Pentecost - The Same Spirit for All

Hello Church!

Most people count the days before the arrival of Christmas, or the days before the arrival of their birthday, and are waiting to celebrate those days. I have seen the excitement of the people for the arrival of that long-awaited day, just as mothers are waiting for the birth of their babies and wait with great patience to receive their babies with great joy in their hearts. 

In the Old Testament, God's people (Israel) also counted the days, weeks, and months for certain special dates and celebrated with great joy on these special days. They didn't celebrate Christmas or their birthdays like most people do today. However, they did celebrate three annual festivals: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Pentecost is known by three names in the OT: 

1. Feast of Weeks, because it was celebrated seven weeks or fifty days after the Feast of Passover (Leviticus 23:15-16). In Greek, Pentecost means fiftieth. 

2. The Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16), because it was when they reaped what they had sown.

3. The Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:17), because on that date the first loaf of bread of the new wheat was offered to God. 

All Israelite men were to stand before God on the day of Pentecost, offer gratitude for the harvest, and remember their deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).

In the New Testament, this Feast is mentioned three times: The day of Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples and filled them with power to proclaim the gospel worldwide. This is considered to be the beginning of the Christian Church. The second is in Acts 20, where Paul rushes to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and celebrates this feast in the Temple. The third is in 1 Corinthians 16, where Paul declares that he will remain in Ephesus until the day of Pentecost.     

Have you counted the days since we celebrated the Passover of Jesus Christ? Will you come and celebrate the Day of Pentecost with us? 

We invite you to join us this Sunday and learn more about the Day of Pentecost, as we celebrate God's gift of His Holy Spirit to us. 

Blessings,

Rev. Jesus Samano