Greg
Wilson (30 April, 2017)
What
is the Purpose in Counting the Omer?
Is counting the seven weeks or forty-nine
days of the Feast of the Harvest
or Pentecost a countdown rehearsal? Pentecost is
the only festival of the Lord where its name is unrelated to
its celebration. It is a harvest celebration. In
Hebrew, it is Shavuot, also known as the Feast of First
Fruits and the Feast of Conclusion concluding the Passover
celebration.
The command is "you shall count" seven
sabbaths and number the fiftieth day. This means
that we associate a number with each day in
anticipation of the 50th day. Today, April 30th is
Omer Count Day 14 from Sunday, April 16, 2017.
Pentecost's 50th day will arrive on sunset Saturday, June 3
and be fully come at 9:00 o'clock a.m. Sunday, June 4 in
Jerusalem.
God has associated counting with wisdom.
Let us be bold and consider the wisdom of God in the
Pentecostal counting command. What do we know about
the two Spring first fruits celebrations? The Temple
priests were commanded to conduct grain offerings to
God. The First Fruits and Pentecost grain
offerings, while different in the wave offering types, were
similar in that both were raised up to God to be received by
God in figure.
First Fruits: Wave Sheaf
Offering
The Temple priests bundled a sample sheaf
of cut grain and waved it up in the air to God as a first
fruits of the harvest offering. Yeshua Jesus was
resurrected on this day in 30A.D. He was the
embodiment of the symbolism of the first harvest of
resurrection of the dead. He was resurrected in
His glorified body and ascended to the heavenly Tabernacle,
returning immediately to present Himself to his
disciples. He departed on Day 40 with instructions
that the disciples should remain in Jerusalem another 10
days whereupon they would receive the Holy Spirit, on
Pentecost.
Pentecost: Wave Two Loaf
Offering
The Temple priests were instructed to
take the harvested grain and bake two loaves of bread with
leaven. These two loaves would be lifted up and waved
in the air to God as the first fruits of the harvest.
These two loaves are symbolic of two groups of people, as
the wave sheaf offering was symbolic of Christ's
resurrection.
At the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
descended and filled Christ's believers in His death and
resurrection. The two loaf wave offering symbolism was not
represented in this first Pentecostal indwelling
event. The Holy Spirit came down, but nobody went up.
The reason for this lack of
ascending or caught up symbolism at the first
Pentecost and each subsequent Pentecost is clear.
Pentecost has not yet been completed fulfilled.
This should not be a surprise because the Apostle Paul tells
us that Pentecost is a two-stage redemption
transaction. The first installment was and
continues to be "the earnest deposit of the Holy Spirit.
The second and final installment will be the redemption of
the body.
These two transactions comprise the
fulfillment of the symbolism of the two loaves. Paul
says that we have the "first fruits of the Spirit".
This aligns with his definitive chapter on the resurrection
of righteousness, 1 Corinthians 15. At the final
Pentecost, when God harvests "Christ's own", He will
resurrect the "dead in Christ" and "translate the living in
Christ". These are the two loaves. Both
groups will be raised and caught up in the clouds with
Jesus. The final Feast of Pentecost will represent the
reality of raising and catching up events symbolized
in the Two Loaf Wave Offering.
This is the simplicity of God's spiritual
sealing and physical redemption plan for this, the Age of
Pentecost.
God commands a count because we are
beckoned to consider the Day of Christ, the Hope of
Glory.
Paul instructs us to "comfort one
another" with his words which promise the Day of Glory.
This day approaches. Be of good cheer. The Lord
of Glory is coming for you!