Monthly Archives: February 2026

ACTS, BIBLE QUESTIONS, LEVITICUS

WHAT WAS PENTECOST? — BOB PRICHARD

Pentecost was one of the three great feast days of the Jews. (The other two being Passover and Tabernacles.) They observed all three of these feast days by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Christians know Pentecost as the birthday of the church, from Acts chapter two. It was the day on which Peter and the other apostles first preached the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, when “they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” The church then began meeting in Jerusalem, “and the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved” (Acts 2:47 ASV).

Pentecost means “fifty days,” and was the name that Greek speaking Jews gave to the “Feast of the Harvest,” or “Day of First Fruits.” Pentecost was linked with the Passover, because the date of celebrating Pentecost was determined by counting fifty days from the offering of the first fruits of grain after the celebration of Passover.

Leviticus 23:15-16 tells of the institution of the feast of Pentecost: “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.” The “morrow after the sabbath” would be the first day of the week, or Sunday. Seven weeks later, plus the day itself, would make Pentecost always fall on a Sunday. It is thus easy to understand why the early Christians began to meet each Sunday, or first day of the week for worship, since Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, and the church began on the first day of the week.

One of the essential parts of the feast of Pentecost was the offering of two loaves of leavened bread made from the grain crop that had just been harvested. In many ways the feast of Pentecost was a completion of the celebration which had begun with Passover, also known as the “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Fifty days before, the people had eaten unleavened bread, as they began harvesting grain. At the end of the period, they again used leaven and offered a thanksgiving to God in the form of bread made from the first fruits of the harvest.

The second chapter of Acts describes the multitude of men gathered at Jerusalem for Pentecost. “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). Thus there were Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem when the church began, and preparation was made for Christians to take the gospel to the world. God planned the church to take the gospel into all the world, so He planned for the church to begin with a core of believers who would be going into all the world as they returned home from Jerusalem. There is no record of the church celebrating Pentecost as a special day in the New Testament. Any celebration of Pentecost by Christians came long after the apostolic period. The church of the New Testament has only one special day, the first day of the week, or Sunday.

BIBLE, ECCLESIASTES

WHAT DOES “THERE IS NO NEW THING UNDER THE SUN” MEAN? — BOB PRICHARD

The book of Ecclesiastes reflects the experience of King Solomon of Israel, the wisest man who ever lived, but who often lived very unwisely. In Ecclesiastes, he set out to show what the world looks like to man “under the sun.” The “under the sun” perspective is a limited, “this world” perspective, which ignores the fact that God exists and there is much more to life than this world. Solomon wrote just as if there is no God, and this life is all that there is (which is how most people have always lived their lives). They know how they ought to live before God, but usually choose to do things their own way. When Solomon had tried and found wanting every worldly pleasure he concluded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

In the introductory section of the book he wrote, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). In our age of modern technology, it seems almost absurd to say “there is no new thing under the sun,” because practically every day brings forth a new technological advancement, and there is always a new gadget or product for us to enjoy. Solomon was not talking about technological advancements, however, but unchanging principles, especially from the “under the sun” perspective.

His statement about “no new thing” is found in the midst of a discussion of the fact that weather and water cycles continue from year to year, and no matter how hard man works, or what he gets, he always wants more (Ecclesiastes 1:4-10). As Solomon looked at things from the pessimistic view of a man living just as if there were no God, he saw that in the basic areas of life, nothing ever really changes. He recognized that there were technological advancements, but they could not provide the fulfillment he sought: “I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 2:11).

As long as one has only an “under the sun” perspective, the outlook must be pessimistic. Man may find increasingly sophisticated ways to entertain or kill himself, but what really matters is obedience to God. Solomon realized that all the world offers is simply “vanity of vanities” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) without God. His cyclical perspective, his “under the sun” view, of no real change as time passes, was common in the ancient world. The heavenly perspective, however, reveals that history is not going in circles. It began with the creation, and is moving toward the future, under God’s control. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). We now await the return of the Son, when time will be no more.

BIBLE QUESTIONS, CHURCH, JOHN

WHO ARE THE “OTHER SHEEP” OF JOHN 10:16?  — BOB PRICHARD

As Jesus neared the end of His discussion of the “Good Shepherd,” He said, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10:15-16). He spoke of “other sheep,” that would hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, and be part of the “one fold” of the “one shepherd.”

Earlier in His ministry, Jesus sent His disciples to preach to the Jews, commanding them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). These Jews, the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” needed the gospel of Christ, so the disciples took the message of Christ to them first. Jesus, however, looked forward to the time when the gospel would be not only for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well. His desire was that the divisions and barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles (anyone who was not a Jew) would be broken down.

With the establishment of the church of Christ on the day of Pentecost, these barriers, broken down by Christ’s sacrifice, were removed. In his sermon to the multitude gathered in Jerusalem, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:38-39). Peter addressed the saving promise of the gospel to those present, and to “your children, and to all that are afar off.” “All that are afar off” refers to the Gentiles, who were outside the covenant relationship between God and the Jews, His chosen people. Because of the desire of Christ for “one fold” under the “one shepherd,” the gospel message was meant not only for the Jews, but also to the Gentiles.

The gospel of Christ is for the whole world.  Jesus told the disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). The message is the same to “every creature,” whether Jew or Gentile. The message is that “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”  

The Lord unites Jews and Gentiles in His church today because we live under the “better covenant” of the Christian age. “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second” (Hebrews 8:6-7). The message of Christ provides salvation to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” the Jews, and to His “other sheep,” the Gentiles. Every person in the world falls into one of these two categories, and is subject to the gospel of Christ.

BIBLE QUESTIONS

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ASTROLOGY? — BOB PRICHARD

Astrology is a practice based upon the belief that a person’s destiny is greatly influenced, if not determined, by the pattern of the stars in the sky at the time of the person’s birth. Millions of people consult their daily horoscopes (predictions based on astrology) to plan their activities. Although popular, astrology is not based on scientific, rational, or biblical principles. It is simply pagan superstition, which has its roots in the practices of the Babylonians of 4,000 years ago. Sometimes confused with astronomy, which is the  scientific study of the stars and celestial bodies, astrology has no place in modern society.

Astrology has no basis in reality. The astrologer determines the horoscope according to the position of the twelve signs of the zodiac at the time of birth. When astrologers conceived the twelve signs of zodiac, however, men thought that the earth was the center of the universe, and all the stars and planets revolved around the earth. We now know that the earth revolves around the sun, and not even our solar system is the center of the universe. In reality, there are no such things as the signs of the zodiac. They are complete fabrications.

Astrology is popular today because as people become further and further removed from God, they seek answers to their fears and anxieties. Astrology supplies the mysterious answers to fill the void in their lives. Thoughtful examination of the horoscopes reveals that the predictions and advice are couched in carefully worded vagueness. There is usually more than one outcome possible, and the person who believes in the horoscope makes its promises or warnings come true. The horoscope “comes true” because the reader rearranges his life to align with what he thinks the horoscope is saying, not because the planets have any actual influence on life. Different people, including identical twins, who have the same “sign” supposedly have the same horoscope, even though their life circumstances are completely different.

The Bible condemns astrology because it is nothing more than idolatry. Isaiah foretold the fall of Babylon, and spoke of the powerlessness of astrology:  “Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame” (Isaiah 47:13-14).  Jeremiah warned Israel, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them” (Jeremiah 10:2). God commended Good king Josiah for destroying the places of worship to “Baal and to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven” (2 Kings 23:5).  Paul condemned sorcery, idolatry and witchcraft, which includes astrology, warning that those who practice these things “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:20-21). Astrology is not harmless fun. It is idolatry of the worst sort, and should be avoided by all. As practiced today, it is a religious racket that dupes the gullible, and has  no place in a modern society.