Why you need to respond to God’s call today? And what will you be missing if you failed to do?
God commanded the Day of Pentecost to be observed 'forever'. (Lev. 23:21). Jesus did not abolish Pentecost or any of the other annual Holy Days, as the churches of this world have us believe.
Quite to the contrary, Jesus founded His New Testament Church on the annual Day of Pentecost!
In Acts 1:4-5, we find that Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem so they could receive the Holy Spirit — the divine power of God which would put them into His Church (1 Cor. 12:13). It was on the Feast of Firstfruits — Pentecost, 30 A.D. — that God first gave the Holy Spirit to mankind, and established His spiritual New Testament church!
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they [the disciples) were all with one accord in one place" (Acts 2:1).
Notice that the Day of Pentecost was already fully come and the disciples were in one accord when they were filled with the Holy Spirit of God. If they had not been obediently assembled together keeping this day which was commanded by God, they would not have received the gift of — the Holy Spirit!
Thousands of devout Jews from many lands were also assembled at Jerusalem to celebrate this annual festive Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:5-12). But these Jews did not come to receive the Holy Spirit. They were unconverted, but devout men, who did not as yet know the way of salvation. These Jews had to ask Peter, "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37), after being convicted by his inspired sermon. About 3,000 people received the Holy Spirit on that memorable Day of Pentecost, after repentance and baptism.
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, also understood that the annual festivals — including Pentecost — were still to be observed by God's New Testament Church. He "determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost" (Acts 20:16). Paul wanted to keep Pentecost in Jerusalem thirty years after the death of Christ!
In 1 Corinthians 16:8 we find Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, spending the Day of Pentecost in Ephesus, a Gentile city. Yes, Pentecost, together with the other annual festivals, continued to be observed by all those of the original true Church of God long after Christ's death!
Now let's notice the special reason why God sent the Holy Spirit on that day, and the special meaning of the Day of Pentecost for us today!
God intends His annual holy days to keep us constantly in the true understanding of His great Plan of salvation. He selected the yearly material harvest in Palestine to picture His spiritual harvest of human beings.
As most of you already know, there are two annual harvest seasons in the land of Israel. First comes the smaller spring harvest, followed by the much greater main harvest in the fall of the year.
And so God intended the "Feast of Firstfruits," which He ordained forever at the end of the spring harvest season, to picture to His Church annually that He is calling a few special people during this age to become His Spirit-begotten children — that we are merely the "firstfruits "of the coming His great spiritual harvest! (James 1:18; Rom. 8:23.)
Throughout the New Testament, Christians are spoken of as having been called out of the world. It is only the "elect" or chosen few who are being called today. The rest of the world is blinded so that God could — in the future — have mercy upon ALL (Romans 11:7, 32).
God began selecting the "firstfruits" of salvation on the Day of Pentecost in 30 A.D. when He sent the Holy Spirit to beget His disciples. This feast pictures annually this great event in God's Master Plan of salvation.
The "harvesting" of the firstfruits of God's plan is pictured in Leviticus 23, beginning with verse 9. Here the material harvest of grain is a type of the harvest of God's spiritual firstfruits.
As explained before, the Israelites were not permitted to harvest their grain until the wave sheaf was offered. This ritual, given to the Levitical Priesthood to perform and therefore without the Temple in Jerusalem, it cannot be done today. The wave sheaf pictured the believers who were accepted after the death of Christ as the perfect Passover lamb sacrifice.
Notice that the wave sheaf did not picture the resurrection of Christ, which occured before sunset on a weekly Sabbath. It pictured the harvest of believers being accepted of the Father, as "firstfruits", after the Passover sacrifice has been made.
Since Christ is the preeminence of the firstfruits of God's spiritual harvest — "afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (1 Cor. 15:20, 23) — are logically pictured by the Feast of Firstfruits (Pentecost) which falls on fiftieth day after feast of Passover!
What God is actually creating in Spirit-begotten humans is the supreme masterpiece of all His works of creation. He is in the process of creating children of God — to be born into His own Family. And He is doing it by and through the power of His Holy Spirit! --GNM (Updated)
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