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The Prophetic Fulfillment This synchronizes with promises in Scripture of latter-day messianic Jewish revival. Increasing numbers of Jewish people will believe in Yeshua until in the final day “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). I personally believe that the growing revival among Jews believing in the Messiah today indicates that we are drawing close to that time. The explosive growth of the messianic Jewish movement testifies to this modern reality. Acts 2 reveals amazing details confirming the Jewish background of this New Testament Pentecost. Ezekiel 1 is the tradi-tional reading from the prophets for Shavuot. This passage dramatically describes Ezekiel’s vision of the glory of God. He describes the tremendous manifestation in these terms: I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal (Ezekiel 1:4). Imagine thousands of Jewish worshipers leaving the Temple after the morning service (at the third hour, Acts 2:15) having just read the passage from Ezekiel 1. Suddenly some of the same manifestations of the Holy Spirit started to appear before their eyes! No wonder they were amazed and perplexed by the windstorm and fire. It certainly got their attention! They must have wondered if God was revealing his Shekinah glory for the first time in nearly 600 years! The glory of God was present at the giving of the Law; the same glory was manifested at the giving of the holy spirit. The prophet later wrote: “I will put my Spirit in you and cause you to walk in my statutes...” (Ezekiel 36:27). These Jewish pilgrims, who had come from all over the dispersion, were hearing the impossible. These Galilean disciples were speaking various languages with such an exact “dialect” that the crowds saw it as an irrefutable miracle. Having received their undivided attention through these acts of God, Peter was able to preach a powerful sermon about Messiah Yeshua, and 3000 Jews responded to salvation. The first fruits of believers had come in a wonder-full way! The apostle James, in his letter to the Jewish believers (James 1:1), emphasizes this historical fact as he reminds his readers: Having made his decision, he gave birth to us through a word that can be relied upon, in order that we should be a kind of firstfruits of all that he created (James 1:18). The theme of Shavuot can be best summed up by the word revival. Israel was called to praise God for the first fruits of the ground, knowing that these early fruits assured the latter harvest. This also applies to the spiritual Kingdom of God. The first fruits of believers at Shavuot virtually guarantees a revival in the latter-day spiritual harvest for Messiah. Now we can understand why God included Shavuot in the three required festivals for every Jewish male. As Passover speaks of redemption, Shavuot speaks of revival, especially during this era. The message of Shavuot is one of great hope and joy. May the day come soon when the holy spirit will be poured out upon the house of David, and they will all look, in faith, to the one who was pierced (Zechariah 12:10). The materials here were taken directly from God's Appointed Times with the publisher's permission.
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