Some Meanings of Pentecost
The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) has as its central focus the message of Joel 2:28-32:
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit. And [much later] I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered, for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call”.
Acts 2:17 says these things [speaking in tongues, and the pouring out of God’s spirit in Jerusalem: Acts 2:14-15] occurred in “… the last days …”, which was at the first Pentecost after Christ’s resurrection around 30 A.D. The “last days” are interpreted as the last half of the 7,000-year “week” of this aeon, and 30 A.D. is well within this time period. It is at this Pentecost and after that the Gentiles (non-Israelites) began to be “grafted in” (Romans 11:17), so this point in time is a remarkable pivotal point in the plan of God. Now all of mankind had the opportunity to be called, chosen, and receive the spirit of God to become a part of the ecclesia. Before this time there is no record of anyone outside of the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who received God’s spirit.
The two groups of individuals in the ecclesia — Israelites and Gentiles — may thus be represented by the two “wave loaves” offered before the Lord at the Feast of Weeks, for they are the “… firstfruits unto the Lord…”, the firstfruits being those called into the ecclesia as brothers of Jesus Christ.
Pentecost takes on even more meaning when one realizes that just as the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread typify the beginning of the barley harvest — the Israelite harvest — so the Feast of Weeks typifies the beginning of the wheat harvest — the Gentile harvest. Not until these festivals had passed was any grain harvested by Israelite farmers in either the spring or the summer. Both festivals mark awesome events: the giving of God’s spirit to live within those destined to become kings and priests alongside Jesus Christ for a thousand years, and then forevermore.
What Does It Mean to Be a King and a Priest?
I. After Israel left Egypt during the Days of Unleavened Bread they arrived at Mt. Sinai in the third month.This time corresponds to the Feast of Weeks (O.T.) or the Day of Pentecost (N.T.)
A. Moses climbed up the mountain and met the Lord (Yahweh), and was told to tell Israel, “You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”. Exodus 19:3-6.
peculiar treasure (Strong 5459) = cegullah, “to shut up; wealth (as closely shut up)”; translated “jewel, peculiar treasure, proper good, special.”
kingdom (Strong 4467) = mamlakah, ”dominion, i.e. the estate or country”; from Strong 4427, malak, “to reign to ascend the throne, to induct into royalty.”
priests (Strong 3548) = kohen, “one officiating, a priest.
B. Peter reiterated this promise to the ecclesia, “spiritual Israel” as it were:“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into marvelous light, which in times past was not a people but are now the people of God …” I Peter 2:9-10. We also know that “… all Israel shall be saved …” ultimately, and given eternal life and priestly status in the next age. Romans 11:26. Thus, the New Covenant promise of Sonship in the Kingdom is identical to the one given by the Lord on Mt. Sinai over 1,500 years earlier.
II. Jesus Christ clearly stated that it is the role of the saints to be a kings and priests in the coming age, and that rulership, though based in the spirit realm (heaven), will be focused amongst mankind living on the earth.Matthew 20:20-23; Revelation 2:26-27; 3:21; 5:10; 20:4-6.
III. What are the appearance and role of the resurrected saints during the coming age as they function as kings and priests?
A. Our imaginations are not able to fully conjure up the reality of our future. Isaiah 64:4; I Corinthians 2:9. Yet, God reveals that we can know the things of the spirit, even the “… deep things of God”, if we possess His spirit. I Corinthians 2:10-12.
B. Our appearance: we will be very much like Jesus Christ but with a unique identity, since we are brothers of Jesus Christ, not clones. Romans 8:29.
1. Note Jesus Christ’s appearance to John. Revelation 1:12-15.
2. Brilliant light will flow from us. I Corinthians 15; 42-43; Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43; 17:2.
C. A new name will be given. Revelation 2:17.
D. Never again will we die. Revelation 2:7, 11.
E. Our true home will be the New Jerusalem in the spirit real, placed on the earth, but our main effort and authority will be on the earth. Revelation 3:12, 21; 5:10; 20:4-6; 21:9-10.
1. Authority and responsibility for various portions of the earth will be given. Luke 19:11-19.
2. A literal Eden will be reconstructed over all the earth during the decades and centuries after Jesus Christ’s return, in which we will have a direct part. Acts 3:19-21; Micah 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:6-9; 35:4-7; 65:17-25.
F. Like Jesus Christ we will inherit all things, but that inheritance is not something we will “sit on”, but it will be developed and expanded forever. Revelation 21:7; Matthew 5:3, 5; Isaiah 9:7.
G. We will be worshiped even as Christ is worshiped, for we will be God. Revelation 3:9; Isaiah 49:23; 60:14.
H. We will no longer be able to sin. I John 3:9.
IV. Imagine the spirit personage of Jesus Christ and the Father, and that is our destiny, to become God like them.