THE FIRST PENTECOST

THE FIRST PENTECOST

I HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION, “WHEN WAS THE FIRST PENTECOST?” MANY TIMES. THE MAJORITY OF THE TIME THE ANSWER IS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS.

THE FIRST PENTECOST HAPPENED AT MOUNT SINAI IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS.

WE ALWAYS LOOK AT THE SYMBOLISM OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSSING THE RED SEA AS A TYPOLOGY OF BAPTISM. UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION WE FIND THERE IS SO MUCH MORE.

IN EXODUS CHAPTER 19 WE COME TO THE PART OF THE STORY WHERE THEY ARE ABOUT TO HAVE THEIR “SINAI EXPERIENCE”.

FIRST LETS LOOK AT SOME MEANINGFUL SCRIPTURES: LEVITICUS 23:4 “THESE ARE THE FEASTS OF THE LORD, EVEN HOLY CONVOCATIONS, WHICH YE SHALL PROCLAIM IN THEIR SEASONS.”

THE HEBREW WORD SHAVUOT IS PENTECOST. SHEVA IS THE ROOT OF THIS WORD. SHEVA MEANS 7. SHAVUOT MEANS SEVEN 7’S OR 49 DAYS. IT COMMERATES THE GIVING OF THE LAW ON MOUNT SINAI. SHAVUOT IS KNOWN AS PENTECOST BECAUSE IT COMMENCES ON THE 50^TH DAY AFTER THE SEVEN WEEK PERIOD OF COUNTING THE OMER.

A HOLY CONVOCATION IS MIKRAH CHODESH IN HEBREW. IT MEANS ASSEMBLY OR REHEARSAL. WHAT IS A REHEARSAL? LIKE A WEDDING REHEARSAL. THIS FEAST WAS A REHEARSAL FOR THE PENTECOST WE KNOW BEST IN THE BOOK OF ACTS.

IN LEVITICUS 23:4 WE SEE THE WORD SEASONS WHICH IN THE HEBREW IS MOADE’ WHICH MEANS SET TIMES. GOD HAS SETS TIMES PROCLAIMED FOR ASSEMBLY OR REHEARSAL.

CONTINUING WITH SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 23:5 TALKS ABOUT PASSOVER BEING ON THE 14^TH DAY OF THE HEBREW MONTH NISAN.

VS. 6 SPEAKS OF OBSERVING THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD FOR 7 DAYS.

VS. 7 SPEAKS OF THE FIRST DAY A SABBATH WHERE THERE IS NO SERVILE WORK.

VS. 8 IT IS MEASURED FROM SABBATH TO SABBATH 7 DAYS.

VS. 10 SPEAKS OF THE REAPING OF HARVEST OR FIRSTFRUITS KNOWN IN THE HEBREW AS BIKKURIM. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT WHEN THE FIRST OF THE CROP CAME TO HARVEST A RIBBON WAS TIED AROUND THE STEMS TO SHOW IT WAS FIRST, (A SIGN) EVEN IF THE REST OF THE CROP WERE TO PERISH THE FIRST STILL BELONGED TO THE LORD.

VS. 14 IT IS A STATUTE FOREVER TO ALWAYS GIVE GOD THE FIRST.

VS. 15 SPEAKS OF COUNTING 7 SABBATHS BE COMPLETE.

VS. 16 FIFTIETH DAY IS A DAY OF NEW BEGINNING.

THERE IS MENTION ELSEWHERE IN THE BIBLE OF PENTECOST. DEUTERONOMY 16:9-12. SEVEN WEEKS IS THE FEAST OF WEEKS.

VS. 16 SPEAKS OF MALES ATTENDING 3 TIMES IN A YEAR. IT WAS A REQUIREMENT TO BE AT PASSOVER, PENTECOST, AND TABERNACLES.

NUMBERS 28.26 SPEAKS OF IT BEING A HOLY CONVOCATION. A REHEARSAL.

EXODUS 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

YOU WILL NOTICE THERE ARE DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THE FEASTS.

And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

PENTECOST IS KNOWN BY:

THE FESTIVAL OF SHAVUOT.

THE FESTIVAL OF REAPING.

THE DAY OF BIKKURIM.

YOM KAHAL OR THE DAY OF COMMUNITY.

THE DAY OF ASSEMBLY OR ATZERAT.

ATZERAT MEANS CONCLUSION OR EIGHTH DAY. PENTECOST IS THE COMPLETION OF PASSOVER.

AT THIS POINT I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THAT GOD DOES EVERYTHING IN CYCLES.  ECCLESIASTES 1:9

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”

THE JEWISH PEOPLE OBSERVE A READING CYCLE WHICH STARTS WITH GENESIS AFTER THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. THERE IS ALSO AN EIGHTH DAY CELEBRATION OR ATZERAT CALLED SHEMINI ATZERAT WHICH MEANS “EIGHTH DAY OF THE ASSEMBLY”.

THAT DAY IS ALSO CALLED SIMCHA TORAH OR REJOCING IN THE TORAH. IT IS A CELEBRATION OF SINGING AND DANCING WITH GOD’S WORD HELD HIGH AND IT IS PASSED AROUND AND KISSED.

DEUTERONOMY 18:15-16 “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.”

THIS IS A DAY OF INGATHERING WHERE NO SERVILE WORK IS DONE. IT IS A HOLIDAY (HOLY DAY). THIS IS THE DAY THEY ASSEMBLED TO RECEIVE THE LAW AT MOUNT HOREB. MOUNT SINAI HAS TWO PEAKS ONE OF THEM IS NAMED HOREB. WHEN MOSES STRUCK THE ROCK AT HOREB THEY WERE AT THE VERY SPOT WHERE THEY HAD RECEIVED THE LAW.

I WALKED INTO A CHURCH ONE DAY UNANNOUNCED. I BEGAN TO THINK IF I WOULD BE ASKED TO PREACH. THEN I BEGAN TO THINK WHAT WILL I PREACH ON? I THOUGHT SINCE I WAS UNPREPARED I COULD JUST PREACH ACTS 2:38. I HAD GRABBED MY WIFES BIBLE BECAUSE I WANTED A SMALLER BIBLE TO CARRY THAT DAY AND WHEN I OPENED IT THE WHOLE BOOK OF ACTS WAS MISSING. WHAT DO I DO NOW? THAT’S WHEN IT CAME TO ME. I WILL JUST GO TO THE FIRST PENETCOST.

EXODUS CHAPTER 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.”

THE THIRD MONTH ON THE HEBREW CALENDAR IS SIVAN AND THEY ARRIVED ON THE SIXTH DAY OF IT. THIS IS THE BIBLICAL ROSH CHODESH OR THE HEAD OF THE MONTH.

VS. “For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

ISRAEL HERE IS PLURAL AND CAMPED IS SINGULAR. (THEY WERE OF ONE ACCORD). THEY WERE UNANIMOUS IN PURPOSE.

VS. 4 “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.” THE SAGES BELIEVE THAT GOD BROUGHT THEM OUT SWIFTLY AND MIRACULOUSLY AND THAT GOD HEALED THEM AND SUPPLIED THEIR EVERY NEED.

VS. 7-8 “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

HERE WE SEE THEM COMMITING TO GOD, SAYING THEY WILL DO WHAT GOD WANTS THEM TO DO. THEY WERE DOING A 180 DEGREE TURN. LEAVING EVERY ASPECT OF EGYPT (SIN) BEHIND.

VS.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,”

THE WORD SANCTIFY HERE IS NOT LIKE WE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED TO MEAN SEPARATE, ALTHOUGH WE DO SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD. SANTIFY HERE IS THE HEBREW WORD MIKVEH WHICH MEANS BAPTISM.AND WAS ALWAYS BY TEVELAH (IMMERSION).

IT WAS INDEED A GREAT THING WHEN, IN THE WORDS OF MAIMONIDES, A STRONGER SOUGHT SHELTER UNDER THE WINGS OF THE SHEKHINAH, AND THE CHANGE OF CONDITION WHICH HE UNDERWENT WAS REGARDED AS COMPLETE. THE WATERS OF BAPTISM WERE TO HIM IN THE VERY TRUTH, THOUGH IN A FAR DIFFERENT FROM THE CHRISTIAN SENSE, THE BATH OF REGENERATION. TITUS 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

AS HE STEPPED OUT OF THESE WATERS HE WAS CONSIDERED BORN ANEW, IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE RABBIS, AS IF HE WERE A LITTLE CHILD JUST BORN (YEB.22A;48B, AS A CHILD OF ONE DAY (MASS. GER. C. II). BUT THIS NEW BIRTH WAS  NOT A BIRTH FROM ABOVE IN THE SENSE OF MORAL OR SPIRITUAL RENOVATION, BUT ONLY AS IMPLYING A NEW RELATIONSHIP TO GOD, TO ISRAEL, AND TO HIS OWN PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. IT WAS EXPRESSLY ENJOINED THAT ALL THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS NEW CITIZENSHIP SHOULD FIRST BE SET BEFORE HIM, AND IF, AFTER THAT, HE TOOK UPON HIMSELF THE YOKE OF THE LAW, HE SHOULD BE TOLD HOW ALL THOSE SORROWS AND PERSECUTIONS WERE INTENDED TO CONVEY GREATER BLESSING, AND ALL THOSE COMMANDMENTS TO REDOUND GREATER MERIT. MORE ESPECIALLY WAS HE TO REGARD HIMSELF AS A NEW MAN IN REFERENCE TO HIS PAST. COUNTRY, HOME, HABITS, FRIENDS, AND RELATION WERE ALL CHANGED. THE PAST WITH ALL THAT HAD BELONGED TO IT, WAS PAST, AND HE WAS A NEW MAN, THE OLD, WITH ITS DEFILEMENTS, WAS BURIED IN THE WATERS OF BAPTISM.

On the occasion of [the giving of] the Torah, the [Children of Israel] not only heard the Lord's voice, but actually saw the sound waves as they emerged from the Lord's mouth. They visualized them as a fiery substance. Each commandment that left the Lord's mouth traveled around the entire camp and then came back to every Jew individually. The English translation concludes the Ten Commandments story, "And all the people saw the thunder and lightning." (Exodus 20:18) But the original Hebrew of Exodus 20:18 says something quite different. In the Hebrew, the verse literally reads, "And all the people saw the voices and the torches." Most translations smooth out the Hebrew by translating the word 'voices' as 'thunder,' which agrees with the context of the thunder and lightning at Mount Sinai. But the Hebrew really says, "They saw the voices and the torches." What does it mean, "...the people saw voices"? How does one see a sound? How does one see a voice? What are the torches and from where did they come?

In Deuteronomy, Moses retells the story of hearing God's voice at Sinai. In ten different passages, he reminds Israel that they heard God's voice speak to them "from out of the fire." Repeatedly he says, "You all heard the voice speaking from out of the fire."

One ancient Jewish legend explains that as God's voice spoke, it split into a multitude of sparks going forth. His voice came to them as fire. Therefore, the torches of Exodus 20:18 are explained as the fiery words of God that came to each person individually. Consider the following passage about God's fiery voice from an ancient Jewish legend: Another intriguing piece of Jewish, interpretive folklore explains that Israel not only saw the voice of God, they also heard it in every language. According to that explanation, the Bible says, "All the people saw the voices..." because God's voice spoke in many different voices [languages] at Mount Sinai. It is believed that as God spoke from Mount Sinai, His voice spoke simultaneously in all the languages of the world Ezekiel the prophet foresaw this when God declared through him, "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36:27) Jeremiah the prophet foresaw this when God declared through him, "Behold, I will make a New Covenant...I will put My Torah within them and on their heart I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:33) In Acts chapter two, Peter and the other disciples were gathered to celebrate Shavuot. The Holy Spirit fell upon them in the form of flames of fire, and these torches of fire came to rest on each individual disciple. To the average Jew familiar with Jewish tradition, the miracle would clearly point to the legend of God's fiery voice at Mount Sinai! In addition, after receiving this fiery spirit, the disciples found themselves proclaiming the Gospel in every language. (In Hebrew, the same word is used for 'tongues' and for 'languages'.) The miracle of speaking in all languages is another definite allusion to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.