Pentecost (Shavuot) – Israel’s Wedding Day, Not Church’s Birthday

Christianity’s view of the Biblical day of Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavuot) states this day is the birthday or establishment of the Church. They see it as marking the day when the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob poured out His Spirit upon the early followers of Jesus, as read in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. An article by Richard Wagner and Kurt Warner express this view:

• “Pentecost is a Christian holy day that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 40 days after Easter. Some Christian denominations consider it the birthday of the Christian church and celebrate it as such.”

Pentecost does not have its origins in the Book of Acts. It was a holy day that God gave Israel in Leviticus 23:15-22 about 3,300 years ago at Mount Sinai.

We read in Acts 7:37-38, where a disciple of Yeshua (Jesus) named Stephen was speaking to the High Priest, elders, and scribes about the “church” in the wilderness:

• "This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.' This is He, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:” (KJV)

Obviously, Stephen knew of a “church” that existed before the coming of Messiah Yeshua. “Ekklesia” is the Greek word translated above as “church.” It refers to Israel when they were in the wilderness. This is the same Greek word used in the Book of Acts, twenty-four times, speaking of the body of Messiah.

Modern Christianity has it partially correct when it declares: “the Church was established on Pentecost.” However, God’s “church” was established at Mount Sinai. The event that occurred in the first century on Pentecost, was merely God fulfilling a vow He made in His marriage covenant with Israel – His wife.

In Joel 2:28-29, quoted by Peter in Acts 2:16-21, God is speaking of what He will do in the last days:

• "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

God was not doing a “new thing,” but fulfilling an ancient promise! With the arrival of Messiah, God was empowering Jewish Believers, through His Spirit, to reach the nations with the Good News of Yeshua – the Mediator of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

In Acts 2, Peter explains that their ability to speak in foreign languages that they had not previously learned was a prophesy being fulfilled. God WAS NOT starting another “church” or a new religion. He was continuing the work He began on the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai. Let’s look at the similarities of both events:

• Acts 2:1-8, “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 of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.”

• Exodus 20:18, “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off..”

• Deuteronomy 4:11-13 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice. So, He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.”

Why did God make both Shavuot a multi-language event? Obviously, it was God’s plan for other nations to be a part of Israel. These people who joined Israel from other nations were called God-Fearers. God-Fearers were at Mount Sinai, which included those from Egypt and other nations who came out during the exodus. God-Fearers were also on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Acts 2 event. They were described as being from “every nation under heaven.”

Israel was called to be a light unto all nations, bringing salvation, Yeshua, to all people. We see this stated in Isaiah 49:6:

• “Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'”

People from the nations who attached themselves to Israel became fellow-citizens. They were no longer considered strangers and foreigners but co-members of God’s household. A Biblical example of this is Ruth, the Moabitess. The Book of Ruth is traditionally read on Shavuot. Ruth’s story is about a God-Fearer from Moab who forsook the ways of her nation to become part of Israel. God blessed her faithfulness and made her a matriarch of King David and Messiah Yeshua. The story of Ruth takes place between Passover and Shavuot and has a wedding theme.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:18 that through Messiah, both Israel and the nations “have access by one Spirit to the Father."

This Spirit of the Father is the same Spirit that was present at BOTH Shavuot events. The Spirit of God was poured out on those who were obediently keeping His holy days. What kind of outpouring would there be today, if all of Israel, natural born and those from the nations, observed Shavuot together?

BRIDAL PROCESSIONAL

The bridal processional was a tradition in ancient Israel when the bride and her parents left their home and they walked through the streets to the place where the wedding ceremony was to occur. Along the way, friends and neighbors would join the bridal party. This is what we see taking place when Israel left Egypt and proceeded to Mount Sinai for the wedding.

The Passover meal in Egypt can be symbolically viewed as an engagement dinner. A time when God set apart His betrothed, Israel, for the upcoming wedding. Upon leaving Egypt, the bride-to-be traveled 50 days to Mount Sinai, where on Shavuot, the wedding ceremony took place. Israel stood at the base of the mountain, under God’s covering, and after hearing the terms of the marriage covenant (Torah/Law), all the people, with one voice, said “We will do” (Exodus 19). Then, they washed themselves and their garments in preparation for the wedding that took place on the third day, Shavout.

Similarly, we see in Acts 2:37-41, on the Temple Mount, the people who heard of Messiah Yeshua, agreed with the Disciples, and “washed” themselves in a baptismal pool:

• “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call … Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”

THE HUSBAND

The Abrahamic Covenant between God and His people has always been based on God’s love for Abraham and those who share in his faith. God told Abraham that he would make him the father of a nation, and a company of nations (Gen. 35:11). This nation is Israel and the company of nations are those who join them.

The Abrahamic Covenant, which is comprised of three sections: Davidic, Mosaic, and New Covenant, is viewed as one marriage covenant that contains the promises God made to His wife (Israel) and the conditions in which they could live together. The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 54:5 that God is Israel’s husband:

• “For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

God’s marriage covenant contains guidelines and instructions that detail what is expected of both the Bride (Israel) and of the Groom (Messiah Yeshua). He said in Exodus 19:5-6:

• Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

Messiah Yeshua said in John 15:10:

• “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.”

In ancient times, the conditions of the marriage were spelled out in a prenuptial document called a “Ketubah.” It was considered protection for the bride. Both the bride and the groom agreed to the conditions of this marriage before the ceremony took place. This is what the Bible is to us today. We have agreed to the conditions of our engagement and it will be renewed when our groom, Messiah Yeshua, comes to our future wedding.

Paul uses this analogy in II Corinthians 11:1-2, referring to the Israel as being a virgin and betrothed:

• "Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly--and indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Messiah.”

In the meantime, the bride is to prepare herself by rehearsing this special day and preparing her garments, i.e., her righteous acts, for the future wedding. In Revelation 19:17, it states:

• “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

FINALLY

The giving of the Holy Spirit did not begin on Pentecost/Shavuot. There are numerous times mentioned in the Bible where the Holy Spirit provided power to men and women to accomplish what God wanted them to accomplish. This particular anointing in Acts 2 was to empower the Disciples (Taught Ones) to be witnesses about Yeshua the Messiah to those from all the nations who came up, as commanded, to celebrate Pentecost. As Messiah Yeshua stated in Acts 1:4-9:

• “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now"…And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or 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 end of the earth…”

Yeshua told them in John 14:26, that another purpose of this special anointing was supernatural help:

• “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

Again, Pentecost/Shavuot is not the birthday of the “church.” It is the wedding day that God took Israel as a wife. Many Christians get sidetracked on the miraculous gift of languages on this day and overlook its true significance and importance. Most, even those calling themselves “Pentecostals;” do not celebrate this special day on God’s calendar.

An important tradition on Shavuot is to take out the “ketubah” and read the Ten Commandments. As stated in Matthew 25:1-13, in the parable of the ten virgins, there are many wise virgins who know their marriage agreement and will be ready when the Bridegroom comes. However, five of the ten were not ready and had no oil in their lamps.

How about you?