People ask me why I follow dates and festivals on the Biblical calendar rather than the dates and observances that many churches follow and observe today. In case you were wondering this same thing, my answer is quite simple.
Jesus is coming back. Jesus is Jewish. I could be wrong but when Jesus comes back, I’m betting it will be according to the Biblical calendar, not the Gregorian calendar we follow today, and not according to our man-made dates of religious observances for significant events. God established the calendar of feasts as everlasting ordinances for generations to come, wherever in the world His followers may live. God is not a God of coincidence but precision. While we are not subject to obeying the regulations of these feasts because Christ fulfilled the Law for us, Jesus does instruct us to be ready and alert and aware of the times. Keeping track of the Biblical calendar and feasts, in my opinion, is one way of doing this.
That said, on this very day in history according to the Biblical calendar, some amazing things happened, and I don’t think it is a coincidence that these things happened on the same date in different years. This day is an example. It has been 50 days since the day when Israelites passed through the Red Sea, and it is also 50 days since the Resurrection of Jesus many years later. Let’s take a look at what happened on this day and what this reveals to us about being ready for one day when Jesus returns.
On this day in history: God came down on Mount Sinai in fire, revealing His power and glory to His chosen people whom He had redeemed from slavery in Egypt, and He spoke to them from heaven, speaking His laws to them to confirm His covenant with them. ~ AND ~ Every year following that, all Jewish men were to make pilgrimage to God’s Temple in Jerusalem, bringing with them the first and best of their fields – the first fruits of the harvest for the year – to offer them and dedicate the harvest to the Lord. ~ AND ~ After the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit came down in Jerusalem, resting upon the earliest followers of Jesus like a fire upon them and filling them with the wisdom, power, and gifts of God, including the ability to speak in languages they had never known or spoken before.
Read the following passage (Exodus 19:16-19) describing God’s power when He revealed Himself on Mount Sinai.
“There was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then, Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.”
Imagine, for a moment, that you were with the Israelites, standing at a safe distance at the base of Mount Sinai because you were not allowed to come too close. See in your mind’s eye the glorious fire of God descending as a pillar from heaven to touch the peak of the mountain top, and hear in your spiritual ears the voice of God speaking in His thundering voice to you, telling you what to do. Can you see it? Can you hear it? Isn’t it marvelous?
Now read this passage (Acts 2:1-4) describing this same day, the first day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out of heaven to fill Christian believers. “
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the wholehouse where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest oneach of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as theSpirit enabled them.”
The same mountain top power you just envisioned seeing and the voice you imagined hearing came INTO followers of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. This is still true for all of us as followers of Jesus – this mountaintop power of God dwells WITHIN us! This fire, this power, and the ability to hear God’s voice (now more like a whisper than booming thunder) is IN us, directly telling us what to do and even giving us His own words to speak. Just like these first believers, we receive gifts of the Holy Spirit which enable us to perform the work of God on earth as it is in heaven. If we are fully surrendered and filled with the Holy Spirit, we can even feel the heat of the power of God burning within us.
The Feast of Harvest, which falls on this same day according to Jewish Law, required all Jewish men to unite together in Jerusalem and offer their first fruits to God. They dedicated the first and the best of the harvest to God, even while the harvest was months away, as evidence of their trust that God would be faithful to bring forth abundance in the Promised Land which God had given them. No ordinary work was allowed on this day, rather they celebrated and worshiped, praising God and remembering how He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt. They gathered at the Temple and offered to God a special burnt offering, sin offering, and a fellowship offering for peace in their community and in their land as they united together as one people in Jerusalem to worship.
But just as the fire of God on the mountain foreshadowed the fire of God dwelling within us as believers, the Feast of Harvest is just a foretaste and preview of what is to come for all believers. Let’s quickly recap the events which all occurred on this day in history and then look toward the future which we await with hopeful expectation – one day when Christ returns and reigns for eternity.
On this day at Mount Sinai, the entire nation of Israel had prepared and consecrated themselves – waiting – so that they could stand united together before God, offering themselves from a distance, and observing from afar the amazing power of their almighty God. They received the first fruits of redemption – the Law of God, which confirmed God’s covenant with the Jewish people.
~ AND ~
On this day in Jerusalem, all covenant believers gathered together as one people to worship in harmony and in peace with one another and to dedicate their first fruits to God – waiting – for the abundance of the harvest to come. They celebrated God’s faithfulness in delivering them from their past oppressions while they enjoyed the fullness of the land God had given them as He had promised.
~ AND ~
On this day in Jerusalem, all of the early Christian believers were united together in one meeting place – waiting – to receive the power of this same almighty God who was no longer distant but who filled their very own bodies with His marvelous power. They received the first fruits of the resurrection – the Holy Spirit, which is our deposit and guarantee of the new covenant of Christ.
One day, God will be faithful to bring forth the fullness of His Kingdom, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. All believers who worship the one true Living God will unite together as one person in the new Jerusalem at the new Temple of God to freely worship in peace with God and in harmony with one another. We will praise God, remembering how He delivered us from the broken and oppressive old order of things here on earth. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, and everything will be made new. The Spirit of God will be our own breath of life, and God Himself will dwell among us, just as He did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Until that day, let all of us who believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ consecrate ourselves to God and unite together in harmony with one another – waiting – for Jesus to return as our conquering King. Come Lord Jesus!! Come!!
Scripture References:
Mount Sinai: Exodus 19-20 and Deuteronomy16:9-12,
Feast of Weeks/Harvest: Leviticus 23:15-21
Holy Spirit Poured Out: Acts 2
Other: 1 Corinthians12, Psalm 87, Revelation 21
Originally published as: "This Day and One Day" - Reprinted from The Obedience of Faith Blog - Copyright © 2013 Wendy Bowen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE