• Fifty days after Israel's escape from Egypt, Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. We count the 50 days from the Feast of First Fruits.

"From the day after the Sabbath [Sunday], the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering [First Fruits], count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath [Sunday], and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord" (Lev. 23:15-16). (See Exod. 19:1-17 also).

• In the New Testament, what happened on the 50th day after Jesus arose from the dead?

"When the day of Pentecost came, they [the disciples] were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven . . . All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:1-4).

• The 50 day junction between the Old and New Testaments shows fascinating parallels.
• In the desert, Moses received the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit wrote the Ten Commandments on the disciples' hearts, enabling them to love one another.
• In the Old Testament story, fire descends on Mt. Sinai with the sound of voices. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends like fire on the disciples and enables them to speak in many different languages.
• The feasts covered so far always occur in the springtime, from late March to early June. I have summarized the springtime feasts as follows: