God often synchronizes His events with those of man and those which He commanded long ago. It’s fascinating to see that God is never in a hurry, never behind schedule, and loves people enough to include them in His plans.
Celebrations
As children of Adam, it is in our nature for us to celebrate events. Birthdays, wedding anniversaries, 12-step milestones, births of nations. Consider the Lozi tribe in Zambia. Their king is very revered and influential.
Each year, when the rains come, their lowland territory becomes flooded. The Lozi people cannot leave their flooded land until the king gives his permission, and he and his entourage are the first to cross a large river and relocate to his highland territory. It takes eight hours for the king’s boat to cross the river. His arrival kicks off a three-day celebration!
In a few days
Each event that people celebrate carries its unique pomp and circumstance. It is fascinating to see that this natural attribute comes from being created in God’s image, for God is big on ceremonies and celebrations.
A significant difference between God’s events and ours is that God never rushes, nor does He become frenetic, whereas being rushed and frenetic is part and parcel of humanity’s staged events. Notice what Jesus communicated to His apostles.
John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. – Acts 1:5
Pentecost
Why, in a “few days?” God’s plan was to birth Christ’s Church on the Jewish day of Pentecost. Jerusalem would then be teaming with Jews from both foreign and domestic lands. They would be there to celebrate the day of Pentecost. Little did they know that God would institute a new Pentecost.
The word Pentecost means “50”, so for the Jews, Shavuot (Pentecost) comes seven weeks (49 days +1) after the second night of Passover, therefore “50”. For Christians, Pentecost comes 50 days after Easter.
What better way to showcase the fulfillment prophecies in the book of Joel? With Jerusalem filled with people that spoke myriad languages, the Holy Spirit had the perfect platform to point people to the miraculous, to the birthing of the Church for the whole world, testified to by the first members of the first church proclaiming the glory of Jesus in every tongue, every language.
Coming Soon, an Extraordinary Celebration
In chapter one of Act, we find Jesus telling His disciples, hang on for just a few days more, and then you will see Me, again, in the miracles which the Father has ordained. Of course, the apostles wanted to know, “So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) But Jesus said the timing for that event was hidden.
We love to celebrate. God loves to celebrate. I am confident that there will be an extraordinary celebration on that day when Jesus calls us home.