Shavuot is the Church´s Birthday!

Aina Torp teaching (photo: Tor H. Lanton)

Aina Torp conveyed last night a foundational teaching on the significance of Shavuot and Pentecost, and the Word was confirmed!Our Pentecost celebration was moved to Monday evening, being a public holiday in our nation, and our pastor Aina taught clearly on what Shavuot means to the Jews, and what Pentecost means to New Testament believers in Christ.

- Pentecost or Shavuot has many names in the Bible (the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Harvest, and the Latter Firstfruits). It is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, Shavuot is traditionally a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel. The name "Feast of Weeks" was given because God commanded the Jews in Leviticus 23:15-16, to count seven full weeks (or 49 days) beginning on the second day of Passover, and then present offerings of new grain to the Lord as a lasting ordinance, said Aina Torp, and continued:

- Shavuot was originally a festival for expressing thankfulness to the Lord for the blessing of the harvest. And because it occurred at the conclusion of the Passover, it acquired the name "Latter Firstfruits." The celebration is also tied to the giving of the Ten Commandments and thus bears the name Matin Torahor "giving of the Law." Jews believe that it was exactly at this time that God gave the Torah to the people through Moses on Mount Sinai.

Aina Torp established that on Pentecost, which is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks, meaning "the fiftieth day", Jews from many nations were gathered in Jerusalem, as commanded by God, so the stage was set for the powerful outpouring of The Holy Spirit (Acts 2), which was characterized by supernatural speaking in tongues. This led to the immediate harvest of 3000 men and women, and subsequently to the Acts of the Apostles!

- Shavuot, or Pentecost, is really the Birthday of the Christian Church, proclaimed Aina Torp joyfully!