What is Pentecost All About?
(Why the Calendar Is So Important)

If you are a new Believer, you may well wonder why all the commotion over the Calendar. It is simply because we are commanded to keep Yahweh’s Appointments (Moeds) in their proper seasons, in their specified months, and on the correct days that He has authorized and sanctified (made holy).

He does not require nor allow us to decide for ourselves which days we will keep. He is very specific. He has never delegated this responsibility to anyone, not even to the Levitical priesthood in olden times. They were to keep the exact days that He had ordered. And I think most strive to do that.

The problem arises, as with most differences of opinion concerning the Scriptures, with “we, the people,” in our understanding of what the related Scriptures are saying. It isn’t malice, it isn’t stupidity, it isn’t a desire to deceive (generally). It is simply that we honestly place different meanings on words and as a result, come up with different ideas as to what the Scriptures are saying.

There is also a tendency to think, “We’ve always done it this way, our past association did it this way, and therefore, this way is good enough for me!” But we cannot let the Scriptures correct us, and “grow in grace and knowledge,” with this kind of attitude. We must study and be ready to change when we see error.

Timing is all-important to Yahweh. If the Israelites under Moses had not appeared at the foot of Mount Sinai at the proper time to receive the Law, do you suppose Yahweh would have given it to them anyway? Even though they very shortly thereafter rebelled, they were at least there as He had commanded. This great event (Exodus 19 and 20) is believed to have occurred during this time, and the Law actually given on the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost).

After their rebellion, He said, “O that there were such an heart in them than they would fear me and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deut. 5:29). Later He said the time was coming when He would make a new covenant with His people, and write His law in their hearts (inward parts or minds), so that they could keep His Commandments (Jer. 31:31-34). We cannot keep His law as He requires without His Holy Spirit dwelling in our minds, and that is what He was referring to. This happened in (we think) 31 CE, on the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).

If the Apostles had been keeping the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) on the wrong date, do you suppose they would have received the Holy Spirit? Do you think they would have been imbued with power from on High anyway? I doubt it, since this would have been an act of rebellion. This tremendous event, when the Holy Spirit was revealed and made available to all who would repent and believe (Acts 2:38), began the New Testament era of Yahweh’s Assembly. It was the time when He made salvation an individual and spiritual matter; and revealed that eternal life is available to Believers. But we must have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and minds. Without it, we cannot hope to please Him.

(Rom 8:8-11 KJV) "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please YHWH. {9} But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of YHWH dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of the Messiah, he is none of his. {10} And if the Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. {11} But if the Spirit of him that raised up Yahshua from the dead dwell in you, he that raised the Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

But Acts 2 is only the beginning. Only the Firstfruits received the Spirit at that time. Only the Firstfruits are receiving the Spirit today. And who are the Firstfruits? Those who are answering the call. “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Why? Because most will not obey. Obedience must come first. Repentance for past sins, then acceptance of Yahshua’s sacrifice to pay for those sins. Then we must be baptized, a form of death and burial in a watery grave, and then when we come up out of the water, we are a “new creature,” as Paul phrased it (2 Cor. 5:17). See also Romans 6:1-11. Then we have hands laid on us for the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17-19), after which our minds are opened to further truth and understanding. But it is not just automatically “poured into our heads.” We must still study and search diligently, with prayer and, at times, fasting, to truly grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).

But what about those not now called? What about Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17? These Scriptures say that “…afterward, I will pour our my Spirit upon ALL flesh…” This has not happened yet. But Acts 2 was the beginning of the fulfilling of this prophecy. The Spirit was first poured out on His disciples, then upon those who believed. Thus it has been down through the ages.

But the time is coming when this prophecy will be completed - when ALL flesh will receive the Spirit. They all will know Yahweh’s Truth. This will follow the second resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) when “the rest of the dead” are raised. Request “The Truth About the Resurrections,” and “The Truth About Judgment,” for more on this important subject. Both are free. ~

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