| (Copyright 06-11-2024) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| I found out last night that observant Jews eat dairy products in celebration of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost). Cheesecake is one of the favorites. So, I went out and got a platter of cheesecake. And some ice cream too. If we’re going to celebrate, then let’s do it right! Shavuot celebrates the giving of the law (Torah) at Mount Sinai after the children of Israel left Egypt. The reason for celebrating with dairy products is because the promised land was a land flowing with MILK and honey. And Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Firstfruits was not to be observed until they came into the promised land. See Leviticus 23:9-22. The Jews observe Pentecost on the sixth day of the third Hebrew month according to their (God’s) calendar every year on Sivan 6. Some Christian churches also observe Pentecost every year on Sivan 6 as do the Jews. Other churches use a weekly Sabbath to begin their 50-day count to determine the day of Pentecost. Whichever day is observed for Pentecost, for Christians, it represents the giving of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2:1-12. For myself and some others, it also pictures the first resurrection when Jesus will descend from heaven to gather His saints together for the marriage supper of the Lamb. See Revelation seven and Revelation 19:1-9. Christ and His army of saints will later return to earth on the Feast of Trumpets to fight against the rebel armies of the Beast. Read the remainder of Revelation 19. What I want to share with this letter are some personal things that I find interesting even if I don’t fully understand them. My mom’s funeral and burial were delayed for about two weeks. The earliest that the mortuary could do the graveside service was on June 14th in the afternoon. That meant that the service would be in the heat of the day. They then said they could do the service in the morning on June 13th. The viewing would be in the afternoon of June 12th at the chapel. When I searched on the internet: “Shavuot 2024” this is what came up: “Begins Tuesday, June 11 at sunset. Ends Thursday, June 13, at nightfall.” During this same time period is when we will celebrate and honor my mom’s life and lay her to rest. What an interesting coincidence or is it? If Pentecost does picture the resurrection, then God, who will wipe away all tears, is always faithful in providing us great hope during our time of need. To go a little deeper, as it turned out, my mom’s day of death came 49 days (7 x 7) after my dad had died on April 5th ten years prior. My mom and dad were married in ’49. If you count inclusive from April 5th to May 24th, then you will count 50 days. Again, a symbol of the Resurrection. My mom had seven children. After I had come to see the four-three pattern of the seven trumpets in the Book of Revelation, it hit me one day that my mom had her seven children according to the exact same pattern as the annual Sabbaths beginning with Trumpets (four in the autumn and three in the spring). The seventh trumpet will then occur on a future Pentecost. Glory to God! Despite any personal grief, I find joy in looking forward to the fulfillment of this glorious time that we are now celebrating. May God provide a Comforter that our Joy in the Lord will be a light to others. God bless you all! ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————- |
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