Feast of Weeks: Difference between revisions
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| Name | Feast of Weeks |
|---|---|
| Date | The 50th day after the Day of Firstfruits (Sunday) |
| Origin | The day Moses ascended Mount Sinai for the first time to receive the tablets of the Ten Commandments. |
| Ritual | Offering of a new grain offering to God. |
| Fulfillment of prophecy | Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on the 50th day after resurrection |
The Feast of Weeks is the fourth among the seven feasts in three times recorded in the Bible. It comes after the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits.[1] When the seven biblical feasts are grouped into three times, the Feast of Firstfruits and the Feast of Weeks are combined and collectively referred to as Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest.[2][3] It was on the 50th day after the Feast of Firstfruits, when the first sheaf of grain was offered to God as a wave offering.[1] It’s called Feast of Weeks because there are seven Sabbaths between the Feast of Firstfruits and this feast.[4] In the New Testament, it is also described as the Day of Pentecost.[5]
Historical Origin
On the 40th day after crossing the Red Sea, God called Moses up to Mount Sinai. Moses listened to God’s word and came down to deliver it to the people.[6] Three days later, amidst thunder, lightning, thick cloud, and the sound of a trumpet, God descended on Mount Sinai and proclaimed His covenant to Israel.[7] Then He told Moses to come up again to receive the tablets of the Ten Commandments,[8] written by God Himself.
On the fiftieth day after crossing the Red Sea, Moses went up Mount Sinai and stayed there for forty days, during which he received the stone tablets inscribed with the words of the covenant from God. God established the Feast of Weeks so that His people would remember and never forget the day Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.
Ceremony of the Feast of Weeks
The timing of the Feast of Weeks is calculated from the Feast of Firstfruits. On the Feast of Firstfruits, which falls on the day after the Sabbath (Sunday) following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites presented a sheaf of the first ripened grain as a wave offering to the LORD. Then, 50 days after the day of Firstfruits, on the Feast of Weeks, they offered a new grain offering to God.
“ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering [day of Firstfruits], count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD.’ “
Additionally, at the Feast of Weeks, burnt offerings according to the feast were offered separately from the regular burnt offerings.[9]
Prophetic Fulfillment
Holy Spirit of the Pentecost and the Growth of the Early Church
Moses is a foreshadowing of Christ,[10][11] and the feasts established in connection with Moses’ works prophesy the works that Jesus Christ would later accomplish. On the 50th day after crossing the Red Sea, Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. This event foreshadowed the event when Jesus would enter the heavenly Most Holy Place and pour out the Holy Spirit on His people. Jesus died on the cross and rose on the Feast of Firstfruits, becoming the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”[12] Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended to heaven.[13] Then, on the 50th day (the day of Pentecost) Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples.[14]
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the apostles boldly preached the gospel to people from around 15 different nations who had gathered in Jerusalem.[15] Just as Jesus had promised: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth,”[13] the Holy Spirit of Pentecost became the catalyst for the spread of the gospel throughout the world, and the early Church grew rapidly, fulfilling the mission of Christ.[16]
Secularization of the Church and the Withdrawal of the Holy Spirit
In the Old Testament, while Moses remained on Mount Sinai for 40 days to receive the Ten Commandments,[8] the Israelites assumed he had died. They created a golden calf idol and worshiped it, saying it would lead them in place of Moses. God was furious with their idolatry. When Moses came down the mountain and saw the people worshiping the idol, he threw down the stone tablets and broke them in anger.[17]
This event was fulfilled when, after the apostles passed away, the Church became secularized and corrupt, abandoning the truth and introducing unlawful practices not found in the Bible. As a result, God withdrew the Holy Spirit that had been poured out at Pentecost, fulfilling the prophecy.[18]
See also
- Pentecost
- Passover
- The Feast of Unleavened Bread
- Feast of Firstfruits
- Feast of Trumpets
- Day of Atonement
- Feast of Tabernacles
- The Feasts of God
References
- ↑ "Deuteronomy 16:16–17".
- ↑ "Exodus 23:14–16".
- ↑ "Exodus 34:18–22".
- ↑ "Leviticus 23:15–16".
- ↑ "Acts 2:1".
- ↑ "Exodus 19:1–7".
- ↑ "Exodus 19:16–23:33".
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Exodus 24:12–18".
- ↑ "Numbers 28:26–31".
- ↑ "Deuteronomy 18:18".
- ↑ "Acts 3:20–24".
- ↑ "1 Corinthians 15:20".
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Acts 1:3–9".
- ↑ Ahnsahnghong, Chapter 2 The Seven Feasts in Three Times, THE MYSTERY OF GOD AND THE SPRING OF THE WATER OF LIFE, Melchizedek Pub. Co., Ltd
- ↑ "Acts 2:14–21".
- ↑ "Acts 4:1–4".
- ↑ "Exodus 32:1–19, 27-28".
- ↑ Joo-Cheol Kim, Chapter 15 The Feasts of God, MY SHEEP LISTEN TO MY VOICE, Melchizedek Pub. Co., Ltd