Topical Bible: The Feast of Pentecost: Called The: Day of the First Fruits

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Feast of Pentecost, also known as the Day of the First Fruits, is a significant biblical festival with deep roots in the agricultural and spiritual life of Israel. It is celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of Passover week, marking the culmination of the Feast of Weeks. This festival is rich in symbolism and holds a prominent place in both the Old and New Testaments.

Old Testament Background

The Feast of Pentecost is first mentioned in the Torah, where it is referred to as the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). In Leviticus 23:15-17 , the Israelites are commanded: "From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD. Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD."

This festival was a time of thanksgiving for the harvest, specifically the wheat harvest, and it was one of the three pilgrimage feasts where all Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem (Exodus 23:16). The offering of the first fruits symbolized the Israelites' acknowledgment of God's provision and their dependence on Him.

New Testament Fulfillment

In the New Testament, Pentecost takes on additional significance with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4 records this pivotal event: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

This event marks the birth of the Christian Church and the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). The gathering of Jews from various nations in Jerusalem for the feast provided a unique opportunity for the apostles to preach the gospel, resulting in the conversion of about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41).

Theological Significance

The Feast of Pentecost, as the Day of the First Fruits, symbolizes the first fruits of the Spirit and the beginning of the Church's mission to the world. It represents the initial harvest of souls and the empowerment of believers to spread the message of Christ. The giving of the Law at Sinai, traditionally associated with this feast, is paralleled by the giving of the Spirit, highlighting the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant.

Pentecost underscores the continuity of God's redemptive plan, linking the agricultural cycle of Israel with the spiritual harvest of the Church. It serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 28:26
Also in the day of the first fruits, when you bring a new meat offering to the LORD, after your weeks be out, you shall have an holy convocation; you shall do no servile work:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Concerning the Festivals; and How Each Day of Such Festival is to ...
... all the rest, for sins; for it is intended as a feast for the ... contain forty and nine
days,] on the fiftieth day, which is Pentecost, but is called by the ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 10 concerning the festivals.htm

The Miracle of Pentecost and the Birthday of the Christian
... Then he called upon his hearers to repent and ... the typical meaning of the Jewish
Pentecost was gloriously ... spiritual harvest and a universal feast of thanksgiving ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 24 the miracle of.htm

The Conversion of Apollos, his Character, and the Ministry of Paul ...
... short"apparently not extending beyond a few days at the time of the feast of
Pentecost,"and giving ... We are in danger," said he, "to be called in question ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter viii the conversion of.htm

The Book of Jubilees
... days; seven weeks after the Passover came Pentecost; the great ... It was at the feast
of Tabernacles that Levi ... The former are often called Watchers, as in other ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

The Passover visit
... On completing this year a Hebrew boy was called a son ... were three annual feasts, the
Passover, the Pentecost, and the ... On the second day of the feast, the first ...
/.../white/the desire of ages/chapter 8 the passover visit.htm

The Persecutions of the Apostolic Church, and Its Condition at the ...
... When Paul appeared in the temple at the feast of Pentecost in AD ... But when the two
grandchildren of Jude, [169:4] called the brother of our Lord, [169:5] were ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter xi the persecutions of.htm

The Ceremonies and Discipline Op the Church as Illustrated by ...
... mark the seasons of the Passover and Pentecost [626:1 ... John may have continued to
keep the feast according to ... What is called Easter Sunday is still observed in ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter xii the ceremonies and.htm

Letter iii. --For 331. Easter-Day xvi Pharmuthi; iii Id. April ...
... But He called blessed Moses to it, as being fervent in ... When then we have kept the
feast according to His ... in the holy week, the seven weeks of Pentecost, and as ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/letter iii for 331 easter-day xvi.htm

The Foundation of the Church.
... who had come from their distant homes to keep the feast. ... baptized; and thus, on the
day of Pentecost, AD33 ... and a vehement persecutor, till he was called by the ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson xxi the foundation of.htm

Whether Sufficient Reason Can be Assigned for the Ceremonies ...
... Again in that higher world there are spiritual substances called angels. ... The feast
of Pentecost signified the Descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether sufficient reason can be.htm