Feast of Pentecost:
This month we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. This is the only feast mentioned in the Bible that mainstream Christianity celebrates. The six other feasts mentioned in Exodus and Leviticus have been “nailed to the cross” by the church. Instead Christians all over the world celebrate Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day and such supposed Christian festivals.
Most people never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. In a world filled with popular customs and traditions, few seek to understand the origin of things. Most generally accept common religious practices without question, choosing to do what everyone else does because it is easy, natural and comfortable.
The importance attached to this festival is that it is the ‘birthday’ of the church. Another wrong reason given is that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on that day. This is a false belief. If you read Exodus 19, and count the number of days from Passover to the giving of the Ten Commandments, you will see that they don’t add up to fifty.
Leviticus 23:9-22 describes the third annual Sabbath or Feast of Firstfruits. This day is sometimes called Pentecost or the “Feast of Weeks.” Again, this Holy Day was twice commanded to be observed forever (vs. 14, 21). It is also called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus:34:22), with this name coming from the seven weeks plus one day (50 days in all) that are counted to determine when to celebrate this festival (Leviticus:23:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, which was written in Greek, this festival is known as Pentecost (Pentekostos in the original), which means "fiftieth". Among Jews the name for this festival is the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot in Hebrew. The Jews recognize that this day holds something of great importance, they limit it to the Old Covenant and the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. There is no Biblical proof for this.
It is not surprising then that we would find the Feast of Pentecost mentioned in the New Testament, in this case, prominently and multiple times. The New Testament Church kept this Holy Day every year. Messiah promised to build His Church (Matt. 16:18). The fulfillment of this promise is recorded in Acts 2:1—and it occurred on the Feast of Pentecost. It states, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place”
Modern evangelists give you the impression that after hearing one sermon you can be converted. It takes a lot more than that to lead us to repentance. So much preparation was needed to bring these people up. During the ministry of John the Baptist and Messiah, Elohim was leading these people to repentance. Then, when they heard Peter's sermon, with the help of Elohim's Holy Spirit giving the sermon and leading them, they repented and were baptized.
You Shall Receive Power.
Now, when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, what is it that we are receiving? It is "power." In Acts1:8, Messiah said, ‘but you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ 11Tim1:7, ‘For Elohim has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’
Now the Elohim of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us, or enables us to accomplish things. Zech 4:6 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, says the LORD of hosts.
In Gen. 1: The Spirit of Elohim brooded over the face of the deep, looking down on the disorganized state of confusion, and then Elohim sent forth His Spirit. Out of that confusion came order and beauty and life.
Quiz Ans:Gen.11:26; Gen.26:20,26; Gen.30:25; Ruth.4:22; Lk.3:28; I Sam.1:19-20; Lk.1:5; Gen.5:28-29; Judg.13:2
When Elohim sent forth His Spirit to us, what kind of condition were we in? We were just as confused as everybody else in Babylon . We were headed for the grave. We were in varying degrees of destruction and disorder. When He sent forth His Spirit, transformation began. Elohim was creating!
The receiving of Elohim’s Holy Spirit is not for our use but for Elohim’s—that He might carry out His creative efforts in our lives.
Not a Power To Be Controlled :
In Acts 8., we read the story of Simon the sorcerer. When Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money. It is also very clear that he wanted the Holy Spirit for the wrong reasons. He wanted to get it so that he would be glorified before people. He wanted people to worship him. There is no sin worse than idolatry. Simon made the mistake of thinking that he could manipulate this power of Elohim to his own end. It happens frequently to people in the world. Many people have made similar mistakes. The desire has to be right. Simon desired, but it obviously was not right. It was rejected immediately, because it was for self-centered reasons. I Cor.12:1-2, we read that He is willing to give us the gifts of His Spirit. He's very willing to give us His Spirit in abundant amounts. But it is conditioned by the quality of our desire. If we want it for selfish reasons, we are not going to get it. If we want it to glorify Him, we are going to get it. There's no doubt about it.
Given for the Common Good :
In 1Cor12:7..Every man is given his gifts by the spirit, that he may use it for the common good. This tells us two things:
Everybody gets gifts from the Spirit of Elohim. Nobody has been left out. The most important thing of all is that the gift is given for the common good.
The second purpose Elohim gives His Spirit is for the good of the church. Even in this, Elohim retains control and gives it according to His will.
The Spirit is given for the benefit of the church—to empower it. We don't need the gift of tongues anymore, except in extremely rare instances. Today, we have no need of the interpretation of tongues. Does the church benefit because someone can pray to Elohim in a different language? Not at all. We should occasionally ask Elohim to give His gifts as He sees fit—to benefit the church and to glorify Him.
For Our Growth in His Image
The third purpose Elohim gives His Spirit is for our own spiritual well-being and growth. This is important because from it comes the power to yield to Elohim, and be prepared for Elohim's Kingdom and glorify Him along the way. |