Feast of Pentecost
                                                          
                                                                      Part 4

1.   
 Can you see God’s divine plan throughout this study of the feasts?

a)    Divine architect?

b)    Divine rehearsal?

c)    Divine orchestrator?

2.    Are you looking forward to a fresh anointing from God on May 27^th?

The Feast of Pentecost was a time of great anticipation and personal reflection for the early believers. As a result God’s presence and power fell on them for they were ready—preparing themselves. Are you also ready and preparing yourself for a fresh anointing? 

Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) Feast of Weeks
Part 4

Leviticus 23:15-16 “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 after the morrow the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty day; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.”

Amplified Bible: “And you shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths; (seven full weeks) shall they be; counting fifty days to the day after the Sabbath; then you shall present a cereal offering of new grain before the Lord.”

N

ote: with all the counting of days and Sabbaths it would be an easy matter to conclude they are merely “countdowns”, thus becoming ritualistic in nature, when in reality they are anticipations of God’s appointed work expected on the fiftieth day, the Day of Pentecost. These days mark the period from the cross to the beginning of the church and from the resurrection to the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is during these fifty days that we ought to give explicit attention to examining ourselves, while thoughtfully taking heed of our relationship with God and His Word, for it is Pentecost that ushered in the beginning of the new covenant and church. For whatever reason the contemporary church does not continually celebrate the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits or Pentecost, most likely because they are fulfilled in Christ.

Exodus 19:5-6 “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”

Relationship with Fire

Exodus 19:18-19 “And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke [engulfed in smoke], because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.”

Just as God descended with fire on Mount Sinai, so also the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost with fire! Therefore, fire also signifies the presence and power of the Spirit of God! Fire is very important in the church. There are numerous passages which contain elements of fire and all are relevant serving a definitive purpose.

{Compare with}: Acts 2:1-5 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there coma 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. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.”

Wow! What a powerful comparison. The infant church experienced what ancient Israel anticipated!

Now the infant church became the peculiar nation of holy priests Moses spoke of concerning ancient Israel! Exodus 19:6.

Not only that but according to Acts 2 there were Hebrew men gathered because they were required to bring an offering to the Temple on Pentecost.  Acts 1:12-14 records that men and women were gathered in the upper room, on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost  praying with supplication and were all of one accord

Location of the upper room: Acts 1:13 indicates that was the place where Peter, James, John Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James abode or lodged awaiting the day of Pentecost. It was therefore, most likely the house of a believer and not the temple. It must have been a fairly large room to have housed so many, as later in vs. 14-15 it is stated that there were about one hundred twenty.

Mark 14:13-16 and Luke 22:10-12 tell the likely whereabouts of the room, which was the same room the twelve disciples had shared the Passover meal with Jesus before his crucification. It was described as a large guestchamber, an upper room.

There is little evidence to support an upper room in the Temple as the only upper rooms mentioned would have been on the north wall, third floor of the temple, and far too small to support such a gathering. Furthermore, there is no mention in scripture to support that theory, plus the upper rooms were used for storage of temple items which required security.

Supplication: humble or earnest prayer; petition; a particular need or want; petition for oneself; petition on behalf of others.

This was a deep attitude of prayer as opposed to being superficial, thus in keeping with the nature of the Feast of Pentecost.

Peter’s Sermon

Acts 2:14-40 records Peter’s first sermon to those gathered in the upper room in the Temple, [see Matthew 16:18] Peter is now fulfilling Christ’s proclamation that Peter would begin the church

Note also: in Exodus 32:28 3000 men died at Mount Sinai for worshipping the golden calf, but on Pentecost 3000 were saved when Peter preached the first sermon.

The Promise of the Father

Isaiah 28:9-13 times of refreshing; 32:15 spirit be poured upon us from on high; 59:21 my words have I put in thy mouth; Ezekiel 39:29 I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel; Joel 2:28-29 I will pour out my spirit; Zechariah 12:10 I will pour upon the house of David; Luke 11:13 heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask; 24:49 endued with power from on high; John 7:39 Holy Spirit was not yet given; 14:16-17 he shall give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth; Acts 1:4-8 receive power; 2:16-20, 38-39 gift of Holy Ghost; 3:19 times of refreshing.

Note: there are several terms and phrases used to convey the same promise of the Father.

Pentecost Signaled

1.    The beginning of the church.

2.    The beginning of the new covenant.

3.    The beginning of a new kingdom on earth established by the Spirit of God, not man.

4.    The beginning of a new order of priests, a holy nation, a peculiar people  Ex.19:6; Isa. 61:6; 1Pet.2:5; Rev.1:6

5.    The promise of God being fulfilled.

6.    The fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31.

7.    The fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29.

8.    A new harvest of 3000 souls of man from which would reproduce thousands of times over and over, in stark contrast to the 3000 slain for idol worship in Exodus 32.

Seven Weeks

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rom Easter [resurrection Sunday] forward for seven weeks [in 2012 from April 8^th to May 27^th] is the Feast of Weeks, during which time the Jews prepare themselves inwardly expectantly awaiting God’s promise on the Day of Pentecost. Rather than continue to take these days for granted—what would happen if we [the church both collectively and individually] with sincerity of heart would consecrate ourselves with great expectation for a fresh anointing and power within each of us?

In this day it greatly disturbs me that we take for granted that which the early church earnestly sought for and subsequently received on the day of Pentecost.

F

rom this day forward, I therefore challenge each one reading this study, to begin to inwardly search your hearts with prayer and supplications, even as they did in Acts 1, and expect God do bring a fresh anointing upon you. An anointing with power, such as you’ve never experienced before.

Expect God to pour out a fresh anointing with power upon each of us on May 27^th, 2012 as we seek His face.

Join us please!

Faith Building Practice and Review

3.    How many weeks between Easter and Pentecost?

4.    Name five things Pentecost signaled.

a)     

b)     

c)     

d)     

e)     

5.    What were the early Christians expecting on Pentecost?

6.    What was ancient Israel expecting?

7.    Why is the Feast of Pentecost also called the Feast of Weeks?

8.    What is the location of the upper room?

9.    Is the fire associated with the Feast of Pentecost some weird phenomenon?

10. What other passages containing fire can you find?

11. What is the significance of that fire in the passages you found?