πεντηκοστῆς = pentēkostē = Pentecost, 50th
ḥāḡ šāḇûaʿ = חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת = Feast of Weeks (7 weeks - 49 days - then feast is the next day)
Historical Fulfillment
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Mt Sinai
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Giving of the ten commandments
- Exodus 19-20:
- On the On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai … v11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. … v16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. … 20:18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
- 24:3-4: When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.
- Deut 5:4-5
- The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)
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So the laws were called out to all of the people with God’s voice, in a language that the people understood. There was fire upon the mountain and the people responded with fear, but Moses drew near (this is when he literally sees God)
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Deut 16:9-12:
- Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. [First fruits = somewhere around 16-22 day of first month] Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.
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This works out to about 8 weeks after Passover, or just shy of two months. When was Mt Sinai? The first day of the third month after they left Egypt (Passover). The same day!
Jesus’s Fulfillment
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Giving of the Holy Spirit
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Acts 2:1-13 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.
Future Fulfillment
- Joel 2:28-29 And it shall come to pass afterward (after the day of the LORD), that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
- Same as is quoted in Acts 2:16-77 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
Important
Question: So what does this mean for us? We need to remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His call has always been to all people and he has tried speaking directly to us physically, then to our spirit, and - still to come - through those that have received the Holy Spirit, via dreams, prophesy, and visions. We can take comfort in knowing that God will try everything possible to get to and save us from sin and death.Are we called to do anything here? Not really. Nothing beyond what we should already be doing. If you were to boil it down to the “spirit of the law” I think that the point of it is to recall back to how we were once wanderers but that God found us, called us to be his kingdom of priests, and now we are to live out our future by praying for clarity and foresight into this world. Then, through joy and love, serve God (giving a freewill offering) with those around us (rejoice before the Lord your God […] you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you)