Counting Pentecost

I have a handout with this sermon. If you didn't get a copy, please raise your hand. We'll make sure that the ushers pass you a copy. Hopefully all of you received one when you came in.

I might just mention something before I begin the sermon today. You might notice that at the start of services I don't sing, and there's a reason for that. In having gone to the ear, throat, and nose doctor, with the throat problem I was having, one of the things he told me is that the worst thing you can do is sing or hum. I find that if I'm going to speak, it's just better for me not to do that. Afterwards, I don't care. I'll go ahead and sing after I've spoken, but to begin with, it creates problems. So I'm trying to resolve that. So, consequently, I just don't sing. Sometimes my wife has to remind me don't hum either. Some of these tunes are so catchy that you want to sing along with it or hum or do something. How many of you have ever played the game of association, where somebody says a word and then you have to say the first word that pops into your mind? If I were to say a word like color, what would be the first thing that would pop into your mind? Well, you might associate red, green, blue, or there might be something totally bizarre that you might associate with that. You could say vegetable, and you might think of beans or carrots or sickness or whatever. Sometimes psychologists will use this to determine how a person thinks or reasons. And there are sometimes people who associate words like this that are really way off. So, you know, that's something that they try to evaluate. If I say the word pentacost to you, what's the first word that pops into your mind? Well, for us, I think festival, holy day, first fruits, plan of salvation, number three. There could be any type of association. But if I were to go out here on the streets of Chattanooga and walk up to somebody and ask them, what does the word pentacost mean to you? What do you think would pop into their minds? Probably speaking in tongues, wild-eyed religious sect, pentacostal, snakes. There would be much confusion, I think, over the term. I remember years ago, my wife and I went to Bluefield, West Virginia. We started the Bible study in Bluefield, West Virginia. This was several years before they had a church there. We went to the convention center, and they had smaller rooms, and we rented one of them. The gentleman who was in charge said, well, I only have one question I need to ask you. He said, okay, because we told him that we were, at that time, the worldwide Church of God. He said, do you handle snakes? I told him I kept a bag of them in my mouth. I told him absolutely not. He said, well, the reason he was asking, they had a religious convention there, several thousand people. They were handling snakes. A few people were bitten, and a couple of people died. It was a lot of bad publicity, and they had decided they were not going to rent to that group again. I assured him that we did not handle snakes, which he was very much appreciative of. Well, brethren, you and I know that the Day of Pentecost is fast approaching. Now, for many people, the word Pentecost, in their mind, is an experience. Speaking in tongues is something you experience, and yet we know that Pentecost is a day. Let's notice in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 8. We find the apostle Paul here.

Notice, Paul says, I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. The word tarry today, Pentecostals, have what they call tarry meetings. The word tarry just means wait. There's nothing religious about it. He's just saying, I will wait, or tarry, in Ephesus until Pentecost. He was going to keep the Day of Pentecost. How many Christians today, if you were to go out and talk to the average Christian on the street, how many of them actually know what Pentecost is? Most of them would not know that it's a day. How many of them would know that the apostle Paul observed Pentecost? Well, most of them would not know that. In Acts 20, verse 16, we have another example. Again, dealing with the apostle Paul, Acts 20, verse 16.

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia. This is Asia Minor. So we find that Pentecost is a day. It's not an experience. It's a day. In this case, he was going to sail right by Ephesus, and he was going to head up to Jerusalem. So again, how many people realize that the apostle Paul made every attempt, when he could, to be in Jerusalem to observe God's holy days? Well, in the New Testament, the first place that Pentecost is mentioned is back here in Acts 1. So let's turn back to Acts 1. This is where the handout that I gave you will come in handy.

You might remember I've given you this similar handout to this in the past, but this one's a little different, as we'll see.

Here in the book of Acts, Luke says, Luke writing, he says, And speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. I want you to notice that he was seen by his disciples and followers for 40 days.

Now, when was the first time that Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples? When was the first time that anybody saw him? Well, if you'll just go across the page here in my Bible, John 20, verse 1, I want you to notice. Now, on the first day of the week, that's Sunday, Mary Magdalene went up to the tomb early while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So we find that it's what we would call Sunday morning, and it's not daylight yet, as it says here, it was still dark. And then verse 11, Mary stood outside of the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting one at the head and the other at the foot, where the body of Jesus had lain. So he was no longer there. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, because they've taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they've laid him. Now, when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus. And Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And she supposed him to be the gardener, and said to him, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him, and I will take him away. In other words, I'll get his body, and she was going to put it in another tomb. And Jesus said to her, Mary, of course, he must have spoken normally like he would normally do. And she turned and said to him, Robonai, which is to say, teacher. And then notice, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me. King James, I think, says, do not touch me. Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them that I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God. So it's very obvious that on Sunday that Jesus Christ appeared unto Mary Magdalene. And in verse 19, he also appeared unto his own disciples. Verse 19 says, then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

So you'll find that he appeared beginning on a Sunday, and he appeared over a period of 40 days. Now, let's go back to the book of Acts again, Acts 1. And let's read in verse 4 what Christ said. Being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem.

And he said to wait for the promise of the Father, whom he said you have heard, or which he said you have heard from me. So they were to wait in Jerusalem, and we know that they waited until the day of Pentecost for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 5, he said, John truly baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Well, to be exact, it was going to be 10 days from then. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? See, they still didn't understand. They thought that Christ was going to, at that time, set up His kingdom, His government on the earth. And they didn't realize that He was going to go back to heaven, be gone for around 2,000 years, and then come back to set up His government on this earth. So they said, are you going to do it right now? And so they were eagerly anticipating this. And he said to them, it was not for you to know the time or the seasons which the Father has put in His own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So he said, look, you're going to be given the Holy Spirit. It will give you power, spiritual strength, and you're going to go out and you've got to preach the gospel to the world. Now, when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while he looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. And so they returned to Jerusalem, and they carried there, or they remained there, until the Holy Spirit was given. Now, let's notice in Acts 2, verse 1.

When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. They appeared to them, divided tongues as a fire, once sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, or languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, you find they didn't speak some type of gibberish. They spoke in languages that everybody could understand. As verse 6 says, when the sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. So the miracle was not only in the speaking in their language, but they, the miracle was that the people heard them speaking in their language. In verse 8, how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? In verse 11, there were Cretans and Arabs. We hear them speak in our own tongue, the wonderful works of God.

Now, I want you to notice, it says, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, the word Pentecost here simply means the fiftieth.

By implication, the fiftieth day.

The word Pentecost does not mean count fifty. We used to say Pentecost meant count fifty, but that's not true. It just means fifty, the fiftieth. And it's referring to the fiftieth day. Well, the fiftieth day from what? Well, from Christ being resurrected, appearing to His disciples. Now, look at the chart I've given to you. You'll notice that Jesus Christ appeared the first day that He appeared to His disciples was a Sunday.

He appeared to them for forty days, during a period of forty days. So, the implication would be that His ascension to heaven occurred on the fortieth day, which was a Thursday. They were told to remain in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came. And what day did the Holy Spirit come on? The fiftieth day. The fiftieth day is on what day? It's on His Sunday. Now, years ago, and some of you won't remember this, but there are enough of us around who remember, we used to keep Pentecost on a Monday. And we thought that it should be observed on a Monday, but we came to understand that it should be on Sunday. And basically, what you find, Pentecost can be figured out on what day it should be kept by simply taking Acts 1 and 2 and looking at it and evaluating it very carefully, and you come to the fiftieth day, which is on a Sunday.

What this day pictures, it pictures the start of the church, the beginning of the New Testament church. God poured out His Holy Spirit on the 120, not just the 12, but the 120, and they received God's Spirit. Let's notice over here in 1 Corinthians 12 and verse 13, a very important principle that we should all remember, 1 Corinthians 12-13. What is it that makes us a member of the church? Well, verse 13 says, By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. The word baptized means to be immersed or to be placed into. So by one Spirit we're all baptized, placed into one body. Whether we're Jews or Greek, whether slaves are free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. So, brethren, we are put into the church by receiving the Holy Spirit. Well, the 120 received God's Spirit on that day, and then there were over 3,000 converted later on, and they received God's Spirit. So, it pictures the beginning of the New Testament church. We've always looked at Pentecost as the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit, and when the New Testament church began. Now, let's go back to the Old Testament, and let's see, even from the Old Testament, that we can show that Pentecost should always fall on a Sunday. And we are going to be observing it on a Sunday this year. Leviticus 23, verse 15.

I want you to notice something unusual about this day that's different from all of the other Holy Days, all the other festivals of God. Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 15.

Now, the word from here in the Greek is me. Excuse me, in the Hebrew here, is me. And it's the expression, me-mohorath. It says, you shall count from yourself from the day after the Sabbath. Now, I'll just state it, and we'll come back and we'll focus on this. That's the weekly Sabbath. From the day that you brought the sheave of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

Now, what you find is that we have here in verse 15 a Holy Day that we're told to count.

Now, none of the other Holy Days are we told to count, but we have to count this. And guess what? Any time you count, there can be confusion. When you say, count from something, that's how we got confused. Mr. Armstrong used to think when it said, you count, begin to count from Sunday. He thought, well, if you begin to count from Sunday, that's Monday. And so he began counting on Monday. Pentecost always ended up on a Monday. Well, when you realize that the word here, me, Mahoreth, is a word that includes the day that it mentions, that you count that as the first day. We'll come back to that. But let's go back to verse 4. Leviticus 23 verse 4 concerning the festivals of God says, says, These are the feast of the Jews.

Doesn't say that, does it? Doesn't say these are the feast of anybody but the Lords. So these are God's feasts, holy convocations, in other words, commanded assemblies, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. At their appointed times. The word here, appointed times, is the Hebrew word, Moad. Moad, M-O-W-E-D, or spelled M-O-E-D. And it means an appointed place, an appointed time, or meeting. And so what you find, these are appointments where we meet with God. The Holy Days and the weekly Sabbath, actually, this day too, are occasions when God is here with us. He calls the meeting, it's sort of like, if I could use the analogy of a board for a corporation, occasionally we get a notice on such and such a day we're going to have a meeting. And we are expected to be there at that meeting. God calls meetings. He says, look, on this day, on that day, you have an appointment with me. And these are holy convocations, commanded assemblies, because God Himself is present, and God is holy, and so His presence is there. Now, I want you to notice that for all of the other Holy Days, there's no counting. All of the other Holy Days occur on fixed days of the month. Beginning in verse 5, on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So you don't have to count. All you've got to do is get the calendar, look at the first month. Fourteenth day, fifteenth day. And you can figure it out. Verse 24, speak to the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial blowing your trumpets. So the Feast of Trumpets is always on the first day of the seventh month. Then verse 27, also the tenth day of the seventh month shall be the day of atonement. It's a holy convocation. So we know that. You go to the seventh month, look at the tenth day, back up to sunset the night before, and you know which day. Verse 34, speak to the children of Israel, saying that the fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. On the first day, there will be a holy convocation. And then it goes on giving the details. These are all on fixed days of the month, or a fixed day on the calendar. Now, the Jews today keep Pentecost on a fixed day of the month. The Jews always observe Pentecost on 7-6. That's S-I-V-A-N. Third month, 7-6. But the question is, why count if it's on a fixed day of the calendar? All you have to do is turn to 7-6. There it is. You keep it. Why count? Well, obviously, God didn't want us to keep this one on a fixed day of the calendar. We do keep it on a fixed day of the week, but not the calendar. Back up again to verse 23. Now, you might ask yourself, how do the Jews come up with 7-6 as a date for Pentecost? Well, it's very simple. Let me explain. Verse 15. You shall count for yourself from the day after the Sabbath. Okay, which Sabbath are we talking about? The Jews say annual Sabbath. We say weekly Sabbath. Now, if you count from the annual Sabbath, it always is on 7-6. So, why does God say count if it's a fixed date? Obviously, it should not be a fixed date. According to this counting, they count from the annual Sabbath, what we would call the first day of Unleavened Bread. According to this counting, Pentecost will always occur on the same day of the month, but on a different day of the week.

Now, we say that it occurs on a specific day of the week, but in fall, on different days of the calendar. So, let's notice in verse 15-16 again. You shall count for yourself from the day after the Sabbath. Now, again, we believe that's a weekly Sabbath, and we think that there's evidence that will substantiate that, from the day that you brought the sheave of the wave offering. Now, notice, very important key. When is or when was the wave sheave offering offered up?

Seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Those aren't seven annual Sabbaths, right? Can't do that, because then you'd be way off in the fall somewhere. This is talking about seven Sabbaths or seven weekly Sabbaths, obviously. Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. What is the day after the Sabbath? Wake up tomorrow, and you'll find out it's Sunday. That always is the day afterwards. So, you shall count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

Now, if you will take your handout that I gave you, point number two here.

Point number two. Leviticus 23.15 says, Count 50 days beginning on the day, that's a Sunday, after the weekly Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread. Preposition herefore, begin to count from, is me. It's a shortened form of the Hebrew preposition, mem, and has various meanings and can be translated in different ways, such as from, of, by, at, in, on, or but. And it's translated in all of those different ways. But when it's used in the conjunction with the element of time, when you're counting and there's time involved, it is always used inclusively, never exclusively. Inclusively means it includes the day that it's talking about.

Notice what it says here. You shall count for yourself from the day after the Sabbath. Sunday. So you begin to count on that day. Now, if you look at the chart, if you begin to count on that day, you go 7 Sabbaths, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49.

That's 7. 7 times 7 is 49. The next day is the 50th day. That's Pentecost. Now, mem, ahorath, is used in 28 times in the Old Testament, and 26 times it's rendered on the moral. Once it's translated, King James Version, from, and Leviticus 23.15, and then once it's translated onto King James Version, Leviticus 23.16. That's where the confusion came in, because of the different translations here in Leviticus chapter 23.

What I've done is to give you a complete list, if you don't have it, of every place that mem, ahorath, is used. You can go back and check those out to your heart's content. That gives you every place that those, again, are used. Brethren, what we find is that we begin to count from the weekly Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread. You start on a Sunday, the day after the weekly Sabbath. The day after the seventh Sabbath is a Sunday. It's the fiftieth day. So how do we know which Sabbath to be again counting from?

The weekly Sabbath or the annual Sabbath? Well, let's go back to verse 9. Leviticus 23 and verse 9. Notice here, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheave of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheave before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf, on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. So he was to take the grain, and he was to wave it before God. And the wave-sheaf offering was then to be accepted by God.

What was this wave-sheaf offering a type of? Everything in the Bible that is symbolic like this is a type of something. What is the wave-sheaf offering a type of? Well, let's go over here to John 20 again. And verse 17. Jesus Christ had been resurrected. John 20.17. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. And in verse 17, she obviously saw him. He was alive. So her first inclination was to come up and hug him. Cling to him. You're alive! And notice what he says. He said, Do not cling to me.

Why? For I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, in other words, what was he going to do? I am ascending to my Father, and your Father to my God and your God. And Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, that he had spoken these things to her. Well, they weren't necessarily real believers at this time, because they themselves had not seen Christ. Now, notice verse 27. Later on, you'll find that Jesus Christ did, verse 19, come and talk to the disciples.

Thomas was not there, but you'll notice that later on, Jesus Christ appeared into Thomas, and he said something to Thomas. In verse 27, he said to Thomas, Reach your fingers here and look at my hands. Reach your hand here and put it into my side Do not be unbelieving, but believing. So he told Thomas, Touch me. You can stick your hand into my side. You can stick them into where the nail prints went through the hands. And you can see that I am alive.

Now, what you'll find, that Jesus Christ apparently ascended to God in heaven to be accepted by him. The wave-sheaf offering being a type of Christ being accepted of the Father returned and then appeared later on to his disciples. And so the wave-sheaf offering was a type of that, of Jesus Christ being accepted. Now, it was not possible for Jesus Christ to accomplish the type of the wave-sheaf offering on the day after the first Holy Day during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

He couldn't have done that. Jesus observed the Passover, if you might remember, on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he was crucified. This was what we would call the Passover Day, or the Preparation Day, for the first annual Sabbath, back here in chapter 19, verse 31 of the book of John. John 19, verse 31, it says, Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the body should not remain on the cross, on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day.

The Jews asked Pilate that they might break their legs. They came to Christ. He was already dead. Why? Well, a soldier had pierced his side, verse 34, with a spear, and blood had come out.

Jesus Christ had been killed. Now, Jesus Christ, then, was put into the grave toward sunset, on the Passover Day. And he was in there, guess what? Three days and three nights. The Bible is very clear. Three days, three nights. What is the day after the annual Sabbath? The annual Sabbath that week fell on a Thursday. The day afterwards was a Friday.

That is not when the wave sheaf was offering. That's not the day it typified. It was Sunday that Jesus Christ said, I will ascend to my Father and to your God. So Jesus Christ, in fulfilling the type of the wave sheaf, did it on a Sunday after the weekly Sabbath, not after the annual Sabbath.

So, I think we all understand that, but it's good to review it and be reminded of it. Now, let's go back to the book of Deuteronomy 16, verse 9. Deuteronomy 16, verse 9.

You shall count seven weeks, we're told here, for yourself and begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. Okay, now they could not put the sickle to the grain until the wave sheaf offering was offered up. See, the sequence of events was the wave sheaf offering was offered up, then they could begin the harvest.

And so, very clearly here, it says, count seven weeks. And the Hebrew word here is the word shubba, S-H-A-B-U-A, for weeks. And it means a week. Count seven weeks for yourself. You'll begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. That was after the wave sheaf offering was offered up, so on a Sunday.

They were to count, notice, in verse 10, you shall keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord. And then they were to rejoice with their family. They were to count seven weeks from the time the wave sheaf offering was offered up. They could not begin the harvest until the grain crop, until the wave sheaf was offered up. So you count seven weeks from a Sunday, and then the next day is Pentecost.

So in this case, it just says, count seven weeks. It's a little different way of counting, but you come to the same conclusion. So you'll find very clearly in the Old Testament that I think we can find proof in the Old Testament and the New Testament that Pentecost is to be observed on a Sunday.

Now, in the Old Testament, this festival is called by three different names. Let's notice while we're here, verse 10. First of all, it's called the Feast of Weeks. In verse 10, you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a free will offering. So it's called the Feast of Weeks there. Exodus 34. Let's go over to Exodus 34, verse 22. You shall observe the Feast of Weeks of the firstfruits of your wheat harvest.

So it was called again, the Feast of Weeks. Now, I'll give you another scripture, and you can just jot it down. But 2 Chronicles 8, verses 12 through 13. 2 Chronicles 8, 12 through 13. It's also called the Feast of Weeks. Now, it's called the Feast of Harvest. That's number 2. Back here in Exodus 23, Exodus 23, verse 14. Let's read here, Exodus 23, 14. Three times you shall keep a feast to me, and the year you shall keep the feast of unleavened bread, and you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt, and none shall appear before me empty, and the feast of harvest.

Now, why was it called the Feast of Harvest? Because it kicked off. It commenced. It began the Spring Harvest. Or actually, excuse me, in this case, it ended the Spring Harvest. I should say the Wave Sheaf Offering kicked off the Spring Harvest, and it ended with the Feast of Harvest. So it says, and the Feast of Harvest, the first roots of your labor, which you have sown in the field, and then the Feast of End-Gathering at the end of the year.

So from the time of the Wave Sheaf Offering being offered up, and the harvest commencing to the Feast of Harvest, or the Feast of Weeks, was a period of 50 days. And it was the Spring Harvest. Now, Numbers 28, Numbers 28, verse 26, this notice that it's also referred to by a different name. Also, on the day of the first fruits. So it's referred to here as the day of the first fruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the Lord at your Feast of Weeks.

So it's referred to as the Feast of Weeks again, and the day of the first fruits, because they were to bring their first fruits to the priest at this time, and they were to be offered up at that time. Now, one thing you'll find is that this festival season began with a first fruit, and it ends with first fruits.

Leviticus 23, again, let's go back to the book of Leviticus. If there's one chapter in the Bible that I think everyone of us can refer to, it's Leviticus 23. If you were to ask, where are the Holy Days listed, we all know Leviticus 23. Well, beginning here in verse 9, let's notice. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheave of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.

So they were to bring a sheave of the first fruits. This was the first grain cut. And he shall wave the sheave before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf. So it was waved, it was to be accepted for the people, and the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Okay, what was this a type-up? Well, it represented Jesus Christ, as we know. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, let's go back and notice here very clearly, it was called a sheave of the first fruits.

And in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20, we read this, Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected, to come up from the dead. In 1 Corinthians chapter 20, we find that everybody is going to be resurrected in a specific order.

Each one in his own order. Christ the first fruits. Afterwards, those who are Christ at his coming. So Jesus Christ is referred to as the first fruits. In chapter 26 of the book of Acts, verse 23, we have another reference to this. Acts chapter 26, verse 23, we find that Christ would suffer, that he would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. So Jesus Christ was the first one to rise from the dead.

Romans 8 and verse 29. This may be overkill, but I want us to realize that the Bible clearly says that Christ is the first fruits. For whom he foreknew, verse 29, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. So Jesus Christ was the first one born from the dead, and yet he's going to be the firstborn among many. Colossians 1, 13 through 15, verse 18, I'll just refer to that. Colossians 1, 13 through 15, verse 18, also says that he's the firstborn from the dead.

So Jesus Christ was the first one to go through the plan of salvation as a human being, to live on this earth, to never sin, to die, to be resurrected, born into the very family of God as a type and an example for us, that it can be done, and that he is, as the Bible says here, the firstborn among many. So it shows, brethren, that it is possible for us to be in God's family also. And he was the firstborn. Now, it's very interesting, back here in Leviticus chapter 23 again, in verse 15 and 16, I want you to notice that on this day, well, let's just read verse 16, that we are told to count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.

So they were to offer up a new grain offering, and you shall bring, verse 17, from your dwelling, two wave loaves. So here are two loaves of bread of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be a fine flower. They shall be baked with leaven.

They are the first fruits to the Lord. So on the day of Pentecost, every year, there were two wave loaves that were taken, and they were waved before God. You know, the priest would take them and do the wave. So the wave did not originate at ballgame. The wave was years ago. They were waving the bread back at that time. But I want you to notice something particular. They were baked with leaven. Now, absolutely, and you go back and you'll read that they were forbidden for any offering that was offered up to have anything baked with leaven with it.

Now, here's an exception. Why? Why were these two loaves baked with leavening? And what do they represent? Well, they represent two things. Each loaf represents something. They represent, number one, the Old Testament Church, number two, the New Testament Church. And what do you find leavening being a type of? Well, it's a type of sin, and it shows that we still have sin among us.

We all sin, don't we? And so you find that the Bible is very clear on this. In Jeremiah 2, Jeremiah 2, verse 3, let's notice here.

Jeremiah 2, verse 3, Israel was holiness to the Lord, the first fruits of his increase. All that devoured him will offend, disaster will come upon them, says the Lord. Israel was looked upon as God's first fruits. Now, what was Israel supposed to do? They were to be a light and an example to all the other nations. They were to live God's way, and as an example, the other nations would be drawn to Israel, because they would not have war. They would have peace. They would be blessed. They would take abundance crops. God would take sickness away from them. Their cattle would not die. They would just be blessed. And all the other nations out here who were suffering and going through these type of problems would come up to Israel and say, Why? Why don't you have these problems? They would say, well, because we worship the true God. And this is the way God says to worship him. And so they were to be an example. Now, the New Testament church, what are we supposed to be today? Are we not supposed to be an example, likewise? Are we not to set an example before everyone, those who are around us? But let's go back here to Leviticus 23 again. And I want you to notice one other aspect of this. These two waves, loaves, that were offered up were made acceptable by a sin sacrifice. In verse 18, it says, And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year without blemish, one young bullock, and two rams, and they shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, so they offered up a burnt offering, and with their grain offering and their drink offerings, and an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. And then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. And the priests shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the Lord with the two lambs, and they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests. So what you find, these two wave loaves, were made acceptable by Christ's sacrifice. What is it that makes us acceptable to God? Is it not the fact that you and I repent, have Christ's sacrifice applied to us, and that we can be made clean in God's sight, we can be made acceptable? The church is the first fruits today, Romans 8, 23, Romans 8, and verse 23. Notice here, God is not trying to convert everyone today. He's only calling the first fruits. And God gives us His Spirit. James 1, 18 tells us the same thing here. James 1, verse 18.

Conversion process. We are the first to trust God. Now, in the millennium, God will offer the Holy Spirit to everyone, and all mankind will have an opportunity to understand. In the great white throne judgment, God will resurrect all those who have lived in the past. They will come up, and they will have their chance at salvation, and to receive the Holy Spirit. But today, God is working with the first fruits. Now, what is the responsibility of the first fruits? Here we are. We are the first fruits of East Tennessee, North Georgia. Not too many of us. What are our responsibilities? Why are we called now and given the first fruits of God's Holy Spirit?

God has a purpose in all of this. In 1 Peter, chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, notice. 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10. We find you are a chosen generation. You and I have been chosen by God. No man can come unto the Son unless the Father calls Him. You and I are drawn by God. Our minds are open. We are a chosen generation. We are a royal priesthood. You and I are to offer up spiritual sacrifices today. We are a holy nation. Why are we a holy nation? Because something holy dwells within us. It's called the Holy Spirit. His own special people. You might remember this is almost a direct quote from Exodus 19, talking about ancient Israel.

You and I are God's special treasure today. His special people. Why are we this way? That you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Who once were not a people. At one time we were nothing.

We were not a people, but are now the people of God. So what is it that unites us together? Well, we have God's Spirit. God's Spirit puts us into the body of Christ. We become a part of the kingdom of God. We are the people of God today who have not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Now, if you'll remember, verse 10 is a direct quote from the Old Testament in the book of Hosea. Go back and read Hosea 1 and 2. You'll find that Israel was not a people. They became the people of God. They did not have mercy. God said that He would extend mercy to them.

That was all a type of what was going to happen in the future to the church today. So, brethren, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a special people. We have been called to proclaim the praises of God. You and I have the opportunity and the job of living God's way now. We are to prove and to show that there are a people of God who will live by His way in this evil age that we live in.

That no matter what Satan throws at us, that we will obey God. That we set an example. We are to be a light to the world. When you stop and you ask, how many people have come into the church as a direct result of the example of God's people? We know that it is by the example of the people of God that most people are attracted.

If they hear and they come, what is it that makes them want to stay? They come here and they meet you. It is not because of me, it is because of you. It is because they come and they say, well, there is something different about this group, these people. They do seem to care. They do seem to have love and concern. So you and I have the job of living God's way.

And as it says here, that we are to proclaim the praises of Him. So we have the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the world. Proclaiming God's praises, His calling, the plan of salvation. And we will be the first called into the harvest. Now, I want you to stop and think, and we'll end here, but we won't quit here because there is more to the story. I don't want to get hooked on Jim's approach here, but there is more to the story. We are the first called to be a part of the harvest, but there is a fall harvest coming.

You and I are a part of the spring harvest, the smaller harvest. Remember, the Holy Days revolved around the harvest season, and the spring harvest was a smaller harvest, just as it is in this country. It's the fall harvest that was a big harvest. And you and I are going to have a part in the harvest in the millennium. We are going to help Jesus Christ in harvesting the crop in the millennium and in the great white throne judgment.

And when you understand what the Bible has to say about the harvest, it has to do with the whole plan of salvation and what God is doing. So, brethren, we will, in the future, cover more about the harvest season and our part in the harvest that God has called us to.