The Jewish feast of Pentecost may be called the birthday of the Christian church. It was also the anniversary of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, though it does not appear that a day was observed by the Jews in commemoration of the event. Fifty days after our Lord's resurrection the church was formed—its history commenced. The Old Testament saints form no part of the New Testament church. It had no existence in fact until the day of Pentecost.
All saints, from the beginning, have the same eternal life, they are the children of the same God and Father, and the same heaven will be their home forever; but the Old Testament saints belong to another dispensation, or to the different dispensations which ran their course before Christ came. Each dispensation has its own rise, progress, decline, and fall, in scripture; and will have its own reflection in heaven. Neither persons nor dispensations will be undistinguished there.
Hence the Apostle in Heb. 11, when speaking of the ancient worthies, says, "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." Surely if God has provided a better thing for us, it must also be a different thing. Let us not object to God's own word. Besides, our Lord in Matt. 16 says, "On this Rock I will build My church." And at the same time, He gave the keys to Peter to open the doors of the new dispensation. Then He had not begun to build His church, and the doors of the kingdom were not opened. But the difference between the old and the new will be more distinctly seen when we speak of the great events of the day of Pentecost. We begin with the types of Leviticus, chapter 23.
The children of Israel were commanded to bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of their harvest to the priest, that he might wave it before the Lord, to be accepted for them. This rite, we believe, shadowed forth our Lord's resurrection on the morning after the Jewish sabbath, the ground of the Christian's acceptance before God in the risen Christ. "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it." (See Matt. 28 and Mark 16.)
Seven full weeks after the waving of the sheaf, the feast of Pentecost was celebrated. The former was reckoned to be the first day of the harvest in Judea; the latter supposed the corn to be fully gathered in. Then they had a solemn festival of thanksgiving. Two loaves of bread, baken with the flour of the new harvest, characterized this festival. They were to be baken with leaven, and brought out of their habitations. Some have thought that the two loaves prefigured the out-calling of the church as composed of Jew and Gentile. Be this as it may, the number is significant. Two witnesses were necessary for a testimony in Israel. The leaven indicates, we doubt not, indwelling sin in the believer, and, of course, in the church, viewed in its time condition.
With the wave sheaf—beautiful type of the risen Christ, pure and holy—sacrifices of a sweet savor were offered, but no sacrifice for sin. With the two wave loaves—type of those who are Christ's—a sin-offering was presented. Sin, being there, a sin-offering was needed to cover it. Though the one perfect sacrifice of Christ answered to God for both indwelling sin, and the many actual sins of the life; still, as a matter of fact and experience, sin dwells in us, and will do so as long as we are in this world. All acknowledge this, though all may not see the completeness of the work of Christ. The Christian has by one offering been perfected forever, though he may humble himself and make confession to God for every failure.
The typical significance of Pentecost was remarkably fulfilled in the descent of the Holy Ghost. He came down to gather together the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 11:5252And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. (John 11:52).) By this great event the system of Judaism was set aside, and the new vessel of testimony—the church of God—was introduced. And now, observe, the order of events. First,