Participants: Pastor Stephen P. Bohr
Series Code: SOP
Program Code: SOP000002A
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00:13 Well welcome to the second session of,
00:16 The Secrets of Pentecost. 00:18 I'm very thankful that you're here. 00:20 We have a very exciting topic to study today. 00:24 The title is, The First Fruits. 00:26 And it's very closely related to the day of Pentecost. 00:30 However, before we open God's word, 00:33 we want to ask for God's guidance. 00:35 And so I invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. 00:38 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne 00:41 recognizing our own ignorance, our lack of wisdom. 00:44 Therefore, we need Your wisdom. 00:46 We need Your intelligence from on high. 00:50 Because You know all things. 00:51 So we ask that as we study this topic about the first fruits, 00:56 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us to open our 00:58 understanding and to open our hearts to receive 01:01 that which You have for us. 01:03 And we thank You, Father, for the privilege 01:05 of approaching Your throne in prayer. 01:07 And we thank You for hearing us. 01:09 Because we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 01:14 It was the Sunday of the triumphal entry 01:20 of Jesus into Jerusalem. 01:23 As Jesus had entered Jerusalem, a group of Greeks approached 01:30 the apostle Phillip. 01:32 And they were hoping that Phillip would use His influence 01:35 to get them an appointment with Jesus. 01:39 I'd like to read about that as it's found in John 12:20-22. 02:07 Now the reply of Jesus to this request was surprising. 02:11 Because it seemed to be totally unrelated to the request 02:14 that the Greeks made. 02:16 Let's notice the reply of Jesus in John 12:23-24. 02:43 Now the answer of Jesus appears to be somewhat disjointed 02:47 from the question that the Greeks had asked. 02:50 What's happening here? 02:51 Well let me explain. 02:53 The Greeks wanted an interview with Jesus 02:56 because they were desirous of Jesus to go to Greece 02:59 to teach and to perform some of the works of healing 03:04 that He had performed in the Holy Land. 03:08 And they wanted Jesus to come to their country. 03:11 It just so happens that the answer of Jesus 03:14 was very clear and very direct that His role was not to go 03:18 to Greece at that time because He had His face steadfast 03:23 towards Jerusalem. 03:25 Jesus knew that He had to die. 03:28 If He didn't die, then any preaching or any healing 03:32 among the Greeks would be totally fruitless. 03:35 You see, that grain of wheat was none other than Jesus Christ. 03:39 And as the grain of wheat falls into the earth 03:42 the seed dies, and then it sprouts forth to life again. 03:46 Jess was going to die, He was going to go to the tomb, 03:50 and then He was going to sprout up again. 03:53 He was going to resurrect. 03:54 And when Jesus resurrected, as a result, then there would be 03:59 much fruit among the Gentiles and among the Greeks. 04:03 And so Jesus said, "If I don't fall into the ground and die, 04:08 and sprout for again in resurrection, 04:11 I will remain a solitary grain of wheat. 04:15 But if I fall into the earth and I die, and I sprout forth 04:19 to new life, then there will be much fruit. 04:22 There will be many conversions to the truth." 04:26 Now in order to understand what we're going to study today, 04:30 we need to comprehend the spring feasts of the Hebrew calendar. 04:36 There were four feasts that were celebrated 04:38 in the spring in Israel. 04:40 I'm going to review those so that we have the context 04:44 for what we're going to study in our topic today. 04:48 The first feast was the Passover. 04:52 And referring to the times of Christ, 04:54 the Passover was fulfilled on the sixth day of the week. 04:58 That is, on Friday. 05:00 Which was the fourteenth day of Nissan. 05:04 Now on the Passover, the lamb was slain. 05:08 And of course, that represented the death of Christ 05:11 on that very day. 05:13 And then after this we have the next feast, which is the 05:18 Feast of Unleavened Bread. 05:20 The Feast of Unleavened Bread took place on Sabbath, 05:23 the day after the Passover, with regards to Christ. 05:27 The Unleavened Bread took place on the fifteenth day of Nissan. 05:32 And basically, the children of Israel ate unleavened bread. 05:36 And the reason why is because in fulfillment, 05:38 the unleavened bread represented the body of Christ 05:42 which had no sin. 05:44 That's why the bread had no leaven. 05:46 And then you have a third festival, 05:48 which is the Festival of the First Fruits. 05:51 That was fulfilled in Christ on Sunday morning. 05:55 It was fulfilled on the sixteenth day of Nissan. 05:59 Now in type, a sheaf was taken and it was waved 06:04 at the entrance of the Sanctuary before the Lord. 06:07 And of course, that was fulfilled when Jesus 06:11 ascended to heaven and He presented Himself 06:13 before His Father on resurrection morning. 06:16 And we're going to study all of these things in more detail. 06:19 But I want you to have the picture now. 06:21 And then after the sheaf was waved before the Lord, 06:25 a period of fifty days went by, and then you have what is known 06:29 as the Feast of Pentecost. 06:31 That's when the Holy Spirit was poured out. 06:35 Now in type, that is, in the ceremony that Israel had 06:40 on the day of Pentecost, two loaves of bread 06:44 leavened were presented as first fruits to the Lord. 06:49 And so that, we're going to notice, represents the fact 06:52 that when Jesus ascended to heaven, 06:55 He presented those who resurrected with Him. 06:58 And He also presented before His Father the first fruits 07:02 that were converted on the day of Pentecost. 07:05 Which were actually three thousand. 07:06 Those are the two loaves of bread that were presented 07:09 as the first fruits on the day of Pentecost. 07:13 Now let's review then the three feasts, 07:15 because they're extremely important for understanding 07:18 what we're going to study. 07:19 Passover; the fourteenth of Nissan on a Friday. 07:23 Unleavened Bread; the fifteenth of Nissan on a Sabbath. 07:29 First Fruits; the sixteenth of Nissan 07:32 on the first day of the week, or a Sunday. 07:34 Fifty days later, Pentecost; when the two loaves 07:39 of leavened bread were presented as the first fruits 07:42 to the Lord on the Feast of Pentecost. 07:45 So it that clear? Is the chronology clear? 07:47 Now, let's study the First Fruits ceremony 07:51 that took place in the third festival of the Jewish year. 07:56 We're referring now, not to the Passover, 07:58 not to Unleavened Bread, but to the festival that came 08:01 after Unleavened Bread. 08:04 Leviticus 23:9-12 describes the way in which Israel 08:09 celebrated this ceremony. 08:11 And so let's notice Leviticus 23:9-12. 08:17 It says there... 08:28 Now I want you to notice the elements. 08:51 So we've read the passage. 08:53 Now let's review some of the details that we find 08:58 in this passage. 08:59 First of all, how the feast of First Fruits was celebrated. 09:05 I'll explain it. It's very simple. 09:08 The Israelites, each Israelite family, would cut 09:12 the first fruits of the barley harvest in their own fields. 09:17 Then they would take several stocks of the grain 09:20 and they would put them together and form a sheaf 09:24 out of several stalks. 09:26 Then each family would bring the stalk to the Sanctuary 09:30 and they would give it to the priest. 09:32 And then the priest would go to the entrance of the Sanctuary 09:36 building and he would wave this sheaf of first fruits of barley 09:41 before the Lord, and then it was accepted in the 09:45 sight of the Lord when it was waved before Him. 09:49 So that's the "how" this ceremony transpired in Israel. 09:55 Now the question is, when did this ceremony take place? 10:00 Well, as we read, it took place the day after the Sabbath. 10:05 Now there's some controversy even among Jewish scholars 10:09 as to which Sabbath is referred to here. 10:12 Because the ceremonial Sabbath of Unleavened Bread 10:16 was before the first fruits were offered. 10:19 And the seventh-day Sabbath also could be meant by 10:25 the Sabbath that was before the sheaf 10:28 was offered before the Lord. 10:30 So the big question is, was the sheaf waved before the Lord 10:34 after the ceremonial Sabbath of Unleavened Bread 10:37 or was it waved before the Lord after the seventh-day Sabbath? 10:41 The text doesn't specify. 10:43 It simply says that the priest is to wave it on the day 10:47 after the Sabbath. 10:48 Now I want you to just keep this in mind. 10:50 It's the day after the Sabbath. 10:52 We have to determine whether it's the Sabbath 10:55 of Unleavened Bread or whether it's the seventh-day Sabbath. 10:58 And we'll come back to that later. 11:00 For now, I just want you to remember that it takes place 11:03 after the Sabbath, whether it's the ceremonial or moral. 11:07 Now we need to ask the question, what time of the day 11:12 were the first fruits offered or waved before the Lord? 11:16 Now each feast, it's important to realize, 11:19 was fulfilled punctually. 11:22 In other words, each feast was fulfilled, not only 11:25 as to the day, but also with regards to the hour. 11:30 Now we know that Pentecost occurred exactly fifty days 11:35 after the first fruits were waved before the Lord. 11:38 That's important to know. 11:40 Pentecost, which was the fourth feast of the Hebrew year, 11:45 took place fifty days precisely and exactly 11:48 after the first fruits had been waved before the Lord. 11:52 Now we do know at what time the Feast of Pentecost 11:56 was fulfilled. 11:57 I want you to notice Acts 2:1. 11:59 We're going to actually work backwards. 12:01 We're going to work from the Feast of Pentecost 12:04 backwards to determine the hour at which the sheaf 12:07 was waved before the Lord. 12:09 Notice Acts 2:1. 12:15 The word, "fully," really means, to become completely full. 12:18 In other words, the time was absolutely complete. 12:20 The time for it to be fulfilled had passed. 12:28 Now the question is, when was that moment 12:31 when Pentecost had fully come? 12:33 When the fifty days had been fully completed 12:36 between the wave sheaf and the day of Pentecost. 12:40 The answer is not hard to find. 12:43 In Acts 2:15, it tells us what time the Holy Spirit 12:48 was poured out on the day of Pentecost. 12:50 It says there... 12:51 And you'll remember that on the day of Pentecost, 12:54 you know, some of those who were present, they thought 12:57 that those who were speaking in tongues were drunk. 12:59 Do you remember that? 13:00 And then Peter says, "No, you guys are wrong." 13:02 And notice how he explains it in Acts 2:15. 13:15 Now which was the third hour of the day, biblically speaking? 13:19 The third hour of the day is nine o'clock in the morning. 13:25 The sixth hour is noon. 13:27 The ninth hour, which is the hour that Jesus died, 13:30 would be three o'clock in the afternoon. 13:32 So in other words, Pentecost fully came at the third hour; 13:38 at nine o'clock in the morning. 13:40 And now listen up. 13:41 The first fruits were waved before the Lord 13:44 exactly fifty days earlier. 13:48 So at what time was the wave sheaf waved before the Lord? 13:51 At nine o'clock in the morning. 13:54 That's a very important detail, we're going to notice. 13:57 Now the Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 14:03 Jesus fulfilled the Passover, because He was 14:06 the Passover Lamb. 14:07 Jesus fulfilled the unleavened bread because His body 14:11 had no leaven of sin. 14:12 And therefore, His body saw no corruption. 14:15 And Jesus also fulfilled the First Fruits ceremony. 14:19 Now the question is, when did Jesus fulfill 14:23 this particular ceremony, the First Fruits? 14:25 We read that it was after the Sabbath that the first fruits 14:29 were waved before the Lord. 14:31 Now whether it was the ceremonial Sabbath or the 14:34 moral Sabbath doesn't make any difference whatsoever. 14:37 Because we know that when Jesus was on this earth, 14:41 the ceremonial Sabbath of Unleavened Bread 14:44 fell the same day as the seventh-day Sabbath. 14:47 It was a high day. 14:49 So it doesn't really make any difference whether it was 14:52 the Sabbath after the ceremonial Sabbath 14:55 or after the Sabbath of the moral law 14:57 because both of them would be true with regards to Christ. 15:01 Because the day after Passover was Unleavened Bread, 15:04 and that was a Sabbath. 15:05 And we know that Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. 15:08 And the next day was the day that He 15:10 presented the wave sheaf. 15:11 So we know that Jesus presented the wave sheaf 15:14 on the day after the first Sabbath of Unleavened Bread; 15:18 on the day after the seventh-day Sabbath. 15:21 In other words, Jesus celebrated the wave sheaf 15:24 the day of His resurrection. 15:28 Now the question is, at what time did this happen? 15:31 We've already noticed that it took place about 15:34 nine o'clock in the morning. 15:36 Now let's study a little bit about an encounter 15:39 that Mary Magdalene had with Jesus in the garden 15:44 the morning of the resurrection. 15:46 Go with me to John 20:17. 15:49 And I am reading from the New King James Version. 15:53 As you remember, when Jesus spoke to Mary in the garden, 15:57 Mary immediately recognized His voice. 16:00 And impulsively she wanted to do something, 16:03 which Jesus forbade her to do. 16:05 Notice John 20:17. 16:08 Jesus said to her... 16:27 So notice, Jesus is saying, "Do not cling to Me, 16:30 or don't attach yourself to Me, because I haven't ascended 16:34 to My Father yet." 16:36 But then Jesus says, "But I am ascending to My Father 16:41 and to your Father, and to My God and to your God." 16:45 Now I must say that most Bible versions 16:48 contend that the expression, "Don't touch Me," 16:52 Really should be translated, "Don't cling to Me." 16:56 You see, the King James Version says, "Don't touch Me." 16:59 But most modern versions say, "Don't cling to Me." 17:03 In other words, what these versions are saying is that 17:06 Jesus is not forbidding Mary from touching Him, 17:08 He is forbidding Mary from clinging to Him. 17:12 Now the word that is used here is translated, for example 17:15 in the NIV, in 35 of the 36 references to this word 17:22 in the New Testament, the NIV translates, "touch." 17:26 This is the only verse where the NIV translates, "cling to." 17:31 And so you would say, "Well, the translation, 'cling to,' 17:34 is a wrong translation." 17:36 Well, we have to take a look at that. 17:38 Now let me give you some examples from the New Testament 17:41 of how this word is used by the NIV to refer simply to touching 17:47 and not to clinging. 17:49 You remember that Jesus touched a leper? 17:51 This is found in Matthew 8:3. 17:54 Jesus obviously did not cling to the leper. 17:57 Jesus touched the leper. 17:59 We also have the case of the woman that 18:01 touched Christ's garment. 18:02 Did she cling to His garment? 18:04 No, she touched His garment. 18:05 In fact, she didn't cling to it because Jesus looked back 18:08 to see who had touched it, 18:09 and she wasn't clinging to it anymore. 18:11 Also, the Bible uses this word, the NIV uses this word, 18:16 to refer to the multitude that wanted to touch Jesus 18:19 when they surrounded Him. 18:21 It's also used in the NIV to describe parents who wanted 18:24 Jesus to touch their children. 18:26 And of course, that's found in Luke 18:15. 18:29 And then it's used also to refer to Jesus touching 18:32 the eyes of the blind. 18:34 Obviously, it's not referring to Jesus clinging 18:36 to the eyes of the blind. 18:37 He's touching the eyes of the blind. 18:39 And so in 35 of 36 references to this word in the New Testament 18:44 in the NIV, it is translated, "touch." 18:47 Only in John 20:17 is it translated, "cling to." 18:52 Now, is that a correct way of proceeding? 18:56 I believe that it is. 18:58 Let me tell you the reason why. 19:00 I went to the lexicons, which are the dictionaries 19:03 that define Greek words. 19:06 And I discovered that the word, "hapto," that is used here, 19:12 even though it's translated, "touch," most of the times 19:15 in the New Testament, its lexical meaning is, 19:18 to fasten to, to adhere to, or to cling to. 19:23 That is the dictionary definition of the word in Greek. 19:27 Now the question is, why would Jesus say to Mary, 19:32 "Don't cling to Me, because I have not yet 19:34 ascended to My Father," if He was not going to ascend 19:38 to His Father until forty days later? 19:40 Are you understanding my question? 19:42 Clinging to Him in the garden for a few minutes 19:47 would certainly not have detained Him from ascending 19:49 to His Father forty days later. 19:52 So why would Jesus say to Mary, "Don't cling to Me, 19:56 because I have not yet ascended to My Father"? 19:58 There has to be a deeper reason than just touching Him. 20:02 Jesus is saying, "Don't cling to Me. 20:04 I have not yet ascended to My Father." 20:09 Now another interesting detail that we find here 20:11 is the verb tense of the word, "ascend." 20:15 Did you notice that Jesus said, "I am ascending to My Father 20:20 and to your Father"? 20:22 Notice He doesn't say, "I will ascend 20:25 to My Father and to your Father." 20:26 He says, "I am ascending to your Father and to My Father." 20:31 If Jesus had meant to say that forty days later 20:34 He was going to ascend to His Father, 20:35 it would have been very easy to say, 20:37 "I will ascend to My Father." 20:39 But the verb is a first person indicative active tense. 20:45 Which means it is present. 20:46 Jesus is saying, "I am," practically saying, 20:49 "now ascending to My Father." 20:52 In fact, the ESV, the English Standard Version, translates it, 20:56 "I am ascending." 20:58 The New International Version translates it, "I am returning." 21:03 And the New American Standard Bible translates it, 21:06 "I ascend." 21:07 All of them are in present. 21:09 So Jesus is telling Mary, "I am ascending to My Father." 21:14 Now what was Jesus saying to Mary? 21:16 What Jesus was saying to Mary was this: 21:19 "Don't cling to Me. 21:22 Don't hold Me back right now. 21:24 Because I must now ascend to My Father." 21:28 You see, precisely at nine o'clock in the morning 21:32 on resurrection morning at the Sanctuary, 21:36 at the entrance to the Sanctuary, the priest was 21:39 going to wave the sheaf before the Lord in fulfillment 21:43 of the wave sheaf ceremony. 21:45 And at that very hour, in fulfillment of the wave sheaf, 21:49 Jesus had to be in heaven at the entrance of the Sanctuary 21:53 presenting Himself as the first fruits before His Father. 21:57 And Mary might detain Him, or cling to Him, and hold Him back. 22:01 So Jesus says, "Don't hold Me back. 22:03 I'm ascending to My Father." 22:06 Ellen White says in, Great Controversy, page 399, 22:09 speaking about the feasts... 22:20 In other words, the timing of the feasts were also fulfilled 22:24 specifically by Jesus. 22:26 Now praise the Lord that Ellen White spoke about this journey 22:30 of Jesus to heaven on resurrection morning 22:32 to present Himself as the first fruits. 22:35 I want to read from, Early Writings, pages 187-188, 22:39 where Ellen White describes this quick trip to heaven 22:43 on resurrection morning. 22:44 Of course, He came back the same day, we know. 22:47 This is what she says, page 187-88... 23:06 See, it's more than touching. 23:26 Now listen to this. 23:28 "Jesus quickly ascended to His Father..." 23:31 And He did it for two reasons. 23:33 Notice the two reasons. 23:41 Remember that the reason for waving the sheaf 23:44 was that it would be accepted before the Lord? 23:47 And so Jesus is that sheaf. 23:58 So Jesus went for two reasons. 24:00 To make sure that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father, 24:03 and secondly so that He could make sure 24:09 that His Father would give Him all power. 24:11 So Jesus went on resurrection morning to receive all power 24:15 from His Father. 24:17 Now I want you to notice Matthew 28:19. 24:20 This is very interesting. 24:22 This is taking place on the Mount of Olives 24:25 right before the ascension of Christ. 24:27 And we're not talking about His ascension 24:29 on resurrection morning. 24:31 We're talking about His ascension forty days later. 24:33 So Matthew 28:19 is referring to His ascent to heaven 24:39 forty days later. 24:40 Now I want you to notice what Jesus said to His disciples 24:43 right before His departure. 24:55 Let me ask you, before Jesus ascended, had He received 24:58 all power from His Father? 25:01 Yes He had. 25:02 He's saying so here. 25:03 He hasn't ascended here yet. 25:06 He has not ascended yet. 25:08 And He's saying to the disciples, "All power 25:11 has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." 25:14 Not, "...will be given when I get to heaven," 25:16 but, "...has been given to Me." 25:18 Let me ask you, when did the Father give it to Him? 25:21 We just read it from the spirit of prophecy. 25:23 It was given to Him when He ascended to heaven 25:25 on resurrection morning. 25:27 Are you with me or not? 25:28 Now let's finish reading this statement from Ellen White. 25:31 Incidentally, that verb, "all power has been given to Me," 25:36 is an indicative passive aorist. 25:39 The aorist tense in Greek is past. 25:41 There's no doubt that Jesus is saying, "I have already received 25:44 power from My Father," before He ascended to heaven. 25:47 Because He had received it in His first ascent to heaven 25:51 the morning of the resurrection. 25:52 Now let's complete Ellen White's statement 25:54 about the ascension, the quick ascension of Christ, 25:57 on the first day of the week. 25:59 It says there... 26:33 Now you say, "But He didn't give them power 26:34 until the day of Pentecost." 26:36 Oh yes He did. 26:37 You remember when Jesus appeared to them 26:40 that He breathed upon them the Holy Spirit? 26:44 This is before the day of Pentecost. 26:46 And so they did receive power from Christ 26:48 before the day of Pentecost. 26:50 And so once again we go here to the conclusion of the statement 26:53 where she says... 27:00 This is resurrection morning. 27:18 Is that clear? 27:20 It's amazing how Ellen White is always so much 27:22 in harmony with Scripture. 27:24 Now I want to read Ellen White's explanation 27:28 of the wave sheaf ceremony and what it meant; 27:31 the presentation of Jesus at the door of the tabernacle 27:35 in heaven, the door of the temple in heaven, 27:38 as the first fruits. 27:39 It has a special meaning. 27:40 Notice, Desire of Ages, page 785-786. 27:44 And then we're going to show that Ellen White is in 27:46 perfect harmony with the Bible. 27:57 See there it is. 27:58 He was the anti-type or the fulfillment of the wave sheaf. 28:47 In other words, when Jesus appeared before His Father, 28:51 that was a little sample that the one who resurrected 28:55 from the dead someday will resurrect all of the dead. 28:59 All of those who have died in Jesus Christ. 29:02 In other words, when Jesus presented Himself 29:04 before His Father as the wave sheaf, 29:06 that one sheaf from the field, the first fruits, 29:09 Jesus was saying, "There are going to be 29:12 lots of last fruits." 29:13 There's going to be an abundant harvest of those 29:16 who have died in Christ. 29:18 Now the apostle Paul agreed with Ellen White. 29:20 Or perhaps I should say Ellen White agreed with 29:22 the apostle Paul, because she wrote after he did. 29:25 Notice 1 Corinthians 15:20. 29:28 1 Corinthians 15:20 29:31 Here, the apostle Paul, first of all, tells us that 29:34 Jesus fulfilled the First Fruits ceremony, 29:36 or the wave sheaf ceremony. 29:38 This is how he expresses it. 29:48 So is Christ the first fruits, according to the apostle Paul? 29:51 Is His resurrection related to the first fruits? 29:54 Absolutely. 29:56 But there's another interesting detail. 29:57 Ellen White says that Jesus presenting Himself 30:00 as the first fruits was a little sample of the great harvest 30:04 of God's people at the end of time. 30:06 Those who have died in Christ. 30:07 The apostle Paul says the same. 30:09 Notice what we find in 1 Corinthians 15:22-23. 30:29 So you see, Christ; the first fruits. 30:31 And then the last fruits come when? 30:33 When Jesus comes at His coming. 30:36 And so Ellen White certainly was in agreement 30:38 with the apostle Paul that the First Fruits ceremony 30:42 was fulfilled in Christ and that it represented the great harvest 30:45 of the last fruits at the coming of Jesus Christ. 30:49 Now I want you to notice that there were also first fruits 30:53 offered to the Lord on the day of Pentecost. 30:57 Now we're talking about fifty days after the wave sheaf 31:02 was waved before the Lord on resurrection morning. 31:05 Fifty days later, on the day of Pentecost, 31:08 there were also first fruits offered to the Lord. 31:11 Those are the two festivals where you have first fruits 31:14 offered before the Lord. 31:15 So let's examine the prophecy that we find in 31:19 the Old Testament about the first fruits that were offered 31:22 on the day of Pentecost. 31:23 It's found in Leviticus 23:15-18. 31:27 Leviticus 23:15-18 31:36 You remember, that's the First Fruits ceremony. 31:38 It took place the day after the Sabbath. 31:40 In other words, from that moment. 31:54 So in other words, after the wave sheaf was waved 31:57 before the Lord, fifty days to the very day 32:01 were suppose to pass. 32:02 And then it continues saying in verse 16... 32:15 Now notice this. 32:18 So two loaves of bread. 32:27 So notice, the two loaves of bread that were presented 32:30 were with leaven. 32:31 And then it says... 32:36 The two loaves were the first fruits to the Lord. 32:38 And the loaves were what? 32:40 The loaves had leaven. 32:44 Now this is interesting. 32:46 Because at Passover, the bread could have no leaven. 32:49 But at Pentecost, the two loaves were to have leaven. 32:53 So what could this possibly mean? 32:55 Well, let's go to Matthew 13:33, which is the parable of 33:01 the leaven that Jesus told. 33:03 Matthew 13:33 33:05 And I want you to notice that we're dealing with 33:07 two symbols here in this ceremony, 33:10 in this ceremony where you have the two loaves 33:13 that are presented before the Lord. 33:15 You have, first of all, a loaf; 33:17 and secondly you have the leaven in the loaf. 33:20 Two symbols. 33:21 And we need to determine what those two symbols 33:23 represent or mean. 33:24 Matthew 13:33 says... 33:39 To make what? 33:40 To make a loaf of bread, right? 33:50 So you have a lump of dough. 33:52 And inside the dough, you have what? 33:54 You have leaven. 33:56 Now immediately to your mind comes the idea, 33:59 "Well in the Bible, leaven represents sin. 34:03 So how can you have these loaves of bread 34:06 offered before the Lord with leaven? 34:08 You're offering something sinful." 34:11 Well, it is true that the bread could not have leaven 34:18 at the Passover. 34:19 But that's not true of Pentecost. 34:21 Now let's examine the bread that was used at Passover. 34:25 Go with me to 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. 34:29 Now we're going back, we're talking about Passover. 34:31 We're backtracking. 34:33 We're not talking about what happened at Pentecost. 34:35 Because I want to clarify in your mind why at the 34:38 Feast of Passover you have bread without leaven 34:41 and at Pentecost you have two loaves with leaven. 34:43 Now notice 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. 34:47 Paul says to the Corinthians... 34:56 And of course, the lump represents 34:57 the Corinthian church. 34:59 So he says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." 35:01 The whole church. 35:08 So the Corinthian church is the lump of dough. 35:34 So what is Paul telling the Corinthian church? 35:37 He's telling the Corinthian church, 35:39 "You are the bread dough. 35:42 And you are to not have any leaven within yourselves." 35:46 In other words, you cannot allow the leaven of wickedness 35:49 to be put inside the church. 35:53 And so you say, "Well, if the leaven can't be put 35:55 inside the dough, which represents the church, 35:58 then how is it that you have two loaves of bread 36:01 on the day of Pentecost with leaven? 36:03 Does this mean then that the church is being presented 36:07 full of sin to the Lord?" 36:09 The answer is, no. 36:11 You see, every symbol has to be interpreted 36:14 within its own context. 36:16 Let me take for example a lion. 36:18 What does a lion represent in Scripture? 36:22 Can a lion represent Christ? 36:25 Yes. Can it represent the devil? 36:27 Sure. He goes as a roaring lion. 36:29 Can it represent Babylon? 36:32 Can it represent Judah, the son of Jacob? 36:34 So does, "lion," always mean the same thing? 36:37 No. You have to take into account the context. 36:40 So just because at Passover the leaven in the bread 36:44 represented sin doesn't mean that in the Feast of Pentecost 36:49 leaven represents the same thing. 36:51 You see, at Pentecost, leaven in the two loaves of dough 36:54 represents something totally different. 36:57 In other words, we have to take into account the context. 37:00 Are you following me or not? 37:02 Now I want to read you a statement from Ellen White 37:04 which is very interesting. 37:06 We're going to find here that the lump of dough at Pentecost 37:10 that form these loaves of bread represents the church. 37:14 And the leaven doesn't represent sin. 37:16 The leaven represents the Holy Spirit that is placed 37:20 inside the church. 37:22 So leaven can represent sin, but it can also represent 37:25 the implanting of the Holy Spirit, which was the 37:27 outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 37:30 Let me read to you this significant statement 37:32 from Ellen White. 37:33 It's found in, Christ's Object Lessons, page 96-97. 38:06 Just like the leaven is implanted in the dough. 39:01 And so on the day of Pentecost the loaves of bread represent 39:06 the church, and the leaven in the dough represents 39:10 the implantation of the power of the Holy Spirit. 39:13 Because the Holy Spirit was poured out 39:16 on the day of Pentecost. 39:18 Now you say, "Pastor Bohr, but why do you have two loaves 39:22 of leavened bread? 39:23 Don't we have just one church? 39:25 Why not just one loaf? 39:26 Why two loaves on the day of Pentecost?" 39:29 The reason is because on the day of Pentecost, 39:33 you have two groups of first fruits. 39:36 And now we're going to take a look at the first group 39:39 of first fruits that were offered on the day of Pentecost. 39:42 Let's go in our Bibles to Matthew 27:51-53. 39:48 Matthew 27:51-53 39:51 We're going to see why there are two loaves. 39:53 It's not that you have two churches on the day of Pentecost 39:56 who have the Holy Spirit in them. No. 39:57 You have two groups that are the first fruits 40:00 on the day of Pentecost, but they both belong 40:02 to the same church. 40:03 Matthew 27:51-53 40:06 This is when Jesus has just died. 40:09 I want you to notice what happened. 40:35 And so you have this group of individuals that resurrected 40:38 with Jesus Christ. 40:39 Now what happened with these individuals? 40:42 The Bible doesn't directly address it, 40:45 although we're going to find that the apostle Paul 40:47 has some strong language that will help us 40:50 understand who they were. 40:51 The spirit of prophecy has no doubts as to who they were 40:55 and what eventually happened to them. 40:57 Notice, Desire of Ages, page 829. 41:01 It's speaking about the moment for the ascension of Christ 41:04 "The time had come for Christ to ascend to His Father's throne. 41:08 As a divine Conqueror..." 41:11 Because He had been in a battle, right? 41:13 Remember our first study, The Return of the War Hero? 41:16 He did battle with the devil, and then He returned 41:18 victorious to heaven. 41:20 We studied about that. 41:21 So it says, "As a divine Conqueror, He was about 41:24 to return..." With what? 41:26 "...with the trophies of victory to the heavenly courts." 41:30 The trophies of His victory were those who resurrected with Him. 41:34 In, Desire of Ages, page 786, Ellen White identifies 41:38 who these people were. 41:40 Not by name, but by category. 41:42 Notice, Desire of Ages, 786. 41:59 In other words, those who the devil had persecuted 42:01 to the point of death, now Jesus resurrects them 42:04 and He takes them away from the enemy. 42:07 What a wonderful thought, that those who fell under the 42:11 power of the devil through persecution, 42:13 through him killing them, are the very ones that 42:15 now resurrect along with Jesus Christ. 42:18 Now, what is the message of the wave sheaf 42:22 at the Feast of Pentecost? 42:24 In, Desire of Ages, pages 833-834, 42:27 we find that when Jesus ascended to heaven, 42:30 He ascended with those who resurrected with Him. 42:33 They were a small sampling, the first fruits, 42:37 of the great harvest that will come forth from the grave 42:40 at the coming of Christ. 42:42 Notice how Ellen White describes it in, Desire of Ages, 42:45 pages 833-834. 42:48 This is when Jesus has ascended to heaven, 42:51 there's great acclamation. 42:52 The angels and the heavenly beings are singing. 42:55 They're having a great time because the 42:56 war Hero is coming back. 42:58 And then Jesus waves them all back. 43:00 And notice how it continues here. 43:38 You see, on resurrection morning Jesus presented Himself 43:41 before the Father as the first fruits. 43:43 But He says, "Now somebody might get the wrong impression 43:45 that there's not going to be others there too." 43:47 So now He takes a group of martyrs who have resurrected 43:51 with Him, He says, "Here's the little sampling 43:53 from the human race that is going to resurrect 43:56 as a sign of the great resurrection 43:58 at the end of time." 44:00 Now the apostle Paul had something very specific to say 44:06 about the Feast of Pentecost and the first fruits. 44:10 Go with me to Ephesians 4:7-13. 44:14 Ephesians 4:7-13 44:17 And we'll move through this quickly because our time 44:20 is very brief. 44:22 Here, the apostle Paul is speaking about spiritual gifts. 44:26 You remember when Jesus went to heaven, 44:27 He gave the gift of the Holy Spirit? 44:29 And with the Holy Spirit come the gifts of the Holy Spirit? 44:32 Remember the gifts of the Holy Spirit? 44:34 You know, like apostles, prophets, healings, tongues. 44:37 All of those gifts that come when they 44:39 receive the Holy Spirit. 44:40 Now the apostle Paul is speaking about the moment 44:43 when those gifts were given. 44:44 And I want you to notice the details here. 44:46 Ephesians 4:7-13 44:48 And you have explanatory notes there in brackets. 44:56 The Greek word for, "grace," is, "charis." 44:58 From where we get the word, "charismata," 45:02 which is the word, "gifts," in the New Testament. 45:14 So we have received grace from God, 45:17 because we have receive what? 45:19 Because we have received the gift from Christ. 45:22 Now what is the gift that Christ gave? 45:25 Christ gave the Holy Spirit. 45:26 In fact, Jesus referred to this in Luke 11:13 45:30 where He said, "If you parents know how to give good gifts 45:33 to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father 45:36 give you the gift of the Holy Spirit?" 45:38 It's the very same word. 45:39 And so this is speaking about the gift of the Holy Spirit 45:43 on the day of Pentecost. 45:44 Now let's continue reading. 45:45 Verse 8, "Therefore He says..." 45:49 Because He has given this gift, "He says, 'When He...'" 45:52 That is, when Jesus, what? 45:55 "...ascended on high..." 45:56 What event is that describing? 45:58 The ascension of Christ, right? 46:00 "When He ascended on high He led captivity captive..." 46:05 What does that mean, He led captive... 46:06 Who was captive in the graves at that time? 46:09 Ah, those who had resurrected with Him. 46:12 They had been captive in the grave. 46:13 And now Jesus took them out. 46:15 And He takes captivity captive. 46:17 So it says... 46:23 Notice it doesn't say He took it. 46:24 It says He led. He's the war Hero. 46:28 And what did He do when He led captivity captive, 46:30 when He presented that wave sheaf before the Lord? 46:33 What did He do on the day of Pentecost? 46:35 He gave what? 46:36 He gave gifts to men. 46:38 Which are the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 46:41 Verse 9... 46:51 It's talking about His death and His burial. 46:57 Is it talking about His ascension? 46:59 Is that when He took captivity captive? 47:01 Is that when He gave gifts to men? 47:03 Absolutely. 47:04 So notice it continues saying here in verse 10... 47:14 And then it speaks about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 47:25 And then it gives us the reason why God gave these gifts. 47:41 So let's summarize what we've seen from this passage. 47:44 First of all, do we have a clear allusion to the death 47:47 and burial of Christ, yes or no? 47:49 Absolutely. 47:50 Do we have a clear reference to the ascension of Christ? 47:54 Absolutely. 47:56 The expression, "When He ascended," is used twice 47:58 in this passage. 48:00 Do we have a reference to Him taking captivity captive 48:03 when He ascended to heaven? 48:04 Absolutely. 48:06 Do we have a reference to Him giving the Gift, 48:08 and giving the gifts? 48:10 This passage is talking about the day of Pentecost. 48:13 It's talking about when Jesus presented Himself 48:16 as the wave sheaf. 48:17 Now, we need to understand, and this is very important, 48:21 that the background of Ephesians 4 is Psalm 68. 48:28 Now Psalm 68 is a very interesting psalm. 48:31 It's talking about the victory of God over His enemies. 48:34 And now God is in a procession back to Mount Zion in Jerusalem 48:39 victorious amidst the acclamations of His people. 48:43 And of course, that's symbolic of the victory of Christ 48:46 over the devil and over His enemies, 48:48 and His procession to heaven to the heavenly Zion 48:51 victorious as the war Hero. 48:54 Now I want you to notice Psalm 68:1. 48:57 Psalm 68 is quoted by the apostle Paul. 49:00 When it says, "He took captivity captive 49:02 and gave gifts to men," this comes from Psalm 68:18. 49:06 It's a quotation. 49:07 So we know that Psalm 68 has to be connected 49:10 with this passage in Ephesians 4. 49:13 So it says in verse 1... 49:24 See, this is the victory of God in battle. 49:27 And then I want you to notice verse 4. 49:30 He's returning from the battlefield on the clouds 49:33 to the Holy Place. 49:35 And there's a procession where they're praising this 49:39 Victor that is coming back to Jerusalem. 49:41 It says there in verse 4... 49:53 Notice the emphasis on the name. 49:56 That means, the Lord. That's Yahweh or Jehovah. 50:01 So He's coming back and there's rejoicing, 50:04 and His name is being proclaimed. 50:05 You know, this reminds me of Psalm 24. 50:09 You remember that we studied in our first topic 50:12 about the return of the war Hero and how the angels 50:14 were singing Psalm 24? 50:16 Let me just read verses 8 and 9. 50:24 This is what the angels were singing as Jesus approached 50:27 the holy city at His ascension. 50:28 And then those angels who are waiting inside say, 50:31 "Who is this King of glory?" 50:32 And the answer comes from those who are escorting Jesus, 50:35 "The Lord..." That's the same name, Yahweh. 50:38 "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." 50:42 So you see, Jesus has been in a battle. 50:43 He's mighty in battle, He's coming back, 50:45 and the people are rejoicing. 50:47 Ellen White describes this in, Desire of Ages, page 833. 51:01 Notice the word, "captives." 51:12 And so this psalm is about the ascension, 51:15 the victorious ascension of Christ to heaven, 51:17 after He's defeated His enemies. 51:19 And the heavenly beings are singing as He's approaching 51:22 the holy city. 51:23 Notice verse 11 of Psalm 68. 51:32 In other words, God commanded the multitudes 51:34 to proclaim it and to acclaim Him King. 51:37 Now do you know, it's very interesting, that there are 51:39 some that are using this text in favor of 51:42 the ordination of women. 51:44 Totally out of context. 51:45 Because what one pastor says is, "Well, you know, this text 51:50 is really saying, in verse 11, that the women, 51:54 after the resurrection of Jesus, they went and proclaimed 51:56 the resurrection of Christ. 51:58 And therefore, because they were the first ones to proclaim 52:00 the resurrection of Christ, then they are suppose to be ordained 52:04 and they're suppose to be preachers." 52:07 Now that is a humongous stretch. 52:11 Because the text is not talking about 52:13 the resurrection of Christ. 52:14 It's talking about His procession to heaven 52:17 forty days later. 52:19 It's not talking at all about the day of His resurrection. 52:22 It's talking about the day of His ascension in the 52:24 midst of acclamations. 52:25 To sidetrack the issue to say that these are the women 52:29 that are proclaiming the resurrection of Christ 52:31 does not fit the context of what the apostle Paul 52:34 is trying to say, and what the psalmist has to say as well. 52:37 Notice Psalm 68:17. 52:40 This is the very verse before the verse 52:42 that the apostle Paul quotes. 52:44 Psalm 68:17 52:56 Who are those? 52:57 Angels, folks. 52:59 And then it says, "The Lord has come from Mount Sinai." 53:02 Because the original context has to do with Israel. 53:11 So where did Jesus enter when He went to heaven? 53:13 He entered the Holy Place. 53:15 This has nothing to do with His resurrection. 53:17 This has to do with His procession after 53:20 Jesus is ascending to heaven. 53:22 Notice verse 24. 53:24 I'm reading from the New International Version. 53:26 It says, speaking about this procession... 53:37 What is He doing? 53:38 He's coming into the Sanctuary, the heavenly Sanctuary, 53:41 at His ascension. 53:42 And then, of course, you have verse 35 of Psalm 68, 53:46 which is very significant. 53:56 What did God do on the day of Pentecost? 53:58 He gave what? 54:00 He gave strength and power to whom? 54:02 He gave strength and power to His people. 54:07 So the first loaf represents those first fruits that Jesus 54:10 presented on the day of Pentecost. 54:11 But there's another loaf. 54:14 That other loaf represents the first fruits of the 54:17 preaching of the gospel on the day of Pentecost. 54:20 Notice Acts 2:37-39. 54:23 Peter has preached his sermon. 54:25 Those who are present now come to Peter. 54:27 They've been cut to the heart and they say to Peter, 54:29 "What do we do in the light of what you've preached?" 54:32 Notice Peter says in verse 38... 54:43 And the Bible tells us in Acts 2:41 that 3000 first fruits 54:48 of the gospel were converted to the Lord and were baptized. 54:51 It says there, "Then those who gladly received 54:54 his word were baptized; 54:56 and that day about three thousand souls 54:59 were added to them." 55:00 And by the way, verse 47 says they were added to the church. 55:04 The second loaf represents the church, 55:06 the first fruits of the church. 55:07 And the first loaf represents the first fruits of those 55:11 who resurrected with Jesus Christ. 55:13 Now what is the good news of all of this? 55:15 The good news, folks, is that all of this that took place 55:20 with the first fruits the day of the resurrection 55:23 and the first fruits on the day of Pentecost 55:25 were only small scaled down payments of the great harvest 55:30 at the end of time. 55:31 Let's read, as we conclude, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 55:36 where you have the final fulfillment where all of the 55:38 last fruits are now going to be harvested 55:40 and all of God's people will be together. 55:43 Do you think Jesus is going to lose His down payment? 55:46 Ah, He's not going to lose His down payment. 55:47 He says, "I'm just giving you this little down payment 55:50 so that you can be sure that the rest is going to be paid for. 55:53 That everybody else is going to be there." 55:56 Notice 1 Thessalonians 4:15. 55:58 "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 56:01 that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord 56:03 will by no means precede those who are asleep. 56:06 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven 56:08 with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, 56:11 and with the trumpet of God. 56:12 And the dead in Christ will rise first. 56:15 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up 56:18 together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 56:21 And thus we shall always be with the Lord." 56:25 Then finally the fulfillment of what was taught 56:28 by the first fruits will take place. 56:31 And God's people, all of them from all ages, 56:34 and all nations, kindred, tongues, and people 56:37 will all be together in the kingdom. 56:40 And by the way, that celebration is the Feast of Tabernacles. 56:44 The Feast of Tabernacles was a feast of joy 56:47 where all of God's people gathered together 56:49 and there was lots of singing, and there were palm leaves, 56:52 and it was a time of rejoicing. 56:54 Sin had been eradicated. 56:56 And now people were at peace and full of joy 57:00 in the presence of the Lord. 57:01 Aren't we looking forward to that day? 57:03 I'm looking forward to it with great anticipation. 57:06 And these ceremonies show us that it's not wishful thinking, 57:11 because what Jesus has done is an indication 57:14 of what He will soon do. |
Revised 2016-07-21