Shabbat Shalom, and let's add, Chag Shavuot Sameach. Now the Feast of Weeks have just ended a few days ago, But today in the ministry meeting, I would like to take the subject of the Feast of Shavuot, Chag Shavuot, and its significance. And that is very important for us as we study the Word of God. So please turn with me to the book of Leviticus today. Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 15 to verse 21 is the passage that I would like us to read today. And we're going to link it with the passage in Acts chapter 2. So we read, And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Shabbats shall be complete.

Even unto the morrow after the seventh Shabbat, shall ye number 50 days, and ye shall offer a new meal offering unto the Lord. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two-wave loaves of two-tenths deals. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits unto the Lord, and ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams, they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meal offering, and their drink offering, even an offering made by fire of sweet savor unto the Lord. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of goats for a sin offering and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offering and the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before the Lord with the two lambs, they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests, and ye shall proclaim on that selfsame day that it may be an holy convocation unto you.

Ye shall do no servile work therein, it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. Now put your finger here, beloved brothers and sisters, and let's read the first four verses of Acts chapter 2, and we're going to seek to connect these two passages together. And when the day of Pentecost, or when the day of Shavuot was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, or other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now, I would like to read just one more passage in Ephesians chapter 2, please, from verse 11. Let me read these verses for us as well. The apostle Shaul Paul is writing to the believers there, and he says, Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by him. That at that time ye were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now, in Mashiach Yeshua, ye who were sometime afar off are made nigh by the blood of the Messiah. For he is our Shalom, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace, so making shalom. And I'm going to stop here for now with that reading. Now, you remember in Leviticus chapter 23, I began, of course, to read from verse 15. But in chapter 23 and verse 4, we read, These are the feasts of the Lord.

In Hebrew we say, Ele mo'adei Adonai, or mo'adei Yehovah. Even holy convocation, which ye shall proclaim in their season. God gave Israel, our people, seven feasts in the Scriptures. We have them laid before us here. We have Pesach, Matzot, Bikurim, Shavuot, Chatzot, you might say trumpet, atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Seven feasts, Sheva Moadim, Shiva'a Moadim, God gave to our people, the people of Israel. And in Leviticus chapter 23, he says very clearly that they are to be proclaimed in their season. There is a season that every feast had to be celebrated. It must be on the very same date that God had given it to the people of Israel.

You will notice that the first four are spring feasts. And the last three are fall feasts. They are separated by three or four months right here in the middle. So God gave spring feasts to Israel and God gave fall feasts to the people of Israel. And every feast, in Hebrew we call it moed, it is an appointed season. It is an appointment that the living God has with his own people. They had to keep those feasts in accordance with the time that he had given unto them. So they couldn't miss one. They couldn't change the date. It was an appointed season, an appointed time, which God had proclaimed.

And the reason for that, that every one of these feasts represent a period of time in history as well. In God's relationship with Israel, and in God's relationship with all humanity. And so, we know very well, not too long ago we celebrated the Feast of Pesach. And we read 1 Corinthians 5, verse 7, Messiah, our Passover, had been sacrificed for us. God did not give Israel the Passover only to look back about deliverance out of Egypt, while it is important, but he also pointed at a future day when a Messiah will come and will make atonement. His blood will be shed. Forgiveness will be provided for those who will believe on him.

We know that linked with Pesach, we have the unleavened bread. And the unleavened bread speaks of the perfection of the Messiah. There was no leaven in him whatsoever. He was sinless, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Then, of course, we have the Feast of First Fruit, which speaks of the resurrection. The Messiah did not remain in the grave when he died. He died, but God was so satisfied with the work of the Messiah that he raised him from among the dead. 1 Corinthians 15 says that he was the first fruit of them that slept. He rose from among the dead, and God had been satisfied with his work.

And so, Pesach, redemption. Unleavened bread, sanctification. First fruits, resurrection. Those are past when it's come to history. It's past. The Messiah came. The Messiah lived and died. And the Messiah rose from among the dead. But linked together with these three feasts, 50 days later, we have this feast that is called in Hebrew Shavuot, in Greek Pentecost. Shavuot in Hebrew means weeks, seven weeks, plus one makes 50 days. 7 times 7, 49 plus 1, 50 and that's why we have the Greek name Pentecost but the Hebrew name is Shavuot. Now what happened on Shavuot? Why is it such an important feast that was given to Israel but in type and in picture it served to speak about event that occurred in history for Israel and as well for mankind.

So in these verses here, verses 15 to verse 21 of Leviticus chapter 23, we receive some of the instructions that God gave to Moshe and to the people of Israel. Let me highlight this for you, brothers and sisters. And listen, it is so important to understand the seven feasts of the Lord. If a person is understanding the Old Testament teaching concerning the Moadim, the seven feasts, it will help us to get the right comprehension of the dealings of God with Israel through the Messiah and with the nations of the world at large. And so we thank God for sending the Mashiach who died for us, who became the.

Name of God. He provided for us redemption. We thank God for the perfection of the Messiah, who is sinless and undefiled, sanctification. We thank God for raising Yeshua the Messiah from among the dead, and he rose up from the grave, he arose, and he is now at the right hand of the majesty on high. But also, beloved brothers and sisters, this is very important, the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. And really, the title that we can give it is Origination. Origination. Why Origination? Because on that period of time in history, the origination of the new covenant, the Brit HaChadasha, had begun. The Messiah died. He was buried and rose.

And God had established a relationship now on the basis of the Brit HaChadasha. That's why we read the New Covenant, and we believe that this covenant is made with the people of Israel, the New Covenant, that all men who believe in Yeshua benefit from the work that Messiah has done and from the New Covenant. Notice now, and I'm back to Leviticus chapter 23, verse 15 and verse 16a, Moses gives Israel an instruction as to the counting, to count the days. And so we read here, and you shall count, Israel had to count, you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Shabbat, from the day that he brought the sheaf of the wave offering, Sheva seven Sabbath, Sheva Shabbatot, seven Sabbath, 49 days.

And then he says, notice verse 15 at the end, he says, shall be complete. And then verse 16a, even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number 50 days. Israel, God give instruction to Moses, Moses give instruction to Israel. You must count 50 days, not 49, not 47, not 52, 50 days from the time that you have offered as it said earlier, the wave offering, you are going to count 50 days. In other words, from the time of the Passover, Israel is to count 50 days until the time of the Feast of Shavuot. Now the Sadducees and the Pharisees differ on that timing because one group believe that it's from the Shabbat after the weekly normal Shabbat day to count 50 days.

On the other hand the other group believe that it's not after the regular weekly Shabbat day to count 50 days but after the actual Shabbat high holiday of the feast of Passover the morrow after Passover so there is a debate and that's why in Jewish history they were not quite sure which Shabbat the Scripture does mean but it says from the morrow after the Shabbat in other words the first day of the week, either the first day of the week of the normal Sunday of the week or the first day. After the Shabbat day of the feast of Passover. Israel was to count 50 days exactly. I'm sure that the early Jewish people in the time of Moses understood it a lot better than many understand this today, but those 50 days are really important as far as God was concerned to count those days because he has in mind an event that is going to happen later on in human history.

So, verse 15 and 16a, Moses gave Israel instruction as to the counting of the days. Notice verse 16b, Moses gives Israel the reason for that feast. Why? You are going to celebrate the feast that is called Shavuot. You know, it seems to be kind of funny names to give to a feast. Weeks. Well, what about if it's nine weeks, or six weeks, or three weeks? Weeks, what a name. But yet, there's a reason. Seven Shabbatot, Sheba Shabbatot, seven weeks, exactly 49 plus one makes it 50. So that's why in the Brit HaChadasha, they don't call so much that name Shavuot, they called it in the Greek 50. The feast of 50, 50 days.

And so in verse 16b, Moses give Israel the explanation as to why is this feast need to be celebrated. And notice, brothers and sisters, it is a feast that really has to do with a new meal offering. It says, ye shall offer a new meal offering unto the Lord. That's the reason. In other words, there was an old meal offering, and now I want you to offer a new meal offering. The Hebrew word for meal offering is the word mincha. Mincha is the only sacrifice that was given to Israel that had no blood in it. You remember in the five sacrificial offerings that Israel was to offer, the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering.

Every one. Of them except one, the meal offering was with blood. Parent offering was with blood. Peace offering was with blood. Trespass offering was with blood. Sin offering was with blood. The only offering that had no blood in it is the meal offering. It's flour presented with oil in the presence of the Lord. That's all. And it is interesting because the meal offering do not speak so much about the death of the Messiah, but the meal offering speaks about the life of the Messiah. He lived a life that was sinless, a perfect life. The way he lived, the word he spoke Yeshua the Messiah was perfect therefore there was no sin in him and it's represented by that flower that was fine flower in that meal offering and it's beautiful to see if we understand the sacrificial system that God had provided for the nation of Israel to offer to him.

And so, verse 16b, Moses give Israel the reason for the feast, and he said it is a new. Meal offering. He's saying, and this will be provided for God as a new one. The old one represents the perfection of the Messiah, but here the new one, it will really represent the believers such as you and I who became part of a redeemed company. So, verse 15 and 16a, Moses give instruction as to how many days. Verse 16b, Moses give Israel the reason for the feast. It's going to be a new meal offering, not an old one. Something that has to do with something new that was going to occur in verse 17 Moses explained to Israel what this new meal offering means and so notice that three things number one he says Israel is to bring out of their homes two wave loaves ye shall bring out of your habitation two wave loaves the Hebrew word is tenufah.

It's lehanif, loaves, bread that you are lifting up and you are waving it and presenting it before the Lord. Secondly, notice that in the same verse 17, Israel is to beg those loaves. And I always, I mentioned it many times when I speak about that, these loaves had to have leaven in them notice this verse 17b and they shall be of fine flour they shall be baked with leaven now wait a minute how could God expect Israel to offer wave loaves as we see here according to verse 17 and these wave loaves are to have leaven in them what is puzzling about this is that leaven. Speaks of sin.

And by waving these two loaves in the presence of God with leaven is something that was abnormal, was not really historically ever given to our people in the Bible, in the Word of God. Because leaven represents sin. If you go back with me for a second to Leviticus chapter 2 and read with me verse 11 it says no meal offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven but now in chapter 23 and verse 17 those meal offering loaves have to have leaven inside and again we will find out in a moment why there were two loaves and secondly why those two had to have leaven inside.

Notice the third thing. It says here in verse 17 that those had to be distinguished from the ordinary meal offering. It is a new meal offering. A meal offering that has leaven in it. So clearly an instruction was given to Israel concerning that new thing that was going to happen. New meal offering. This new meal offering is to have leaven in it. And they are to be called wave loaves. They are to be called lechem tenufah. Lechem, it's bread. Tenufah means wave before the Lord. And so, interesting, because those two wave loaves, in a prophetic sense of the word, you remember, it will show us that something will happen during Shavuot.

And it will have in that happening that is going to happen in a future day, those two laws will represent really, which we're going to find in a moment, Jewish people and Gentile people who are sinners by nature, but will be united together into one body. A company who are being united together by the Spirit of God, which will be given and poured upon this earth in future day, as far as Israel was concerned. So, verse 15 to verse 17, we have covered, beloved brothers and sisters, but now notice that Moses received an instruction from the Lord that even if you are going to present these two wave laws before the Lord, you cannot bring those wave laws without blood atonement, without sacrifices, because sin represented with the leaven, and because it represents Israel, and represents the Jew and the Gentile, it has to be Israel, and the Gentiles could never come before the Lord without the bloodshed of animals.

And so we read in verse 18 and 19, of a burnt offering, of a sin offering, of a peace offering, blood had to be shed. Look at this, it says, And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs, without blemish, of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams. They will be offered for a burnt offering, for a meal offering, for a drink offering. Notice verse 19. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and the two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of a peace offering. You notice this? Blood had to be shed. Animals had to be killed.

The life of the flesh is in the blood and God has given to us to make an atonement for our souls. And therefore, even though these two waves, waves before the Lord, representing Israel or the Jew and the Gentile united together, yet beloved brothers and sisters, blood had to be shed in order for them to be accepted by the Lord, as we have here in this passage. So, quickly, just to lead us into the Brit Hadashah passage, Moses now instructs the priests what to do in verse 20 and 21. In verse 20, the priests shall wave them. And it says here, notice that verse 20, he will wave them with the bread of the first fruit, for a wave offering before the Lord with two lambs, they shall be holy to the Lord for the priests.

So when the priest will wave those two loaves, he will wave them along with the sacrifices. In other words, in order for these wave loaves to be accepted by God, blood had to be shed. Animal had to be killed. Because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul, Leviticus 17 and verse 11. And so verse 21, he concludes and Moses gives additional instruction to Israel. Number one, it is a holy convocation. Number two, it is a day when Israel to do no manner of work. And number three, in verse 21, it should be a statute forever.

In Hebrew, chukat olam. Every generation, the people of Israel are to keep that feast. It should be something that will be a holy convocation, no work, it become a high Shabbat. And Israel is to celebrate that feast every year, 50 days after Passover, the feast of Shavuot, the feast of weeks, which is so clearly represented before us a period of time where a new era will begin, you might say. Origination of the new covenant, the Spirit of God will descend from heaven, Jew and Gentile will be united together, presented before the Lord, and a new period in history will begin until, beloved brothers and sisters, the Feast of Trumpets will begin, and then will lead us to the Day of Atonement, which ultimately will bring us to the feast that we call the Feast of Sukkot, the Messianic Kingdom.

Now, if you just understand this, the first four feasts have ended. The next three feasts are still awaiting. And in between, beloved brothers and sisters, Israel as a nation is still scattered around the world. The Jewish people are scattered, and yet there is the sowing and the reaping, the preaching of the message of the Gospel, the sharing of the fact that God had provided a way of salvation right now through the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah. So, linking with this, please go to Acts chapter 1. I want to link this with it. We are now passing many ages from the time that Israel received the instruction for Shavuot.

And now in Acts chapter 1, the Messiah has come. And he had already died on the tree. He was buried and he rose. The resurrection day is over. The Messiah rose from among the dead. So now is the time for him either to restore Israel as a nation and to regather them and to establish the Messianic kingdom or to introduce something that they needed to learn even those early disciples. So notice it. Somebody asked us this question in our Bible classes in Acts 1, verse 4. Look what these early Jewish believers in Yeshua asked Yeshua the Messiah. Being assembled together with them, this is after the resurrection, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.

Which, saith he, ye have heard of me? For John was truly baptizing with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Ruach HaKodesh. Not many days hence and they therefore that came together they asked of him and they said not a state brothers and sisters this is so interesting those early Jewish believers in Jesus the Messiah wanted to restore the kingdom to Israel as far as they were concerned they didn't quite grasp of the present day dispensation that you and I live in today we would call it the Ekklesia day the assembly days in which Jew and Gentile are united together, they didn't quite get it.

So what did they say? They said to him in verse 6b, Will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? They were concerned of the restoration of the nation of Israel, of the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. You see, they assume that here we have the Messiah have died, his life was shown that he was the Messiah he rose and they were anticipating now to go all the way to the Messianic kingdom they didn't understand that there will be a period of time where there will be you might say a waiting season until Israel will be restored so they asked him the question Yeshua is sitting with them there on the mountain before he went to heaven and they said to him Lord, are you going to restore again the kingdom to Israel?

They remembered the great days of King Shlomo HaMelech, King Solomon, or David, his father, where Israel as a nation was a nation that was reckoned among the nations of the world. And when Solomon reigned, all the nations around the nation of Israel recognized the God of Israel. They saw the uniqueness of King Solomon, the wisdom that he had. The 40 years that he reigned in such a way there was peace in the land that they wanted those days back. But the Lord had to teach them something. Look, he's saying to them, you want the kingdom back. But in order for the kingdom to be established, the Messianic kingdom represented by the Feast of Booth here, represented the Messianic kingdom where the Messiah will reign as king of Kings and Lord of lords, that will not be yet coming.

It will be delayed for a while. It will be postponed for a while. And I don't have to tell you this. 2,000 years passed by since the death of Yeshua the Messiah and there is no kingdom. The Jewish people scattered. The formation of the body of Messiah had begun. The future promise of the restoration of Israel, as we read in Isaiah 11, is yet awaiting. And even when you have the Jewish people in the land, seven, seven and a half million Jewish people, they're still our own nation, our own families are still in unbelief. And the vast majority are secular. So it's not the kingdom as yet.

And the Lord had to teach them this lesson. Already 2,000 years ago, he says, listen, verse 7 of Acts chapter 1, he said unto them, it is not for you to know the time or the seasons which the Father has put in His own power. It's not for you to know. God, the Father, knows the program that He has. He will bring it to pass. He says, but I tell you, He said to them, what's going to happen? You shall receive, I'm reading verse 8, you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Look what he's answering them. They wanted, after the resurrection of the Messiah, they wanted, in a sense, to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle, the Kingdom Age. But Yeshua had to teach them a lesson. No, no, no. It's not yet. God knows the timing. God knows the scheduling. He's going to bring it to pass in his time. But I tell you what is going to happen. You are going to receive power. You're going to receive the person of Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit of God. And you can see it in the feast of Shavuot, where the Spirit of God would come. And the Spirit of God will form you into one body, will, as we say in English, baptize you, in Hebrew, lehitavel, to put you under, into one company, one company called the body of Messiah.

And so he's saying to them in this verse, he says, you will receive power, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you are going to be witnesses to me, not only in Israel, you are going to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, even unto the uttermost parts of this world, including Canada and Toronto. In other words, you are going to be witnesses. You know, brothers and sisters, you and I have benefited from these early Jewish believers who preached the gospel and the message that they proclaim reached to us today. You and I have accepted Yeshua, the Messiah, today because they were faithful to preach the message of the gospel and be witnesses all over the world, beyond the borders of Israel into all the nations of the world.

So in Acts chapter 1, verses 4 to 8, Yeshua points to the promise of the Father. He's promising, here is what God had promised. He's promising to send Ruach HaKodesh in order to fill believers and to put them into one body and that these people together will be a testimony all over the world. And so he made that promise to them. The Feast of Shavuot point to the origination of the new, the Brit HaChadashah, and the beginning of what we call the body of Messiah. So remember, 50 days haven't arrived yet. He hasn't gone to heaven yet. In fact, just turn with me to Acts chapter 2 now. In the first verses which we have read, Notice it happened to be that after Yeshua went to heaven, then it says, when the day of Shavuot was fully come.

That's what we have now in Acts chapter 2. You see, Yeshua went back to heaven. He sent the disciples back to Jerusalem, to the upper room. In the upper room in Jerusalem, there were about 120 Jewish believers waiting for the promise of the Father. They were sitting there, they were praying. Can you imagine what a sight it must have been? They had a lot of fear because of the opposition that they have experienced, but they have trusted God and they waited for the promise of the Father. And it says here, when the day of Shavuot was come. Again, you remember Shavuot in Greek Pentecost, in Hebrew Shavuot, It's exactly 50 days from the Shabbat after the Passover.

And now you see these very Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah sitting in Jerusalem and finally the day of Shavuot has arrived. It does say in our chapter, when the Feast of Pentecost or Shavuot was fully come. 50 days have arrived. Notice what we find out, brothers and sisters, in these few verses. We find out in verse 1 that 50 days pass by, and then two things we find out about the condition of these early believers. Number one, they were all together in one place. All in one place. You see verse 1? They were all with one accord and in one place. They were in one accord. They had harmony among themselves.

And they were in one locality in the city of Yerushalayim. One place, one accord. One accord, one place. It's so beautiful to see because today it's hard to find out any group of believers that are in one accord. And oftentimes we are not in one place because the divided condition of the people of God today, it's so much different than how things have started. One accord, one place. Can you imagine a company of believers to have one mind? To have one focus? Opposition all around them? Families misunderstanding them? Religious leaders saying to them, you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong, Yeshua is not the Messiah. And yet they say, no, no, we believe that he is the Messiah.

We are waiting for the promise of the Father. So they are sitting there together, they are praying together. We read in the earlier part of chapter 1, there's a time of prayer, and they were in one place, they were waiting for the promise of the Spirit of God to come down upon them and to form them into one body. Notice now in verse 2 and verse 3 of Acts chapter 2, look at the descending of the Spirit of God. All of a sudden something has happened. It says here, suddenly there came sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Now let me remind you that the Holy Spirit of God is a divine person. Just like Yeshua is a divine person, God the Son. Just like God the Father is a divine person, God the Holy Spirit is a divine person. Ruach ha'Elohim. He's a person. And when he's going to come down to this earth to form and to unite believers into one body, there will be some sort of an unusual event that is going to happen. So we read here that suddenly there came a sound from heaven. And the sound was as a rushing, mighty wind. And this person of the Holy Spirit of God filled the whole house where they stayed.

It is fascinating to see how the person of Ruach HaKodesh is uniting and coming and affecting all those believers that were there in this house. Now, we don't read in this verse how these things happened. We only hear that there was suddenly came a sound from heaven and that sound was like a rushy, mighty wind and that the whole house was filled. But we don't read exactly how things have happened there when the Spirit of God came. But if you would just turn the page to Acts 11, I want you to notice that because Peter explained what happened in Acts chapter 2 a little bit later on when he was in the house of Cornelius.

Acts 11 and verse 15, Peter explained, and he said, as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them. Notice he continued, as on us at the beginning. You see, he's saying, just the same like in Acts chapter 10, it fell on Cornelius' house on the Gentile, the Holy Spirit fell on us at the beginning, Acts chapter 2. He's looking back and he's telling the story. Notice what he said in verse 16. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit of God, beloved brothers and sisters, when he came down from heaven in Acts chapter 2, He baptized, and here where we need the Lord's help on that, in Hebrew the word baptized means lehitavel.

And lehitavel means to be placed into or being put under. There is what you call water baptism, but there is also what is called spirit baptism. So what happened in Acts chapter 2 and verse 2, that the Spirit of God came and put them under or put them into one company known as the body of Mashiach, the body of Christ. He put them into. Now, they were all Jews. They were not Gentiles in Acts chapter 2. But later on, the Gentiles, the goyims are going to come in because ye shall be my witnesses. Beginning in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and at the most part of the earth, Later on, the Gentiles will also be put into that company later on.

So, beautiful to see that. The descending of the Holy Spirit of God and the whole house was filled, as it says here. In other words, the Spirit of God filled that house with His presence. He is a divine person. He filled out the whole house with the presence of the Spirit of God. And so we read in verse 3, when he came, there was an appearance, there was a manifestation. If the Holy Spirit of God was going to come down to this world, there will be a manifestation. And so it says here, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues, or parted flames, like as of fire, and it set upon each of them.

So you might see, visually speaking, the Spirit of God descended, but the appearance of the Spirit of God here was, as it says here in verse 3, like parted flame, like fire, and it rested upon each of them. In other words, to show visually that something had occurred here. Every believer, it was evident that the Spirit of God had rested upon this person and put him into that one body because this manifestation of the person of the Spirit of God has parted flames of fire. He has rested upon each individual there, according to verse 3. And then notice that in verse 4 it says, The Spirit filled and baptized all those believers into that one single body.

Notice that I'm reading verse 4. And they were all filled. Or were baptized with the Holy Spirit. And they began to speak with other tongues or other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now that word, to speak with other tongues, is clearly, if you read the rest of the passage, it's other languages. In other words, when they began to speak for God, they never took a course to learn a language of someone who came from another country. They received the ability to speak the language and present the Lord in a language that was understood by the other person who heard it. How do I know that?

If you just go a little bit further into chapter 2, it gives you the name of the languages of the countries. It says in verse 9 Perthians and Medes and Elamites and the dwellers of Mesopotamia and Judea Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia Pyrgyia Pampylia, Egypt, Libya Sirene, Rome and notice what it says Jews and proselytes Crete and Arabians listen, we do hear them speak in our language in our tongues the wonderful works of God. You see, brothers and sisters, these early Jewish believers in Acts chapter 2, who were baptized into one body, who put into one body, they began to speak as a witness to the new era that had began.

They were speaking about the wonderful works of God. They glorified God. They spoke perhaps in confidence of the work that Yeshua had accomplished on the tree of his love for mankind of the price that he paid how God is so wonderful in providing for us redemption they never took a course to have this language spoken and God gave them that gift to be able to speak and to present the message of the gospel to all those Jewish people who came from all over the nations of the world who needed to hear that Yeshua indeed is the Messiah. So, this is so important to understand. Again, the Spirit of God came, the descending of the Spirit of God, and this is the origination of the body of Messiah, the new covenant had begun by the finished work of Yeshua the Messiah.

He has gone to heaven, He has ascended, and now He sent the Spirit of God to give us as a seal to show us that the new era had begun, the body of Messiah. Now, please turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. We read in verse 13 and 14. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink notice of the same Spirit notice the word for Spirit is with capital S that's the Holy Spirit of God the verse began with the Holy Spirit and ends with the Holy Spirit that's the coming of the Holy Spirit down from heaven to unite the believers into one body This is a representation of the two loaves, Jew and Gentile, who are living in us, sin in us.

But God accepts us on the basis of the finished work of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah. By one Spirit, we will all be put into one body, Jew or Gentile, bound or free. And we all have been made to drink into that one person of the Holy Spirit of God. Now let me link it finally with Ephesians chapter 2. And just turn there please. And I'm going to sum it as Paul represents this to us in Ephesians chapter 2. Verse 14, we read these words. For he is our shalom. Who is the he? This is Yeshua. Who has made both one how he had made us one he said he had broken down the middle wall of partition between us you see there was a wall that had existed between Israel the nation and the Gentile world Israel was a separated nation the Gentiles were separated God said to the people of Israel not to mingle with the nations of the world and he lifted up this wall of separation He gave Israel the law.

He gave Israel the commandments. He instructed our own people how to sacrifice the sacrificial system, the feasts, and all that which he had given to Israel, which was not given to the nations of the world. But when the Messiah came, and he paid the price of the sin of this world, the sin of mankind, he, as it says here, notice that, he is our Shalom, who had made both one and broken down the middle wall of partition that was between us. That separation that existed before the Mashiach came now had been broken down. Verse 15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments containing in ordinances so to make in himself of the twain one new man.

So making shalom, so making peace. You see what happened? The law condemned us every time. When God says you shall not covet we have covenant, we deserve to die. When God says honor your father and your mother and we fail to do so, we deserve to die. But you see what God said? I'm going to send the one that fully obeyed my laws which you failed to fulfill. And he in his flesh lived the kind of a life that totally pleased God and God now can take a sinner who deserved to die he can receive him on the basis of the finished work of Yeshua who have abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law of commandments ordained in ordinances for to make of himself of the twain one new man you know by the way that when we don't obey God's law we become enemies of God we became enemies what do you think God is going to say to you and me well you can carry on in your own way you are not quite perfect you are 95% but I will kind of let you pass by it doesn't work like that if God is holy he cannot let sin and a sinner to enter into his presence Jewish sinner or Gentile sinner.

So Messiah has come and in his own flesh he took upon himself first of all in his life he pleased God and secondly in his death he pleased God. So God now is able to accept. You and I and notice all of the twain again brothers and sisters forgive me for belaboring this all of the twain the two loaves that had leaven in them were not given there historically by accident God looked over the ages he knew that that will represent the time of the coming of Ruach HaKodesh forming the body of Messiah and beginning this new covenant origination of the new covenant waiting the day when Israel is going to be regathered and restored back to the land and establish the Messianic kingdom we live in this age in between these 3-4 months where Israel is scattered and the present time in which we live in the Messiah is in heaven as the head we are the body of Mashiach here on earth, Jew and Gentile united together waiting for the day when the Messiah will come and take us to be with him at home and establish the promised Messianic kingdom that is still awaiting this is how beautiful it is for they're making one new man of the twain.

You see, in the body of Mashiach, they are all true believers, Jew and Gentile, leavening the Jew, leavening the Gentile, but forgiven on the basis of the work of the Messiah, accepted in the Beloved, and now being put into the body of Messiah. And we read, notice that, How beautiful. Verse 16, it says, Yeshua reconciled us into one body and that he might reconcile both unto God. You see, we were enemies of God. We had no ground to stand before God and God had to reconcile us. How did he do so? It says here on a basis of the bloodshed of the Lord, it says in verse 16, in one body he reconciled.

How did he reconcile that, beloved brothers and sisters? By the cross. By the cross, by the tree where Yeshua died, having slain the enmity thereby. You know, brothers and sisters, when we're going to get to heaven, we're going to again and again thank our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, for the cross where he died on a Roman tree, a Roman cross, hanging between heaven and earth. Hanging between two malefactors, left upon, mocked upon by men, rejected and despised. Above his cross it says, this is Yeshua, the king of the Jews, Melech ha-Yehudim. They mocked at him. They thought they had done away with him. But God, in his wisdom, made shalom, made new men, one new man of Jew and Gentile who will only believe on him but it must be on the basis of the shed blood of the Messiah by the cross having slain the enmity thereby.

Notice it says in verse 17 and he came and he preached peace to you which were far off. This is to the Gentiles Paul saying to the Ephesians but also to them that were nigh. This is us the Jewish people. You know we get up in the morning in Israel we say shalom. We go out of the house, we say shalom. We go to our school and our work, we say shalom. We come back home, we say shalom. On the street, shalom. But there is no shalom. But the only way to have shalom, true shalom in the full sense of the word, is as we have here.

He came and he preached shalom to you which were far off, the goyim, and to them which were nigh, the Jewish people. And you notice it says in verse 18, And through him, we both, Jew and Gentile, have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Again, please look at this, and I'm going to conclude. Again, the Spirit of God came, formed the two laws representing Jew and Gentile united. The body of Messiah had begun. The new covenant had started, origination. And so he's now accepted us and through him, we both, Jewish and non-Jewish individuals, have access to the Father. We can come to the Father, we can call him Abba.

Abba, I cry to you for my needs. Abba, I have many things that are on my mind. Abba, help me. But it is done through the person of the Holy Spirit of God and through the work of the Messiah. You notice, and I'm going to conclude with this, in verse 18 you have all the three persons of the Godhead. Through Him, this is Yeshua. We both have access by one Spirit, this is the Holy Spirit of God. And to the Father, this is God the Father. All the three persons of the Godhead are involved in forming the body of Messiah, as it's known here today. For by one Spirit, we all have been baptized or put into one body, Jewish, Gentile, bond free.

And we all were made to be partakers of the same Holy Spirit of God. Now, when these days will be over, soon the days of the ecclesia are going to be over. And then our Jewish people, the people of Israel, are going to be regathered back to the land, the Feast of Trumpets. They are going to go through a terrible time called the Tribulation, Tzarat Yaakov, Jacob's Trouble. That's in the Day of Atonement. But at the end of the Day of Atonement, the end of the seven years of Tribulation, the Messiah will come and He will establish what is known to be the Feast of Tabernacle, the Feast of Sukkot, where Israel will be safe in the land.

And a thousand-year reign of Messiah will happen in the future day. Israel is restored back to the land, accepting the Messiah, Yeshua, who will reign over Israel as King of Kings and as Lord of lords. What a day is awaiting for us, beloved brothers and sisters. Can we say Amen to that? Amen.