Counting 50

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Church of God, In Truth</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>   |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church of God, In Truth"><B>home</B></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Calendar Documents"><B>Up Level</B></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id408.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Calculate Gods Festival Calendar">How to Calculate God's Festival Calendar</A>   |   <A HREF="id383.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The concealed full Moon">The concealed full Moon</A>   |   Counting 50   |   <A HREF="id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods sacred calendar or Jewish calendar ">God's sacred calendar or Jewish calendar -which</A>   |   <A HREF="id301.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOW TO ESTABLISH GODS HOLY DAYS ">HOW TO ESTABLISH GOD'S HOLY DAYS </A>   |   <A HREF="id280.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Passover: 14th or 15th?">Passover: 14th or 15th?</A>   |   <A HREF="id277.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Passover: A new and living way">Passover: A new and living way</A>   |   <A HREF="id276.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Which new moon do you keep?">Which new moon do you keep?</A>   |   <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Calendar from Gods Word">Calendar from God's Word</A>   |   <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods True Conjunction">God's True Conjunction</A>   |   <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Calendar and His Holy Days">God's Calendar and His Holy Days</A>   |   <A HREF="id201.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring Holy Days Schedule for 2006">Spring Holy Days Schedule for 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="id225.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Asking The Hard Questions">Asking The Hard Questions</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Church of God, In Truth</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id408.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Calculate Gods Festival Calendar">How to Calculate God's Festival Calendar</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id383.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The concealed full Moon">The concealed full Moon</A></div> <div> <B>Counting 50</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods sacred calendar or Jewish calendar ">God's sacred calendar or Jewish calendar -which</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id301.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HOW TO ESTABLISH GODS HOLY DAYS ">HOW TO ESTABLISH GOD'S HOLY DAYS </A></div> <div> <A HREF="id280.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Passover: 14th or 15th?">Passover: 14th or 15th?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id277.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Passover: A new and living way">Passover: A new and living way</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id276.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Which new moon do you keep?">Which new moon do you keep?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id47.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Calendar from Gods Word">Calendar from God's Word</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods True Conjunction">God's True Conjunction</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Calendar and His Holy Days">God's Calendar and His Holy Days</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id201.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spring Holy Days Schedule for 2006">Spring Holy Days Schedule for 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id225.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Asking The Hard Questions">Asking The Hard Questions</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Counting 50</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Counting 50</B></div> <bR> <div> Pentecost is from the Greek word, Pentekoste [Strong's # 4005] which means fiftieth being implemented from Passover, i.e. the festival of “Pentecost.” In the New Testament, Christians observe this festival as the giving of the Holy Spirit. We must recall that Jesus Christ ascended to His Father in heaven on the fortieth day after His resurrection and told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised helper [Acts 1:4]. The helper will not come unless Jesus Christ go away and return to the Father [John 16:7]. Ten days later, the helper [holy spirit] came upon all who were gathered in the room. The occasion was the festival of Pentecost which was   50 days from a Sunday within the days of unleavened bread  bread. So today most Christians observe the day as the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit, which is now known as the feast of Pentecost.</div> <div> Long before this in the Old Testament, God had already commanded the Israelites regarding the observance of the fiftieth day. “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.”[Leviticus 23:1516]. The Israelites as well as we today, understand this command the need to count 50.</div> <div> Why then does God want His people to count 50? Before we answer the question let's first have some background on the true church that keep and observe this festival of counting 50 on its true appointed day as commanded by God.  It can't be denied that there are other Churches of God that sometimes postpone this festival as they had last year [2005] by almost a month, and will postpone it again on 2008 according to the Hebrew calendar that they follow. </div> <div> This postponing of God's appointed festival is wrong and this is the reason why God did not reveal to them the real purpose and relevance of counting 50 until Pentecost.</div> <div> The Church of God, in Truth is a small group of believers who like God hate the postponements of His appointed feasts. He said in Isaiah 1:14,”Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.” This is God speaking. We should tremble at His word! Man has no authority to change what God has instituted at creation. God's calendar is in His creation as He declared in Psalm 19:6, the circuit of the sun, gives a hint that nothing is hidden from the light and heat of the sun. The new moon nearest the spring turn will help us to get the true start of the day, the week, the month and the year. This is the true basis that God had given us for the calendar, God's true calendar. </div> <bR> <div> The Church of God, In Truth, COGIT in the Philippines is a very small group of believers who follow God'`s word as revealed to them. Today we are having our very first live messages in the sermonette and sermon. Our feeling is that we are establishing God's church formally in the country. No other day is similar as today for God had also established the original or apostolic Church of God on the first Pentecost in 33 A.D. Personally, Pentecost had been a special occasion in my life in my dealings with the churches of God. It was Pentecost season when I learned about the WCG in 1972,  then in 1997 I joined the United Church of God an International Association but a split occurred and so on Pentecost day 1998 the Church of God an International Community was established. I stayed with COGAIC as we call them now for a full seven years only to find myself observing Pentecost in May 15, 2005 with the Church of God, in Truth or COGIT. What is interesting is that on Pentecost again of 2006 we are having our first ever live messages in our worship, unlike the previous feasts wherein we had audio taped messages. This new development   shows that God is activating His church in the Philippines in preparation for the forthcoming growth.</div> <div> Pentecost is an important festival in God's plan of redeeming humanity. In the article God's 3 appointed harvests in May/June 2006 issue of the “Prove All Things” magazine it was stated that the three harvests refer to the three resurrections that God had in His plan. The first harvest of barley during the time of DUB refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this is a purely barley grain harvest as no other grain is being harvested. The second harvest of wheat, occurring at the time of Pentecost or 50 days later is also purely wheat grain harvest, the first and the second harvests are both called firstfruit. In the third harvest that occurs at the end of the year, the produce is no longer pure as it is a general harvest of crops, this refer to the resurrection or redemption of many races of people, Chinese, Russians, Filipinos etc. This last harvest or feast is called the Feast of Ingathering which we today call the Feast of Tabernacles including the Last Great Day.</div> <div> The three harvests are similar to the 3 measures of meal in the parable of Matthew 13:33 at the end of the article,”Another parable spoke he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” During DUB leaven is symbolic of sin because it puffs up, but in this parable about the kingdom it symbolizes the holy spirit. The three measures of meal refer to the three dispensations by which God plans to save mankind. This is in response to those who cannot understand Matthew 19:2426,”And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With man this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” The plan of God is to save mankind via the three harvests or the three measures of meal, each one in his own order. The people of this world do not know that God is not saving the world now, each one will have his own one chance or judgment as 1Peter 4:17 says that judgment must begin at the house of God: and it first begin at us, what shall be the end of those that obey not the gospel of God? The message is clear, we are being judged now. This is our one and only chance, we must not waste it by missing it. As for the others, this is not yet their time. </div> <div> The working of the Holy Spirit is being compared to the action  of leaven on the three measures of meal till all three dispensations are leavened. This is how God plans to redeem humanity.</div> <div> Today we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit to those whom He had called and chosen. But why are we to count 50 as Leviticus 23:1516 command us? When we were baptized and laid hands on by the minister, we don't have to wait for 50 days before we receive the holy spirit. But in terms of the holy days, God says; you are going to wait fifty days, not only wait but count every day for fifty days, Why? Why count 50?</div> <div> Some believed God instructed the Israelites to count 50 because, it was the period of time to walk from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, where God gave them the ten commandments. But it could also be 49 or 55 why 50? Another possibility is that 50 days were needed to finish the first harvest. But then, why not 49 or 55 again just in case it was a bad year and more time is needed for the harvests? Many commentators just pass off the need to count 50 days because they can't find any reason why, and counting is irrelevant.</div> <bR> <div> But God never does anything in vain and His instruction in Lev.23:1516 which we have read already is specific so it must be relevant. What significance is there in the number 50? We can discover the answer by examining an occasion where the number 50 is woven into God's instruction for His people. Leviticus 25 deals with the Sabbatical year, and with another very important occasion known as the year of Jubilee. The Jubilee was a special year that was set aside every 50th year, after seven sabbaticals, that is 49 years had been completed [Lev.25:815].</div> <div> By establishing the year of Jubilee, God was setting up a system whereby ownership of the land would never be wrenched from a family. If a landowner fell upon hard times and needed to sell his land, it was not to be sold permanently. Today we would call this a lease. The value of that lease would be based upon the number of years remaining until the next Jubilee; that is, what the person buying the lease could expect to make from the land and its remaining harvests.</div> <div> The Jubilee was to be a means whereby oppression the carving out of huge estates by the powerful few via the disenfranchisement of those with small holdings would be avoided (verses 1215).</div> <div> In light of what we have read about counting the days of Pentecost, let's look again at the instruction for determining the year of Jubilee: “And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, [Lev. 25:8,10a]. Notice that three elements are common to both Pentecost and the Jubilee: there was to be a count; seven Sabbaths must be completed; and the time of the 50th is consecrated to the Eternal.  For the Jubilee this is a whole year, not just one day as on Pentecost.  The knowledge where to start in order to calculate the Jubilee is lost in antiquity. The last known keeping of the Jubilee was at the time of Josiah and Jeremiah. God's instruction is still in His word and we can write it off as something that's irrelevant today because we are not a theocracy, but it will no doubt be a practice in the coming kingdom of God. </div> <div> Continuing on in Leviticus 25, we find further instruction relating to the Jubilee: how God regarded the land; how it was to be taken cared of; and the way in which people would be provided for during the Sabbatical year and the subsequent Jubilee year. God established that the land is His (verse 23) and that we are only strangers and sojourners. The land if leased could be redeemed ahead of time by the action of a relative or a redeemer (verses 2425).  God made a provision whereby a person didn't have to wait for the end of 50 years. Something could happen in the interim that could restore them to their Godgiven inheritance. If a person had no one to redeem the land for him, then he could, if able, redeem it himself.  The price of redemption had to be based on the remaining years until the Jubilee. God's desire was that people would be able  to return to their possession (verse 2728).</div> <div> It doesn't take us very long to realize that, in relation to the meaning of the holy days, we also have a Redeemer. Notice how the apostle Peter addresses our calling:”Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers”[1Peter 1:1318]. </div> <div> In ancient Israel, a person might have needed to have their land redeemed because of the aimless or the negligent conduct of their fathers. And you and I have also been redeemed from the “aimless conduct received” from our fathers. But in our case, the redemption is not with silver or gold: verses 1921 gives it to us. “But with the precious blood of Christ, as lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” Note that Peter here was discussing concepts straight out of Leviticus 25.  He talks about us being sojourners, and about people being redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.</div> <div> If an Israelite's land was redeemed, it meant that he didn't have to wait until the Jubilee for that redemption. There is a parallel between Leviticus 25 and those who are redeemed ahead of time, the FIRSTFRUITS. It is here talking about us!  We have an opportunity to move into a relationship with God ahead of time, rather than waiting until the end, when the Jubilee will take place.</div> <div> In Hebrews 9, the aspect of redemption provided through the sacrifice of Christ is tied into our opportunity to have an eternal inheritance and eternal life [Hebrews 9:1115]. When we refer back to Genesis 3:2224, we find that Adam and Eve were prevented from accessing the tree of life because of their sins. And from that point on humanity no longer had access to the tree of life. There was nothing that would provide for eternal life and an eternal inheritance. That is, until the coming of Jesus Christ.</div> <bR> <div> The apostles speak in terms of those called having access to eternal life because of our redemption by Christ.  For example, the apostle Paul explained that God's plan is to adopt us as His sons by redeeming us through Christ's blood. We become sealed by the Holy Spirit, which serves to guarantee our future inheritance until we actually receive it as what Ephesians 1:314 will tell us.</div> <div> As we have seen God has woven the number 50 into the instructions involving the counting of Pentecost, and the year of Jubilee. Pentecost reminds us of the harvest begun at Passover. The 50 days allowed for the ripening and reaping of the spring grain harvest which we understand to be the wheat harvest referring to us. The fifty years of the Jubilee were all about the ultimate reinstatement of family inheritance with that possible through redemption, even before the appointed time.</div> <div> In like manner the counting of Pentecost teaches us that God is preparing a spiritual harvest of people in His divine family, as firstfruits, even before the ultimate time of the harvest of the world.</div> <div> So far from being irrelevant, God's instruction to “count 50" to determine the date of Pentecost does indeed have great meaning: it has to do with our redemption and salvation. </div> <div> Pentecost is time of harvesting the firstfruit that Christ described in Revelation 14:4,”These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” These are they that will be in the marriage supper of the Lamb. Most churches of God believed that Christ will come for them during the Feast of Trumpets and they could be right. I could remember that before even in the WCG we were taught that firstfruits are to be redeemed at the feast of trumpets and we will still be in the wrath of Satan but protected if we watch. </div> <div> Remember that at Pentecost, two loaves were waved before God. There were two groups of 144,000. The fate of these two groups are illustrated by God in Matthew 24:4041, and also in Luke 17:3436, “I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” There is no explanation as to why one of each pair is taken and the other one is left. Since this illustration is about the coming of Christ, and the parable of the ten virgins is just in the next chapter it is logical to say that this taking of one and leaving behind of the other could refer to the wise virgins for those who were taken and the foolish virgins for those left behind. God never does anything without purpose and these verses were inserted here in Matthew an Luke for that purpose.</div> <div> Only those who have the oil of truth are ready for the coming of Christ. They are prepared to meet Him on the appointed harvest day [Feast of Harvest] which is way, way ahead than most expect Jesus Christ to come for them [trumpets]. Many failed to consider the words of Christ when He said that He will come as a Thief in Revelation 3:3,”Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. I therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” </div> <div> Watching from the right start to count at all times, never postponing it will always bring us to the exact day of our redemption.  This is the relevance of counting fifty.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>