| (Copyright) by Rich Traver (Clifton, Colorado) |
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| In the previous edition of the Echoes of the Word, we considered the origins of what is commonly called “the LORD’s Supper” having been derived from the Passover memorial observed by Jesus and His 12 disciples. Not every denomination is candid with that fact, though they see what they do as an essential expression of faith. That association is further obscured by the times when it’s thought to be ‘observed’: weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. An example of each can be found in the present array of practices. One group even provides a situation where the worshipper can go to the back to a “communion table” during any service and personally avail himself of the elements (bread & wine) at any time! Another common observance is similarly practiced, that of the Day of Pentecost. Though a number of methods are employed in determining just when this important anniversary ought to be kept, as in the above observance, few worshippers are aware of its Old Testament origin, and even fewer, its connection with Passover. Like with Passover – or some variant of its observance – with Pentecost there’s a similar reluctance among the main-stream religious world to recognize its direct Old Testament association. The bias against the Holy Days of the LORD, all of which are clearly spelled-out in the Pentateuch, remain high on the list of unacknowledged facts in ‘accepted’ religions. That is not a new thing. It goes back to the time of Constantine in the early fourth century, when the apostatizing Christian religion purposely chose to sever itself from its Jewish heritage. It isn’t all that different today! While Pentecost is known for being the anniversary of the establishment of the New Testament Church – a widely accepted premise – its association with another significant milestone of Biblical history is not well advertised. You see, it’s understood as being the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai some 50-days after the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt. Pentecost is not just associated with the event that formally established the New Testament Church. It was a factor in the Old Covenant as well! Though we don’t know for certain just when the weekly Sabbath occurred during that original week of Unleavened Bread, the time it took the Children of Israel – (they weren’t Jews!) – to fully exit the Land of Egypt, there was a weekly Sabbath within those seven days. It’s that weekly Sabbath that establishes the ‘morrow’ that starts the count which determines which day is to be observed. By its very name, Pentecost is the result of a fifty-day count, and that count begins with another key observance: the Wave Sheaf Offering. The name we use is a Greek word meaning ‘fifty count’! In the Old Testament era, it was more commonly known as the Feast of Weeks (as seven whole weeks had passed), or the Feast of Firstfruits. Where the connection with Passover occurs is with that Wave Sheaf Offering. While not a modern observance, (bringing a sheaf of ones’ own harvest to the Priest on the morrow after the Sabbath), the readiness of said first-ripe barley was a milestone on the calendar which determined which month would be the ‘first month’ in which Passover could then be properly set. There we have the connection between Passover and Pentecost. You don’t determine the day for one without the other! For that matter, the seven days of Unleavened Bread are also drawn-in, as Pentecost is counted from the morrow after one of those seven days. So, Pentecost depends upon the full spectrum of spring Holy Days, from the Wave Sheaf to Passover and the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, with each having a significance to personal salvation. Overlooked by the mainstream religious culture is the FACT that Jesus Himself fulfilled the Wave Sheaf Offering, being ‘accepted for us’ on that very occasion in the year of His resurrection. We know when the weekly Sabbath was in that year. He was ‘waved’ – not symbolically, but actually – before the Father on that Sunday morning, the morrow after the Sabbath, just hours after His resurrection. That very morning was the true Wave Sheaf occasion, though the Jewish world of that day had already observed it earlier. That is evident based on when the fifty-day count had been ‘fully’ counted out. (Acts 2:1) We can know what was said to Jesus at that Wave Sheaf presentation from Psalm 110:1 with a description of that scene given to us in Daniel 7:13 & 14. It’s significant to note that Jesus, toward dawn, as His trial was falling apart, blended these two passages to provoke the needed condemnation for His death declaration which resulted in His timely crucifixion on that very day! Both of those passages refer to the Wave Sheaf occasion while seriously contradicting the belief system of the era! As we read in Matthew 26:65, the High Priest completely freaked out hearing those passages being uttered in such a context! They had serious ‘issues’ with the idea of there being a Second Person in the Godhead! Acts 2 provides evidence that their Jewish counterparts had observed their determined Pentecost on a fixed calendar date (as is their usual custom) while the Disciples observed it when “it was fully come”. That phraseology reveals that there had been a prior observance among those of that other persuasion. In fact, there was! Jews of Phariseean persuasion had observed it on Friday that year (waving the sheaf on the morrow after the annual Sabbath) while the Disciples, and then the early New Testament Church after them, observed it on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath, resulting in a fixed day of the week rather than on a fixed calendar date. And that also meeting the requirement that it be the morrow after the 7th Sabbath. But both persuasions, including the modern religious world, (even Catholics) realize that Pentecost is an annual observance, not a random ‘anytime’ occasion as is done with the other observance: Passover, or its various forms. Passover is more correctly an annual occasion also. When religion allows Passover to be identified with its proper name, then it becomes obvious, which explains the reluctance to associate it by that name directly despite the profound similarities. Pentecost illustrates the completion of the first harvest, explaining its association with the name: “the Feast of Firstfruits”. Those ‘firstfruits’ being the first-ripened and harvestable Saints for God’s Bride. The very name suggests that there will be yet another subsequent harvest, which is the subject of the later Holy Days given in the Old Testament. There is to be a ‘firstfruits generation’ selected from among those not just called, but ‘chosen’ for their faithful endurance, with Jesus being the first among them as we read in 1st Corinthians 15:20 & 23. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept… But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” This particular harvest is strongly associated with the resurrection of those Saints as these verses show. (This reference to a ‘first resurrection’ alludes to there being another one later.) And we see another aspect of the ‘fulfilment’ of Pentecost associated with the Second Coming! But the more significant present aspect of this observance – more than its illustration of the completion of the first harvest – is the common availability of the Holy Spirit on a major scale, something not possible prior to the fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering. (And still, they had to wait for it!) An extraordinary thing happened on that 50th day. An audible and visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit left no doubt as to the significance of this Convocation. Without that Spirit, there is no possibility of spiritual growth acceptable for His harvesting. At least, not at this time. What would have been the situation with His disciples had they not been there on the right day? A question relevant to each of us. Where mainstream religion commonly practices their Pentecost observances with a certain degree of accuracy and understanding, unlike with their reflection of Passover, it’s important to realize that these observances have a connection to one another that’s all-important. Their Old Testament association should not be pointedly disregarded if we’re to fathom their important intended meanings. It’s the participants in the Covenant-Renewing experience (Passover) who are the ‘firstfruit’ Saints in question. ———————————————————————– Reprinted with permission from: Golden Sheaves https://www.goldensheaves.org/ ———————————————————————– |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Pentecost’s Connections Article by Rich Traver Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| Article by Rich Traver says: You see, it’s understood as being the anniversary of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai some 50-days after the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt. Pentecost is not just associated with the event that formally established the New Testament Church. It was a factor in the Old Covenant as well! Laura writes: The following scriptures prove a Sivan 6 Pentecost. These commands were given at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. #1–They arrived at Mount Sinai on Sivan 3. (Exd. 19:1) #2–They had 2 days of preparation, Sivan 4 & 5. (Exd. 19:10) #3–They were to be prepared for the 3rd day, Sivan 6, on which they received the law. (Exd. 19:15-16) Exo 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. In other words, in the third month “Sivan” on the 3rd day of the month of Sivan they came into the wilderness of Sinai. Exo 19:10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, It is speaking of two days of preparation for the giving of the law, Sivan 4, and Sivan 5. Exo 19:15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives’ 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. In other words, the 3rd day since arriving in the wilderness of Sinai or to the point Sivan 6 which was the day the law was given at Mount Sinai. These scriptures prove a Sivan 6 Pentecost and also that the count to Pentecost started on the wave sheaf day of Nisan 16 the morrow after the annual Sabbath of Passover. Article by Rich Traver says: Though we don’t know for certain just when the weekly Sabbath occurred during that original week of Unleavened Bread, the time it took the Children of Israel – (they weren’t Jews!) – to fully exit the Land of Egypt, there was a weekly Sabbath within those seven days. It’s that weekly Sabbath that establishes the ‘morrow’ that starts the count which determines which day is to be observed. By its very name, Pentecost is the result of a fifty-day count, and that count begins with another key observance: the Wave Sheaf Offering. The name we use is a Greek word meaning ‘fifty count’! In the Old Testament era, it was more commonly known as the Feast of Weeks (as seven whole weeks had passed), or the Feast of Firstfruits. Laura writes: The children of Israel left Egypt on the last day of unleavened bread. They had to travel all the way across the Sinai Peninsula in order to cross the Red Sea. The Sinai Peninsula was part of Egypt at that time. By starting your count to Pentecost on the day after the weekly Sabbath you are counting the way the Sadducees counted. The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection or in angels or any kind of spirit, so why would you follow them in anything? Has common sense flown the coop. Act 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. The children of Israel also included the tribe of Judah which became known later as the Jews. Judah is only one of the original 12 tribes of Israel. One tribe was later also split into two tribes making the total 13 tribes. Article by Rich Traver says: Overlooked by the mainstream religious culture is the FACT that Jesus Himself fulfilled the Wave Sheaf Offering, being ‘accepted for us’ on that very occasion in the year of His resurrection. We know when the weekly Sabbath was in that year. He was ‘waved’ – not symbolically, but actually – before the Father on that Sunday morning, the morrow after the Sabbath, just hours after His resurrection. That very morning was the true Wave Sheaf occasion, though the Jewish world of that day had already observed it earlier. That is evident based on when the fifty-day count had been ‘fully’ counted out. (Acts 2:1) Laura writes: Common sense should tell people that if a person is dead and, in the grave, He will be unable to keep both the Passover and the Wave Sheaf on the right days and at the right times. Biblically and historically the Passover and the Wave Sheaf at the time of Christ was being kept on Nisan 15 and 16 respectively. Jos 5:10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. Jos 5:11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. They could not eat these things if they had not done the wave sheaf offering first. They are eating these things the day after Passover and not the day after the weekly Sabbath. Acts 2:1 says nothing about the apostles and the Jews keeping two different Pentecost’s Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And in Acts 2:46 they all went to the Temple. Why would the Apostles go to a Jewish Temple if they were keeping Pentecost differently than the Jews? Act 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, This whole article is riddled with falsehoods. Article by Rich Traver says: Acts 2 provides evidence that their Jewish counterparts had observed their determined Pentecost on a fixed calendar date (as is their usual custom) while the Disciples observed it when “it was fully come”. That phraseology reveals that there had been a prior observance among those of that other persuasion. In fact, there was! Jews of Phariseean persuasion had observed it on Friday that year (waving the sheaf on the morrow after the annual Sabbath) while the Disciples, and then the early New Testament Church after them, observed it on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath, resulting in a fixed day of the week rather than on a fixed calendar date. And that also meeting the requirement that it be the morrow after the 7th Sabbath. Laura writes: There is nothing in Acts 2 stating they were keeping two Pentecost’s that year or any other year. In fact, it states they were all there in one accord. Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Article by Rich Traver says: What would have been the situation with His disciples had they not been there on the right day? A question relevant to each of us. Laura writes: I did not agree with most of this article, but I do agree with his question, “What would have been the situation with His disciples had they not been there on the right day?” Everyone should think about that question long and hard because the Bible says we will be resurrected on Pentecost at some point in time. Will you be there to meet Christ when he comes on the right Pentecost or will you be keeping Pentecost as mainstream Christianity keeps Pentecost, not at all or on the wrong day? |
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