Study on the Day of Pentecost
Pastor Gary ReckartA man God sent
The word Pentecost is Greek and means fiftieth.
Pentecost is one of three days that was celebrated in Jerusalem where the temple was the center of religious unity. The temple was where all sanctifications were given. Jews from all of the twelve tribes would come out of their homes and travel to Jerusalem to receive this special blessing from God. We do not know what spiritual experience they received. But it was certainly something that made them feel closer to God.
Pentecost was the conclusion of the Passover sealing of the blood. Having this special blood seal upon the family, they were then taken out of Egypt and brought to Mount Horeb (mountain of the Lord). It was at Mount Horeb that Moses received the Ten Commandments and the Law. Pentecost has been celebrated as the day the religion of the Jews began. Even before the days of Jesus, the Feast of Pentecost was a day to remember when their religion started at Mount Horeb. They already had God as their deity but they did not have his religion. So, Pentecost, was the one day of the year where their religion and its starting day was remembered.
The day of Pentecost was also called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22). It is also referred to as the Counting of the Omer. Omer means “sheaf” and thus, every day of the 50 it was a custom to speak the number of the day remaining to the waving of the sheaf.
Pentecost is today called “Shavuot” and means end of the wheat harvest. It is not a Hebrew name, it comes from Babylonian Aramaic which is now called biblical Hebrew.
Pentecost is a day of solemn assembly. It is a day of appreciation and thankfulness to God for the harvest of the wheat. Wheat meant there would be bread. And bread from the wheat became a symbol of fellowship that brought two or more people together in fellowship, a meeting of shalom (peace). It was then customary for fellowship of the bread of Pentecost wheat with wine. This breaking of the bread was considered an act of fellowship love. It is interesting that the Passover Bread was to be unleavened, but the Pentecost Bread was to have leaven in it (Leviticus 23:17). These loaves of bread made from fine flour with leaven, symbolized the Jewish people whose sins (leaven) would always need religious attention.
The Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Omer, the Feast of the giving of the Law, the Feast of unity in Jerusalem to receive sanctification: was one day of the year when religion replaced all other aspects of Jewish life. On this day, they left it all behind and made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate God.
Pentecost was seen as the birthday of the Law. Jews today still hold this celebration.
The counting of the Omer has been a problematic issue for many men. Scholars have been divided on when the counting should begin. Some hold that it begins the day after Passover. And so the day of Pentecost can fall on any day of the week. Many of our current preachers hold this Jewish error. For instance, Passover in 2023 fell on April 5th at sundown in Jerusalem. So, those in error start counting 50 days beginning on April 6th ending on Thursday May 25th. This is not the true Pentecost of the book of Acts. That Pentecost fell on the First day of the week, a Sunday.
What is the Truth? When does the Counting of the Omer (sheaf) begin?
Lev 23:15 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:
Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.
There is a sabbath day that must be considered in the counting. In fact there are seven sabbaths that must be counted. Seven sabbaths means 49 days. Then we must accept the day referred to as the “morrow” after the sabbath. Since the sabbath is the 7th day of the week, it is easy to see that the “morrow” after the 7th sabbath is the first day of the new week. This is today called Sunday. So, the day of Pentecost is fixed to always fall on a Sunday.
Example: Passover began on Wednesday April 5th at sundown in Jerusalem. The next sabbath to begin the Counting of the Omer was Saturday April 8th. To count seven sabbaths, a sabbath must be the starting point. The sabbath starting point begins with the first one after Passover.
This year, 2023, Pentecost falls in Jerusalem on May 28th.
Recapitulation/Recap/Summery
Let us go over all of the important elements of the day of Pentecost and see why Jesus chose this day for the birth of the New Testament Church.
Pentecost:
The day families covered by the Passover blood received their religion;
The day the Ten Commandment Covenant was given;
The day to be remembered each year in unity in Jerusalem;
The day sanctification from God was received;
The day of waving the Omer/Sheaf of wheat;
Bread made with leaven;
Breaking of bread, symbolic of love and friendship;
The day every aspect of life was set aside to thank God for the harvest;
Celebrate the birthday of the beginning of the Jewish religion;
These are all a part of our New Testament history.
On the day of Pentecost, thousands of Jews from over 16 different places had come to the Pentecost celebration in Jerusalem.
They had counted the 50 days of the Omer. They made special travel arrangements so they would arrive in Jerusalem for the Feast. For some, the travel took up to two months or more.
Many had never heard of Jesus or what had happened to him by the rabbis. But, on arrival they were all soon told of his death.
Jesus chose the day of Pentecost to make it a day a new religion of the Jews was born (Isaias 66:8). A greater than Moses had come. He had delivered a new religious message called the Gospel. All the first Christians were Jews (Acts 2:5). Paul refers to them as the Olive tree (Romans 11). The unbelieving Jews were broken off. Into this tree Gentiles would be grafted. There never was such thing as a Pentecostal Gentile Church.
On the day of Pentecost, the Jews came to wave their sheaf of wheat.
God would sanctify them.
God’s Spirit would in some manner manifest to each of them.
On the day of Pentecost everything came together in one place, Jerusalem.
The Church was born
The first Gospel message after the crucifixion and resurrection was preached.
The believers were now liberated from the temple, the rabbis, the scribes, the high priest, the Sanhedrin, and the first Covenant. They would be under a New Covenant as spoken by the prophet Jeremias in 31:31-34.
As the old Covenant was given on Mount Horeb, the new Covenant was given on Mount Zion from the Upper Room.
We can read of this Mount Zion in Isaias 26:16. This foundation in Zion shows us where the Upper Room was located. It is here that the Apostle Peter in his expert interpretation of prophecy refers to the Isaias prediction:
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded (confused).
This answers to the Olive Tree.
The Day of Pentecost holds many important revelations.
More then just speaking in tongues and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost was just for the 120 wheat.
Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ was for converts who wanted to join the wheat as Christians.
They also would receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.
Because of this we are called “Pentecostals.”
On the day of Pentecost, every Pastor should preach about everything that was fulfilled on that day. Peter covered all of it. He even covered the prophecy of Joel.
But, our focus is not just speaking in tongues.
It is about every part of the law that was fulfilled.
Pentecost, we are the wheat.
We are the harvest.
We are the new Israel of God.
We are the Olive Tree.
We are the Church that was born on the day of Pentecost.
We are free from the temple, the rabbis, and all the authority of Jewish religious leaders.
We are the Jesus Only Church.
We are the Bride of Christ
Print this out for your Pastor. Translate it for him.
