Seven weeks and a day have passed since the time of Passover. To Christians, this day is referred to as Pentecost and is remembered as the day when the apostles received the Holy Spirit. It was first celebrated by the Israelites seven weeks after they were passed over by the last plague and delivered out of oppression. It has been known as the Feast of Weeks throughout generations of Hebrews ever since. The disciples of Y’hoshua observed this time, just as their forefathers had, as stated in the Acts of the Apostles.
This is a day celebrated by both the ‘Jews’ and the ‘Christians’ only in different ways. This being one of the feasts ordained by God for the children of Israel to observe throughout their generations. It marks the fiftieth day (7 weeks plus one day) after the Passover or Exodus of Israel out of Egypt. It is in commemoration of the day Moses received the Tablets of the Law. This was to establish the Covenant between God and Israel. The Feast of Weeks or Shavuot and to bring in the firstfruits of the harvest.
By some, May 31, 2020 will be celebrated as the Pentecost (the Greek word for fifty). Is it just a day to go to church and pay your tithe or is there something else there hidden from view? What is the significance?
Others, from the evenings of May 28 to May 30 will be celebrating the “Feast of Weeks.” It also commemorates the Feast of the Firstfruits when the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were to be brought before God in thanksgiving. Is it just a harvest or tithe of wheat? Is it a time to eat cheese? Or is there something hidden from view? What is the significance?
Moses with the Tablets of the Law, the Ten Commandments, the Covenant between God and Israel
God calls for three feast times during a year. May 31st, 2020 is the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Last month we looked at Passover and the associated Feast of Unleavened bread. We learned about the shadows that are contained within these Holy Days and the time of their occurrence. The detailed instructions of those occasions are actually prophecies of events that happened at the time of Y’hoshua (Jesus) as well as right now! Could the same be true for the ‘Feast of Weeks?’ Absolutely!
As a refresher, one aspect of Passover is the connection to the time of the Sabbath in God’s time. The menorah represents that seven-fold light of time, Y’hoshua is shadowed in the center shaft or vine in both his role as the Passover lamb and the time in history when he was alive.
‘Sheeple’ is a derogatory term for people who follow, like sheep, those who lead them into a herd mentality. People have a tendency to follow the crowd blindly with the great help of mass manipulation. They are tracked and traced and the data collected give the tools to do just that! They have been led into error and destruction. But God knows everything they do and has promised to send a Deliverer like unto Moses for His flock.
“Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me; and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people, out of Egypt.”
The LORD God to Moses, Exodus 3:9-10
‘Sheeple’ follow blindly
Jesus identified the leaders, the priests and governors, in his time as hypocrites and “blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Mat 15:14
“The Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; He has sent me to heal/bind up the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance/liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind…”
Most “Christians” today celebrate Easter as the day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. However, early followers of Jesus would not have recognized or celebrated Easter. There is no reference in scripture to the observance of a holiday (Holy Day) to commemorate the “resurrection” of Jesus.
So, Where did Easter come from and how did it get incorporated into today’s “Christianity?”
Two major holidays are celebrated this April, Passover and Easter. One has to do with Y’hoshua (Jesus), while the other does not. But it’s not the one you think.
Passover is the time when Jews remember the “passing over” of the plague in Egypt on the night prior to their exodus out of Egypt. Easter and the associated “Maunday Thursday” and “Good Friday” are a Christian celebration of the death of Y’hoshua. Which one actually has something to do with Y’hoshua? Which one did he acknowledge?
God told Moses to speak to the children of Israel concerning His feasts:
“In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days you must eat unleavened bread. … When you are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest.”
Leviticus 23:5-10
“…but gather the wheat into my barn…” Parable of the Wheat and the Tares” Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Does God require that you bring the first stalks of wheat that come out of your garden? What if you can’t grow wheat? Does that make you unacceptable? This seems silly. There must be more to this than what’s on the surface. Let’s take a look at other places in God’s word to see if we can gain a better understanding of what’s being said here…
“And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say to you, What do you mean by this service? That you shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and paid homage to the LORD.”
Exodus 12:26-27
God commanded Moses to speak to Israel concerning the Passover. The night before the exodus of Israel, God executed judgement throughout the oppressive land of Egypt (Exodus 12:1-12). His instructions to Israel were for each household to take a lamb and eat the meat in haste. Let us delve into the meaning of this particular Law of the Passover in order that we might keep it in its exact interpretation.
The World has suddenly come to a screeching halt. The population is taking a ‘forced sabbath’, or rest, due to Coronavirus containment efforts. As of March 24th, 2020, a third of the World’s population, or three Billion people, are under virus related ‘shelter-in-place’ limits. Citizens around the world have been forced to take a step back from the ‘go-go-go’ mentality. The new directive is to hunker-down at home. Welcome to the forced sabbath.
‘The season of Lent is upon us… a time of abstinence, fasting and penance.’ And alms giving… Or is it?
It’s what’s for Lent – What’s on your plate?
‘When you fast, don’t be as the hypocrites’. And ‘When you do your alms, don’t sound a trumpet as the hypocrites do… that they may have the glory of men…’ and…
‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees/Priests which is hypocrisy.’
