by Reuven and Mary Lou Doron
email: OneNewManMail@aol.com

The Church and the nation of Israel recently celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. Precisely 50 days following the Feast of First Fruits (in which we rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Messiah), is the day of Pentecost. During this early summer harvest celebration, God's people "rehearse" the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh.

What actually happened at Pentecost? How is it impacting our lives today? What is the Spirit saying to the church through this fourth Biblical feast?

Pentecost

God's Spirit came to empower--not to enable His people.

"And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from Heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance." Acts 2: 1-4

From Passover to Pentecost

On the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost, precisely 50 days following the Feast of First Fruits), the resurrected Jesus poured out His Spirit upon the small band of waiting disciples in the upper room. The separation between Heaven and earth ended on that day, and the promise of the Father was realized among them.

At the first Pentecost recorded in Scriptures, God gave His people the Law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). Then, nearly 1,500 years later, God gave them His Spirit at Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Both visitations were accompanied with the sound of a mighty wind and fire. On Mount Sinai, God wrote His law upon tablets of stone; on Mount Zion, He wrote it upon the hearts of those who believed.

Why now? Why not during earlier generations who needed His Spirit just as desperately? Why was God's Spirit able to touch only a few anointed prophets here and there, but didn't revive and heal the rest of the nation?

The reason for His timing was because 50-plus days before this Pentecost, at the Passover, the blood of the Holy Lamb of God was shed once and for all, doing away with the sin that separated humanity from our Heavenly Father. Only at this Pentecost, for the first time since man's fall and banishment from the Garden of Eden, was our Creator now able to breathe His breath of life once again into the nostrils of His children.

A Second Genesis--A New Birth

This particular Pentecost in Jerusalem was, in a very special way, a "redemptive repeat" of the original Genesis (a new beginning). God once again was breathing His Ruach, the eternal Spirit, into the nostrils of mankind. Because the blood of Jesus was shed at Passover, our Heavenly Father was now able to draw near once again, and send the breath of His mouth into our hearts to revive and regenerate all who were dead in sin.

After thousands of years of the tragic separation between a Holy God and the fallen humanity, Heaven could now kiss earth in blessed reconciliation. In fact, as Pentecost is a natural progression following Passover in God's calendar, and the work of our Savior, so the infilling of God's Spirit is a natural progression to our salvation experience.

Passover (the redemption from Egypt's oppression) leads God's people to the fullness of Pentecost, where God's Spirit (His very nature and character) now instills purpose and identity in the hearts of men and women who believe in His Son. At Passover, we were freed from the curse of sin and death. At Pentecost, we become members of God's family, and partakers of His divine nature.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12, 13

One Message to All

From Scripture, we know that the sound of the Heavenly wind was noticed in Jerusalem, as multitudes gathered to celebrate the Feast. Transformed from being a timid and leaderless group, now on fire with God's Spirit, the disciples' testimony and praises swept through the crowded streets. Miraculously, their words were understood by pilgrims from many nations and languages. What was God doing?

The gift of languages that was given on that Pentecost day, closed the circle of confusion, hostility and miscommunication that plagued humanity since God's judgment at the Tower of Babel. After thousands of years of division, isolation and enmity, the fractured and scattered human family could now, for the first time since Babel's rebellion, hear and understand the same message--the message of our salvation!

This is That...

Peter interpreted the phenomenon to the bewildered masses. He explained that God was giving Israel a "down payment" of the outpouring of the Spirit prophesied by the prophet Joel. That great outpouring Scripture promised, will sweep throughout the earth like a tidal wave of divine power, and transform multitudes without the distinction of race, gender, age or socio-economic class. It will be the "great equalizer" that will baptize the final harvest into God's purpose, and fill them with God's power before the coming of the great and terrible Day of the Lord (Joel 2 and 3).

As the partial down payment of Pentecost, Joel's final outpouring is a divine intervention for times of crisis; a supernatural global baptism of divine life that will empower God's children to serve Him during the final and traumatic days of this age.

With darkness covering many nations, natural disasters shaking all continents, and Israel pressed and attacked by her enemies as never before, God intends to have His people empowered and filled with His Spirit, so they can walk and minister victoriously.

Pentecost, as Peter prophesied, ushered in the "down payment" of that great spiritual promise. A generous portion of divine life and power was poured upon the earth on that day for all who believed. With this fullness of Spirit, they were able to serve God's purposes during the times of distress, conflict, and the advancement the young church underwent from that time on. The Spirit was sent not to enable us in our weaknesses, but to empower us to fulfill the will of God in our generation.

Pentecost--Our Present Day Walk

Pentecost is the fourth of the seven Feasts of the Lord, and the last Feast that was fulfilled during the Lord's first coming. In His life, suffering, death and resurrection, the Son of God fulfilled the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. And 50 days later at the early harvest, Feast of Pentecost, He sent His Spirit to empower us for the journey. This is our time; this is the season in which the church lives and accomplishes the works of God.

This season won't last forever. Once we enter into the core prophetic fulfillment of the final three Feasts, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles, we will be ushered swiftly through the phases of Joel's prophecy, drawing rapidly toward the culmination of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, and His second coming in power to rule and reign upon the earth. Until then, let us be sure to experience Pentecost to the fullest. It is the Feast in which the Lord fills us with His Spirit, grants us His nature, and empowers us with Heaven's strength to do His will.

Be blessed,

Reuven and Mary Lou Doron
One New Man Call
P.O. Box 164
Hayfield, MN 55940 USA
Email: OneNewManMail@aol.com

Posted on June 21, 2006