and cause His people to walk in His statutes and judgments (the Torah). His people would return to their land, and receive great blessings in that restoration, which we have seen fulfilled in this generation (Ez. 36:24-28).
The giving of His Word is connected to receiving fire. Prophecy promised that the Word within His people's heart would be connected to the Spirit that would be placed in them. The giving of the Holy Spirit was also connected to receiving fire.
Paul wrote about this connection, and also the differences between the old covenant giving of the Law, and the new covenant giving of the Holy Spirit:
"...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. ...(God) made us ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life....if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, was glorious ..How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?...much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory."
2 Cor. 3:1-9 (excerpt)
The Law written upon our hearts by the receiving of the Holy Spirit represented in this feast of Shavuot/Pentecost, is not about religious legalism or tradition, or the setting aside of the Law. Jesus explained:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill...one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whoseoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven....except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Mt. 5:17-20
Having the statutes and judgments of God written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, creates in our hearts a keeping of the Law in a manner that even the most stringent religious adherents could never attain, because the keeping of it is by the (fire) power of the Spirit of God, received in that much more glorious ministration spoken of by Paul, rather than by the natural strength and understanding of man.
Paul wrote that this new testament is not of the letter, but of the Spirit:
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law....If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Gal. 5:14-25 (excerpt).
Walking and living in those fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Paul, is the preventative against those sins that, by the Law, condemn us to death. By walking in the Holy Spirit that God sent in fire because of His Son, rather than walking in the ways of the flesh, we fulfill all of the requirements of the Law.
God has given us new hearts and new spirits, and has placed His Spirit within us who will receive. These are new hearts upon which He has written His Law by fire. This is Shavuot and Pentecost.
*The above is based upon the 6/9/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.
Paul wrote about this connection, and also the differences between the old covenant giving of the Law, and the new covenant giving of the Holy Spirit:
"...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. ...(God) made us ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life....if the ministration of death, written and engraven on stones, was glorious ..How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?...much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory."
2 Cor. 3:1-9 (excerpt)
The Law written upon our hearts by the receiving of the Holy Spirit represented in this feast of Shavuot/Pentecost, is not about religious legalism or tradition, or the setting aside of the Law. Jesus explained:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill...one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whoseoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven....except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Mt. 5:17-20
Having the statutes and judgments of God written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, creates in our hearts a keeping of the Law in a manner that even the most stringent religious adherents could never attain, because the keeping of it is by the (fire) power of the Spirit of God, received in that much more glorious ministration spoken of by Paul, rather than by the natural strength and understanding of man.
Paul wrote that this new testament is not of the letter, but of the Spirit:
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law....If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Gal. 5:14-25 (excerpt).
Walking and living in those fruits of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Paul, is the preventative against those sins that, by the Law, condemn us to death. By walking in the Holy Spirit that God sent in fire because of His Son, rather than walking in the ways of the flesh, we fulfill all of the requirements of the Law.
God has given us new hearts and new spirits, and has placed His Spirit within us who will receive. These are new hearts upon which He has written His Law by fire. This is Shavuot and Pentecost.
*The above is based upon the 6/9/19 message to the Church from Dr. Kenneth Stevenson.
https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8
http://endtimeschool.com/
To watch/hear Dr. Stevenson's complete message:
https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8
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.
https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8
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.
To order "NAZAH": https://twitter.com/everlastingcov8 http://endtimeschool.com/
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Shavuot/Pentecost: A Covenant Confirmation
Shavuot (plural of seven, or week), also known as the Feast of Weeks, takes place fifty days after Passover. Some Jewish scholars teach that the number fifty refers to a new, higher realm, beyond the natural realm that is contained within multiples of seven. Shavuot does not have its own specific date in scripture, but depends on the date of Passover (the Lamb), and Feast of First Fruits (Resurrection) for its timing. Shavuot commemorates Israel's receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, seven weeks after the deliverance from Egypt. God's covenant with His people, Israel, was confirmed on this feast with the giving of the Torah. Part of the observance of this feast is the lifting of two loaves of leavened wheat bread, from the new wheat harvest, as a wave offering before the LORD. While we usually associate leaven with something negative (Mt. 16:6, 12, Mk. 8:15), Jesus also used the concept of leaven to describe the kingdom of heaven:
"...The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Mt. 13:33
The Greek word for leaven used in this verse refers to a comparatively small, powerful quantity, that thoroughly pervades by its influence.
"...The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Mt. 13:33
The Greek word for leaven used in this verse refers to a comparatively small, powerful quantity, that thoroughly pervades by its influence.
Pentecost, the Greek word for this feast in the New Testament, also refers to the number fifty. At the set time after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, God confirmed His covenant between Himself, His Word, Jesus, and His people, with the giving of the Holy Spirit on this day:
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they (the disciples) 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 all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4
So at the same time as the priest was waving the two loaves of leavened bread in the temple for Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit was being received in another part of Jerusalem, above the tomb of David, fulfilling the prophesy of Joel:
So at the same time as the priest was waving the two loaves of leavened bread in the temple for Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit was being received in another part of Jerusalem, above the tomb of David, fulfilling the prophesy of Joel:
"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: and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy."
Acts 2:17-18, Joel 2
Acts 2:17-18, Joel 2
The Apostle Paul gave this description of the confirmation of covenant in the receiving of the Holy Spirit:
"...ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest (deposit) of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory....the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." Eph. 1:13-14, 18-19
The giving of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, confirmed, or sealed, God's covenant with us, which was accomplished by the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
On that day of Pentecost, it was also made clear that the gospel of salvation, and subsequent receiving of the Holy Spirit, was to people of all nations, as Joel had prophesied. Jews, proselytes from the Gentiles, citizens from near and far away nations, and Romans were present that day at the tomb of David, who was believed to have been born on Shavuot, and heard the disciples speaking with other tongues, hearing their own native languages coming from the mouths of the disciples, and were amazed (Acts 2:4-12). This move of the Holy Spirit, on the fiftieth day after Passover, went far beyond the religious confines of what these observers had previously known or experienced.
Perhaps these visitors should not have been so surprised. The two loaves of Shavuot should be a reminder of the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the two sticks (Ez. 37:15-19), representing the divided people of Judah and Ephraim, the tribe associated with Joseph. By the prophetic word of God, these two separate sticks became one in God's hand. While Ephraim's father was Joseph, the son of Jacob, who received the covenant promise from God, Ephraim's mother was a Gentile. God explained to Ezekiel that this unification of two peoples would be connected with Messiah: "And David (Messiah), My servant, shall be King over them; and they shall have one Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes and do them." (v. 24). One confirmation of this covenant, the everlasting covenant, the covenant of peace (v. 26), was the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in the hearing of both Jews and Gentiles, Israelite and foreigner.
Perhaps these visitors should not have been so surprised. The two loaves of Shavuot should be a reminder of the prophecy of Ezekiel concerning the two sticks (Ez. 37:15-19), representing the divided people of Judah and Ephraim, the tribe associated with Joseph. By the prophetic word of God, these two separate sticks became one in God's hand. While Ephraim's father was Joseph, the son of Jacob, who received the covenant promise from God, Ephraim's mother was a Gentile. God explained to Ezekiel that this unification of two peoples would be connected with Messiah: "And David (Messiah), My servant, shall be King over them; and they shall have one Shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes and do them." (v. 24). One confirmation of this covenant, the everlasting covenant, the covenant of peace (v. 26), was the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in the hearing of both Jews and Gentiles, Israelite and foreigner.
Each one of those local and foreign visitors making the pilgrimage to David's tomb that Shavuot day in Jerusalem, heard the disciples speaking in the foreign languages native to them, witnessed the giving of the Holy Spirit, and heard the gospel from Peter (Acts 2:22-36). Each of these visitors must have taken an account of this miraculous experience back to the home from which they had travelled.
Who will be the missionaries, the watchmen, sent to America to bring the gospel? Are we waiting for those from foreign lands to come to revive us? First, it must come from us, the inhabitants of this land, who have been set apart, and made into something new by the gospel of Jesus, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We also have witnessed and received our own Pentecost experience, and have been sent back to our own homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces, to tell others all that we have discovered. No matter our walks in life, or spiritual callings, we have each been sent home from the "upper room", after discovering something extraordinary, in order to bring our Pentecost experience to those around us.
Who will be the missionaries, the watchmen, sent to America to bring the gospel? Are we waiting for those from foreign lands to come to revive us? First, it must come from us, the inhabitants of this land, who have been set apart, and made into something new by the gospel of Jesus, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We also have witnessed and received our own Pentecost experience, and have been sent back to our own homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces, to tell others all that we have discovered. No matter our walks in life, or spiritual callings, we have each been sent home from the "upper room", after discovering something extraordinary, in order to bring our Pentecost experience to those around us.
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