Sabbath Thought - Pentecost Vision

For the majority of people, the world is both a wonderful and a frightening place.  Their hope is that mankind has always seemed able to survive and will continue to do so.  You and I have been given a vision of a different world - our hope is that God will re-establish His kingdom soon.  Coming before God to worship Him on this upcoming Feast of Pentecost is part of the vision that we have been given.

God has a plan for mankind.  He is not a disinterested Creator who simply create man and then just sat back to watch what mankind does.  There is a vision God wants us to have, because without that vision we have no hope (Proverbs 29:18).  Part of that vision involves God's Holy Days.  These days are important because God gives us a glimpse thru these days of what He has in store for those who obey Him and develop Godly character.

What is our vision of Pentecost?  Do we have a vision?  We are told to worship God on the Feast of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21) and the symbolism is powerful in that day.  Not quite three weeks ago we kept the Passover (picturing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins) and following that evening, the Days of Unleavened Bread (picturing how necessary and how difficult it is to come out of sin).  God gives us seven weeks for the lesson to sink in!  How are we doing?

The world has been blinded by Satan so they don't see God's vision for mankind.  Those God has called now, who have repented of their sin, and who have His spirit, will be in the First Resurrection to eternal life.  We are the first-fruits pictured in the Feast of Pentecost.  The rest of humanity is not lost forever to God, for He reveals a Second Resurrection for the rest of humanity who lived and died in this life without knowledge or understanding of His way of life (Revelation 20:11-13).  Think of the billions who will be in that resurrection!  Are we training for the time of Revelation 20 now?  We should be - because the vision we have in the Holy Days is not just a vision for us.

In Acts 2:1-4 we have a dramatic account of God giving His spirit to His newly formed church.  Before this time God had given His Spirit to a select few, but never to a people. The day of Pentecost is an annual reminder that God poured out His Spirit to establish His Church, the group of believers who are led by His Spirit.  It is with that Spirit dwelling in us that we are able to put into practice the spiritual lessons of Passover and Unleavened Bread and live a way of life according to God's laws.  We are called as first-fruits more importantly so that we can be a part of bringing many sons into God's glory (Hebrews 2:10).

Being a first-born brings both privileges and responsibilities.  From a Godly perspective, the firstborn had privileges so that he could serve in his responsibilities.  We are training to become priests of God (Revelation 5:10).  Being a king or priest is first and foremost a position of responsibility. We have been redeemed by God (Revelation 14:4) to be an example to the world.  We are first-fruits to serve alongside Christ, and first-fruits to teach mankind how privileges and responsibilities from God are to be properly exercised.  We will be responsible, in part, for God stopping mankind from destroying all life on Earth (Matthew 24:22).  Christ will be sent back to establish God's Kingdom, in part, because of our example and obedience to the Father.  That's a huge responsibility.  We are responsible to be a reason for God to save mankind.

Keeping God's Holy Days helps us to keep that vision of God's salvation for all of mankind.  No matter how wonderful the world around us seems, it pales compared to what God has in store for us.  No matter how frightening the world around us becomes, we have a hope, a vision, of a world that is at peace and at-one with God.  You and I are part of God's first-fruits for the salvation of mankind.  You and I need to keep that vision and remember the responsibility that goes with that calling.

I wish you a deeply meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

24 April, 2020