With a short review of the meaning behind the names mentioned above, we will get a deeper understanding of God’s intention’s about that day and its implications for all humanity. For Christians, Pentecost is a holiday on which we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the early followers of Jesus. 3They saw divided tongues that were like fire resting on each one of them. 1. seventh Sunday after Easter; commemorates the emanation of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles; a quarter day in Scotland 2. Also called the Feast of Weeks, it was a kind of Thanksgiving in which people brought a sacrifice for the harvest of grain. With the loaves two lambs were offered as a peace offering and all were waved before Jehovah and given to the priests; the leaves being leavened, could not be offered on the altar. Pentecost is a happy festival. The Holy Spirit. How Should a Christian Deal With the Coronavirus Pandemic? The Encyclopaedia Judaica says, “The Sadducees (and later the Karaites) understood the term ‘Sabbath’ in these verses [Leviticus 23:11, 15, 16] literally, hence, for them Shavuot always falls on a Sunday” (1971, Vol. The most general division in the Church Year is […] The incidents of that memorable day, in the history of Christianity, are told in a marvelously vivid and dramatic way in the Ac of the Apostles. God determines when each person will be given the opportunity for salvation. Instead, mainstream Christianity begins its count from Easter. The service is celebrated with an All-night Vigil on the eve of the feast day, and the Divine Liturgy on the day of the feast itself. The Pentecostal name comes from an event in the Book of Acts. Those who celebrate all seven feasts of the Lord and rehearse their meanings each year continually find deeper meaning in them. 1:16). There were certain celebrations and sacrifices and offerings which were prescribed in the Law for the day of Pentecost. Every male in Israel was on that day required to appear before the Lord at the sanctuary (Exodus 34:22,23). They are God’s feasts and are to be observed by His people, no matter what their nationality or ethnic background might be. by HOIM Staff. The habit of dressing in white and of seeking baptism on Pentecost gave it the name "Whitsunday," by which it is popularly known all over the world. The day of Pentecost is noted in the Christian Church as the day on which the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on which, under Peter's preaching, so many thousands were converted in Jerusalem ( Acts 2 ). This means weeks or sevens, which alludes to the instruction to count 50 days. The central feature of the day was the presentation of two loaves of leavened, salted bread unto the Lord (Leviticus 23:17,20; Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:10). Ministers in church often wear robes with red in the design as a symbol of the flames in which the Holy Spirit came … Pentecost means that God is working for the redemption of men and women according to a carefully pre-ordained plan or programme. He distinguishes between the institution and the constitution of the church. Encore Post: The feast of Pentecost was one of the celebrations established by God at Mount Sinai. The whole ceremony was the completion of that dedication of the harvest to God as its giver, and to whom both the land and the people were holy, which was begun by the offering of the wave-sheaf at the Passover. ii); Gregory of Nazianzen calls it "the day of the Spirit" (De Pentec., Orat. It lasted for but one day. As yet there was no trace of Christmas, which began to appear about 360 AD. What does Pentecost mean to Christians? This leads to a fixed calendrical date of Sivan 6 each year. The Greek word means “fifty” and refers to the fifty days that have elapsed since the wave offering of Passover. According to the Mishna (Menachoth, xi.4), the length of the loaf was 7 handbreadths, its width 4, its depth 7 fingers. that is, the fiftieth day (from a Greek word meaning fiftieth), or Harvest Feast, or Feast of Weeks, may be regarded as a supplement to the Passover. In many countries, Pentecost is considered a secular public holiday. Jesus made the promise in John 14:26 saying "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." From the sixteenth of Nisan seven weeks were reckoned inclusively, and the next or fiftieth day was the day of Pentecost, which fell on the sixth of Sivan (about the end of May). As the name indicates (pentekoste), this second of the great Jewish national festivals was observed on the 50th day, or 7 weeks, from the Paschal Feast, and therefore in the Old Testament it was called "the feast of weeks." Since the word Sabbath in this verse clearly refers to the weekly Sabbath rather than an annual Sabbath, we understand that the Sabbath that comes before the count to 50 must also be a weekly Sabbath—not an annual Sabbath. Meyer, in his commentary on the Acts, treats this question at length. Others don’t celebrate Pentecost because of an uneasy feeling about anything connected with charismatics, who mistakenly believe it is necessary to recreate the supernatural events of the first Pentecost today. It was fifty days after Passover and known by the Greek word for fifty days — Pentecost. All rights reserved. The Holy Spirit offers us power for living, protection from evil, strength to fight temptation, and counsel for times of need. It is but once mentioned in the historical books of the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 8:12,13), from which reference it is plain, however, that the people of Israel, in Solomon's day, were perfectly familiar with it: "offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles." The Pentecost was the Jewish harvest-home, and the people were especially exhorted to rejoice before Jehovah with their families their servants, the Levite within their gates, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow in the place chosen by God for his name, as they brought a free-will offering of their hand to Jehovah their God. The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the completion of the grain harvest. God kept his promise on that day when he gave himself — the third person of the Trinity — to the whole Church. The seven feasts of the Lord are found in Leviticus 23. In the Old Testament, it is referred to by several names: The feast … Known as the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot in Hebrew, it is, together with Pesach and Sukkot, one the three … Pentecost will be celebrating in many of our churches this coming Sunday. Although there is no biblical directive to observe Easter, the leaders of this church decided that they would observe it to honor the resurrection of Jesus—rather than observe the biblical Passover to commemorate the death of Christ. Text: Acts 2:1-21. HELPS Word-studies. Read more about Pentecost here. All the other holy days have fixed dates, and Pentecost could have been designated on a fixed date as well—if that were God’s intent. These two meals represent the two loaves of bread, formerly offered in the "bikkurim" offering at the Temple service. Some people refer to these observances as the feasts of the Jews. From the sixteenth of the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven complete weeks, i.e., forty-nine days, were to be reckoned, and this feast was held on the fiftieth day. From Acts 2:1 we learn that it was a pre-determined event in the mind of God. A clear understanding of the events leading up to the Feast of Pentecost makes its importance much more clear. https://www.archmil.org/offices/worship/Resources/Symbols-of-Pentecost.htm ( Exodus 23:16 ; 34:22 ; Leviticus 23:15 Leviticus 23:22 ; Numbers 28 ) See Jewish calendar at the end of this volume. You shall do no customary work.”. Pentecost holds an interesting distinction among God’s commanded holy days. The institution of the apostolate is an especially strong proof of the institutionary character which Christ gave to His church on the earth" (Geref. ( Leviticus 23:18 Leviticus 23:19 ) Till the pentecostal leaves were offered, the produce of the harvest might not be eaten, nor could any other firstfruits be offered. The Day of Pentecost has sparked the Christian imagination with its iconography of inebriation, purgation, and ignition. On Pentecost, the High Priest was to take two loaves of freshly baked wheat bread and offer them before the Lord. Those who celebrate all seven feasts of the Lord and rehearse their meanings each year continually find deeper meaning in them. 4005 pentēkost ḗ (from 4002 /pénte, "five") – properly fiftieth, referring to the festival of Pentecost – a one day festival celebrated at the end of the barley harvest. They asked one another, “What does this mean?” -Acts 2:12. It shares much of this organization with other liturgical churches and even some non-liturgical faith traditions. by FADAKA LOUIS. The misguided, breakaway version of Christianity, which separated itself from the original Christianity founded by Jesus and His disciples, changed Passover to Easter (the name of a pagan goddess of spring and fertility). The Sadducees, who were members of the priestly sect, were in charge of the temple and the worship that occurred there. What is Pentecost anyway, and how is it significant to the church today? The Christian festival of Pentecost is known as Whitsun in the UK and Ireland. Pentecost is considered the birth of the church and was recorded in the New Testament in Acts 2. The almost universal opinion among theologians and exegetes is this: that Pentecost marks the rounding of the Christian church as an institution. (Judaism) Jewish holy day celebrated on the sixth of Sivan to celebrate Moses receiving the Ten Commandments This is well described as "an incredible hypothesis" (Hodge, Systematic Theology, III, 484). For they fully understood, with the church of the ages, that on that day the dispensation of the Spirit was begun, a dispensation of greater privileges and of a broader horizon and of greater power than had hitherto been vouchsafed to the church of the living God. What is Pentecost, and what does it mean? By counting 50 days beginning with the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread (as designated by Scripture), we always come to Sunday. In this way God can speak to us. But, while God did indeed give these to Israel, including the Jewish people, it is important to note that God says, “These are My feasts” (Leviticus 23:2), and that Moses referred to them as “the feasts of the LORD” (verse 44). The later Dutch theologians have advanced the idea that the origin of the church, as an institution, is to be found in the establishment of the apostolate, in the selection of the Twelve. This was a joyous time of giving great thanks to God. Pentecost Sunday is a great reminder to the church that Jesus did not leave us alone but rather ascended to the Father and sent the Spirit to dwell within believers. It must contain the tenth of an ephah, about three quarts and a half, of the finest wheat flour of the new harvest (Leviticus 23:17). Mainstream Christianity observes Pentecost on the 50th day after Easter, inclusive of both days. This is "What Does Pentecost Mean to Us?" Ezekiel 37 tells the story of the prophet's vision of a valley of dry bones which come together: when the 'breath' of God enters them, they come to life and stand on their feet. Sinai (Ad Tabiol, section 7): "There is Sinai, here Sion; there the trembling mountain, here the trembling house; there the flaming mountain, here the flaming tongues; there the noisy thunderings, here the sounds of many tongues; there the clangor of the ramshorn, here the notes of the gospel-trumpet." The other sacrifices were, a burnt offering of a young bullock, two, rams and seven lambs with a meat and drink offering, and a kid for a sin offering. As Christians accross the world celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, what comes to mind of many is what it means and how it affects the religion they are practicing – Christianity. 0. 2Suddenly a sound like the rushing of a violent wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. The Pentecost is the only one of the three great feasts which is not mentioned as the memorial of events in the history of the Jews; but such a significance has been found in the fact that the law was given from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the deliverance from Egypt. What does Pentecost mean … For some reason, we don’t discuss or define some of the more significant days in our history. Pentecost is from the Greek word 'Pentekostos', which means 'fifty'. These two meals represent the two loaves of bread, formerly offered in the "bikkurim" offering at the Temple service. We will not enter here upon a discussion of the significance of the events of the pentecostal day described in Ac 2. Meyer follows the Johannic reckoning and openly states that the other evangelists made a mistake in their reckoning. They are Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (called Pentecost in the New Testament), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 40 days after Easter. Pentecost is often thought to have begun in the New Testament, but in actuality, the word Pentecost is a Greek word referring to the Festival of Weeks, which was one of the main holy festivals of the Jewish people ( Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9 ). Some years (such as 2020) these dates coincide, but many years they do not. Rather, it is the FOCAL POINT of the entire spring festival season, the CULMINATION of events that transpire from Passover until Pentecost! "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". Although mainstream Christianity gets Pentecost Sunday on the right day of the week, it does not follow the biblical instruction to begin the 50-day count to Pentecost with the Sunday that falls during the Days of Unleavened Bread. So many vocalize the question everyone there was thinking, “What does this mean?” “Pentecost” is the Greek word for fifty. “Pentecost” is actually the Greek name for a festival known in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9). Heb.) This feast occurred during the first harvest of the land, and Jewish tradition says that this day commemorates God giving the ancient Israelites the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit assumed the form of “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) to signify the miraculous power of the apostles’ message and their radically changed lives. Leviticus 23:18 describes the additional sacrifices required on this occasion. Photo: Nec Spe, Nec Metu . Dr. H. Bavinck says: "Christ gathers a church about Himself, rules it directly so long as He is on the earth, and appoints twelve apostles who later on will be His witnesses. Although many religions observe Pentecost, albeit with different names and meanings, they celebrate it on different dates. Pentecost was a holiday. Pentecost is one of the annual holy days God revealed to the ancient Israelites. Later Jewish writers are very minute in their description of the preparation of these two loaves (Josephus, Ant, III, x, 6). Pentecost is a festival observed by Catholics, Protestants, Jews and the Church of God. This vivid passage shows the close analogy between the Jewish and Christian Pentecost. Acts 2 says, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 14, p. 1319, “Shavuot”). There is nothing haphazard about God – Pentecost teaches this. The Spirit of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit. In addition to talking to them about the Kingdom of God, Jesus Christ told them to wait in Jerusalem because “you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4-5). Our merciful God, who wants all to be saved, has planned more than one time or age for humans to be called and have their opportunity for salvation. Pentecost is a central feast of Judaism. What does “Pentecost” mean? Just as the appearance of God on Sinai was the birthday of the Jewish nation, so was the Pentecost the birthday of the Christian Church. Free-will offerings were to be made to the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:10), and it was to be marked by a liberal spirit toward the Levite, the stranger, and orphans and widows (Deuteronomy 16:11,14). From this amazing beginning, the Church of God began to rapidly expand throughout the Roman Empire. 3. The Karaites explained the shabbath of Leviticus 23:15 as pointing to the Sabbath of the paschal week and therefore always celebrated Pentecost on Sunday. These awesome events on the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31 launched the New Testament Church. Three Pentecost Symbols. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes the other names this feast has … David Treybig is a husband, father and grandfather. What does Pentecost mean for Christians? 3. The Spirit of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit. If you have been following the news recently, you know the connection between George Floyd and what is happening in Minnesota and other cities as I write this. God must first call people before they can repent of their sins and receive the Holy Spirit, which identifies them as Christians who will receive eternal life. They have a part in preparing for an even greater harvest of people to follow. In the exodus the people were offered to God as living first fruits; at Sinai their consecration to him as a nation was completed. Their reasons for doing so “are that the book takes place at the time of the barley harvest, that Ruth’s assumption of Naomi’s religion reflects the Israelites’ acceptance of the Torah at Sinai, and that King David, who is alleged to have died at this time of year according to rabbinic tradition, is mentioned at the end of Ruth” (“Shavuot 101,” myjewishlearning.com). Although this may not have been the direct intent of the calculation, other decrees by the Catholic Church clearly show that anti-Semitism was a driving force behind their reasons for abandoning worship on Saturday and the traditional, annual observance of Passover on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:5). George Floyd, Minnesota, Pentecost. Of all the annual observances given by God to the ancient Israelites, this is the only one that has been commonly known to Christians since the first century by its Greek name—Pentecost, meaning “the fiftieth day” (Thayer’s Greek Definitions). Many people don’t know the background of this holy day or why these groups often celebrate it on different days. Some suggest that there are so many events in church history and on church calendars that it is hard to know which ones to observe. In the New Testament, the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus. The significance of Pentecost lies in the baptism of the disciples with the Holy Spirit. What is Pentecost anyway, and how is it significant to the church today? Life was brought to Adam's physical body when God breathed into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). The reasons some within mainstream Christianity choose not to observe Pentecost vary. Pentecost is an annual festival commemorating the beginning of the New Testament Church of God. At the Last Supper the disciples witness the end of the Messiah’s earthly ministry as He asks them to remember Him after His death until He returns. Those whom God called to be part of His Church on Pentecost in 31 AD were told that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit if they would repent and be baptized, accepting Jesus Christ’s sacrifice to pay for their sins (Acts 2:38). The bearing of the one on the other is obvious; they stand and fall together. Their founders despised the Jews and didn’t want their religion to look similar to that of the Jews. Pentecost falls in the Easter season and the color worn on that day is red, the color associated with the Holy Spirit.Red, to represent the Holy Spirit's descent in tongues of fire over the disciples. A popular custom on Pentecost is to eat dairy foods and cheese-cakes in honor of the Law, which is likened to "honey and milk" (Cant.iv. With a short review of the meaning behind the names mentioned above, we will get a deeper understanding of God’s intention’s about that day and its implications for all humanity. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. i.e., "fiftieth", found only in the New Testament ( Acts 2:1 ; 20:16 ; 1 Corinthians 16:8 ). Orthodox churches are often decorated with greenery and flowers on this feast day, and the celebration is intentionally similar to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Mosaic Law. Acts 2:1-21 (EHV). It was party time. It’s connected with the change from the biblical Passover to Easter. To learn more about this amazing truth, download our free booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (or languages) as … What does Pentecost mean for Christians? ... Today, we recognize this day as Pentecost, which is the Greek name for it. The Pentecost wind represents the power of God to bring life to the 'dry bones' of faith. Used by permission. At the same time, they also changed its date and meaning. The Israelites were admonished to remember their bondage on that day and to reconsecrate themselves to the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:12), but it does not yet commemorate the giving of the Law at Sinai or the birth of the national existence, in the Old Testament conception (Exodus 19). Bibliography Information Many Christians emphasize Christmas and Easter – and rightfully so – so why do we ignore this key moment in our church? In Judaism the festival is called by its Hebrew name, Shavuot. It was a Greek name for the Feast of Weeks outlined in the Old Testament because that festival took place fifty days after Passover. The shops were closed. ( deuteronomy 16:10 deuteronomy 16:11 ) The great feature of the celebration was the presentation of the two loaves made from the first-fruits of the wheat harvest. However, the festival holds even more significance. From the May/June 2020 issue of Discern Magazine. The Lutherans, in their endeavor to prove the inherent power of the Word, claim that "the effects then exhibited were due to the divine power inherent in the words of Christ; and that they had resisted that power up to the day of Pentecost and then yielded to its influence." Most interesting, however, is its use in Joel and Acts. But it is very uncertain whether the custom existed in Christ's day, and moreover it would be impossible to prove that the disciples followed this custom, if it could be proved to have existed. Read more about Pentecost here. There is always good reason behind what God does. Easter, the beginning of the pentecostal period, closed the "Quadragesima," or "Lent," the entire period of which had been marked by self-denial and humiliation. In Catholic and other Western churches, priests often wear red vestments during Pentecost to symbolize the “tongues of fire” that descended on the disciples from the Holy Spirit; members of the congregation also wear red in some traditions, and the altar is commonly dressed in a red frontal cloth. Those who are called by God during this present age and who respond to God’s call are the “firstfruits” of His plan of salvation for mankind. Get the latest blog posts from Life, Hope & Truth straight to your inbox. The Spirit’s appearance as the dove at Jesus’ baptism symbolizes the gentle Savior bringing peace to mankind through His sacrifice. Pentecost Sunday (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit) is a liturgical day celebrated or commemorated in many churches in both the Western and Eastern traditions regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church. Perhaps the command against gleaning harvest-fields has a bearing on this custom (Leviticus 23:22). The fire on the Day of Pentecost appeared in the form of tongues to symbolize God’s holy power through the proclamation of His Word, burning into people in a way that purifies them. This day is said to mark the dividing line between the ministry of the Lord and the ministry of the Spirit. You can find the dates for Pentecost and other festivals according to the biblical calculation on our “Festival Calendar.”, What will Pentecost mean for you this year? People responded to a fixed calendrical date of Sivan 6, according to John, the day of first-fruits.... Bones ' of faith of joy which is wholly foreign to the fifty days after Easter, inclusive both! 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