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BACKGROUND
THE FEASTS
EASTON
FEAST; FESTIVALS - RELIGIOUS; ATONEMENT; ATONEMENT, DAY OF; AZAZEL; PASSOVER; PENTECOST; TABERNACLES, FEAST OF:
NEW BIBLE DICTIONARY
PASSOVER; PENTECOST, FEAST OF; TABERNACLES, FEAST OF:
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
THE FEASTS - BIBLE DICTIONARIES
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| SPRING FEASTS
THE PATTERN OF THINGS PAST |
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The 2nd of 2 studies on Pentecost.
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| FEAST OF WEEKS (Pentecost) - 2 |
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 We naturally relate this feast to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, because of its New Testament name, the Feast of Pentecost.
The Feast of Weeks as it is known in the Old Testament, was celebrated 50 days after Firstfruits. The word ‘pente’ means 50. The events of the New Testament Day of Pentecost represent a key element in the revelation of the New Testament. As a result of the work of the Holy Spirit, the church was formed and the 2 New Covenant commandments (Love both God and neighbour) were written not on stone tablets, but rather, on people’s hearts and minds. Of course, this occurred 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus. What else would you expect! But that is getting ahead of ourselves.
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 For the Jews of the time, it was a celebration of God’s provision for the wheat harvest. As such, it is closely linked to the Feast of Firstfruits, the celebration of the barley harvest. The two together were considered to be the ‘Corn Harvest’, so providing a very strong link between Passover and Pentecost.
Harvesting with a sickle
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 The main cause of celebration however, was the birth of the nation. For 50 days after leaving Egypt God bestowed upon His people, at Mount Sinai, a system of law and of worship (Old Testament church), the very heart of nationhood.
We are going to continue seeing how the elements of this feast parallel precisely the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
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| 8. Revelation of the Tabernacle Order: |
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 Given subsequent to the revealing of the law, it set out the way in which worshippers were to approach God.
Leviticus Chapters 1-7
In the New Testament, we approach God through the perfection of Jesus, by the Spirit.
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| 9. A Bread Offering Baked with Yeast: |
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 This offering was unlikely to have been understood by the Jews, for in the Passover Feast, yeast was so strongly prohibited. Just having it in the home, was an offence resulting in excommunication. Similarly, in the daily Meal Offering, yeast and honey were prohibited ingredients. Both were of course symbolic of the sinless Jesus.
Leviticus 23:15-17
While Passover relates to the perfect Jesus, Pentecost relates to the, as yet, imperfect church. Each of us knows from personal observation and sad experience, that the Church has not yet attained sinless perfection! My personal experience since moving into the realm of Pentecost, has been of the Holy Spirit exposing more of the sin in my life! It is not that my, or our, sin is greater in Pentecost, rather, it is just more obvious. Of course, as the Holy Spirit deals with the root cause of our sin, so we move closer to perfection, towards the promises of the Feast of Tabernacles.
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| 10. Two Loaves Offered: |
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 The two loaves represent ‘witness’ the number two being frequently used to represent this in the religious system of the Tabernacle and the Feasts. Another example is the duplicate stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
Leviticus 23:17
These loaves may also be ‘twice used’ to symbolise the dual witness of Christ and His Church or the dual witness of Christ and the Holy Spirit to the Church. The two loaves made with two ephahs of fine flower and baked with yeast as a Wave Offering, also speak of the Jews and Gentiles coming together in a single unified church, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
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| 11. A Lasting Ordinance: |
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 The Feast was to be celebrated annually for all future generations.
Leviticus 23:21
Jesus died that we might receive eternal life. The Holy Spirit lives within the believer forever.
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| 12. Harvest Time: |
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 The Day of Pentecost was a day of celebration, held at the end of the harvest. A Harvest Festival or Thanksgiving Day. However, as the feast was called the Feast of Weeks, it relates also to the gathering in of both the barley and the wheat harvests, jointly known as the Corn Harvest. The Corn Harvest, in its turn, points towards the exciting Fruit Harvest of the Feast of Tabernacles, which we will look at in the series on the Autumn Feasts.
Photo of a threshing floor
Deuteronomy 16:9-12
Jesus, through His death and resurrection, enabled the Harvest to be prepared. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the harvest commenced. The 3,000 saved on the Day of Pentecost balanced the 3,000 killed by the Levites on the day that Moses brought the first set of tablets down the mountain. This day could be considered the first ‘Pentecost’, the day the law was first given, with the New Testament Pentecost being the day the ‘law’ was first written on peoples hearts, through the sending of the Holy Spirit. It has been suggested by some too, that the earlier barley harvest was symbolic of the early church converts who were mainly Jews, and the wheat harvest, the Gentiles who followed later during the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit of early church times.
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| 13. Harvest of Firstfruits: |
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 The barley and wheat harvests were the first harvests, pointing the way to the extra special and much more tasty fruit harvest, to come later.
Numbers 28:26-31
This is prophetic of the final, much better harvest at the end of the age. At that time the full anointing of the Holy Spirit will be poured out, followed by the return of Jesus to rule and reign for a thousand years. But more of that later.
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To further consolidate our understanding of how the Old Testament Feast of Passover was fulfilled in the New Testament outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the following table is helpful. Isn’t it amazing though, just how incredibly closely the Old and the New Covenants match?
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| COMPARISON OF PENTECOST IN THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS |
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OLD TESTAMENT PENTECOST---------------NEW TESTAMENT PENTECOST
On the 50th Day after the Feast of Firstfruits----On the 50th Day after the Resurrection of Jesus
By the Finger of God-------------------By the Spirit of God.
3,000 People Killed--------------------3,000 People Saved
Judgement of Death-------------------Restoration of Life
The Letter of the Law-----------------The Spirit of Life
Glory on the Face of Moses------------Glory on the Face of Jesus
Face Veiled to Cover the Glory---------Face Unveiled to Change Us into His Glory
Glory that Faded----------------------Glory that Remains
Servants of the Old Covenant----------Servants of the New Covenant
On Mount Sinai------------------------On Mount Zion
Writing of the Ten Commandments on the 2 Stone Tablets (The Law)--------- ------------Imprinting of the 2 Love Commandments on the Hearts and Minds of Believers (The Law’s Fulfilment)
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| <i>NEXT WEEK</i> A REVELATION OF... THE POWER OF THREE IN GOD AND THE CHURCH - Part 1 of 3 - THE PATTERN OF GOD
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 In walking further with Jesus, I increasingly appreciate that this particular revelation of 'threes in God' has been been hugely important in developing my understanding of God and how He works both in the church and in our lives.
It does not matter whether you are a 'oneness', 'twoness', or 'trinitarian' believer'. The concept still applies.
If you can grasp this simple, yet profound concept, I'm sure it will open up new realms of understanding for you too about God and His plans for His people in these end days.
Next Week's teaching is an introduction. It will be followed in coming weeks by examples of this principle's application to the church and us as individuals.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 Pentecost emphasises the harvest. The natural wheat harvest of the Feast itself is a picture of the end time spiritual harvest of today and the future.
The fact that people appreciate most when I point it out is, that the 3,000 killed on the first Pentecost after the people worshipped the golden calf Aaron made, were restored on the first Holy Spirit Pentecost, when 3,000 were added to the church. Complete restoration! We have a great God!
New Zealand has produced a number of fine middle distance runners over the years, of whom Peter Snell, Murray Halberg and John Walker are but a few. This was mainly the result of the coaching of one man, Arthur Lydiard, whose training methods revolutionised distance running and to a large extent, were responsible for promoting the jogging revolution that has swept the world. And should do even more, particularly as our lives become even more sedentary.
Each year in Auckland, our largest city of just 1 million people, we have a 'fun run' called Round the Bays' in which around 70,000 people (7% of the population) participate. It is 8.4km long round a beautiful seaside course - if you are still capable of looking at the view, that is!
One year, I was 19th man home, which wasn't too bad for an amateur! Sadly, not quite so fast now! But I could still do it!
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
Learn more about us at...
www.wwj.org.nz/about.php
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
315. In nature, human growth occurs naturally. We expect the same in the Spiritual and get offended when others grow more quickly than us.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
More David's Doodlings: www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php
Just jokes: http://www.wwj.org.nz/jokes.php
Waxing Lyrical: http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php
If Only I'd Thought of it: http://www.wwj.org.nz/thought.php
Laughing at Ourselves: http://www.wwj.org.nz/laugh.php
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