Pentecost, the Church's Birthday
We all grew up celebrating birthdays (or at least most of us did), our own, those of our friends, then our children's, parents, grandparents, you name it. Facebook even reminds us when someone we've "friended" has a birthday coming up. The Body of Christ, also called in God's Word, "the Bride of Christ," which is the Church, composed of all believers from 31/32AD to the 2nd coming of Christ, has a birthday. And most of us pay it little mind. This birthday is probably the most important of birthdays, and it is recorded in the Bible, with its date and all. Even God did not allow us to know the actual date of Jesus Christ's birthday (and if you think it was December 25th, you're sadly misinformed, that wasn't it). Where Jesus never highlighted the actual date of his own birth, he certainly did highlight the birthday of his future Bride (cf. Acts 2:1-4; Revelation 19:7-9). When is this birthday of the Bride of Christ, the Church, the Body of Christ? It is on the day of Pentecost, and this year the birthday of the Church, the Body of Christ, is coming up on the 19th of May this year (2013).
For some related articles that delve into the symbolic and prophetic meaning behind this Holy Day God gave the Israelites as well as the Church to observe, see:
For two links detailing the birth of the early Church, see:
Finally, what is Jesus Christ's desire for his Body of Believers in these end-times we find ourselves living in? See:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/Zephaniah1.htm (and scroll to Zephaniah 2:1-2)
