Topical Studies
Feast of Firstfruits
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Leviticus 23:10-11 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Since most modern translations use the word "sheaf," the traditional name for this wave offering has been "wavesheaf." However, the priests did not wave a sheaf. The word "sheaf" is translated from the Hebrew word omer, which means a measurement of about two quarts or two liters. The Jews traditionally cut a sheaf, beat out the grain, then ground the first of the firstfruits into flour and offered an omer of that flour. (See the Jewish Encyclopedia, article "Omer.") Some modern translations of the Bible have given the passage describing this wave offering the erroneous subhead "the Feast of Firstfruits." Subheads are not part of the original text; they are not inspired. The wave offering was not a "feast"; it was merely a ceremony that involved primarily the priests. The difference is clear when we look at the original Hebrew words. The Feast of Firstfruits is another name for the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. In the verses that refer to the Feast of Firstfruits (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:17, 20; Numbers 28:26), "firstfruits" is translated from the word bikkuwr. It refers to the results of the entire spring harvest. However, the firstfruits referred to in Leviticus 23:10-11 are reshiyth, perhaps better translated "first of the firstfruits." This was the very first of the spring harvest, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!
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Leviticus 23:15-16 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The Hebrew wording in Leviticus 23:15-16 means "beginning with" the starting point. The English word "from" is therefore misleading. The New American Bible (1970) makes the correct method of counting very clear: "Beginning with the day after the Sabbath, the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf, you shall count seven full weeks, and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day . . .," you shall keep the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:15-16). The day of the wave offering, the Sunday after the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was day one. Day seven would be the next weekly Sabbath. Day 49 would be the seventh Sabbath, and the fiftieth day would be a Sunday, "the day after the seventh week" or "Sabbath" as the original Hebrew and the Authorized Version have it.
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!
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Deuteronomy 4:5-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
God chose ancient Israel out of all the nations of the earth and determined that they would be a holy nation. He ordained that they would be a people set apart from the rest of the world. The Old Covenant was intended not only to be a schoolmaster to teach Israel how to live in such a way that they would recognize the Messiah when He came (Galatians 3:24), but it was also intended to set Israel apart—to make them holy. In so doing, He intended the entire nation to be a witness of Him. This passage demonstrates this. God proposed the Old Covenant to Israel on the day of Pentecost. Israel accepted the terms of the agreement and thereby signed up to be a light to the rest of the world. God had given them the most superior set of laws that mankind had ever encountered, which would leave the rest of the world in awe due to the beneficial effects that would come from it. We know from the New Testament that the only problem with this covenant was the heart of the people entering into it (Hebrews 3:10-12; 8:7-8). The God-given terms of the agreement were absolutely perfect for what He wanted to accomplish. One of His main purposes was for Israel to be an example, a witness, to the rest of the world of the right way to live. Incidentally, the Tabernacle that Israel carried with them in the wilderness was even called "the Tabernacle of witness" (Numbers 17:7; Acts 7:44). If Israel had been faithful to the covenant, they would have received blessings beyond belief. In the blessings portion of Deuteronomy 28, God was prepared to set Israel high above all the nations of the earth. Their cities and farms would be prosperous; their children would be healthy and strong; their herds and flocks would be numerous; they would have an abundance of food; and they would have protection from their enemies. They would have rain in due season, and everything they put their hands to would be blessed. They would have enough that they could lend to other nations and not borrow. God intended them to be a holy people whose behavior and prosperity would make it obvious to the rest of the world that God had set them apart. The effect would be so dramatic that Israel would be feared! However, as we know, Israel failed. The accounts of the Old Testament prophets show the great lengths to which God went for Israel in cleaning her up and taking her under His wing. Yet, once she caught a glimpse of her God-given beauty and wealth, all she did was play the harlot with the surrounding nations, rather than being a witness to them (see Ezekiel 16). Today, the United States is the richest nation on earth, which seems to coincide with God's promise of blessing until we realize that America is also the greatest debtor nation. Parts of the nation suffer drought, and other parts are practically floating away. Much of our food is either imported or grown from genetically mutated seed. Our cities are filthy, crowded, and corrupt, and our family farms are dying through environmental regulation and corporate buyouts. We live in abundance yet cannot afford our lifestyles, plunging further into personal debt. The nation's churches are pathetically weak, barely standing to fight the onslaught of secular culture—and, in fact, accepting much of it in a misguided spirit of tolerance. In short, America is the farthest thing from being a kingdom of priests or a holy nation. Our entertainment industry shows, like nothing else, what sort of "witness" we are making to the world. Israel failed because her heart was not right. Biblically, the word "heart" is synonymous with "mind" and "spirit." We know that God desires that all Israel be saved (Romans 11:26; II Peter 3:9) and that in the future He will replace Israel's heart of stone by pouring out His Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). However, for a few—known as the remnant, the church, the Body of Christ, spiritual Israel, the Israel of God, or the firstfruits—God decided to do this ahead of time. He gave His Spirit on the Feast of the Firstfruits, the day of Pentecost, AD 31, so that a remnant of Israel would have a heart of flesh and not of stone. God gave His Spirit so that spiritual Israel could obey God both in the letter and in the intent of His law. In addition, just as He gave Israel His law so she would be a witness, God gave the church His Spirit so that Christ's disciples would be witnesses. By receiving a portion of the Spirit that proceeds from the divine Lawgiver, the firstfruits are able to understand the intent behind God's laws. More than this, by yielding to the promptings and motivations of God's Spirit, they can begin to take on His character and actively do good rather than merely avoid sin.
David C. Grabbe
The Pentecost Witness
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Matthew 24:36 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
In plain words, the specific date of His return is simply not going to be known to us. And that means any day, including the Feast of Trumpets, which most people use as their end-point of their calculations as to when Christ will return. So any date that anybody chooses is simply going to be a speculation. Many, many people have attempted to determine when Christ will return anyway. At the very least, this shows a strong measure of skepticism, and perhaps, for some, it might even be outright disbelief by those who are doing the searching. It is almost as if Jesus is not taken seriously, but the truth is He was serious about what He said.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part 3)
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Acts 2:1 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
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!
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Acts 2:1-4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
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!
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James 1:18 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Pentecost, the Feast of Firstfruits, represents the first part of God's spiritual harvest. God is now calling a small number of people, the firstfruits, into His church. These people, who live in the world but are not part of it (John 17:15-16), are training to be the leaders in the World Tomorrow when God will work to save the whole world.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Holy Days: Pentecost
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