Commentaries:
The Bible reveals no disagreement between Jesus or His apostles and the Jews about whether the festivals are to be kept. Indeed, the subject is approached assuming they will be kept. W.J. Conybeare and J.S. Howson confirm the early New Testament church kept them:
The festivals observed by the Apostolic Church were at first the same with those of the Jews; and the observance of these was continued, especially by the Christians of Jewish birth, for a considerable time. A higher and more spiritual meaning, however, was attached to their celebration. . . . (The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, p. 346)
Referring to the apostle Paul, they write, "Nay more, he himself observed the Jewish festivals" (p. 574).
The Bible plainly shows Jesus observing the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day with the Jews in John 7. In John 11:55-57, the Jews standing in the Temple question whether He would come to the Feast, as though this would break a customary habit. Regarding Pentecost, some feel that the Bible records Jesus keeping it with the Jews, apparently in agreement as to the proper day, in Luke 4:16. This is the Sabbath on which Jesus, in His hometown, formally states the purpose of His ministry.
Luke does not say it is Pentecost, just that it is a Sabbath He customarily kept. The evidence derives from what He read from the Scriptures. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, under the article "Triennial Cycle" (a three-year plan for the public reading of the Old Testament, attributed to Ezra), the portion of the Law to be read on Pentecost in the second year of the cycle (AD 28) is Exodus 20. The Pentecost reading from the Prophets is the very section Christ reads, Isaiah 61:1-2! A Jewish Quarterly Review article, "The Reading of the Law and Prophets in a Triennial Cycle," by Dr. Adolf Büchler (Vol. IV, October 1893, pp. 1-73) confirms this fact. Remember, His ministry was three-and-a-half years long. He was crucified in the spring of AD 31, so this Sabbath (possibly Pentecost) would have occurred shortly after He began His ministry.
Stronger yet is the evidence from Acts 2 that the newly forming Christian church was sharing the day of Pentecost with the Jews in Jerusalem. Acts 2:1 states that this occurred on the day of Pentecost. Furthermore, verse 5 calls the Jews who witnessed the Pentecost occurrences "devout." The Christians and Jews are in the same general area for religious reasons.
In addition, verses 7-11 say that visitors had traveled from other areas, both Jews and proselytes. Here is a typical comment:
Certain "God-fearing Jews" who were residing in Jerusalem from many parts of the Diaspora, together with a number of Jews and proselytes who had returned to Jerusalem as pilgrims for the Pentecost festival, were "in bewilderment," "utterly amazed," and "perplexed" by the miraculous coming of the Spirit (vv. 6-7, 12). (Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 9, p. 272)
Where does this activity take place? No one can pinpoint with absolute certainty the exact location. The final verse of Luke records briefly what the apostles did after Jesus' ascension: "[They] were continually in the temple praising and blessing God" (Luke 24:53). We find them in Acts 1:13 in the "upper room" somewhere in Jerusalem. Acts 2:2 mentions them being in a house when the Pentecost miracles begin. The house and upper room are likely the same place and probably near the Temple where devout people would assemble, especially on a festival day.
Concerning Acts 2:6, Expositor's Bible Commentary says: "The verb for 'hear' (ekouon) is in the imperfect tense, suggesting that their hearing took place over a period of time—perhaps first in the upper room itself, then in adjacent lanes and courtyards, and finally in the temple precincts" (vol. 9, p. 272).
Acts 20:16 shows the apostle Paul "hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost." He apparently made it, for Conybeare and Howson conclude that the episode involving Paul and the four men under a vow (Acts 21:23-26) occurred on Pentecost (p. 574). Finally, Paul states before the Jewish leaders in Rome, "Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers . . ." (Acts 28:17). "Customs" includes festivals.
The internal evidence from the Bible and from religious researchers confirms that Jesus, the Christian church, and the Jews who were responsible for setting the festival dates agreed on when Pentecost and the other festivals should be observed (except the well-documented Passover difference).
John W. Ritenbaugh
Countdown to Pentecost 2001
The day of Pentecost is the third annual festival given to ancient Israel. Its Old Testament name was Feast of Firstfruits, since it came at the end of the first or spring harvest in the Northern Hemisphere (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Numbers 28:26). It was also called the Feast of Weeks, since it came seven weeks after the first Sunday following the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Deuteronomy 16:9-10, 16). Since it was also the fiftieth day of the spring harvest season, Greek-speaking Jews and Christians called it pentekoste, which means "fiftieth."
Pentecost AD 31 marked the beginning of God's Spirit-begotten New Testament church. Ekklesia, the Greek word for "church," means an assembly of "called-out ones." The whole world is not "called out"—only a tiny minority are predestined to be called for a special purpose. This is pictured by and commemorated by the annual festival of Pentecost.
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!
Jesus did not abolish Pentecost or any other annual holy day. Quite to the contrary, Christ told His disciples to be in Jerusalem so on that holy day they would receive God's Spirit. If the disciples had not been observing God's holy days, they would not have been there to receive God's Spirit (Acts 2:1)! And long after Christ's death, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, kept the festival of Pentecost with Gentile converts (Acts 20:16; I Corinthians 16:8).
The Encyclopedia Britannica has this to say about the New Testament church's observance of Pentecost: "The Jewish feast was primarily a thanksgiving for the Firstfruits of the wheat harvest, but the rabbis associated it with remembrance of the Law given by God for the Hebrews to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The church's transformation of the Jewish feast to a Christian festival was thus related to the belief that the gift of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus was the Firstfruits of a new dispensation that fulfilled and succeeded the old dispensation. . ." (article "Pentecost," 15th edition).
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!
This was the Day of Pentecost exactly fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven to be accepted by the Father on the day the sheaf of grain was waved.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Holy Days: Pentecost
God's Holy Spirit imparts to us His love, giving us the power to obey His laws in their full spiritual intent. The repentant sinner is then a changed person—his whole outlook and purpose is changed as he is led by the Spirit.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Basic Doctrines: Salvation
On the day of Pentecost, AD 31, God sent His Spirit to begin His church—to beget and strengthen the firstfruits He was beginning to call into His church, symbolically represented by one of the "wave loaves." The New Testament festival of Pentecost is now a memorial commemorating the founding of the New Testament church of God through the receiving of the Holy Spirit.
God's church observes the Feast of Firstfruits as an annual reminder of this step in God's Master Plan: God's people today are merely the firstfruits—the small first group to be offered salvation through Christ. The world, except for the few called, is cut off from God—not yet called to salvation—neither saved nor lost—not yet judged. But the members of God's church are being judged (I Peter 4:17)—judged in how well they are preparing for God's Kingdom!
The day of Pentecost pictures the church being called and trained for the special mission of preparing for the time when God will open salvation to the world, when they will be kings and teachers, co-rulers and co-saviors with and under Christ, their Husband!
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!
The promise was made only to those God had predestined to call (Acts 2:39). It was God, not the apostles, who added new converts to the church (Acts 2:47).
The Holy Spirit, which every human needs, unites with the human spirit that is in us. It is the impregnation of God-life, which makes us the begotten but not yet born children of God's Family—heirs, but not yet inheritors.
It is the spirit of understanding, imparting to the physical brain spiritual comprehension—the ability to really understand spiritual knowledge. It is the divine love of God placed within us. It is the faith of Christ—the same faith Jesus had—now given to us. It is also the spiritual power we need to help us turn from, resist, and overcome Satan's "get" way and turn to God's "give" way.
It is the power by which the few firstfruits now called may develop God's holy, righteous, and perfect character, which is God's purpose for having put humanity on the earth—that God may thus reproduce Himself.
When Adam chose to disobey God, he was cast out of the Garden of Eden and denied further access to the Holy Spirit and eternal life. He was spiritually kidnapped by Satan! Although the world would then be ruled by Satan for 6,000 years, God knew that this was the best way for humans to learn their lesson.
Those who are called prior to Christ's return must, with the power of God's Spirit, overcome Satan while he is still ruling. That is not easy, but it helps them to qualify for greater positions of responsibility in the Kingdom of God. Greater character is built when one has obstacles, such as the Devil's influence, to overcome.
Living in a world filled with sin also helps us learn to thoroughly hate sin (Psalm 97:10; 119:104). The results of selfishness and competition are painfully obvious to those God calls out of Satan's world.
After Christ returns and restrains Satan, a utopia will finally result that will reflect the benefits of God's way. The comparison with Satan's 6,000 years of rule will be spectacular!
Staff
Is This the Only Day of Salvation?
The New Testament church was founded on the day of Pentecost in AD 31, when about 120 were begotten by God's Holy Spirit. And it is by God's Spirit which resided in all the prophets, apostles and other church brethren that they shall be resurrected (or changed, if still alive) to immortality at Christ's second coming in power and glory!
Thus the church—the Kingdom of God in "embryo"—is composed of the very first of all humans who shall be born into the Kingdom of God as God Beings!
What and Why the Church?
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