TYPOLOGY
OF
PENTECOST
Part Three
by
Keith Hunt
The Pentecost feast is FULL, very full of typology. It would
seem that more than any other feast of the Lord, the feast of
weeks or Pentecost has many and different shades of typology,
each with it own particular meaning and teaching. In this study
we shall investigate yet more typology of this festival and learn
more from its customs and practices, as well as its direct
commands.
Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi in his book GOD'S FESTIVALS - Part
1, has some interesting comments about the typology of Pentecost.
Under "Significance of the Sheaf of First Fruits" on pages 171and
172, we read:
" The Bible attaches special significance to the offering of
first fruits or firstborn. Everything on the earth, including man
and beast, was to be presented before the Lord as first fruits to
Him(Ex.13:2; 22:29). The first barley sheaf was offered in the
course of the paschal week(Lev.23:10-14, and the first of the
wheat harvest at Pentecost(Ex.34:22; Lev.23:17).
The offering of the first fruits represented a human
expression of THANKSGIVING to divine generosity. This meaning is
clear in Deut.26:10 where the Israelites are instructed to bring
some of the first fruits of the harvest to the priest and
publicly to confess: 'Behold, now I bring the first of the first
fruits of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.' The
GIFT FROM GOD calls for a GIFT from His people.........
The consecration of the first fruits SANCTIFIES the WHOLE
harvest, since the part stands for the whole. As Paul put it,
'If the dough offered as first fruits is holy, so is the
whole lump' (Rom.11:16). By the symbolic gesture of consecrating
the first fruits, the whole of the harvest was consecrated by
God.......
The idea that the CONSECRATION OF A PART exercises a
SANCTIFYING influence on ALL is applied in the Bible to the plan
of salvation. 'Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of
his harvest' (Jer.2:3; cf. Hos.9:10), because it was called by
God to exercise a sanctifying influence on all nations.
Similarly, as Christians, we are 'a kind of first fruits of His
creatures' (James 1:18), because we are called to be a
sanctifying influence in the world.......The 144,000 saints who
follow the Lamb are 'the first fruits for God and the Lamb'
(Rev.14:4), because they represent the glorious destiny that
awaits the redeemed of all ages. "
End quote.
This principle of a consecrated part representing the whole
is important for a number of reasons, not the least as a Bible
understanding teaching tool. For many have wondered about
Revelation 14:4. It would appear from just that verse that only
the 144,000 saints will be the first fruits to God. And those
saints are YET to be sealed with the Spirit of God as part of
12,000 from each tribe of Israel(Rev.7), just before the "great
day of His wrath is come" on the world, after the end time
persecution of saints and the heavenly signs(Rev.6:9-16).
James tells us that present day Christians, from his time
on, were first fruits to God(James 1:18). We know from other
scriptures(1 Cor.15; 1 Thes.4) that all in Christ (dead and
alive) are first fruits, and shall all be raised to resurrection
glory and eternal life, at the coming of the Lord when the last
trump shall sound.
So one single verse such as in Rev.14:4 must not be taken as
contradicting the whole of scripture on that particular subject.
The PART(containing certain specific truth) must never be
isolated from the WHOLE. If this is done then false ideas and
doctrines are the result. This is an important key to correct
Bible reading and understanding. It is somewhat like the key of
"exceptions to the rule" in the Bible. Let me give you an
example.
The basic rule of the Bible is that a DAY is EVENING first,
and MORNING(Gen.1). Meaning the 24 hour day starts from the
evening(sunset, dusk, dark), and proceeds through that evening
and night to the next morning and day light, until the next
evening arrives, which then starts another 24 hour day. That is
"the general rule of thumb" as the saying goes. BUT now and
again, God uses EXCEPTIONS to that general overall rule,
and talks about a day with an evening AT THE END of it as if that
evening was part of the same day. An example of that is the day
or feast of Atonement are given in Lev.23:26-32. The day of
atonement is the 10th day of the seventh month, yet God uses
the expression of "in the ninth day of the month at even...." as
if at the end of the ninth day the evening was part of the ninth
day and not the tenth day, as in reality it was according to the
general rule of when days started and ended, as given from the
beginning.
This is the principle of "there are sometimes exception to
the rule" but the exception is not the rule, which if it was,
then the rule would become the exception.
The point is, a single verse which states a truth cannot
rule out other verses that state other truths to that WHOLE
subject. The first fruits of the 144,000 saints with Christ
on the mount Zion, is only a consecrated PART of the WHOLE of the
first fruits. These 144,000 representing the WHOLE, since the
PART stands for the WHOLE.
I took a side step from the main topic in our study, but I
felt it would serve to help you understand how to study the Bible
in a better way. A basic key is: Get all the scriptures on a
subject and remember as Jesus said, "the scripture cannot be
broken" - there is no contradictions in God's word.
We also find the truth about Israel being called to be a
SANCTIFYING INFLUENCE on all nations of the earth in Deuteronomy
chapter four. "Behold I have taught you statutes and judgments,
even as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do so in
the land whither you go to posses it. Keep therefore and do them;
for this is your WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING in the SIGHT OF THE
NATIONS, which shall HEAR ALL THESE STATUTES, and say, surely
this great nation is a WISE and UNDERSTANDING people. For what
nations is there so great, who has God so nigh unto them, as the
Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? And
what nations is there so great that has statutes and judgments so
righteous as this law, which I set before you this day" (verses
5-8).
One of the reasons God chose the peoples of Israel was so
they would be a SANCTIFYING INFLUENCE on all nations of the
world, so PART could sanctify the WHOLE. If Israel had lived
according to the book of the law of God, it would have only
been a matter of time before other nations would have wanted to
learn what made such a people so blessed and so great. Israel's
part in the world would have brought the other parts to become a
whole part under the Eternal God of heaven, and His righteous
laws, statutes and judgments.
Then as we have seen, there is a very important typology
teaching in this feast of weeks, this first harvest of Palestine,
from the wave sheaf day to the day of Pentecost. The lesson is
that in God GIVING and BLESSING us, we are to GIVE back to Him.
He is to be put on the TOP of our list, the FIRST position on our
priority list of debts to pay. We are to honor Him with the
FIRST of our abundance.
This instruction and typology of the feast of first-fruit
harvest is all succinctly given to us in the wise proverbs of
Solomon.
"Honor the Lord with your SUBSTANCE, and with the
FIRSTFRUITS of ALL your increase" (Prov.3:9).
The BLESSINGS from God are so MANY. Some, we in the
Western World, take for granted far too much. Take the example
of CLEAN WATER as one blessing. Most of us turn on the tap and
we think little about the clean water that comes forth. For many
in the world clean water is one of the greatest blessings they
could hope for. Many live in situations, many children find
themselves born into situations where clean water is only
a dream. And the results of dirty, unclean drinking water is
often beyond description. You, like myself, may have seen from
time to time programs on TV from the World Health
Organization(WHO) or World Vision, on the pain and sorrow that
can result from people having to live with UN-clean drinking
water.
A nation that sees the logical sense in obeying the health
laws of the Bible, which include sanitation and clean water, have
also experienced the BLESSINGS from such laws.
The Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples have, through common logic,
Bible instruction, and physical blessings of the land, reaped
many healthy results from following the correct statutes and
judgments of life. In turn we have been able to BLESS and HELP
and LEAD the world into following those same good and righteous
laws. I have just finished watching a World Vision program that
showed how our wealthy and physically blessed countries of Canada
and the USA, have in the past and are still today, helping poor
African villages drill for and find good clean water from deep in
the earth. This is there "black gold" worth more to them than
all the oil in the world, for they have no need for oil but they
sure need the BLESSING of CLEAN water.
THE FEAST OF WEEKS OR PENTECOST, WHAT A WONDERFUL FESTIVAL
PERIOD OF SEVEN COMPLETE WEEKS, WITH SEVEN SABBATHS. PERFECT
COMPLETION FULFILLED IN THE FIRST HARVEST OF GOD. A SEVEN WEEK
PERIOD THAT GIVES US SO MANY TYPOLOGICAL INSTRUCTIONS OF TRUTH.
LET'S REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT !
...................
Written May 1997
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