Pentecost - why read RuthAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2025-08-14 | Some Rabbis claim that Elimelech was a wealthy Jew who fled Israel so that he could not be approached for assistance at a time of national crisis. The rest of the book of Ruth is supposed to highlight the consequences of this act. I see no indication of this in the book. Even though Naomi was famous in the city there is nothing in the text to suggest that her husband was unethical, and indeed that would break the allegory with the God of the Old Covenant.

Pentecost and EkklesiaAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2021-01-01 | God has shown us that there are three spiritual harvests. The process starts with Passover but the first reaping is Christ at the first omer. He is the first of the firstfruits and is represented by the wave sheaf at Unleavened Bread. Next is Pentecost the firstfruits which includes Christ again but now as husband. There are two loaves waved at Pentecost. These represent Christ and the Church. The Feast of Tabernacles and The Last Great Day are the final harvest.

Pentecost in the PlanAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2022-06-10 | Pentecost is linked to the Passover season and Tabernacles season. Everything starts with Passover. It is like the story of a damsel in distress. Passover is the price that is paid for her life and freedom and without that she has no hope at all. Passover breaks her bonds but she still has to escape the domain of her captors. Her environment of sin (Egypt) will be with her until she is given a new identity at the Red Sea. She will emerge on the other side with a passport to freedom. Her enslaver (Pharaoh) Satan will pursue her until the end so she needs to be in a hurry to go in order to remain one step ahead, which is demonstrated by unleavened bread.

Pentecost timingAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2025-05-17 | The main tool for timing Pentecost is the understanding of when Christ kept it but there is other evidence that can be used to establish the timing. The way that I have conceived of this makes it a very long topic hence I want to summarise so that nobody gets lost in the reading. I begin by stating my understanding of how Shavuot is counted and how it links as a seven. In order to give credence to my opinion I then go into the three scriptures that are fundamental to Shavuot: Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16 and Acts 2. I take Moses at his word that Deuteronomy is the authoritative scripture and that is discussed in this document. I next go to Acts 2 to establish that the Bible follows the description of Isaiah 28:10 and all of the pieces must be put together for the truth to appear. From Leviticus 23 we see that the use of Sabbath there is ambiguous which makes it impossible to use that as a proof text. I follow with evidence that the the attempts to discredit the Pharisees is unfounded, unbiblical and unhistorical, then I go into an ancient Biblical evidence of the first Passover celebrated by Israel in the Promised Land.

Pentecost timing - Acts 2Author: buildontherock | Date: 2021-01-01 | We know that Pentecost was on the correct date in Acts 2 because Christ and the apostles observed it. Whoever established that day did it correctly and that was evidently the Pharisees. The fact that Pentecost was accurate adds further credence to the approach of the Pharisees. If the Pharisees were correct then and there has been no change to their method since then, I propose that their method remains correct.

Pentecost timing - Leviticus 23Author: buildontherock | Date: 2025-05-31 | First let me clarify the objective. Some claim that the words used in Leviticus 23 for rest, Sabbath and so on are all clear and precise and unambiguous. I am claiming that they are not and that they are defined by the context. In other words, I am challenging them to give me one clear precise meaning of each word that can be used everywhere in the Bible without being ridiculous, or redundant and still retain the commonly used understanding. Notice that I am not claiming to know exactly what the words mean, as a matter of fact I am saying that I don't, but neither does anybody else, so avoid the chapter as a proof text.

Pentecost timing - proof from Greek vocabularyAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2022-06-10 | I propose that it is also futile to try to establish when to keep the First of Omer from Greek vocabulary alone. As a matter of fact the Greek seems to have borrowed its problems from the Hebrew. This segment also assists in establishing that the words used for Sabbath in both Hebrew and Greek can also be translated as other words like week and rest as well as to identify Sunday. This is a practice common to both Hebrew and Greek. This information is important to interpreting Leviticus 23. Almost all English translations render the Greek phrases "mian sabbaton", "mias sabbaton", "mia ton sabbaton", and "prote sabbatou" as first day of the week since there does not appear to have been a word for Sunday in Greek usage at that time. Finally I want to show that at least one interpretation of the facts is in line with the previously established method of observing the wave sheaf.

Pentecost timing - the Problem with JoshuaAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2023-05-31 | The problem with Joshua is that they started the harvest without mention of any weekly Sabbath. If the harvest depends on a weekly Sabbath why would they mention other requirements and completely ignore the Sabbath?

Pentecost timing - the flaws of the phariseesAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2021-04-12 | What did the Bible say were the flaws of the Pharisees? Was it that they were ignorant? Was it that they mistranslated the Bible? I was prompted to write this section because of a claim that the flaws of the pharisees disqualified them from being in charge of administering the Law at the time of Christ. The way that I see it that is not true.

Religious PrejudiceAuthor: buildontherock | Date: 2020-08-06 | There is a lot of talk nowadays about embracing other religions. The argument is that there is only one God therefore we should be united in everything and reject nothing. I don't think that actually makes sense. On the other hand people tend to equate religious prejudice with hatred. There is no room for hating people in Christianity. God emphatically says to love our enemies and do good to people that treat us badly. Once we clear up that distinction then we can consider this topic rationally.