"When the day of Shavu'ot (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 Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and began to speak in other languages (tongues) as the Ruach (Spirit) enabled them.
"Now there were staying in Jerusalem Elohim (God)-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own 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 Elohim (God) in our own tongues!' Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, 'What does this mean?'
"Some, however, made fun of them and said, 'They have had too much wine'"
(Acts 2:1-13, NIV).
Today millions of Talmudic Jews and Messianics - and tomorrow millions of orthodox Christians - will be celebrating Shavu'ot or the Day of Pentecost. They will be commemorating the receiving of Torah at Mt.Sinai and/or the outpouring of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) on the first believers in Jerusalem, regarded by Christians as the 'birth of the church'.
This reminded me of an incident that occurred recently. I wrote an enthusaistic note to congratulate a brother on his birthday to express my appreciation for him only to be told that I was a month early! Ooops... Fortunately he took it in good spirit and knew that the intention was what mattered.
But can you imagine if, for example, I had been invited to a wedding and had turned up with most of the guests a month early to find no wedding party? That would not only be accutely embarrassing but also frustrating...especially if you're the bride.
Now it's true that Yahweh is always 'there' no matter what day it is. But that's not the point. When Yahweh commands His people to assemble on a particular day for a particular purpose, and we fail to comply, then whatever blessings were available at that time will be missed by us.
When I attend a festival at a special time it's because:
- 1. Yahweh has said I must and I want to demonstrate by ahavah (love) for Him by my obedience to His mitzvot (commandments); and
- 2. I want the blessings He promises and wants me to have at that festival which are given at no other time.
Yes, I can still commune with Him if I attend at the wrong time and fellowship with others who have come at the wrong time too, and receive blessings for doing that, but I won't be getting the same blessings for attending the right festival on the right day. It still won't be a 'wedding' but just a social gathering.
It all boils down to whether we believe His Davar (Word) or not or whether we think we can stretch, relocate or twist it. One festival I absolutely do not want to miss is the Final Sukkot because that's my allegorical wedding to the Bridegroom. It won't do arriving a month early or a month late, will it? And asking Him to conduct a 'special ceremony' just for careless or rebellious 'little-old-me' is hardly going to go down well with the Creator. Yahweh has never worked like that and won't change His modus operandi for you just because you're a little more liberal than He is.
We cannot afford to be wrong when it comes to Yahweh's moedim or appointments that He commands His people to share with Him. He is very patient in the days of our ignorance but once we know the emet (truth) and we refuse to comply with His demands, then it is extremely naïve and foolish to believe that He will continue blessing us in the same way. If you bother to check up Scripture you will see that He does not take too kindly to willful rebellion. For one thing, if we are preparred to rebell in one thing then there is a strong possibility we will rebell in more and more until we have completely fallen away, as ancient Israel and Judah did.
Untangling the faith and practice of the early believers is admittedly not easy. I have been digging for the emet (truth) now for nearly four decades and it hasn't been easy to either find the emet (truth) or sometimes implement it either. The way we respond to it is such a test of the quality of the connection we have with our Heavenly Father. So I do sympathise - up to a point. However, there has been an explosion of spiritual knowledge over the last decade and there are many like myself who are dedicated to seeking out the roots of the B'rit Chadashah (New Testament) emunah (faith) of the first believers. An avalanche of emet (truth) is rolling forth. So I am not exactly a lone voice in the wilderness - there are increasingly others too - who are teaching their children and friends like I am so that the last generation will be completely without excuse.
I repeat, today is not Shavu'ot and tomorrow is not Pentecost. Today's is the one invented by the Synagogue of Satan (Rev.2:9; 3:9) and then transformed by the Whore of Rome by adding pagan elements. Know that if you choose to celebrate today you're 53 or 54 days too early. To know why, please carefully study my two devotionals below:
To the information above, let me add one further piece of important evidence to persuade you to observe the biblical Shavu'ot (Festival of Weeks/Pentecost) and not the Talmudic one.
You will recall from today's passage which describes the authentic Shavu'ot or Pentecost that some of those present were sceptical and accused the talmidim (disciples) of being drunk. If this really had been the 6th day of the 3rd month, Peter could justifiably have said: "Idiots! This is only the third month! There won't be any wine until the summer!" Why? Because it was in the middle of the fourth month, in summer, and it would have been quite conceivable that the talmidim (disciples) could have been drunk because the grapes would have been harvested by then and had time to ferment to make alcoholic wine. What did Peter, in fact, say?
"Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: 'Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!" (Acts 2:14-15, NIV).
His defence was not that there was no alcoholic wine around (which there wouldn't have been if it had been today - in late May or early June) but that it was "only nine in the morning" ("the third hour of the day" - NKJV). In other words, nobody drank that early [1].
This is proof that the pentecostal annointing of the first believers took place in the summer, not in late spring as Jews, Messianics and Christians would have you believe...which is consistent with all the other data I shared with you in the two articles linked above.
Shavu'ot (Pentecost) is a mid- to late-summer moed and not a spring or very early summer one. This is of great prophetic significance too because of its place as the 'hinge festival' which it cannot be if the Talmudists (who have corrupted almost everything) are right.
But not just them. Thanks to Rome's additional corruption of the moedim of Yahweh, people are celebrating a false Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), claiming gibberish and babbling to be the evidence of a Spirit-filled life. Just as eating an unripe fruit will give you a major belly-ache, so receiving an outpouring if the Ruach (Spirit) 50+ days ahead of Yahweh's Time will guarantee your getting a false anointing and instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit you will be filled with demonic spirits pretending to be the third member of the Elohimhead (Godhead) and causing believers to mock Yahweh with false tongues and pursue a lawless Besorah (Gospel).
Finally, you'll still reackon Shavu'ot (Pentecost) wrongly if you keep on using the corrupt Talmudic version of the Gregorian calendar - you have to get back to the original biblical, Creation Calendar.
As one writer poignantly puts it: "The cloud is moving. We need either to follow or be left in the wilderness".
So please put this demonic counterfeit aside and celebrate the true Sukkot or Feast of Weeks [2] at the right time later this summer!
Endnotes
[1] Please check the detailed Shavu'ot Count Chart for yet more evidence
[2] Even the word 'Pentecost' is a misnomer, coming as it does from the Greek pente meaning '50'. The true Omer Count consists of 7 sabbaths (49 days) plus 50 days, as detailed in the articles cited above. So really this is a 'double Pentecost' or ~2x50, itself of great prophetic significance, plus the days that mark the monthly shift according to the Creation Calendar. 'Pentecost' appears only three times in the New Testament in its Greek form (Ac.2:1; 20:16; 1 Cor.16:8)