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Pentecost Countdown, Part 7: Pentecost is Here!

Over the last seven weeks, we have been looking at the days of Yeshua (Jesus) post-Resurrection and everything that He said to His apostles. We have been counting the days to Pentecost, which the Bible calls the counting of the Omer. Ten days ago, or the 40th day of the Omer, was the Ascension, the day Yeshua went back to heaven. Today, we want to look at the 50th day, the day of Pentecost.

From two days after the crucifixion (Passover, which is the day of the resurrection) till now (the 50th day, Pentecost), we have been counting the Omer. Because of the counting of the Omer, these two feast days (Passover and Pentecost) are linked together. The Passover season is now ended. We began with the death and resurrection of Yeshua our Passover Lamb and we end with the giving of the Holy Spirit. So what is the connection between the two feast days? We want to look at this in two ways: first, according to the first Passover in Egypt and Pentecost at Mt. Sinai and second, Yeshua’s Passover, His death, and Pentecost that followed in order to see the connection between the two times and between Passover and Pentecost, all very briefly.

The first Passover was when Moses told the people on the 10th day of the first month to take an unblemished lamb and set it aside for slaughter. Then, on the 14th day in the afternoon, they slaughtered the lambs and each family took the blood and put it on the doorpost of their homes; and they roasted the lamb and ate it with none remaining and with their loins girded, they prepared to leave Egypt (Exodus 12:1-13). That night, the death angel came and every firstborn in the house died, both man and beast alike, except where the blood of the lamb was on the doorpost. With this, the last plague against Egypt, Pharaoh let the people of God go free (Exodus 12:23-32). It was the Lord’s Passover, the time God ransomed His people, the time He took them from the kingdom of Pharaoh and brought them into His own kingdom. In other words, they were no longer slaves that belonged to Pharaoh but now they were free and they belonged to God. When they arrived fifty days later at Mt. Sinai, God made them His own special people, His Bride, and made a covenant with them, which is called the Torah (Exodus 19). It was like a marriage agreement and also like an ancient agreement that a king would make with a nation to protect them and provide for them if they obeyed Him and followed his laws. All the people said that they would agree and so on the day of Pentecost (or in Hebrew, Shavuot), God came down with fire and the sound of the trumpets, and the voice of God could be heard as He spoke out His law, or what we call the Ten Words or commandments, which the sages believe God spoke in seventy different languages because it was for all the nations (Exodus 20). So we see that the freedom God gave them by the Exodus resulted in their betrothal to God all because of the blood of the lamb which covered them from death.

So now we come to the days of Yeshua and we find that He was our Lamb of God that was slain at the time of Passover (John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7) and His blood is now covering our souls so that we are set free from the kingdom of darkness and we are brought into God’s kingdom of light. We are no longer slaves of the sin that kept us bound to its wages of death (Romans 6), but we are free to serve our King Yeshua who set us free by His blood and we too are now His people who have been ransomed. We do not replace one story with the other, but we are added to the first story and now each one of us are a part of the Exodus.

On the 50th day of the Omer, we come to the giving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). This day, too, came with fire and the Apostles all spoke in different languages so that all the people from the diaspora could understand them. The Holy Spirit was given to us so we could walk in power, so that we would be able to keep all of God’s ways. This is where the first fell short, but now we have the Spirit of Messiah Himself as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17. By living and walking in the Spirit, we are able to crucify the flesh and walk in newness of life (Romans 7:8).

God’s Covenant has not been disqualified but rather added to by the giving of the Holy Spirit. He is now our counselor who walks with us to enable us so we can have the victory over our sins. We are no longer slaves, but now we can remain free to serve our King. The question today is are you walking by the Holy Spirit? Have you even received the Holy Spirit into your lives? Have you listened to His voice counseling you to walk in the ways of God’s law, so that you may be faithful Brides waiting for the return of your Bridegroom Yeshua? We think that the Bible has no value, but I tell you, God’s Word is worth more than silver or gold. It is the pathway to life, for Yeshua said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life.” He did not say your Priest or Pastor or your church is the way, but He said that He and He alone was the way and the truth and the life and He and only He is the whole Word of God made flesh. Yeshua came so that we may have life—eternal life. He came to show us the way. He came so that the truth would set us free. He came to ransom us from the kingdom of the enemy of our soul (Acts 26:18). He came so that we could receive His Spirit, the Spirit of life who, if we walk with Him arm-in-arm, will lead us to the Father.

But still, the question is have you not only received the Holy Spirit but have you submitted to His leading? If not, then this Pentecost ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit and begin following Him as He leads you in all truth. Begin to eat the bread of life (the body of Yeshua) and drink from the well of salvation (His blood) which are the Word of God.