PENTECOST: ITS CONTINUITY ========================= Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D. Professor of Theology and Church History Andrews University NOTE: The essays I posted recently on ADVENTISTS AND PASSOVER generated considerable interest. A good number of pastor requested my suggested PASSOVER ORDER OF SERVICE and celebrated Passover with their congregation for the first time this year. Since we are now in the PENTECOST SEASON, I would like to submit few excerpts from my research on GOD'S FESTIVALS IN SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY dealing the continuity, meaning and relevance of Pencecost for Adventists today. For the sake of brevity, I am leaving out the historical survey of the observance of Pentecost in the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Early Church, focusing instead on the observance of Pentecost today. In this first segment I am submitting three basic indications of the continuity of Pentecost in the Christian Church. In the second and third segments I will discuss the meaning and manner of observance of Pentecost today. THE CONTINUITY OF PENTECOST IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH "Pentecost" is a popular term of the Christian vocabulary. Not only Christian preachers but ordinary members often speak of the need for a new Pentecost for the church today. Christians often pray for the power of Pentecost, the unity of Pentecost, the courage of Pentecost, the revival of Pentecost. There is much talk about the experience of Pentecost, especially among evangelical Christians, but little, if any, discussion about the need to observe the Feast of Pentecost. Most Christians today think of Pentecost more as a spiritual experience than an annual event on which to commemorate the redemptive accomplishment of Christ's first Advent. The situation was much different in early Christianity, where, as we noted in chapter 7, Pentecost ranked with Passover among the great feasts of the Church. Is the Feast of Pentecost a relic from ancient times no longer suitable for modern Christians, or is its meaning and function still relevant for us Christians today? The survey conducted in chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Pentecost from Old Testament times to the early Church was designed to provide a basis for answering this important question. A Prophetic Festival. A first indication of the continuity of Pentecost in the Christian church is the prophetic nature of the festival. Like Passover, Pentecost is a remarkable typological feast which celebrates not only the blessings of the agricultural harvest of wheat in Old Testament times, but also the blessing of the spiritual harvest of souls reaped in New Testament times through Christ's redemptive ministry. The prophetic nature of Pentecost is evident in the New Testament, first of all, in the timing of the first Christian Pentecost given by Luke. We noted in chapter 6 that Luke introduces the events that occurred on the day of Pentecost by saying: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come" (Acts 2:1, KJV). The Greek verb sumpleroustai, which literally means "was being fulfilled," seems to be intentionally chosen by Luke to make the point that the momentous events of the day of Pentecost occurred not before, not after, but at the very time of the celebration of the Jewish Pentecost. The sense of prophetic fulfillment is expressed also by Peter on the day of Pentecost when he declares that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was a clear fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Joel 2:28-32). The Spring harvest celebrated at Pentecost foreshadowed the outpouring of God's Spirit which would bring about a spiritual harvest of souls: "And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21; cf. Joel 2:32). The prophetic nature of Pentecost also can be seen in the frequent use of the typology of the "first fruits." We have seen that Christ Himself is presented as the first fruits of Pentecost because He rose as the first fruits of redeemed humanity on the very day when the first sheaf of barley was presented at the Temple: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:20). As the first fruits offered on the first day of Pentecost pointed to the harvest to come, so Christ's resurrection represents the first fruits of redeemed humanity. As Paul puts it, "Each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ" (1Cor 15:23). Since Pentecost, God has been picking out those who respond to the Gospel invitation and has called them to be the "first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). The ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost will be at Christ's Return when the redeemed gathered from mankind will be "as first fruits for God and the Lamb" (Rev 14:4). The various prophetic applications of the first fruits typology of Pentecost show the importance of the feast in Christian thought and practice. Its meaning and function did not terminate with the coming of Christ because its ultimate fulfillment still lies in the future. Observance of Pentecost in the New Testament. A second indication of the continuity of Pentecost in the Christian church is the few but revealing references to the feast in the New Testament. In chapter 6 we learned that Paul's casual mention of Pentecost in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 16:8-9), a predominantly Gentile church, suggests that the feast was well-known to the Corinthians. Similarly, Paul's eagerness "to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost" (Acts 20:16) suggests that the feast was important to him. Ellen White acknowledges the importance of Pentecost for Paul when she writes that he shortened his stay at Ephesus because "he was on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost."1 The same view is expressed by The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary: "Even Paul, least interested in observances as such (Rom 14:5), was eager to celebrate Pentecost at Jerusalem in spite of his missionary journeys in Asia and Greece (Acts 18:21; 20:16)."2 Whether Paul wanted to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost to show to his Jewish brethren his respect for Jewish festivals, or because he viewed the feast as an appropriate occasion to present the gifts contributed by the Gentiles, or because he expected to meet a large number of brethren that would be attending the feast, the fact remains that all these reasons presuppose the significance of Pentecost for Paul. If the feast was significant for Paul, known for his indifference to observances as such (Rom 14:5), we have reason to believe that it also must have been important for Christians at large. The Observance of Pentecost in the Early Church. A third indication of the continuity of Pentecost in the Christian church is its widespread observance in the early Church. Numerous early Christian writers attest, as pointed out in chapter 7, that Pentecost was observed as a fifty days period of joy and triumph. What made Pentecost a most joyous season were the events commemorated during that period, namely, the resurrection, the ascension, the promise of Christ's Return, the inauguration of Christ's interccessory ministry, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the Christian mission. To express their joy and gladness, Christians refrained from kneeling, fasting, and mourning during the fifty days of Pentecost. By standing for prayer and singing, Christians were honoring the resurrection of Christ as well as the future resurrection of all believers. We found that Christians, like Jews, had few distinctive ceremonies associated with Pentecost. One of them was the administration of baptism to those candidates who for months or years had been instructed in the Christian faith. Since Pentecost was the celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it could remind baptismal candidates of the baptism of the Spirit that was to accompany their baptism by water. The Scripture readings for the last day of Pentecost were mostly Old Testament passages dealing with the new covenant and the giving of the Law at Sinai. This suggests that Christians viewed the covenant that God established with the Israelites through the giving of the Law at Sinai as foreshadowing the new covenant that God established with the spiritual Israel through the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. ---------------------------------- Christian regards Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Professor of Theology and Church History Andrews University 4990 Appian Way Berrien Springs, MI 49103 samuele@andrews.edu