Pentecost, also known as the 'feast of weeks', takes place in the late spring. Pentecost represents the firstfruits of God's spiritual harvest. On the first Pentecost after Jesus Christ's resurrection, the New Testament church received the Holy Spirit, and true Christians have been celebrating the annual Sabbath of Pentecost ever since.
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| 1. |
Belief and the Firstfruits |
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Subject: The Appointment to Eternal Life |
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Summary: David Grabbe, reflecting on Michael Crichton"s statement in his book State of Fear that "the past history of human belief is a cautionary tale," emphasizes that what people believe will determine the kind of lives they lead or the fruits they... |
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| 2. |
Law and Spirit Together |
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Subject: Not Law or Grace?Law AND Grace |
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Summary: God has given us two valuable tools, which if used in proper proportions, bring about character and spiritual fruit. Used independently, like all polar or dichotomous thinking (going to one ditch or the other), over-emphasis on one has the tendency t... |
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| 3. |
Numbering Our Days |
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Subject: Learning a Heart of Wisdom |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh reiterates that Pentecost is the only festival that requires calculating or counting- instead of being fixed upon a specific date. The number fifty seems to symbolize the years of accountability (or period of conversion or sanctifi... |
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| 4. |
Of One Accord |
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Subject: Unity |
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Summary: Observing that more controversy exists about the counting of Pentecost than for any of the holy days, John Ritenbaugh suggests the confusion may be a function of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19). Confusion, separation, and division have been o... |
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| 5. |
Pentecost and Speaking In Tongues |
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Subject: Modern Speaking in Tongues Is Not of God |
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Summary: John Ritenbaugh contrasts the genuine miracle of tongues or language at the first Pentecost from the bogus glossolalia practiced in Pentecostal groups, inappropriately called "speaking in tongues." In Acts 2, the crowd actually heard the disci... |
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| 6. |
Pentecost and Hope |
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Subject: Pentecost's Types Provide Confidence |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the account of Simeon in Luke 2:25-30, speculates about the specific things Simeon did to sustain his hope. Simeon's life serves as a precursor to that of God's called-out ones, demonstrating the elements necessary t... |
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| 7. |
Pentecost and the Book of Ruth |
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Subject: Pentecost Lessons in Ruth |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh, focusing upon part of the festival scrolls (the Megilloth) read during Pentecost, reveals that although many of the lessons allude to Old Covenant teachings, Ruth prefigures New Covenant principles also, including (1) God's mercy ... |
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| 8. |
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit |
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Subject: The Spirit's Association with Pentecost |
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Summary: In this Pentecost message, John Ritenbaugh emphasizes that the receiving of God's Holy Spirit is not so much for our use as it is for God's use that He might carry out His creative effort in our lives. Metaphorically, the Holy Spirit can be compared ... |
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| 9. |
Pentecost in God's Plan |
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Subject: |
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Summary: John Plunkett, asking the question, 'Is this the only day of salvation?' reminds us that most of the world's churches believe that there is only one opportunity for salvation (with God and Satan engaged in a heated tug of war for hapless souls), feel... |
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| 10. |
Pentecost, Consistency, and Honesty |
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Subject: The Basics of Counting to Pentecost |
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Summary: John Ritenbaugh, clearing up the needless confusion about the proper day to begin counting to Pentecost, examines the basic passages on it. Because Pentecost does not have a specific date, God commands us to count from the day after the weekly Sab... |
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| 11. |
Peter's Pentecost Sermon |
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Subject: Christians Under Judgment and Pentecost |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh, focusing upon Peter's Pentecost sermon, suggests that the accompanying signs attracted attention, confirmed God's Word through His servants, and provided symbolic meaning to the unseen effects of the Holy Spirit. Both wind and fir... |
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| 12. |
Pouring, Passover, and Pentecost |
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Subject: Old and New Testament Symbolic References to Pouring |
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Summary: John Plunkett thoroughly goes through the subject of pouring, applying it to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover and more specifically, how they both link to the Feast of Pentecost. At the Passover, our Savior, Jesus Christ, willingly allowed... |
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| 13. |
Powerful Effects of the Holy Spirit |
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Subject: Pentecost: A Feast of Power and Special Calling |
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Summary: After debunking the popular assumption that this is the only day of salvation, Martin Collins describes the miniscule spring harvest (the first resurrection) and the abundant fall harvest (the second resurrection), which are the respective times of c... |
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| 14. |
Principled Living (Part 6): Becoming Holy |
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Subject: Dare To Be Different! |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh, reflecting on the many cultural pressures to conform, insists that Pentecost forces us to stand out from the rest of the crowd, separated as firstfruits for the purpose of sanctification and holiness. The two wave loaves, baked wi... |
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| 15. |
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 23) |
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Subject: Colossians (D) |
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Summary: In this twenty-third installment of the Covenants, Law and Grace series, John Ritenbaugh focuses upon two sets of verses (Colossians 2:16-18 and Galatians 4:9-10) which certain Protestant theologians have blasphemously charged that Paul was referring... |
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| 16. |
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 5) |
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Subject: Justification and Obligation |
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Summary: In this fifth installment of the Covenants, Grace and Law series, John Ritenbaugh reminds us that under both the Old and New Covenants, refusal to keep to keep God's Law severs our relationship with Him. Like loving parents who give rules to their ch... |
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| 17. |
The Firstfruits Offering |
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Subject: Giving Thanks for God's Goodness |
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Summary: In this offertory message, David Grabbe, referring to Deuteronomy 16:9-12, states that the offering was to be given on the basis of Israel's appreciation of how God had blessed them, including being released from physical bondage. We, as the Israel o... |
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| 18. |
The Pentecost Offering |
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Subject: Paying Tribute to the King |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh, on this 1972nd anniversary of Pentecost focuses upon the uniqueness of the offering instructions in Deuteronomy 16:10, emphasizing tribute - a gift given by a subject to a ruler, acknowledging his authority and his rulership. In t... |
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| 19. |
The Right Use of Power |
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Subject: Government and Pentecost |
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Summary: Of all creation, man is the only creature made in God's image and given dominion over the rest of creation. When God breathed in the spirit of man (Genesis 2:7) to enable thinking, feeling, and creating, He imbued God-like characteristics, giving man... |
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| 20. |
Unity |
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Subject: We Must Deliberately Choose To Unite |
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Summary: John Ritenbaugh suggests that the symphony orchestra is perhaps the most finely tuned metaphor of unity and cooperation ever devised by man, and yet when compared to God’s accomplishments on the cellular and multicellular level (with one human ... |
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| 21. |
Unleavened Bread and Pentecost |
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Subject: Understanding Unleavened Bread and Pentecost |
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Summary: In this sermon on the meaning of Unleavened Bread, John Ritenbaugh warns that emphasizing our initiative at putting out sin is wrong. Unleavened bread serves as a memorial of God's initiative of delivering us from the bondage of sin. Like our forebea... |
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| 22. |
Wavesheaf Day in the New Testament |
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Subject: Understanding 'the first day of the week' |
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Summary: David Grabbe shows that the phrase "first day of the week" in the various gospel accounts of Jesus Christ's appearance should be translated "first of the weeks" (mia sabbaton). This is the wavesheaf day -- the day after the Sabbath within the ... |
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| 23. |
When Pentecost Was Fully Come |
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Subject: Sunday or Monday? |
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Summary: In this sermonette on the 1974 doctrinal change on counting Pentecost, John Ritenbaugh explains the confusion of our previous understanding, resulting from the idiomatic use of counting "from" in English speaking and Hebrew speaking cultures. The qua... |
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| 24. |
Why Count Fifty Days? |
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Subject: Redeeming the Time |
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Summary: Richard Ritenbaugh explores the significance of the number fifty, counting fifty, and the myriad applications of the number fifty throughout the Bible, such as in the measurements of the Tabernacle and Millennial Temple, as well as the 50 year Jubile... |
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For more information on Pentecost, the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the New Testament church, speaking on tongues, the feast of weeks, and the wavesheaf offering, see the Pentecost Articles page.
