Sons To Glory Newsletter #1 |
Pentecost
- June 8, 2008
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The Second Coming of Jesusby Paul Jablonowski Shavuot Tov friends! Today is Pentecost Sunday, which is also known as "Shavuot" in Hebrew. It is a very special day on our Heavenly Father's calendar. My oldest son, my youngest son, and I all have birthdays that fall on Pentecost. And just today I went to a birthday party for my 4 year old nephew whose birthday is today on June 8th 2008. The birthing of children is one of God's greatest miracles of life, and it is an exciting thing to celebrate the wonder of life that God has given to each of us. The actual date of Pentecost varies each year on both the Hebrew and the Gregorian calendars. This is because God told Moses that Pentecost was to be exactly 50 days from the first Sunday after Passover. This first Sunday after Passover is also called the Feast of Firstfruits or Resurrection Sunday when the priest waved the firstfruits sheaf of the harvest (usually barley) in the temple. But the first Sunday after the Feast of Passover is on a different calendar date every year (varying between the 15th - 21st of Abib). While Passover is always on the 14th day of the 1st Hebrew month of Abib, Pentecost can vary on the Gregorian calendar anytime from early May until early June. Yet Pentecost will always be on a Sunday because 50 days from any given Sabbath (Saturday) will always fall on a Sunday. I think it is the Lord's wisdom to keep this day somewhat hidden and controversial. Even modern day Jewish people do not keep the appropriate date of Pentecost. They count from the 15th day of the 1st month (which is a high Sabbath because it is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread), and always celebrate Pentecost on the 6th day of the 3rd Hebrew month regardless of what day of the week it falls on. But this is not what Leviticus 23 tells us referring to Pentecost as the "Feast of Weeks" (also Deut. 16:16) because it counts 7 weeks (which begin on Sunday's) until the 50th day - hence the name Pente(50)-cost. It is also referred to as the "Feast of Harvest" in Exodus 23. Why is this important? This is important because God always does special things on HIS special days and not on the days that we create for Him or wrongly figure. Personally, I'm not interested in following man's hot ideas and trying to impress people. However, I am interested in watching carefully during God's appointed times to see how He moves through His people to make the kingdoms of this world to become the Kingdom of our Lord and Messiah Jesus! And Pentecost is such a time to be watching. Pentecost is a time of birthing. The nation of Israel was birthed on Pentecost over 4,000 years ago when Moses met with God on Mount Sinai and was given His covenant (10 commandments). The church of Jesus Christ was birthed on the day of Pentecost about 2,000 years ago when 120 Jewish believers who were waiting for Him in an upper room in Jerusalem were given the promise of the Holy Spirit. Now, today in our generation, Jesus is once again birthing a mature Bride-Body with hundreds of thousands of believers who will stand with Him like a bride to bring the purposes of God to earth! It is an exciting time to be alive and serving with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Discipling with a "Sonship" mentality is a major foundation for the Bride Body, which is why I spent seven years writing the book "Sons To Glory." However, this newsletter is being written for the purpose of promoting another truth that really needs to be understood by the Bride of Christ, which is The Second Coming of Jesus. Although I wrote briefly about the coming of the Lord in chapter 14 of my book, there is a brother named Roland Pletts who has been given some great insight into this awesome subject. He wrote a book in 1996 entitled, "The Shekinah Glory of Christ at His Coming" which went out of print several years ago. I am excited to announce that Roland has given us permission to republish this book at sonstolgory.com in both electronic and paperback formats! The paperback book will hopefully be finished printing in a few months. Until then, it can be read in e-book format and on-line. The coming of our Lord Jesus to rule the earth as King has been a sought-after time for countless believers since the day Jesus first left His disciples in 33 A.D. Most sincere believers earnestly desire to see Jesus with His truth and mercy ruling the earth, but the manner and timing of His return have been debated and speculated for centuries. If there are 1,000 different doctrines being taught on any particular subject in the Bible, it will always be doctrine 1,001 when the Lord finally speaks on that subject. This is because His ways are not our ways, and until He speaks, we remain in the dark. This book "The Shekinah Glory of Christ at His Coming" is a doctrine from the Lord on the manner of His coming. It is so simple that a child can understand it, believe it, and look forward to it. The reason this book has to be written is because there are so many other wrong belief systems regarding the way in which Jesus will return. The Bible is very clear that Jesus will return in the same manner in which He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection (Acts 1:11). But the doctrines of men have so cluttered the minds of God's people that when the truth is spoken it is often not received. When Jesus came the first time, He was not received by those who were looking for Him because Jesus did not come in a manner they were expecting. Likewise, Jesus is coming again today in a powerful way TO His people and then IN His people to empower them with the same glory that He had when He rose from the dead. May this book help to free God's people to both hear and believe this "blessed hope" of how the Lord will return to visit His people in our day. Grace and Shalom,
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