PENTECOST: BRING TWO LOAVES OF BREAD…There are two loaves of bread, side by side, on the offering table to the Lord. This unusual offering was appointed for this time of the year for God’s chosen people. Since both loaves are leavened, they appear to be spiritually significant as sinful types of mankind. But this is a heavenly offering...

We are all at the feet of Jesus on this one, as our “Rabboni” (rah BONE I) instructs us on “heavenly” leaven through one of His shortest parables. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” The Parable of the Leaven, repeated in Luke 13:20–21, immediately follows the Parable of the Mustard Seed. Both share the spiritual theme of the Kingdom of God growing from small, even microscopic beginnings to incredible spiritual size and dimension in its fulfillment.

The Almighty expressed Himself succinctly in His instructions on the offering He desired on this ancient appointed and anointed date. “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Leviticus 23:15-22

A clearer picture of "firstfruits" emerges when we add to the Leviticus scripture the understanding that a sheaf of grain in Genesis 37:5-11 represented a person or persons, as evidenced in Joseph's dream. The lone sheaf of the Firstfruit Offering of grain was called "the sheaf of the first fruits." The first wave offering of Firstfruits, appointed on the 16th day of the first month, was accepted by God when Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus presented Himself to His Father as the “Firstfruit Offering”, the first of the resurrection of mankind, appointed by God on His calendar 1500 years before. The Spirit of God Who Raised Jesus From The Dead: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=718948773788692&set=pb.100070207268018.-2207520000

Jesus own words in John 12:23-24 pierce our spirits with such wisdom, it brings us to our knees: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

The Feast, or Festival of Weeks, also known as Shavuot, “weeks” or “sevens” in Hebrew, marked the completion of the seven-week plus one day counting period from the 1st sheaf wave grain offering, called Firstfruits (fulfilled by the Resurrection of Jesus) to the 2nd wave grain offering, called Shavuot, on Mount Sinai. God’s Spirit descended on the Israelites in fire and thunder or “kolot” (CO-lote), which means voices or languages, and the nation covenanted with Him by agreeing to follow the Ten Commandments and the Levitical laws. We Are Surrounded By A Great Cloud of Wintesses: https://www.facebook.com/fontanacommunitychurch/posts/pfbid02czFTFZZJe5vq9jYr2zMMnsRudwe9BJbYXpdekPT54BvpZTq3YsW3Kgx4GVD1sQAdl

1500 years later as Israel gathered on Mount Zion to celebrate Shavuot on the same calendar date, fiery tongues of the Holy Spirit descended upon those who covenanted with God through Jesus Christ, enabling them to not only speak and understand other languages but to commission and equip them to “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

“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. (Hebrew translation of verse 1 says “Shavuot” since this appointed day came to be known as Pentecost following the gift of the Holy Spirit on those gathered.) Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”) Acts 2:1-12

“Shavuot”, the spoken and written Word of the Almighty on Mount Sinai, was exponentially enlarged to “Pentecost” on Mount Zion resulting in at least 15 other nations outside of Israel, including Arabs, Libyans and Egyptians coming together, “declaring the wonders of God.” And they are responsible for God's spoken word being fulfilled through His Incarnate Word, reaching nations across the earth, including our own, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Isn't it time for us Christians in this nation to acknowledge them and thank them for their witness, join together like they did, and focus on "declaring the wonders of God" to other nationalities, just like they did?

Observation of the new moon on the evening of May 27 places ancient Shavuot on our 2025 Gregorian calendar to sometime between sundown June 3 to sundown June 4, now recognized as today’s Pentecost. The Hebrew calendar, appointed and no longer tied to the observation of the new moon, marks Shavuot beginning sundown June 1 in Israel, or a few days later in other nations. Pentecost is calculated as the 7th Sunday after Easter, June 8, for many Christians.

Jesus was the plan all along. And He has been spiritually right beside us all this time, even during the Exodus. “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

Jesus, The Incarnate Word, stood on Mount Zion, and said this about God’s ancient commandments: “The most important one…is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 2:29-31

In fact, consolidating the Ten Commandments given in Deuteronomy 5 into the first 4 being about our relationship with God, and the last 6 being about our relationship with our neighbor, we have exactly the Words of Jesus. Listen now to the identical words of the Almighty shortly after Israel was reminded of Him speaking the Ten Commandments in thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” Deuteronomy 6:4-6

We close today's lesson with these powerful words: “11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

BRING TWO LOAVES OF BREAD…