Pentecost Was Not Fulfilled! Part 2

Pentecost is Not Fulfilled!

Chapter 8, Part 2 Preview: Was the primary meaning of the Day of Pentecost fulfilled on the day when the Holy Spirit breathed new life into The Assembly (Ekklesia) that Jesus (actually Yeshua, off site) promised He would “rebuild” [Strong’s 3618], or does Pentecost have more to do with events taking place “BEFORE the coming of the great and awesome DAY OF THE LORD”? This chapter is not focused on the first century Pentecost, it is about the prophesied events necessary to fulfill the essence of Pentecost’s meaning—that Peter thought was going to happen right then and there. Peter actually jumped the gun on Pentecost in 31 AD, thinking that “the Day of the Lord” was about to begin. Why did he think that “the Day of the Lord” was imminent then—and why should you now?

This chapter is really about what was NOT fulfilled on Pentecost of 31! For an explanation on the near future fulfillment of Pentecost see: Israel’s Holy Days, Part 2.

Meanwhile, up in the clouds...

We who are alive ... will ... meet the Lord in the air.

There could not be a more affirmative statement that the apostles thought that their generation would live to see the return of Yeshua.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that WE who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet [i.e. Feast of Trumpets]. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then WE who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. WEB

The apostles continued to ask Yeshua when He was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel but He would not tell them:

Acts 1:6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are You NOW restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It isnt for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you [on Pentecost]. You will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

There was very good reason for the disciples to ask if Yeshua were going to restore the Kingdom of Israel. They had come to believe that He was the Messiah and were longing for Him to bring about the political changes described in the entire 49th chapter of Isaiah:

Isaiah 49:5-6 Now says [Yehovah’] who formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, and that Israel be gathered to Him (for I am honorable in the eyes of [Yehovah], and My God is become My strength); 6 yes, He says, “It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give You for a light to the nations, that you may be My salvation to the end of the earth.” WEB

It was simply inconceivable to those who the Messiah would come, but then not fulfill all of the Messianic promises in their generation. [For that matter, John the Baptist, the Elijah to come of Matthew 11:13- 14, did not fulfill much of his mission, as prophesied in Malachi 4:5-6 either. See Does God Travel in Time?

There was another extremely compelling reason that the apostles expected that they would see the Kingdom restored. The apostles knew for certain, in hindsight, that the the mysterious seventy “weeks” prophecy of Daniel 9 was a timetable for their time.

Daniel 9:26 And after sixty two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of a coming ruler shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, and war shall be until the end. LIT

Following Yeshua’s being “cut off” it only seemed logical that the seven year run of the Beast would follow on the heels of the crucifixion.

Daniel 9:27 He [the Abominator] shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the [daily] sacrifice and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out on the desolate. WEB

Daniel elaborated more on the Abominator who would cause the sacrifices to cease in chapter 11.

Daniel 11:30-31 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. KJV

Balaam’s Prophecy

There is another little considered prophecy about the Messiah that would have had a tremendous impact upon anyone living at that time who understood it. It is known as Balaam’s prophecy:

Numbers 24:17-23 “I see Him, but not now. I see Him, but not near. A Star will come out of Jacob. A Scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. 19 Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.” 20 He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall come to destruction.” 21 He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, “Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock. 22 Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, until Asshur carries you away captive.” 23 He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?”

Balaam’s prophecy was inspired by God. It shows that God can even inspire an ass. (Numbers 22:28) This prophecy associates Yeshua’s birth with a Star and also explains in more detail that the Star would eventually destroy the wicked kingdoms. It will be such a traumatic time that Balaam wondered “Alas, who shall live when God does this”? Indeed uncountable people will die then.

There is a very credible account of how the Magi located Yeshua entitled When They Saw the Star (off site) by Henry M. Morris. No other explanation I’ve seen even comes close to the one given here. Certainly the apostles would have been aware of the virgin birth and the signs associated with His birth such as the star. It took some time but they came around:

John 6:69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Between the signs of His birth and their typically late understanding that came with His death, as foretold in the Scriptures, much of what they witnessed with their own eyes, the apostles would have staked their lives on their belief that all of prophecy was about to be fulfilled by their Messiah. Yet time and circumstances proved them wrong. However they were still unquestionably certain that the Messiah had come to their “generation”.

Jewish Expectations

All of the Jews of that time also believed that Daniel’s prophecy was for their own time. In fact Josephus, in his book Wars of the Jews, chapter 6, said that the “oracle” was driving them to “madness”.

“... while at the same time they had it written in their sacred oracles [Daniel 9], ‘That then should their city be taken, as well as their holy house, when once their temple should become four-square.’ But now, what did the most elevate them in undertaking this war, was an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred writings, how,’ about that time, one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth.’ The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular, and many of the wise men were thereby deceived in their determination .... However, it is not possible for men to avoid fate, although they see it beforehand. But these men interpreted some of these signals according to their own pleasure, and some of them they utterly despised, until their madness was demonstrated, both by the taking of their city and their own destruction.”

The Jewish culture was saturated with imminent Messianic expectations.

Here is an example of the thought of the day from The Testament of Judah:

“24. And after these things shall a Star arise to you”... from Jacob in peace, and a Man shall rise from my seed, like the Sun of righteousness, walking with the sons of men in meekness and righteousness, and no sin shall be found in Him. And the heavens shall be opened above Him, to shed forth the blessing of the Spirit from the Holy Father; and He shall shed forth a spirit of *merciful kindness* upon you, and ye shall be unto Him sons in truth, and ye shall walk in His commandments, the first and the last. This is the Branch of God Most High, and this the Well-spring unto life for all flesh. Then shall the sceptre of my kingdom shine forth, and from your root shall arise a stem; and in it shall arise a rod of righteousness to the Gentiles, to judge and to save all that call upon the Lord.”

The Testament of Judah is an apocryphal document supposedly comprising the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. “The testaments were written in Hebrew in the later years of John Hyrcanus, in all probability after his final victory over the Syrian power and before his breach with the Pharisees, in other words, between 109 BC and 106 BC”. (off site)

The Roman’s were also aware of Daniel’s prophecy:

“There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from Judaea to rule the world. This prediction, referring to the emperor of Rome [from the Roman perspective], as afterwards appeared from the event, the people of Judaea took to themselves; accordingly they revolted and after killing their governor, they routed the consular ruler of Syria as well, when he came to the rescue, and took one of his eagles. Since to put down this rebellion required a considerable army with a leader of no little enterprise, yet one to whom so great power could be entrusted without risk, Vespasian (off site) was chosen for the task”.

Emperor Tacitus (off site) also said that: “The majority of the Jewish people were very impressed with the belief that it was contained in ancient writings of the priests that it would come to pass that at that very time, the East would renew its strength and they that should go forth from Judaea should be rulers of the world”. (Tacitus, History, v. 13).

And Emperor Nero was advised by at least one astrologer to move his capital city to Jerusalem because it is prophesied to become the capital of the world —Suetonius, Nero, 40

In Chapter 32: The Mysterious Seventy “Weeks” of Daniel I elaborated on why the the Everlasting Kingdom was not set up in 31 AD. Under different circumstances I believe that it could have been set up then. What circumstances? I simply believe that God did not predestine or cause the Messiah to be rejected and murdered by His own people. That is an issue of free moral agency that was built into the plan. This appears to explain why even Yeshua did not know for certain, until the last minute, whether or not He would be spared from being the ultimate sacrifice when it is recorded that:

Mark 14:35-36 He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from Him. 36 He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from Me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire.” WEB

The root word for “possible” is “dunamai” , Strong’s. It means “to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom”.

It is simply no wonder that so many Jewish people thought that the Seventy Weeks prophecy would be immediately fulfilled. When the prophecy failed (1 Corinthians 13:8 ... but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail ... KJV) the Jews began to question their interpretation of Daniel and come up with various alternative explanations. This accounts for Josephus’ statement about “an ambiguous oracle”.

So after Pentecost the the apostles continued to state that the arrival of the Kingdom of God was imminent until a few years prior to the fall of Jerusalem. But as the years went by and as they saw that the geopolitical trends were not becoming conducive to fulfilling the prophecies, Peter and Paul eventually fell back on the millennial week concept. They began to teach that the Everlasting Kingdom was far in the future!

Notice this change in their thinking. Here is what they said when they thought that the Great Tribulation was imminent. They cautioned:

1 Corinthians 7:25-31 Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my [mistaken] judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy. 26 I think that it is good therefore, because of the distress that is on us, [the perceived coming Great Tribulation] that it is good for a man to be as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Dont seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Dont seek a wife. 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have ‘oppression’ [literally: tribulation] in the flesh, and I want to spare you. 29 But I say this, brothers: the time is short, that from now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they didnt weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didnt rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didnt possess; 31 and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away. WEB

Once they realized that the end of the age was not to be in their time, their judgment was the exact opposite:

I Timothy 5: 14 I desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for insulting. WEB

There was also the belief that the Old Covenant was nearly ready to vanish away and that the “New Covenant” with Judah and Israel was about to replace the old one.

Hebrews 8:13 In that He says, “A New Covenant, He has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is NEAR to vanishing away” . WEB

The Greek word for “near” above is “eggus” , Strong’s egguv (eng-goos’). When it refers to time it means “imminent”.

New Covenant/New Israel

The Old Covenant certainly took a hiatus with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Yet the New Covenant—that will be the Constitution of the restored Kingdom of Israel—was not implemented when it was anticipated:

Hebrews 8:10-12 “For this is the Covenant that I will make WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. After those days [of Tribulation],” says the Lord; "I will put My laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart [presently acquired with difficulty]. I will be their God, and they will be My people. [Presently Israel is far from God.] 11 They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them [not even close to happening now]. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.

Jeremiah foretold the time when God WILL REMEMBER the sins of Israel and that He would bring war, famine and disease. It is the survivors of the Tribulation who will be forgiven their sins!

Jeremiah 14:7-12 Though our iniquities testify against us, work for your name’s sake, [Yehovah]; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You. 8 You hope of Israel, its Savior in the time of trouble, why should You be as a foreigner in the land, and as a wayfaring man who turns aside to stay for a night? 9 Why should You be like a scared man, as a mighty man who cant save? Yet You, [Yehovah], are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; dont leave us. 10 Thus says [Yehovah] to this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore [Yehovah] does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11 [Yehovah] said to me, Dont pray for this people for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and meal offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. WEB

Hosea also indicated that there would not be a free ride. It will definitely be a while before God “will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more”—an indispensable prerequisite of the New Covenant.

Hosea 9:7-9 The days of visitation have come. The days of reckoning have come. Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, and the man who is inspired to be insane, because of the abundance of your sins, and because your hostility is great. 8 A prophet watches over Ephraim with my God. A fowler’s snare is on all of his paths, and hostility in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them for their sins.

Yet even Moses prophesied that “in the latter days”, during a time of Great Tribulation those seeking God with all their heart and with all their soul would receive mercy because God will renew His Covenant with them.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 But from there you shall seek [Yehovah] your God, and you shall find Him, when you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in ‘oppression’ [tribulation, KJV], and all these things are come on you, in the latter days you shall return to [Yehovah] your God, and listen to His voice: 31 for [Yehovah] your God is a merciful God; He will not fail you, neither destroy you, nor forget the Covenant of your fathers which He swore to them. WEB

Here is the current condition of Israel:

Joshua 24:19-20 Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve [Yehovah]; for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins. 20 If you forsake [Yehovah], and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after He has done you good.”

The “New Covenant” is by no means fulfilled by individuals being converted at this time. Spiritual conversion simply does not fulfill the detailed prophecy concerning the New Covenant, that is explained in painstaking detail in all of Jeremiah 31.

The First 7000 Year “WEEK”

There are two perspectives that I have encountered regarding “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years”. Either people are aware of the ancient 6000 year deadline (that is reaching critical mass right now) or else they think that God inspired His apostles to think that time is totally irrelevant! Those who understand the permanence of the Sabbath generally understand the plan. This often goes over the head of those who believe that the Sabbath was done away with. Was it?

Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains therefore a Sabbath rest [sabbatismos sab-bat-is-mos’: a keeping sabbath] for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered into His rest has Himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. WEB

Isaiah 66:22-23 “For as the New Heavens and the New Earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me” , says [Yehovah], “so your seed and your name shall remain. 23 It shall happen, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me” , says [Yehovah]. WEB

The Apostle Peter did need to mention that God had not delayed His coming! Some were giving up. But by now Peter was referring to the last days as futuristic. He said that when the last days came that the skeptics would denounce the faithful. Listeners of his day readily understood what Peter meant about the day/millennia statement. He did not need to elaborate. It was only for a while that they thought that God would cut short His 7000 year long plan—the plan that they had been taught from childhood.

2 Peter 3:3-9 ... knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth formed out of water and amid water, by the word of God; 6 by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. 7 But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But dont forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

There is a lot of history concerning the knowledge of the 7000 Year Plan (off site). The article linked here quotes many very old writers who were aware of the concept centuries and even millennia ago. The commentary of the second half is good too.

I looked up online one of the quotes from the above link and added a bit of context. This quote is from Irenaeus (150 AD.) who was taught by Polycarp, who was taught by the Apostle John. I do suspect that translators—the very heretics he was blasting, altered some of the things attributed to Irenaeus!

“And he shall order an image of the beast to be made, and he shall give breath to the image, so that the image shall speak; and he shall cause those to be slain who will not adore it.” He says also: “And he will cause a mark [to be put] in the forehead and in the right hand, that no one may be able to buy or sell, unless he who has the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name; and the number is six hundred and sixty-six,” (5) that is, six times a hundred, six times ten, and six units. [He gives this] as a summing up of the whole of that apostasy which ‘has’ [will have] taken place during six thousand years.

“3. For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: “Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.” (6) This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; (7) and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year. —IRENAEUS AGAINST HERESIES BOOK 5.

Above we have a clear explanation from an early source that the Saints (off site) understood the time frame of prophecy. I dont have a Greek copy of Irenaeus’ book, but I strongly suspect that the “end” spoken of is the word “telos” and that the intent of the word is: “the last in any succession or series” or “that by which a thing is finished, its close, issue” or “the end to which all things relate, the aim, purpose”. Another place where “telos” is poorly rendered is in Romans:

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the ‘end’ [aim] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. KJV

Yeshua was the very aim and purpose of the Law.

Romans 3:31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law! WEB

No Need to be Overtaken as by a Thief in the Night

Most people I talk to expect that Yeshua will return to them as a thief in the night—and I believe them, but I do not plan on being surprised! There are simply too many specific warnings to have an excuse!

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. 4 But you, brothers, arent in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5 You are all children of light, and children of the day. We dont belong to the night, nor to darkness, 6 so then let’s not sleep, as the rest do, but let’s watch and be sober. WEB

God also warned the end time Sardis Assembly to repent:

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. IF THEREFORE YOU WONT WATCH, I will come as a thief, and you wont know what hour I will come upon you.

WATCH!

So we are sternly warned to “watch”. Since we are to be watching for the end time events here is a big one to watch for, and it sounds like television being implied.

Matthew 24:15-16 “Therefore when you see [as in watch] the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the ‘holy place’” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 ‘then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [or mountain].’

Dont let anyone tell you that the “holy place” is the “Church” (off site) because there are a couple of dozen references to it being the temple in Jerusalem. Perhaps the abomination will take place under the very wings of the cherubim that will be inside that end time Third Temple. That is where the ark used to be kept!

1 Kings 8:6 The priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of [Yehovah] to its place, into the oracle of the ‘house’ [temple], to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim.

I expect for the ark of the covenant to come out of hiding and be revered again, at least until the Old Covenant that “grows aged [and] is NEAR to vanishing away”, really is replaced with the New Covenant.

If you arent watching prophecy now, at least watch out when the temple that was destroyed in 70 AD is being rebuilt. Better yet, be there!

Watch for that!

So the the apostles continued to state that Yeshua’s “second coming” was imminent until a few years prior to the fall of Jerusalem. So even Yeshua’s very apostles were mistaken about prophetic chronology!

The “New Covenant” is by no means fulfilled by individuals being converted at this time. Spiritual conversion simply does not fulfill the detailed prophecy concerning the New Covenant that is explained in painstaking detail in all of Jeremiah 31.

Again:

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. IF THEREFORE YOU WONT WATCH, I will come as a thief, and you wont know what hour I will come upon you. WEB

How does God know what will happen. Is He continually tweaking every news worthy circumstance so that His agenda stays on course or is there a far simpler explanation without trillions of variables? Some of the material on that topic that had been in this chapter now appears in Does God Travel in Time?

Some Scriptures are from the “New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.” “Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 372 14-1000.