When Christians today think of Pentecost, they generally don’t relate it to the Jewish holidays or the Old Testament at all, or if they do, primarily as a date for a harvest celebration.  Naturally, they think of the Book of Acts and the birth of the Church in its formative years.  But as a result, they miss the remarkable and grander meaning of the fourth and central feast among the seven Feasts of Israel, and which undeniably points to the Church and the conclusion of the Church age.

On that first Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred on the Feast of Firstfruits, and that same morning at the Jerusalem Temple the high priest would customarily wave a sheaf of grain before the Lord to commemorate the first fruits of the coming harvest.  The sheaf was known as an “omer” and was generally a bundle of young barley, some of it may have been slightly green.   It was like a sample harvest of what is to come 50 days later at the mid-summer full harvest known as “Pentecost.”  Thus, began the “counting of the omer” until the day of Pentecost.

He referred to Himself as the “bread of life” and just prior to His crucifixion Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12:24)  Just as the high priest waved a sample of the harvest to come, having been buried for three days Jesus likened His resurrection to that sheaf of barley as a representation of a promised greater harvest to come.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is the “first fruits of the resurrection” in 1^st Corinthians 15:23.  Likewise, Jesus is the guaranty of a harvest to come, the full harvest at the end of the Church age.

As the Dallas Theological Seminary describes it, the Firstfruits offering was like “a preliminary installment” of the final harvest to come much later.  Who or what is “much fruit?”  It is the Church.

Just as the high priest would not hold up just a single stem, he was instructed from Leviticus 23 to hold up a bundle to denote a sample of the harvest to come.  Likewise, Jesus was resurrected and appeared to many, but also the Bible tells us, “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Matthew 27:52-53).  At His resurrection, Jesus was then accompanied by a large number of Old Testament saints who had waited for His coming and they were emptied from the upper chamber of Hades, otherwise known as “Abraham’s bosom.”  Paul tells us in 1^st Corinthians 15:20 that Christ is “the firstfruits of them that slept.”

Beginning on Firstfruits, the high priest would begin the “counting of the omer” for the next 49 days waving a new sheaf offering each day.  This countdown would culminate after 50 days in the celebration of Pentecost or what the Jews call “Shavuot” which means “weeks.”  Originally, it was known in the Old Testament as the “harvest of firstfruits” and then later became known as the “feast of weeks.”

The Greek word is “pentekoste” which means “50 or fiftieth” but is also used symbolically as a “fulness or completion.”  Fifty is also the number of Jubilee in the Sabbatical/Jubilee system of years.

Ever since the Exodus, on the morning of Pentecost the Jewish high priest, according to Leviticus 23:17, would come out and wave two loaves of bread, “they shall be of fine flour….they shall be baked with leaven…they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.”  It was a celebration and an offering of thanksgiving to the Lord for the final and full harvest (Leviticus 7:13).  Yet no one seems to know precisely why “two” loaves are waved and why they are baked with leaven, which is always denoted as a symbol of sin elsewhere in the Bible.  Some have suggested the loaves are representative of a “double blessing” on all who call Christ their Savior.  Others say it may symbolize Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church.  Others (including myself) interpret the two loaves to denote the two houses seen in Revelation, the Church and spiritual Israel, that will live together for eternity.

“For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” (1^st Corinthians 10:17)

It was about the same time that these two loaves were being waved by the high priest, it coincided with Acts 2 that a strong and loud wind swept through Jerusalem early one morning in the Temple area.  “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.  And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.  And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)  The disciples had been praying through the night “in one accord” and “fully come” means early morning.

Although often overlooked, the Church has a vital connection to this Feast of Pentecost, and it is a type* in so many ways of the Rapture of the Church.  In one moment a couple of hundred Jews were praying, in the next instant the Church of Jesus Christ was born and the Holy Spirit of God took residence in the hearts and minds of believers.  In this same manner, the Church will be raptured when the time of the final harvest has come.  But, this is not to predict or proclaim that the Rapture of the Church will occur on the day of Pentecost, for no one knows and it cannot be predicted.  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)

As earlier mentioned, “pentekoste” means “50 or fiftieth” but also denotes symbolically a “fulness or completion.”   When putting the full harvest of the Church in prophetic perspective, one cannot but recall Paul’s words as to when the Church age would end.  “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)  In this verse also, we are reminded that the Church age is a planned but temporary interruption in Daniel’s “70 weeks of years” for Israel and that James also references as the “calling out of the Gentiles” that will be followed by the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David. (Acts 15:14-17)

Pentecost is beautifully packed with incredible Biblical truths and prophetic overtones that speak to the Church, there are so many more aspects of this Feast date that remain to be shared.  Why do some Jews stay up all night before Pentecost (Shavuot) to celebrate the “decorating of the bride?”  What other major event occurred on this day in the Hebrew calendar?  Why do so many observant Jews in Israel read the Book of Ruth the night before Pentecost?  Next week.

“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:38)

*Bible typology is a form of hermeneutic and a method of Biblical interpretation whereby an element found in the Old Testament is seen to prefigure one found in the New Testament.  The initial one is called the type and the fulfillment is designated the antitype.  Either type can be a person, thing, or event, and is often messianic or related to salvation.

The Apostle John tells us that Pilate wrote it personally.  He wrote it in Hebrew for the Jews, in Greek as the common language, and in Latin as the official language of Rome.  When he answered the chief priest he spoke in the perfect tense, “what I have written will always remain written.”

“Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” (John 19:19-22)

What Pilate wrote was: Yeshua HaNazarei v Melech HaYehudim, which is an acronym on YHWH!  If he had written it as he was requested, it would not have spelled out the Name of God.  It is the name Yahweh that the Lord revealed to Moses through four consonants YHWH (also known as the “tetragrammaton”) which means “the self-existent, eternal God.”  In the Bible wherever we see the name of the Lord in all capital letters LORD, it is literally “Yahweh.”  When Latin-speaking Christian scholars substituted Y (which does not exist in Latin) with J, “Yahweh” was translated (JeHoWaH) as Jehovah.

Within the Bible, the beautiful names of God are made known to us in the form of Compound Titles which reveal the nature of our heavenly Father towards us.  They include:

Jehovah T’sidkenu                           the Lord our righteousness                          Jeremiah 23:6

Jehovah Shammah                          the Lord ever present (there for you)            Ezekiel 48:35           

Jehovah Jireh                                   the Lord who provides                                  Genesis 22:8, 14

Jehovah Nissi                                   the Lord our banner of victory                      Exodus 17:8-16

Jehovah Rohi (or Raah)                   the Lord our shepherd                                  Psalm 23:1

Jehovah Rapha                                the Lord our healer                                       Exodus 15:26

Jehovah Shalom                              the Lord our peace                                        Judges 6:24

Grouped together, Psalms 22-24 are known as the “Shepherd Psalms.”  Psalm 22 is “the Suffering Savior” but is quite remarkable in that it doesn’t seem to correlate with any portion of David’s life.  In fact, this psalm is about a criminal being executed!  Jesus quoted the first and last verses from Psalm 22 while He hung on the cross (verse 31= “he hath done this” = “tetelestai” = “it is finished” or “paid in full.”)  Psalm 24 is the “Exalted Sovereign” and was sung the day after the Sabbath every Sunday in Herod’s Temple.  It would have been sung upon Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

With only 6 verses Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known and often memorized psalms among Christians.  It is about the “living Shepherd” or the “Great Shepherd.”  As you read the psalm word for word in your Bible, follow along here and consider the titles being expressed:

• The Lord is my shepherd (Jehovah Rohi)
• I shall not want (I shall lack nothing) (Jehovah Jireh)
• He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (Jehovah Jireh)
• (I shall lack no provision)
• He leadeth me beside the still waters (Jehovah Shalom)
• (I shall not lack peace)
• He restoreth my soul (Jehovah Rapha)
• (I shall not lack restoration)
• He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness (Jehovah T’sidkenu)
• (I shall not lack guidance)
• Yea, thou I walk in the valley of the shadow
• of death, I will not fear no evil (Jehovah Shammah)
• They rod and thy staff, they comfort me
• (I shall not lack courage)
• Thou preparest a table before me in the
• Presence of mine enemies (Jehovah Nissi)
• (I shall not lack protection, preservation, honor)

Throughout the Bible we see the depiction of shepherds tending to their sheep.  Moses was sent to shepherd his father-in-law’s sheep and David was also a shepherd boy in his young years.  Jesus refers to Himself as “the Good Shepherd.”  And thus, we as believers are His sheep.

Sheep are defenseless animals, they are by nature prone to get lost and are in need of constant care.  A shepherd cannot drive sheep like cattle, they have to be led.  And remarkably, unlike cattle, the sheep are known to the shepherd by name (John 10:1-5).  Each Sunday the church is filled with His sheep who are no longer lost but need to be led nonetheless.  By His grace, we are gratefully led by the Holy Spirit who infills us.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

But Jesus did not come just to minister to healthy, strong sheep.  He came to minister to the broken sheep.  In Ezekiel 34 the Lord chastises Israel’s shepherds (priests) who did not care for His flock.  “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.” (Ezekiel 34:4)

When you look around the church today and beyond, there are young lambs that you wonder if will ever walk, there are sheep with crippled and bleeding hind legs because they were pulled from a lion’s mouth, some are naked or shorn because a shepherd fleeced them for deceitful purposes, some are bruised and in pain due to divorce, others are dirty and muddy from wandering away, some are diseased from drinking dirty water.  Do you see them?

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Sources:  Dusty Kemp, Rev. David Wilkerson, Dr. Chuck Missler

In the two verses prior to one of the most famous passages in the Bible, we read where Jesus compares Himself to a serpent hanging on a pole.  Why would He say that?

We find this story unfolding earlier after the Exodus in Numbers 21, in a very strange event during the Israelites’ wandering in the Wilderness.  In this portion of the journey, the people of Israel were fatigued as they were forced to march around the land of Edom because they could not obtain direct passage.  The people began to murmur, complain and became rebellious towards Moses.  Despite the miracles and victories the Lord had wrought before the nation, the people fell into a state of unbelief.  Out of this unbelief, they complained bitterly about the food (manna) and scarcity of water and voiced speculation that they would perish in the wilderness.

“And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6) This was the same unbelieving generation that had also rejected the report of the twelve spies who had scouted the land of Canaan that God had promised them by refusing to go into the Land in faith.  In their pride, they held open contempt for the Lord and His mercies as well as Moses.  In His righteous judgment of their rebellion, the Lord removed His protective hand and sent venomous snakes (most likely asps) into their camps.  It was here the Israelites recognized the error of their ways.

“Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.  And Moses prayed for the people.” (verse 7)

In Biblical typology, a “type of Christ” is an Old Testament character who either points to Christ or whose behavior corresponds to the life of Jesus Christ.  As a type of Christ, Moses interceded for the people, asking for God’s blessings and protection on the very people who had cursed him.   God answers Moses’s prayer showing mercy upon the Israelites and bringing about their effectual relief, but not in the manner it was requested.

It is in the next two verses that we find the shortest of Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament:

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9)

Brass (verse 9) is “nechosheth” in Hebrew which means “copper, bronze.”

So we have this very strange event, where Moses has a snake made of brass to be placed on a pole and lifted up so that anyone who has been bitten can look upon this brass snake on a pole and live.  The serpent reminded the people of their sin and the pole was placed in such a manner that any of the wandering Israelites could see it and be healed.   It is a most unusual remedy and one that is completely unexplained in the remainder of the Old Testament.

Consider the symbolism:

Serpent: is a figure of evil or sin.

Brass: a metal that can sustain fire, symbolic of judgment

It is interesting that from origins of this story, even Greek mythology shares the legend of the “rod of Aesculapius” which denotes a snake wrapped around a pole as a symbol of healing.  Today this symbol is commonly used to denote the medical profession.

Why do we have this story in the Old Testament?

“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the world are come.” (1^st Corinthians 10:11)

“Examples” in the Greek is “tupos” which means “a figure, image or pattern, a prefiguring” as in a “prototype”

We do not receive any explanation for this event anywhere in the Bible until we see Nicodemus approach Jesus Christ one evening in John 3.  Nicodemus was a ruling Pharisee on the Jewish Sanhedrin and sought Jesus for explanations and understanding behind the authority of His healing, miracles, and teachings.  After sharing that unless one “becomes born again” that they cannot enter the kingdom of God, Jesus goes on to provide explanation of the brass serpent:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3: 14-15)

Jesus had just told Nicodemus that he was unacceptable to God and that if he wanted to enter the kingdom of God he must be “born again.”  In His response to Nicodemus, Jesus explains the meaning of the brass serpent, the pattern that it established, that He would one day fulfill by hanging on the cross.  In the next verse, He completes the thought in the most widely known John 3:16,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (verse 16)

How do we interpret the symbolism of the serpent and Christ?  Just as the serpent represented sin and evil, Jesus became our sin as He hung on the cross for us.

“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:21)

Were there any other similarities?

• Both were raised up to save men from death.
• Both spoke of sin on a pole.
• Both spoke of judgment.
• Both provided immediate salvation.
• Both were easily available.
• Both were available to everyone.
• Both demanded faith

There was nothing more that could be done or added in either case.  There were no home remedies, no snake bite antidotes or help from others that would cure an Israelite, only that he or she would look upon the serpent on a pole.  It was by faith alone and obeying God’s instruction.   Likewise, there is nothing more that we can do to obtain salvation apart from what Christ has already done for us on the Cross.  There is no “Christ plus this work, plus that work.” His atonement for our sins is sufficient once and for all and our salvation is by faith alone.

“did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”  (Galatians 3:2-3)

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most well known stories of the Bible.   In fact, even if just accepting the account as cliché’, most people around the world today are familiar with the story.  Secular society may label it as another myth or fable, but even in the church today there are many who are unsure as to whether it is true.  Does the Bible provide any additional evidence to support the story?

During that time described in 1st Samuel 17, the Jews found themselves under the brutal domination of the Philistines and their great champion, Goliath.  King Saul and his army faced off against the Philistines but he could find no man of Israel willing to engage the giant in hand-to-hand combat.  Was he really a giant?  Is this a reliable account?

It is interesting how the Bible “fills in” the details.  Consider that we are told that this giant comes from the village of Gath.  “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” (1^st Samuel 17:4)   So first, how tall was that? A cubit was considered the length of a man’s arm from his elbow to the tip of his fingers.  What is the standard?  According to different cultures a cubit was between 17.5” and 21” but, in general, there is a “short cubit” of 18” and a “long cubit” of 20”.  And a “span?”  A span is the distance between the tip of the little finger and the thumb of an outstretched hand.  The commonly accepted distance is 9 inches.  Thus, Goliath stood somewhere between 9’9” and 10’9” tall.  His size was massive.  Is this why David drew out five smooth stones for his sling?

Apart from the measured height of Goliath, again it is important to note that he was from Gath and that this village is where the giant race of Anakim lived.  As you recall, the report of the twelve spies who upon entering the land of Canaan came back fearful of the giant races that lived there.  “And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, ‘the land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.” (Numbers 13:32)

Why is this important?  In another passage in the book of Joshua, it tells us that Gath was one of the few places where the giant race of Anakim still survived.  “And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroy them utterly with their cities.  There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.” (Joshua 11:21-22) Thus, there were only three cities where the remnants of the giants lived and, it is more than coincidental that four hundred years after the conquest of Canaan, we find that Goliath was living in Gath and this stands as further confirmation of the story.  Three books of the Bible,  Numbers, Joshua, and Samuel confirm basic elements of the story.

So back to the question: why did David pick up “five smooth stones” to battle Goliath with his sling?  Was there an inkling of doubt in his mind of whether God would sustain him in battle against the giant? Was he allowing for the need of extra stones in case he missed?

If you will read 2^nd Samuel, chapter 21, you will discover that Goliath was not the only giant of his family.  What we find is that the father of Goliath had five sons, all of whom fought for the Philistines.  Further, that all four brothers of Goliath were giants as well and they all died in combat with the brave soldiers of David.  As the prophet Samuel records, “These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” (2^nd Samuel 21:22) 

“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” (1^st Samuel 17:45)

When David picked up those five smooth stones out of the brook for his sling he was simply preparing for the contingency or real possibility that he might have to face the four brothers of Goliath after he slew him.  Not only was he certain that the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hand, but he was prepared to battle four giants of the same size and countenance in the aftermath.  Thus, he would need four additional stones for each of Goliath’s four brothers.  These four stones were not selected out of doubt, they were selected out of faith.

“And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.” (verse 47)

We all face “goliaths” of some sort in our lives at one time or another.  Maybe you are facing something today that appears overwhelming.   Do you battle these “giants” alone, or do you seek the Lord?

David was a man, just as human as you or me.  He made mistakes just like we do, but God loved him just as He loves us.  No doubt, David had great faith in God.  How great is our faith?  If the Lord has spoken a word to you, does your faith in Him allow for making plans based on the circumstances of its fulfillment?

“Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)