THE PROPHETIC LEVITICAL FEASTS --- PART 3
FEAST OF WEEKS : LEV 23: 15-22
Deut 16: 9 “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt ---.
Feasts (festivals) in the Bible are observed to commemorate events and to emphasize the relationship between God and His people.
The Feast of Weeks occurred at the beginning of the wheat harvest (Exod. 23:16; 34:22; Deut. 16:9-10); and. It was also known as the ”Feast of Harvest“ (Ex. 23:16) and the ”day of first-fruits“ (Num. 28:26). Later it was called Pentecost (Acts 2:1; Acts 20:16; 1 Cor 16:8).
The Passover was at the beginning of the barley harvest, Pentecost was observed 50 days later at the conclusion of the wheat harvest and the feast of Tabernacles was held after all the fruits had been gathered in.
Joel prophesied: Joel 2: 23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,and rejoice in the Lord your God,for he has given the early rain for your vindication;he has poured down for you abundant rain,the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the yearsthat the swarming locust has eaten,the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,and praise the name of the Lord your God,who has dealt wondrously with you.And my people shall never again be put to shame. 27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.And my people shall never again be put to shame. 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,your old men shall dream dreams,and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servantsin those days I will pour out my Spirit. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
FULFILMENT IN CHRIST
John the baptizer prophesied: “ --- Christ is the One Who baptizes in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33).” Jesus also prophesied: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses --- (Acts 1:8).”
The feast of Pentecost marked the fulfillment of that prophesy, God Poured out His Spirit on those in Christ abundantly. Pentecost marks the birth of the Church. God had Created a new thing (Isaiah 48:6), suddenly it was not just Israel who could be called God’s people but people from every nation and language group.
Acts 2: 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
The conversion of Cornelius and his house (Acts 10) confirmed it. The Church consists of those who are in Christ and are temples of the Holy Spirit. They are led by the Spirit and they follow the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14).
Once again we see God fulfilling key points in His Plan of Salvation according to the roadmap He Gave in the Feasts of Israel. It is noteworthy that the fulfilment is accurate to the day, Jesus was slain as a Passover Lamb on the day of the Passover feast.