Balo Elizondo gace a powerful and uplifting message at the Central Texas Church of God on the meaning of Pentecost. Pentecost is one of the Holy Days mentioned in Leviticus 23 that most churches still observe. The following are the notes that Balo graciously provided.
The Harvest
of the first fruits.
Finally we have arrived at the 50th day starting
with the wave sheaf day. This day is full of meaning and it is central to God’s
plan! God’s plan is revealed to us by His Holy Days.
Pentecost is also called the feast of weeks (Exodus 34:22) Shavuot
in Hebrew, because we have to count 7 complete weeks, and in Exodus 23 it is
called the “Feast of the Harvest of the First fruits.”
Today I’d like to focus on this concept of the Harvest of
the First Fruits and how it pictures the first resurrection. That’s when
the harvest of the firstfruits will be completed.
Lev 23:3-16
· 3. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a
holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all
your dwellings.
· 4. These are the
appointed feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim in
their appointed seasons.
· 5. In the fourteenth day of the first
month, between the two evenings, 
between sunset and dark is
the LORD'S Passover,
· 6. And on the fifteenth day
of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. You must
eat unleavened bread seven days.
· 7. On the first day you shall have a holy
convocation. You shall not do any servile work therein,
· 8. But you shall offer a fire offering to the
LORD seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do
no servile work therein.' ”
· 9. And the LORD spoke to
Moses, saying,
· 10. "Speak to the children of Israel and
say to them, 'When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall
reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
· 11. And he
shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next
day after the Sabbath Heb. ha sabbat refers to
the weekly Sabbath,
not the
annual high day Sabbath. the
priest shall wave it.
· 12. And you shall offer that day when you
wave the sheaf, a male lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt
offering to the LORD.
· 13. And its grain offering shall be
two tenth parts of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the
LORD for a sweet savor. And the drink offering of it shall be of wine,
the fourth part of a hin.
· 14. And you shall eat neither bread, nor
parched grain, nor green ears until the same day, until you have brought an
offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your
generations in all your dwellings.
· 15. And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after
the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of the
wave offering; seven
Sabbaths shall be complete. The Hebrew means: seven
complete weeks,
each
ending with the seventh-day Sabbath.
· 16. Even unto the day after the seventh
Sabbath you shall number fifty days. The fiftieth day is
always the first day after the seventh Sabbath, which is also the first day of
the eighth week. And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.
(A
Faithful Version)
Jesus is the premier sheaf. Paul said He is the first to be
raised from the dead (Acts 26:23).
Colossians 1:13-18
· 13. Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness and has transferred
us unto the kingdom of
the Son ofHis love;
· 14. In Whom we have
redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins;
· 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
· 16. Because by Him were
all things created,the things in heaven and the things
on earth, the visible and the invisible,whether they be thrones, or lordships, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him.
· 17. And He is before all, and by Him allthings subsist.
· 18. And He is the Head of the body, thechurch; Who is the beginning, the
firstborn
from among the dead,
so that in all things He Himself might hold the preeminence.
Now let’s see how Jesus was elevated and presented to the
Father and accepted for us.
John 20:1-9, 15-17
· 1. Now on the first day of the weeks,while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene
came early to the tomb; and she saw that the stone had been taken away from the
tomb.
· 2. Then she ran and came
to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus
loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and
we do not know where they have laid Him."
· 3. As a result, Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
· 4. Now the two ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and
came to the tomb first;
· 5. And he stooped down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not
enter.
· 6. Then Simon Peter came following him, and he went into the tomb and saw
the linen cloths lying,
· 7. And the napkin that had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but
folded up in a place by itself.
· 8. Then the other disciple, who had come to the tomb first, also went in and saw
these things; and he believed.
· 9. For they did not yet understand the scripture which decreed that He must rise
· 15. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"
Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried
Him off, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
· 16. Jesus said to her, "Mary."
Turning around, she said to Him, "Rabboni"; that
is to say, "Teacher."
· 17. Jesus said to her, "Do not touch
Me, because I have not yet ascended to My
Father. But go to My brethren and tell them that I am ascending to My Father
That is when Jesus was presented to the Father. Becoming the
first born from among the dead, the first of the firstfruits, the premier
sheaf.
God’s harvest then continues for seven full weeks. Notice
the similarities: Just as there are seven churches in revelation representing
seven different eras of the Church of God there is an ongoing Harvest of God,
because faithful saints have been dying from the beginning of the church and
are just waiting for the resurrection on the last day.
John 4:28-38
· 28. Then the woman left her waterpot and went away into the city, and said to
the men,
· 29. "Come and see a Man Who told me everything that I have done. Can it be
that He is the Christ?"
· 30. Then they went out of the city and came to Him.
· 31. But in the meantime, the disciples were urging Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
· 32. And He said to them, "I have meat to eat that you are not aware of."
· 33. Then the disciples said to one another,"Did anyone bring Him something
to eat?"
· 34. Jesus said to them, "My meat is to
do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to finish
His work.
· 35. Do
not say that there are yet four months,
and then the harvest comes. I
say to
you, look around. Lift up your eyes and
see the fields, for they are already
white to
harvest.
· 36. And the one who reaps receives a reward, and gathers fruit unto eternal
life; so that the one who is sowing and the one who is reaping may both rejoice
together.
· 37. For in this the saying is true, that one sows and another reaps.
· 38. I sent you to reap that in which you have not labored; others have labored,
Matthew 13:24-30
· 24. And He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is
compared to a man who was sowing good seed in his field;
· 25. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went away.
· 26. Now when the blades sprouted and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared.
· 27. And the servants came to the master of the house and said to him, 'Sir, did
you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did these tares come from?'
· 28. And he said to them, 'A man who is an enemy has done this.' Then the servants
said to him, 'Do you want us to go out and gather them?'
· 29. But he said, 'No, lest while you are gathering the tares, you also uproot the
wheat with them.
· 30. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest, I
will say to the reapers, "Gather the tares first, and bind them into bundles to burn
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
· 13. But I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have
fallen asleep, that you be not grieved, even as others, who have no hope.
· 14. For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, in exactly the same way also,
those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
· 15. For this we say to you by the Word
of the Lord, that we who are
alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep
· 16. Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in
Christ shall rise first;
· 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds for the
meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with
the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:12-23, 28-32, 35-37, 50-58
· 12. But if Christ is being preached, that He rose from the dead, how is it that
some among you are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?
· 13. For if there is no resurrection from the dead, neither has
Christ been raised.
· 14. And if Christ has not been raised,then our preaching is in vain, and your
faith is also in vain.
· 15. And we are also found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified
of God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise, if indeed the dead are
not raised.
· 16. For if the dead are not raised,
neither has Christ been raised.
· 17. But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins,
· 18. And those who have fallen asleep in Christ have then perished.
· 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable.
· 20. But now Christ has been raised from the dead;
He has become the Firstfruit of
those
who have fallen asleep.
· 21. For since by man came
death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
· 22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
· 23. But each in his own
order: Christ the Firstfruit; then, those who are Christ's at
His coming.
· 24. Afterwards the end comes,
when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to
Him Who is God and Father, when He shall have put an end to all rule and all
authority and power.
· 25. For it is ordained that He reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.
· 26. The last enemy to be
destroyed is death.
· 27. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when it is said
that all things have been put in subjection, it is clearly evident that it
does not
include Him Who put all things in subjection under Him.
· 28. But when He has put all things in subjection to Him, then shall the Son
Himself also be subject to Him Who put all things in subjection to Him, so that
God may be all in all.
· 29. Otherwise, what shall they do who have been baptized for the resurrection
of the dead, if the dead are not raised at all? Why then are they baptized for the
resurrection of the
dead?
· 30. Why are we also in danger every hour?
· 31. I die daily by our boasting which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.
· 32. If I fought as a man with beasts in Ephesus, what did it profit me, if the
dead are not raised? Let us eat and drink,for tomorrow we die.
· 33. Do not be deceived; evil companionship corrupts good behavior.
· 34. Awake to righteousness, and do not sin, for some of you do not have the knowledge
of God. I say this to your shame.
· 35. Nevertheless,
someone will say,"How are the dead raised? And with
what body do they come?"
· 36. Fool! What you sow does not come to life
unless it dies.
· 37. And what
you sow is not the body that shall
be; rather, it is bare grain—it may be
of
wheat, or one of the other grains;
· 38. And God gives it a body according to His will, and to each of the seeds its own
body.
· 39. Likewise, not all flesh is
the same flesh. Rather, there is one flesh of men,
and another flesh of beasts, and another of fish, and another of birds.
· 40. And there are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly
is different, and the glory
of the earthly is different.
· 41. There is one glory of the
sun, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
· 42. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised
in incorruption.
· 43. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised
in power.
· 44. It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body;
· 45. Accordingly, it is
written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the
last Adam became an ever-living Spirit."
· 46. However, the spiritual was not
first, but the natural—then the spiritual.
· 47. The first man is of the earth—made of dust. The second Man is the Lord
from heaven.
· 48. As is the one made of dust, so
also are all those who
are made of dust; and
as is the heavenly one, so also are all those who are heavenly.
· 49. And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear
the image of the heavenly One.
· 50. Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
· 51. Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all
be changed,
· 52. In an instant, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet
shall sound, and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
THIS
HAPPENS AT THE 7TH TRUMPET. REVELATION 11:15!
· 15. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our
Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity."
· 16. And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their
faces and worshiped God,
· 17. Saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who
was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and
have reigned.
· 18. For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the
dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the
saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy
those who destroy the earth."
· 19. And the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was
seen in His temple; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an
BACK TO
1 CORINTHIANS 15:53
· 53. For this corruptible must put on
incorruptibility, and this mortal must put
on immortality.
· 54. Now when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal
shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
· 55. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?
· 56. Now the sting of death
is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
· 57. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
· 58. So then, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (A Faithful Version)
John 6
· 32. Then Jesus said to them, "Truly,
truly I say to you, Moses did not give you the
bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
· 33. For the bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life
to the world."
· 34. Therefore, they said to Him, "Lord,give this bread to us always."
· 35. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread
of life; the one who comes to Me shall
never hunger; and the one who believes in Me shall never thirst at any time.
· 36. But as I said to you, you also have
seen Me, yet you do not believe.
· 37. All whom the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to
Me I will in no wise cast out.
· 38. For I did not come down from heaven to do My own will, but the will
of Him Who sent Me.
· 39. And this is the will of the Father Who sent Me: that of all whom He has
given Me, I should not lose any, but should raise them up in the last day.
· 40. And this is the will of Him Who sent Me: that everyone who sees the Son, and
believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (A Faithful Version)
Now, this is what will happen at the LAST DAY…
Hebrews 12:18-23
· 18. For you have not come to the mount that could be touched and that burned
with fire, nor to gloominess, and fearful darkness, and the whirlwind;
· 19. And to the sound of the
trumpet, and to the voice of the words, which those
who heard, begged that the word not be spoken directly to them.
· 20. (For they could not endure what was being commanded: "And if even an animal
touches the mountain, it shall be stoned, or shot through with an arrow";
· 21. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am greatly afraid and
trembling".)
· 22. But you have come to
Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, heavenly
Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels;
· 23. To the
joyous festival gathering; and to the church of the firstborn,
registered
in the book of life
in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all; and to
the spirits of the
Exodus 19:16-20
· 16. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunders
and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the sound of the trumpet ram's
horn was exceedingly loud so that all the people in the camp trembled.
· 17. And Moses brought the people out of the
camp to meet with God. And they stood at the base of the mountain.
· 18. And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it
because the LORD came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up
like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
· 19. And when the sound of the trumpet ram's horn sounded long, and became very strong, Moses spoke, and
God answered him by voice. (A Faithful Version)
At Pentecost the people of Israel were given God’s Law. People
could not stand the voice of God. We have been given His Holy Spirit (Acts 2)
so that we may have a relationship with Him. Salvation has been freely offered
to us through Jesus Christ. Maybe we are preaching to the 1/10 of 1 percent!
But we have a lot of work to do. WE HAVE TO REMAIN IN CHRIST AND KEEP GROWING
AND OVERCOMING.
1 Peter 1:1-7
· 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the
elect strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia;
· 2. Who have been chosen according to the
predetermined knowledge of God the Father, by sanctification through the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
· 3. Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has
begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead;
· 4. Unto an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us,
· 5. Who are being safeguarded by the
power of God through faith, for salvation that is ready to be revealed in
the last time.
· 6. In this you yourselves
greatly rejoice; though for the present, if it is necessary, you are in
distress for a little while by various trials;
· 7. In order that the proving of your faith,
which is much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is being tested
by fire, may be found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation
of Jesus Christ; (A Faithful Version)
