Pentecost

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Meaning of the Feast of Pentecost

–  The Feast of Weeks  –

Pentecost is a celebration which pictures the first resurrection, being the ascension of the firstfruits of humanity into the God family as spirit beings. This is symbolized by the first harvest season, or reaping period, of the earliest part of the wheat crop. It is a festival to celebrate the commencement of the harvest of all humanity into the God family as spirit beings.

Updated: 24 May-10

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The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) is the last of three Holy Days set during the early wheat season of ancient Israel and is the day that uses the harvesting (reaping) of the early wheat crop to symbolize the time of ascension for the saints. The Feast of Pentecost symbolizes the instant in time that ascension takes place, just as the reaping of grain is done in an instant with a scythe – the growth of the crop having been completed beforehand. Pentecost explains the purpose of our existence; it is about where we are headed, our final destination. This article elaborates on the spiritual meaning of the festival and the principal physical aspects relating to the Day.

 

 

Resurrection (Ascension) of the Firstfruits

 

In addition to being called the Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22), this festival is also known as the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23:16), the Day of firstfruits (Num 28:26) and more commonly, the Day of Pentecost (Act 2:1, Act 20:16 and 1Cor 16:8). The last of these names being due to the count of 50 days from the weekly Sabbath before the Wave Sheaf offering during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

 

It is Biblical agrarian knowledge that in the Middle East there always were early and latter harvest seasons for the annual wheat crop – the first (early season) being a smaller grain season and the second (late season), being a much larger autumn grain season. The Wave Sheaf offering, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:10), was part of and actually commenced the very first fraction of the early wheat harvest. Although some churches of God teach that the Wave Sheaf was comprised of green barley Keil, quoting Philo and Josephus, suggests that the barley was already ripe at this time in the warmer areas of Canaan. The Wave Sheaf therefore, was either a sheaf of ripe barley or green wheat.

 

We are told in Ex 34:22 that the first harvest (at Pentecost), like the second larger harvest, is a wheat (khit-taw – Strong’s 02406) harvest:

"...'And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.'..." [NKJV].

 

The Hebrew Calendar (not the Jewish Calendar) is a religious almanac given by God to the Israelite nation in order that they may observe His annual Holy Days on the correct days and in the appropriate seasons of year. At the beginning of the year is the month of Abib, the first month in the religious calendar. The Jewish nation (separate from the nation of Israel) later commenced their civil year from the 1st of Tishri, the seventh month, but the religious calendar still remained the basis for annular calculations. As a religious almanac, even the names of the months had significance associated with events related to the Holy Days. The month of Abib, the month in which the Wave Sheaf was to be offered, literally means "green ears"  and since it is the ears of wheat that are green at this time of year (not barley), the Wave Sheaf Offering consists of a sheaf of green wheat. Both Christ and the saints are called firstfruits (1Cor 15:23 and Rev 14:4 respectively) and just as God demands the purity of Christ in all who ascend to His family, so too are all those in both the early and late harvest of pure wheat – they were not of wheat and other mixed grain. They must all be pure spiritual Israelites – which is the overall message of conversion to God’s way of life – and this is the essence of Christ’s analogy of the vine as recorded in John 15:4-8:

“…4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.’…” [NKJV].

 

Also in the context of conversion, we are asked a crucial question in James 3:12: “…My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?…” [NIV]. This Scripture, by God inspired analogy, shows clearly that as the fruits of the two ascensions to eternal life (the fruits being those who ascend into the God family as spirit beings) are described as wheat in Ex 34:22, then that fruit must have come from wheat – not barley or some other grain.

 

Central to God’s plan of salvation are the two ascensions to life – the two wheat harvests (the reaping) depict these two ascensions (cited in Rev 20:4-15). In this article we will address the first ascension only, as it is this one which pertains to Pentecost.

 

Ascension of the firstfruits into the family of God is the principal meaning of the Feast of Pentecost! There are a number of events connected to this day, but they are events either associated with or subordinate to ascension of the firstfruits at the return of Christ. This is the first resurrection and it is a resurrection to eternal life. Many have been taught that the meaning of Pentecost has to do with receiving the Holy Spirit to commence their lives as Christians, but this is actually the meaning of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and is explained in the article covering that festival.

 

All those people from all nationalities who have been predestined to be called by God and having remained faithful to God throughout the days of their conversion can now look forward to receiving the promised ascension into the family of God at the return of Christ to Earth. Although we are not yet immortal, because we have God’s Holy Spirit He looks on us as already being His children – to be made immortal at the first resurrection:

1John 3:2

“…Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is…” [NRSV].

 

A key to understanding all the discourse in the NT about the resurrection is that whenever it is mentioned, it is always referring to the first resurrection, unless otherwise specified. Accordingly, we only have to think in terms of one resurrection at this point – the first one. An equally important key is understanding that having the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit is synonymous with being predestined to be in the first resurrection, the resurrection of the saints at the end of this age. Where this is mentioned in Romans (Rom 8:12-22), Paul is preaching to the saints about the outcome for the saints – ascension into the family/kingdom of God:

1Cor 15:50-53

“…50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality...” [NRSV].

The “all” being spoken of by God refers to all of the saints, those with His Holy Spirit – those with the firstfruits of the spirit who have been predestined to be in the first resurrection:

Rom 8:23;

“…Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies…” [NIV].

 

The other principal Scriptures that allude to us being the firstfruits of the resurrection, that is to say participants in the first resurrection, are as follows:

Rev 14:4:

“…They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb…” [NIV].

Jas 1:18 

“…Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures…” [NKJV].

1Cor 15:23 

“…and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence,…” [YLT].

 

There is no mistaking that the first harvest season (pictured by Pentecost) is symbolic of the first resurrection and is comprised of those who have been predestinated for this calling (dependent upon God's foreknowing them) and received the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:29-30). This resurrection is then the resurrection of all those (just described) who remain faithful to God's way of life. This is the resurrection of the saints of God, but the rest of the dead are not to rise until a thousand years later, Rev 20:4-5:

“…4  I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection…” [NIV].

 

 

Calculating Pentecost

 

Now that Pentecost and its true meaning have been presented we can move on to the most important part, which is how we arrive at the fulfilment of what the day symbolizes.

 

The physical part of this calculation is simple and requires only that one be able to count 50 days from a particular day in order to arrive at the Feast of Pentecost.

 

Unlike other Holy Days, where God has set a specific date (day of the year), for the Feast of Pentecost God specified that it is to fall on a specific day of the week, the first day or a Sunday if you will (Lev 23:16). To arrive at this day we are instructed to count exactly 50 days from and including the Wave Sheaf offering, which is to be offered during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:10-16). We are told that the 50th day is the day after the Sabbath (the seventh-day, weekly Sabbath) which means if you count backwards from that day you arrive at the one and only Sunday to fall during the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is preceded by a weekly Sabbath during the eight (8) day Passover Season (see table below).

 

Sometimes the weekly Sabbath will fall on the seventh (or last) day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On such an occurrence it means that the first day of the eight (8) day long Passover Season is also a weekly Sabbath as well as being 14 Nissan (Passover day). When this occurs, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread also becomes the day on which the Wave Sheaf offering is to be made.

 

The very first example of the Wave Sheaf Offering being on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (also showing that Passover of that year was a weekly Sabbath) is given in Josh 5:11. We know this to be the case because of the specific command in Lev 23:14, where the Israelites were commanded not to eat of any of the produce of the Promised Land until they had brought the required Wave Sheaf offering to God. The fact that the Israelites ate of the produce of the land the day after the Passover (the 15th), as related in Josh 5:11, means that this particular 15 Abib was the day of the Wave Sheaf Offering and therefore the previous day (Passover) was a weekly Sabbath. This event also establishes that the “Sabbath” referred to in Lev 23:11 is the weekly Sabbath, not one of the annual Sabbaths of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

 

Accordingly, as the Wave Sheaf Offering is always made on the first day of the week (picturing Christ's ascension to the Father on that day) we know that Pentecost is also always going to be on the first day of the week. This makes it easy to know the day from which we start the count of 50 days.

 

 8 Days of the Passover Season
from 14 Abib to 21 Abib, inclusive -
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8
Passover UB-Day 1 UB-Day 2 UB-Day 3 UB-Day 4 UB-Day 5 UB-Day 6 UB-Day 7
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon
Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

 

 

Possible Wave Sheaf offering days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (UB) highlighted in green.

 

The Wave Sheaf Offering Table, above, shows the complete scenario of different days, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, on which the Wave Sheaf may be offered during any Passover Season. Using this table it is a simple matter of counting 50 days (seven Sabbaths + 1 day) to arrive at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), which will always be on the first day of the week (Sunday). When there are two weekly Sabbaths in the Passover Season the last is discounted from the calculation, because the Wave Sheaf offering MUST be during the Days of Unleavened Bread. This is established from the example in Josh 5:11, explained above, when there were two weekly Sabbaths in that Passover Season – the actual Passover, the first day of the eight-day season, fell on the weekly Sabbath.

 

 

Why do we count 50 days to Pentecost?

 

While the principal purpose of Pentecost is to be the Holy Day marking ascension for the Saints, it is also the day picturing some other events resulting from Christ’s return, which will be at or shortly before ascension of the Saints (1Thes 4:16-17). One such event will be the restitution of all things, that is a restoration of the condition of things to what they once were under the literal administration of God.

In Acts 3:21, in speaking of Christ, we are told,  

“…Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began..." [KJV].

 

The restitution of all things is pictured by the Jubilee, where, every 50 years in ancient Israel all debts were written off and all people were returned to their family property – their inheritance.

Lev 25:10  “…‘And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.’…” [NKJV].

 

So, with the Old Testament physical example of Jubilee now being expressed in symbolic terms by Pentecost we have the promise of both physical and spiritual restoration. This subject will be covered in greater detail at a later date in the Study Notes section, but in simply addressing the question, as well as having the clear restitutional connection between Jubilee and Pentecost, we have the 50 days to Pentecost applying the Biblical prophetic counting principle of 1 day for 1 year – Jubilee every 50 years and Pentecost always 50 days after the ascension of Christ. The resurrection/ascension of the Saints marks the beginning of the restoration of all things. Pentecost is the only annual Holy Day to be fixed in this manner (tied to another event) – all other annual Holy Days are fixed by reference to the lunar calendar.

 

At the return of Christ this restitution of all things shall extend to all peoples of Earth and they will be returned to their own lands, just as all Israelites (not just the Jews) shall be returned to the land of Israel. Some commentaries apply this restoration only to the nation of Israel, but we must remember that at this time Christ will be ruler of the entire planet, not just one physical nation. At that time God will require the entire world to come under His single administrative system –

Zec 14:18-19  "...And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles..." [KJV].

 

 

Jesus, the First of the Firstfruits

 

The Feast of Pentecost (designated the Feast of Weeks in Duet 16:10) is also known as the Feast of Firstfruits and the paramount meaning of the festival is that it symbolizes the harvest of the firstfruits of God – the saints. This harvest of firstfruits is also known as the first resurrection, which is to take place at the return of Christ to the Earth. 

 

Since Pentecost pictures the first resurrection, which is a complete and distinct part of God’s plan of salvation, the logical question to be asked here is, “Why is Pentecost so firmly attached to an event in another festival?” The simple answer is, the harvesting of the firstfruits actually began 50 days prior to the Day of Pentecost. The harvest began with the offering up to God of the Wave Sheaf (the first of the firstfruits) and symbolizes the Father receiving the risen Christ, who is the first of the firstfruits. That Jesus is the firstfruits is recorded in 1Cor 15:23:

“…and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence,…” [YLT].

 

Those who take part in the first resurrection are also called “firstfruits,” thus making Christ the first of the firstfruits and this point is made clear in Rev 14:4:

“…These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb…” [NIV].

 

The reference to “defilement with women” is symbolic. In prophecy reference to a woman always points to a church or a religion, so in this verse poetry is being used to describe the bride (collectively the church members) keeping themselves (herself) pure and unpolluted by false doctrines to present themselves (herself) as chaste before a virtuous husband. Marriage of the church (resurrected saints) to Christ is the major event pictured by the "Feast of Trumpets", the details of which will be provided in the next article.

 

God, being consistent in giving all the Sabbaths, including Holy Days, to man (Mark 2:27) set aside Pentecost as the annual Holy Day to celebrate the resurrection of firstfruits (the saints), but in this case ensured the event would be forever fixed to the Wave Sheaf Offering, which pictures Christ, the future husband of the church, being offered as the first of the firstfruits to the Father on the first day of the week after his resurrection.

 

 

The Holy Spirit – Our Helper to the First Resurrection

 

Directly linked to our spiritual progress towards the fulfilment of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and our effective use of that spirit. While Christ was with us physically on Earth there was absolutely no indication that the Holy Spirit was granted to so much as a single human – in fact Jesus stated definitely that the Holy Spirit would NOT be available to anyone while he was here in person, John 16:7:

“…But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him [it] to you…” [NIV].

 

Christ also tells us that the “Counsellor” is “the Holy Spirit”:

John 14:26

”…and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom [which] the Father will send in my name, he [it] will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I said to you…” [YLT]. 

 

Different translations variously render the Greek word parakletos as Helper, Comforter or Counsellor. In view of the total usefulness of the Holy Spirit all of these interpretations are acceptable. The most important point to remember is that the Holy Spirit is NOT an entity as God, or Christ, or we are entities; it is a divine power sent from God to assist the saints in various ways throughout the days of our conversion here on Earth. Both in Micah 3:8 and later in Luke 24:49 it is made clear that the Holy Spirit is a power for use by the receiver. In Micah, being filled with the Holy Spirit is shown to be synonymous with being filled with power and in Luke when Christ promised that the disciples were to be imbued with power, they in fact received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost 31AD.  

Mic 3:8

“…‘But I, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of Jehovah, and with judgment and strength, to show to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.’…” [Keil and Delitzsch Commentary]. [5]

Luke 24:49

“…‘Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.’…" [NKJV].

 

The Holy Spirit has always been available to mankind, it is just that in OT times far fewer people were called to be firstfruits and granted the Spirit compared to the last 2,000 years (approximately). Some people such as David, Elijah and Elisha are mentioned specifically, while others are just mentioned by number, such as the 7,000 about which God told Elijah (1Kings 19:18). However, after Christ's sacrifice, it was time to increase the number of God’s people and that meant supplying them with the Holy Spirit. God knew that when Christ was not present in person, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in His people would be essential not only for their spiritual survival in this world, but to lift the veil of Satan from their minds in order that they may be able to understand God’s basic truths and by these things being our helper to ascension.

 

 

Fulfilment of the meaning of the Feast of Pentecost, ascension of the firstfruits, completes the first harvest season and with its completion so too is the first stage of God’s two-stage plan of salvation for mankind completed.

 

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God’s annual Holy Days, showing the plan of salvation.

 

 

First (early) wheat season

 Feast of ACCLAMATION (Trumpets) Second (late) wheat season

Passover

Promise of reconciliation to God; waiting for us to accept and receive through repentance and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

A memorial of the foundation of God’s plan of creation - that foundation being His way of life (Psa 111:10).

 

Beginning with the Word (Jesus), God taught His way of life (John 8:28) and made him the chief cornerstone – the foundation block of the foundation (Isaiah 28:16).

 

Being a living foundation (a way of life to be embraced by all), it grew to include the prophets and apostles (Eph 2:20) and will continue to grow, as shown by the stone from heaven in Dan 2:34-35 (also Isa 9:7).

 

After the first resurrection, the foundation will include all of the firstfruits. At this time, expansion of the foundation shall be accomplished through the marriage of the church to the Lamb of God, Jesus (Rom 7:4 and Gen 2:24). This marriage brings with it the promise of enlarging the foundation by bringing more children into the family of God (Gen 1:28). These children are the remainder of humanity who take part in the second harvest season.

 

 

 

Day of Atonement

Promise of reconciliation to God; waiting for us to accept and receive through repentance and baptism with the Holy Spirit.

1.Jesus died so that we may,  upon repentance and baptism, be reconciled to the Father (Col 1:21-22) – symbolized by partaking of the Passover emblems (Matt 26:26-28). It Symbolizes the OFFER of redemption spelling out what Christ has done for us and how we are always to REMEMBER his sacrifice (1Cor 11:24-25).

2.Symbolic promise of Satan's banishment from our lives and thereby being freed from the death penalty (Rom 8:1-3).

3.Passover shows us, through the symbolism of the foot washing ceremony, the requirement for us to live God's way of life – the way of service to others. Those who do not participate in foot washing will be cut-off from the Kingdom (John 13:8).

1. Jesus died so that humanity may, upon repentance and baptism, be reconciled to the Father – symbolized by the goat sacrifice (Lev 15:16). It Symbolizes the OFFER of redemption spelling out what Christ has done for humanity.

2. Literal spiritual rest from Satan and change to direct rule by God is symbolized in making the day a Sabbath.

3. Afflicting the soul (some accept as fasting, but really means to humble or become compliant) symbolizes the requirement to live God’s way of life. Those who do not afflict themselves will be cut-off from the kingdom (Lev 23:29).

Feast of Unleavened Bread

Growing Season for first harvest

Feast of Tabernacles

Growing season for second harvest

1.A seven day festival commencing on the 15th day of the 1st month.

2.Symbolizes the period when judgement is on the house of God (1Pet 4:17) and lasts for the physical lives of the ones predestined for the first ascension. Receiving the Holy Spirit through repentance and baptism marks the beginning of this period.

3.Symbolizes the Saints striving to live God's way of life while still human.  It is depicted by eating unleavened bread on all seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1Cor 5:7-8).

4.Symbolizes the Saints living under the rule of God through the help of God's Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9-16) while still being in, but not of, the world.

5.Symbolizes our lives as Christians, which can be likened to Abraham’s wanderings and dwelling in booths (Heb 11:9-10). Like him, we are to remember that this life is only a temporary existence prior to permanent rest in the Kingdom of God (Heb 11:13-16).

1.A seven day festival commencing on the 15th day of the 7th month.

2. Symbolizes the time known as the great white throne judgement – a period of 100 years (Isa 65:20) after the second resurrection and applies to all those predestined for the second ascension.  Receiving the Holy Spirit  through repentance and baptism marks the beginning of this period.

3. Symbolizes the remainder of humanity striving to live God’s way of life while still human (Ex 24:7). This was depicted by Israel eating manna during Israel’s total time of 40 years of dwelling in booths (Ex 16:35).

4. Symbolizes the remainder of humanity living under the government of God, both through the Holy Spirit and under the direct rule of Christ.

5. Remembering that this life is a temporary existence prior to permanent rest in the Kingdom of God - symbolized by the time of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness (Duet 8:2).

Pentecost

Last Great Day

1.Pictures the first harvest season (the reaping period), which is ascension of the firstfruits into the God family as spirit beings in the first resurrection (Jam 1:18, 1Thes 4:16-17 and 1Cor 15:50-52).

1. Pictures the second harvest season (the reaping period), which is ascension into the God family as spirit beings for all those who choose wisely (John 7:37) during the 100 year long great white throne judgement day (Rev 20:11-12).

 

 

Next Article:  

The Feast of Trumpets   (Feast of Acclamation) is a memorial of the living foundation of God’s plan of salvation. This foundation, being His way of life, will expand when the church is married to Christ upon his return.

 

[2]    Strong’s 03117

[3]    Strong’s 1722 (en)

[4]    Strong’s 2228 (ay)

[5]    Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.