Introduction to a Mystery?

Through Adam, sin and death entered the world. Desperately, the “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the willful pride of life” were once again offered by Eden’s provocateur during Yeshua’s forty days in the wilderness. Where the first Adam succumbed to sin, the second Adam did not. Jesus was and still is the spotless Lamb of God “slain before the foundation of the world”. The days following death’s defeat led to the second most significant birthday since the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden was first devoured.

The stage was set for the next stage in God’s plan of the ages at Caesarea Philippi. Soon after their visit to Israel’s pagan and immoral northern capitol, Jesus and His disciples made their way south to Jerusalem. Along the way, Yeshua stopped to meet with Moses and Elijah and discuss His imminent and temporary departure from earth at the hands of those He came to serve.

Within weeks, the Last Seder was followed by Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection. Messiah Jesus was sacrificed at Passover, buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and raised from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits. Yeshua’s fulfillment of the prophetic third feast on Israel’s annual calendar initiated the countdown to the Feast of Shavuot. Starting with the day following the first Sabbath after Passover, seven full weeks are counted.This is a total of 49 days. The next day, the 50th

This is a total of 49 days. The next day, the 50th day, is Shavuot. Another name for this feast is the Feast of Weeks. It was during this period of time that Yeshua revealed Himself to His disciples as their resurrected Messiah. He ascended to heaven on the 40th day after His resurrection. Ten days later, at the completion of the period of Counting the Omer, a new age dawned.

It was at Caesarea Philippi that Yeshua spoke about an entity that until Shavuot remained a mystery. The Church’s foundation is His resurrection. It’s initiation took place on Shavuot. The language Jesus used at Caesarea Philippi was forward looking, not backward. “I will build My Church” was a statement of an event and an entity yet unrealized. Contrary to the assertion of growing numbers of adherents to Reformed Theology, the Church does not have its origins in the Garden of Eden. The Church came into being on Shavuot, the day most of Christendom recognizes as Pentecost.

It was at Pentecost that Yeshua’s future promise of the Church was fulfilled. The time in which we now live is the Church Age. In the same way that a literal rendering of Yeshua’s future promise revealed the coming birth of the Church, a literal rendering of other forward looking prophecies indicate still other future events, the final stages in God’s plan of the ages.

At Nazareth, Yeshua took the scroll He was handed and unrolled it until He found Isaiah 61. As was expected, He read from the portion that was assigned to that day. Then He unexpectedly stopped. The question is “Why?”