A Shadow of Things to Come
The Feast of Weeks Part 1
Psalms 25:9-10:
"The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches the way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenants and His testimonies."
This article will be on the next feasted listed in Leviticus 23, the Feast of Weeks.
Leviticus 23:15-16:
"And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord."
Leviticus 23:21:
"And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations."
The Feasts of Weeks or as it is now called the Day of Pentecost is the most pivotal of all the Creator's feats. As I have stated many times in my articles, the things which are on Earth are simply a representation of the things which are in Heaven. The Creator gave us these Feasts to allow His people the knowledge of His plan for mankind.
The Creator commanded the Israelites to come before Him three times a year to celebrate His Feasts.
Exodus 23:14:
"Three times you shall keep a Feast to me in the year."
The people, during these times, were to go to the Tabernacle and celebrate these days. So why does He tell them to come only three times when, in the book of Leviticus, there are seven feasts mentioned. The explanation to this is the reason the Feast of Weeks is the most pivotal.
Exodus 23:15-16:
"You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you.....and the Feast of Harvests.......and the Feast of Ingathering, which is at the end of the year."
I have, in my previous articles, covered the first four feasts listed. They are the Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits. The Sabbath being the seventh and last day of the week .The Passover comes the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits being on the second day of that same feast. Here the Creator simply put them all together and called them the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
He then calls the next feast the Feast of Harvest. This is the Feast of Weeks. As we continue you shall understand why. The last He calls the Feast of Ingathering, They are the Feast of Trumpets the Day Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. All these Feasts come at the end of the year. It was a journey for many to get to the Tabernacle in Jerusalem, and since the Feasts were close together it was better to come and stay for all the Feasts instead of leaving and coming back. This is why He says to come three times a year.
I have tried to show how the journey of the Israelites from Egypt into the land of promise is a physical representation of our spiritual journey into our land of promise, the coming Kingdom.
The first three feasts are in a sense prophecies.
The Passover sacrifice was our Messiah. The Unleavened bread represents our coming out of sin and the Feast of First fruits the resurrection of the Messiah.
He being the firstborn of many brethren {Romans 8:29} is showing us the path to everlasting life, through His death and resurrection. Now sitting at the right hand side of His Father, waiting for all things to be placed under Him.{Hebrews2:5-9}.
These feasts have been fulfilled. They are the first feasts of the year. The next feast is the Feast of weeks. This is the only feast that is by itself. It is in the middle of the others; with the group of Feasts He calls the Ingathering still yet to come. What does this Feast of Weeks represent? Is there any special significance to its placement?
In past cases I have always said we should start at the beginning, but in this case we do not know what the beginning is. There is no event, like the Passover to link this feast, but there is a command. We are told to count.
Leviticus 23:15-16:
"And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord."
In my last article I went over the counting of the weeks. In short we are to begin counting, with the Feast of the First fruits as the first day. We then must count fifty days, with at least seven weekly Sabbaths within the Fifty. This Fiftieth day is the Feast of Weeks, or as it is called in The New Testament, The Day of Pentecost; with Pentecost meaning fifty. With this information let us see what may have taken place on this day.
Acts 2:1:
"Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."
This passage is speaking of the disciples of Jehoshua. The Messiah had been crucified and had risen. He had been seen and spent time with His followers for Forty days. Before His departure into heaven He commanded His disciples to stay in Jerusalem, and to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. {Acts 1:1-8}
It was important for the days to be counted properly. They were all to be present together on this Feast day. They were to be together, with one accord, in one place. This is where they were, at the appointed time, on the Day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:2-4:
"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
This was the event the disciples had been waiting for, the giving to them of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, or as it should be called, the Feast of Weeks. This happened after the Messiah had been crucified. If they were not to celebrate this Feast why were they there, and why did it happen on that day? If they had not been celebrating the feast they would not have received the Spirit.
So we see that the giving of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks, or is there more to it. The giving of the Holy Spirit though, very important, is not the real event of this day. The Holy Spirit had been given to individuals throughout the history of the Bible.
I will not quote them all, but for a quick reference:
Exodus 28:3, Exodus 35:31, 1Samuel 10:6, 1Samuel 11:6, and Deuteronomy 34:9.
I could go on and on, but the point is that although the giving of the Holy Spirit is important, it had happened before. This was not a onetime incident. What was it about this time that made this event so important? What was actually taking place?
It is through this act that the New Testament church was founded. Again due to length I will not quote the scriptures, but this can be found in Acts 2:6-47, but even this does not complete the picture. Why was it necessary for there to be a new church?
There was an earlier church; it was built by the children of Israel. It was based on the design given to Moses by the Creator.
Exodus 24:16-18:
"Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mt. Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights."
Here we see Moses talking with the Creator as if He were talking with a friend face to face and during this time the Creator showed and told him many things, including how to build His Sanctuary, His Tabernacle, His Church.
Exodus 25:8-9:
"And let them make Me a Sanctuary that I might dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the Tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."
We see that the Spirit was with the People, but it did not dwell in all the people. The Holy Spirit lived in the Church or the Tabernacle. The Creator, as I mentioned earlier did give the gift of the Holy Spirit to some. In these cases it went to those whom He gave special talents, for the purpose of design and craftsmanship, to build His Church.
Exodus 31:3:
"And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship."
There was a church filled with the Holy Spirit. So then what was the purpose for this New Church which was filled with the Holy Spirit? As there were those with special talents for the purpose of building His church then, there were people with special talents building His Spiritual church.
1Corinthians 12:7:
"But the manifestations of the Spirit are given to each one for the profit of all."
1Corinthians 12:11:
"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
So why was it necessary to build a new church? Speaking of the first church it is written,
Hebrews 9:6-10:
"Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience, concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings and freshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation."
This Sanctuary, which was built by hands, and rituals of animal sacrifices and washings, could not take away sin or justify the people.
Hebrews 9:11-12:
"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."
Hebrews 9:15:
"And for this reason He is the Mediator of the New Covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."
The first church, the earthly sanctuary, was a mere copy of the more perfect heavenly church. This new church was not built by hands of this earth. It was built by Jehoshua to hold a New Covenant.
Hebrews 10:8-10:
"Previously saying, 'Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them.' (Which are offered according to the law), then He said, 'Behold I have come to do your will, O God.' He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jehoshua once for all."
The first church built by man, through the manifestation of the Creator, was a mere shadow of the Tabernacle which is to come. The New Testament Church built by the risen Messiah is a type of Himself. It represents the body of Jehoshua, and each individual member is filled with His Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:4-5:
"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."
1Corinthians 12:13:
"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."
1Corinthians 12:27:
"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."
Ephesians 1:22-23:
"And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
The New Testament Church is not a building, but a collection of Spirit filled human beings. All called together for one purpose, in one Spirit. This Feast of Weeks is much more than a day when some people could speak in tongues. It was the day Jehoshua, in a sense, returned to this earth. He returned through His people, making them a collection of parts, to make up His body, being held together, not by nails or mortar, but by His very Spirit.
They were, or should I say, we are to be as He was. We must be followers, and imitators, of Him. He has given each one a commission according to His Spirit. Some are Apostles, some are prophets, and some are teachers, and so on. It is not just speaking in tongue which shows that you have His Spirit; the Feast day is much more than that.
We are also to celebrate this day. The Creator commanded that we keep it, and the Apostles certainly did, if they had not they would not have been in the right place at the right time to receive what had been promised. Jehoshua commanded them to stay, and they obeyed His command.
It is sad that His Feasts have been perverted to the point not many people recognize or even know of them, yet they are the key to understanding His will. The Feast of Weeks points to the time the New Church would begin, but it is also more than that. There is so much more to this Holy Day, that space will not allow me to finish.
I pray as always that I have given you a better understanding of The Gospel of the Kingdom, and the important role His Feasts play. I will continue next time with more of The Feasts of Weeks, but until then my friends, please take care.