Transcript – Pentecost Pt 1 v3 – History, Background, Instructions and Calendar Accounting

Download PDF transcript version

Pentecost
The Feast of Leavened Bread
Part One
History Background, Instructions
And Calendar Accounting

Transcribed and edited from video

www.answersoflife.com

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide1Copy.jpg$

We will see this tagline over the next several presentations and this will be a five part series.

It is a project that I started earlier in the year and are starting this new series on the day of Pentecost, the Feast of Shavuot. We are starting in Part One that will be a foundational presentation on the background and history of this particular day of Pentecost. We will look at how the calendar works out. There is calendar controversy of course like there is in so many other scriptural topics, we will talk about that. We are putting our focus on what is known as first fruits. We will look into this word ‘first fruits’ and will evolve over this series of presentations.

Part Two in this series will take place at Mt. Sinai and we will review what the Israelites did after they left Egypt and came to Mt. Sinai some fifty days later and that would have been on Shavuot when the Ten Commandments were given.

In Part Three we will look at two leavened loaves that are specified. This is the only festival that requires leaven to be used in the offering. We will examine that in detail and look at the actual Pentecost event that happened in 30 CE which was after Yahushua was crucified, resurrected and fifty days later Pentecost occurred. We will also look at Peter’s proclamation during that period of time, on the day of Pentecost.

The final section is about sowing wheat and hidden leaven. This will be the agenda that will be coming up.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide2Copy.jpg$

Holy Days – Agrarian Foundation

Barley harvest initiates annual holy day cycle – Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread
Wheat harvest follows 50 days later – Shavuot (Pentecost)
Passover early spring – Firstfruits from the barley harvest
Pentecost in late spring – Firstfruits from the wheat harvest

These are foundational statements and it is important to understand the background of the holy days themselves. So many people think that the holy days are no longer needed or necessary but when you examine the holy days you find out a rich and deep meaning. You find a focus and attention that is in the future, and it is always on Yahushua the Messiah.

We want to talk about the agrarian nature of this foundation because in the days when these holy days were originally proclaimed to be kept the society was agrarian in its foundation. There are two main crops in the springtime that are associated with what I call the spring holy days. The first crop is the barley harvest that initiates the annual holy day cycle and it occurs at Passover and during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Associated with the barley harvest and its associated offering is the Feast of Shavuot, also known as Pentecost so you will hear me use the terms interchangeably and that is a wheat harvest that followed some fifty days later.

The Passover in the early spring is about first fruits from the barley harvest and connected to it is Pentecost, it’s important to understand that even though it’s a different point in time. These feasts are connected and I think you are going to see when we start to examine the first fruits that are being offered, how the connection is being made.

Pentecost is a little later in the springtime and that is the result of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. I certainly know that the terminology in the scriptures talk about summer and winter seasons, there really isn’t a spring and fall scripturally but for purposes of explanation in following the Gregorian calendar that we have in use today, we have the spring and fall. I certainly understand that it isn’t the foundation that you will find in the scriptures. Summer and winter are the only two seasons that you will find in the scriptures.

We will start by talking about the seven species that are found in the Promised Land. We see this in Deuteronomy. When it comes to the honey, some say it really means dates, but I suspect there was honey and bees.

Seven Species

A land of ^1.wheat, and ²^.barley, and ^3. vines, and ^4. fig trees, and ^5.pomegranates; a land of ^6. oil olive, ^7.and honey ^{some say dates}; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless YHWH thy Elohim for the good land which he hath given thee. (Deu 8:8-10 KJV)

Apiary connection
Solomon knew about bees

One point that is interesting to my wife Linda and I when we read this particular scripture is not only the wheat and barley, which are numbers one and two, but the ending item is honey. We have an operational apiary and are beekeepers. We got interested in looking deeper in this as a side bar connection and found that Solomon knew about bees. When we look in Proverbs 6:8 we see that in the Septuagint translation that there is a scripture that got our attention.

Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.
(Pro 6:8 Brenton ^{not in MT})

It’s noteworthy that you don’t find the notation for the bee in the Masoretic Text; you will find the notation as the ant. In the Septuagint version, it is talking about the bee so I don’t know how you confuse the two but it’s an interesting scripture. There were bees in the Promised Land and the bee is a fastidious little creature to say the least, they are amazing to watch.

The next main section of this I want to talk about has to do with the core of the names of this particular holy convocation. There are five names that are commonly referred to the day of Shavuot or Pentecost.

Five Names Refer to the Same Day

1. And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. (Exo 23:16 KJV)

2. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks ^{H7620=shabua=literally sevened}, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. (Exo 34:22 KJV)

Here is one way we know that the feast of weeks, or this particular day Shavuot is about the wheat harvest.

3. Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto YHWH, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work:
(Num 28:26 KJV)

Of course in the New Testament the term Pentecost is used and you might wonder how Pentecost and Shavuot reflect to one another. I will show you how that is.

4. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Act 2:1 KJV)

5. Some commentaries reference Pentecost (Shavuot) as the Feast of First Fruits
– Reflects the meaning of Pentecost
– First fruits required offerings during The DOUB (Barley) and Pentecost (Wheat)

When you start studying into this you might look into commentaries and see references to another term that you don’t find in the scriptures and it is called the feast of First Fruits and I think that’s an apt description that summarizes the first three names in the Hebrew scripture of what this particular day is about. The Feast of first fruits is another name for this same day and I think it accurately reflects the meaning of the Day of Shavuot or Pentecost.

What is important is that first fruits require offerings during two seasons that we will see and those are first fruits during the Days of Unleavened Bread and first fruits during the Day of Pentecost. It’s noteworthy to remember when you see the word “First Fruits” you need to make sure that you are looking at the right context. In the English the word first fruit is translated from two different Hebrew words.

Before we go too much further we need to look at some of the current traditions and the rabbinic traditions, all of YHWH’s holy days have additional traditions associated with them particularly in Judaism.

Background
Rabbinic Traditions – Shavuot

Giving of the law at Sinai
Book of Ruth read
– Wheat harvest in Bethlehem ^{H1035=beyth lechem=house of bread}
– Conversion to Judaism
King David born and died on Shavuot
– Descendent of Ruth

One of the traditions is that the law at Mount Sinai was given on Shavuot or Pentecost. While I believe that to be the case, it isn’t technically provable by seeing a calendar date, and it would appear that is what happened. In our next session we will take a look at how that comes about. It certainly seems plausible and correct but it is in fact a tradition that the law, the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai on Shavuot.

Another tradition is that the Book of Ruth is read. Some people wonder why that is and we will talk a little about Ruth this time and more in a subsequent session. The Book of Ruth takes place during the barley and wheat harvest in Bethlehem. The story of Ruth takes place in between the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread and Shavuot. The location that it happens is Bethlehem interestingly enough. Bethlehem is of course Hebrew; it is two words “Beth” and “lecem” which means house of bread. It should be of no surprise to see the significance of Bethlehem and the Book of Ruth as a forerunner of where Yahushua was born which was the house of bread. The Book of Ruth also has to do with Ruth who was a Gentile being converted to Judaism. She would have been a proselyte and then converted to Judaism as a result of her marriage to Boaz. That is another tradition that goes along with this particular day.

An interesting one that I cannot find any tracks of in the scripture, it may be there but King David is said to have been born and died on Shavuot. Of course King David has a huge part of the foundation and anchor in the Old Testament and when you look at the genealogy you find that King David was a descendent of Boaz and Ruth. Without that levirate marriage of Boaz and Ruth, Jesse and King David would not have come along. It is all in the genealogies that this connects together.

All night Torah study – modern Judaism since 1533 CE
Walking to Western Wall before dawn – since 1967 CE
– After all night Torah study
– Recapture of old city in 6 day war one week before Shavuot
– On Shavuot 1967 army opened Western Wall
– 200 thousand visitors
– Previously off limits since 1948

A more recent rabbinic tradition that started back in the sixteenth century was an all-night Torah study and that is current in what I would call modern Judaism.

Most recently back to the Six Day War in 1967, the Western Wall was opened up by the Israeli military called the IDF or the Israeli Defense Forces, during that one week war and that happened just a few days before Shavuot. They opened up the Western Wall so people could come and pay their respects and have their prayer session. In 1967 there were over two hundred thousand people that came to visit which was a precedent from the beginning of the new nation of Israel going back to 1948. That tradition carries forward to this day as they are still walking to the Western Wall before dawn.

If you look up what is going on in Israel on the Hebrew Calculated Calendar which is different how we would calculate the Day of Pentecost. When that comes about you would see this event transpiring when observing the Hebrew Calculated Calendar. Those are a few of the traditions that you will see when you take a look at it.

In terms of our background there are some parallel events that happened:

Background
Shavuot Parallel Events

Mt Sinai – Ten Commandments given on Pentecost (unsubstantiated)
– Exo 19:1, 1 – 3^rd month, 3 days prep
– Birth date of nation of Israel

The first one I have mentioned already is going to Mt Sinai and receiving of the Ten Commandments, and again, this is unsubstantiated. The scriptures seem to show that it is reasonable to make the assumption, but let’s take a look at this and see why it is reasonable. Going back to Exodus 19 we see:

In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai…And YHWH said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day YHWH will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. (Exo 19:1, 10-11 KJV)

Of course that figures out to be likely on Shavuot on what would have been a Sunday back in the neighborhood of 1450 BCE from a calendar standpoint.

How do you get to Shavuot from the time the Israelites left Egypt? You know that the Israelites left Egypt on the 15^th day of the first month so effectively there were fifteen days left over in the first month, there was a full second month that they were on their journey and then at the beginning of the third month the same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

There are different ideas on what the same day means but I take it to mean the same day of the week they left Egypt is the same day they came to Mt. Sinai. There are different ideas about that, in any case, from the first month fifteen days to the second month plus thirty days is forty five days so when they came into the third month to Mt. Sinai they were forty six to forty eight days out from the time they left Egypt. It is easy to add three days to forty seven and come up to the fiftieth day. That is the calculation of how you do it, although we will examine this in more detail in the next presentation.

That was the birth date of the nation of Israel, not Judaism by the way, so many people don’t know the history of this and the thought is that all Israelites are Jews. The truth of the matter is that all Jews are Israelites but not all Israelites are Jews. There were twelve tribes and Judah was one of them. You have to study the history to get your arms around that but when you talk about Israel you are not only talking about the tribe of Judah, you are talking about Ephraim, Manassah, Gad and all of the other tribes as well.

Israel wants a king – 1 Sa 8:10-18
– Samuel calls for thunders and rain as reminder of YHWH displeasure to Israel for wanting a king (during wheat harvest) – 1 Sa 12:13-18

Another example of parallel events during this Shavuot season occurs in 1 Samuel. Israel wanted a king; they wanted to be like their neighbor nations. YHWH was their king but they wanted a physical king. This account recalls Samuel and thunder and rain and YHWH was not pleased at them wanting a king. If you read the fullness of the account you see YHWH’s displeasure. The point I want to make is when this event happened.

And Samuel told all the words of YHWH unto the people that asked of him a king.
(1Sa 8:10 KJV)

The people asked Samuel and Samuel asked YHWH and said that the people want a king, and then continuing on in the account in the context of this in 1 Samuel chapter 12:

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! And, behold, YHWH hath set a king over you.

YHWH went along with the idea but he didn’t like it.

If ye will fear YHWH, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of YHWH, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following YHWH your Elohim: But if ye will not obey the voice of YHWH, but rebel against the commandment of YHWH, then shall the hand of YHWH be against you, as it was against your fathers. Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which YHWH will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto YHWH, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of YHWH, in asking you a king.
(1Sa 12:13-17 KJV)

The account of this of what is being said and done is good historical record, but what I am trying to bring to the table is that this happened: Is it not wheat harvest to day? It is said in a way like it is just starting. I am relating this event in Samuel and the Israelites to have their own king as happening just after Shavuot during this time of Samuel.

Ruth takes place during barley and wheat harvest (ca. 1275 BCE)
Rth 2:23

I have already mentioned that the Book of Ruth takes place as parallel events to Shavuot. Ruth dates back to around the thirteenth century 1275 BCE.

And Ruth the Moabitess ^{a Gentile}said, He ^Boazsaid unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
(Rth 2:21-23 KJV)

Of course this story of Ruth has tremendous legs and reach. It is fascinating to delve into and we will delve deeper in another study. Suffice it to say that I understand why tradition in Judaism is reading this book and studying it during this period of time because of the season that it took place in.

Joel chapter 2 is a scripture that is used on Pentecost on the beginning of the New Testament church and assembly in 30 CE. The scripture in Joel is really a prophetic event is associated with this day also.

Future prophecy of YHWH’s Spirit
– Joe 2: 27-32

And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am YHWH your Elohim, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day ^{glorious day – LXX}of YHWH come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of YHWH shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as YHWH hath said, and in the remnant ^{H8300=survivors}whom YHWH shall call. (Joe 2:27-32 KJV)

Again, we will examine this in more detail, particularly in the session about Pentecost in 30 CE. This scripture is what is quoted most of it anyway, in Acts Chapter 2. When Peter was giving his presentation of the Day of Pentecost in 30 CE he used this scripture and it’s interesting because Joel chapter 2 is prophetic in nature, and forward looking example of the time of the Day of YHWH and the return of Yahushua to this earth. Notice what Peter says.

Birth date of New Contract assembly (the church) – Acts 2:1-8

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? (Act 2:1-8 KJV)

These are the Pentecost or Shavuot parallel events that I could find throughout the scriptures as a reminder that the day itself is only mentioned in a couple of places throughout the scriptures but some other events in fact did happen on or about this day.

Background
Old Covenant – Shavuot

We will start with the old covenant and discuss the word “Shavuot” and again, this is background and foundation so for those that don’t know some of these connections, but that is the purpose of having them in the presentation.

Shavuot derived from “sevened” or “week”
– Hebrew origin = H7620 = Shabua = literally sevened, a week (of years), seven, week
– Plural Shabua is Shavuot (weeks)

We start to get the connection of why this day is called Shavuot by some, those that are Hebrew fluent and want to pay attention to the Hebrew usage.

In contrast, in the New Testament in Greek:

Pentecost derives from “50^th”
– Greek origin = G4005 = pen-tay-kos-tay = fiftieth, from Passover, the festival of Pentecost

Pentay is fifty and kos would be count so fifty count or fiftieth count is the derivation of this. It should be obvious by looking at this that the Hebrew mind uses the word “Shabua” and it is of circular nature. It has been said by many that have studied into the Hebrew way of thinking that the Israelites, particularly the tribe of Judah have circular thinking versus the Greeks who have linear thinking. Here is a good example of that, the circular thinking of weeks that are attached to each other, in this case seven weeks of weeks attached to one another to get to Shavuot versus counting from one to fifty to get to Pentecost.

We will see how this unfolds as we go through a little more examination of the counting method but these are the background meanings of these words.

It is important to remember that the count to Shavuot is initiated from the Passover season particularly the wave sheaf offering during the Passover. We have the wave sheaf which is during the barley harvest or the barley wave sheaf that initiates the count to Shavuot. These days are definitely connected and when you realize that and start to look for how they are connected and why the meaning of these Holy Days, these holy convocations continues to expand. The barley wave sheaf offering takes place the day after the weekly Sabbath, and I will get into the controversy of this a little more, but the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread. You see the instruction for that in Leviticus 23.

Passover wave sheaf offering (Barley harvest) initiates count to Shavuot
Barley wave sheaf offering – day after weekly Sabbath during DOUB
– Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap ^{not sow}the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath ^{H7676=Shabbat=intermission, from H7673=desist from exertion}the priest shall wave it. (Lev 23:10-11 KJV)

It’s interesting to look into this and perhaps you need to get yourself a Strong’s Concordance to look at this word “Sabbath”. It is Shabbat, and it is the Hebrew word H7676 in Strong’s, and it means the intermission, desist from exertion. To some degree the Shabbat has been co-mingled with all of the Holy Convocations because they are thought to be Shabbat and they in fact are not. I will show you that a little later in this presentation. This Shabbat that is being talked about here is the weekly Sabbath and the context of how it is used always in the scriptures if you look up H7676 you will see that it always talks about the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day.

There is another scripture in Joshua 5 that feeds into this dialogue that we are having now.

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even ^{H6153=ereb=dusk, night}in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn ^{H5669=stored grain} of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame ^{H6106=etsem=bone}day. (Jos 5:10-11 KJV)

I am going to highlight a couple of side bar discussions as we go through this because there is a lot of controversy on some of these subjects. When is “at even”, when is “beyn-ha-arbayim”? What part of the evening is beyn ha-arbayim versus what part of the evening is ereb as it says here?

I will mention that a few times so you can be aware there is a controversy about it. They kept the Passover on the 14^th day of the month at ereb in the plains of Jericho and they ate of the old corn that means the stored grain of the land. They ate on the selfsame day, and here is another highlight that I have interjected into this presentation, this word “etsem”, this word selfsame that you find in maybe a couple of dozen places in the scriptures is the word etsem. That word is translated into English as “selfsame” and whenever you see “etsem” as selfsame, not everyplace you see “selfsame”, but the places that you do see selfsame and it is this Hebrew word “etsem” I take it as to listen up, this is important.

The word etsem itself means bone, so if you do a research on what this word means, you will find out that it just means bone like flesh and bone. The resurrection of the Israelites in Ezekiel chapter 37, the dry bones chapter, you find out that those dry “etsem” is what those are. They are bone. I have always wondered and I think I am starting to understand why it is called bone and it’s because bone is strong, it doesn’t decay rapidly at all when it is buried. It is a significant artifact of what is left of a person or an animal.

When we see this word “etsem”, this selfsame day, it is something significant that happened. The point of this scripture though in Joshua 5 is that something significant did in fact happen here and they ate of the old grain on the same day that they ate unleavened cakes and parched corn in the same day. The parched corn came from the new grain and that is where parched corn would have come from. When you unwind it all, this shows us that the Passover in this particular spot in Gilgal before they came into the Promised Land was in fact on a weekly Sabbath and the following day was the first day of the week or Sunday. That would have been the wave sheaf day in the scheme of the Levitical system. They were able to eat of the old and the new that day so we don’t need to go much further than that. What is important about this is that the barley wave sheaf offering occurs the day after the weekly Sabbath. We will come back to this later.

There are going to be two sets of instructions here, fundamentally I will use the same instruction set, the same scriptures but the first time we go through it I want to look at the scriptures from the counting emphasis. The first part of the counting starts at Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, yes, we are rehearsing and examining Shavuot during this presentation but in order to understand Shavuot I think you have to get your feet on the ground with Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread so we will start in Exodus 12.

Instructions
Counting Emphasis

Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread (DOUB) – Exo 12:17-24

And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day ^{H6106=etsem=bone}have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even ^{H6153=ereb=dusk, night}, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even ^{H6153=ereb=dusk, night}. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses…Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For YHWH will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, YHWH will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
(Exo 12:17-24 KJV)

There are a couple of points about this; you can’t go out until the morning. I take this as what they did. When you get into the controversy of when the Passover is slain, a few verses before this series that we are reading in Exodus starting in 17, go back to verses 5, 6, or 7, it talks about killing the Passover at beyn ha-arbayim which is a different point in time than just at even. I would argue that beyn ha-arbayim is later in the evening not just at dusk. In any case, this is quite a controversy and one of the important parts of this is that anyone that has a view that it was allegorical that they didn’t go out until morning isn’t taking this scripture very seriously. This is foundational into the understanding of all of this. Perhaps I will do a session on it because I have a mountain of material to go over and maybe provide an alternative opinion on what this is saying. None of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning, I think that is key and that is what they did.

We see that if we go on, there is another scripture in Exodus 23 that gives us the counting emphasis.

Three Feast seasons per year
Exo 23:14-17 – Covenant Ver 1

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

1. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty ^{H7387=ineffectually, undeservedly, in vain}:

I have to chuckle when I read that because I have been to a number of group assemblies on Holy Days, it seems this scripture is always read. “None shall appear before me empty”, meaning don’t forget your checkbook. It doesn’t say that, the word empty means ineffectual or undeservedly or in vain. It looks to me like this is more a matter of attitude of the heart not an attitude of the checkbook. Sometimes the emphasis gets skewed a little bit in the wrong direction. The first day of these three seasons or the first time is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The collective time of that, the Passover season, some people call the Passover the full eight day period and some people call it the Days of Unleavened Bread, the full eight day period.

2. And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field:

The second period is the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labors. That is what we are discussing today, Pentecost or Shavuot.

3. and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before YHWH Elohim. (Exo 23:14-17 KJV)

The Feast of Ingathering we know as the Feast of Tabernacles which by the way, is at the end of the year when you have gathered in the labors out of the field. Three times in a year, note that it is also the Feast of Tabernacles in the end of the year, we see that terminology in several places, ‘the end of the year’. I would argue that the end of the years is during the Feast of Tabernacles, the beginning of the year is also in that same month of Tishri. When looking at the calendar, so many people have the idea that the new year is in Abib. The first month is in Abib, there aren’t any scriptures that say it is a new year. There are a number of scriptures that say it’s the first month of the year. I don’t believe YHWH’s calendar lines up the first month with the beginning of the year. The beginning of the year is in the fall when people start to prepare, it is the agrarian foundation, they start to prepare for the next year’s crops, and they start to sow in the fall, not in summer.

Feast of Weeks, first fruits of wheat harvest – Exo 34:22-23

We see another example in Exodus 34 of the Feast of Weeks associated with this time of the year.

The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib…And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks ^Shavuot, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before Sovereign YHWH, the Elohim of Israel… ^{after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee – vs 27}(Exo 34:18-23 KJV)

If you have studied the covenants presentations that we have done, it’s noteworthy that this scripture in Exodus 34 is also where the second version of the covenant is initiated because in Exodus 34 just a few verses after where we left off, it says after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee. You have to go back to the covenants study to get the fullness of that. I am just mentioning these connections along the way. Certainly a lot of examination and digging would have to occur to see these things that I am talking about.

The Passover wave sheaf is where the wave sheaf is initiated that gets us to Shavuot. When we look at the beginning of Leviticus 23 we see the connection to that.

Passover wave sheaf counts to Shavuot Lev 23:10-17
– vs 11 – Wave sheaf offering on day after the weekly Sabbath – cf. LXX
– vs 15 – count seven Sabbaths
– vs 16 – next day offering (50^th day)
– vs 17 – two loaves with leaven

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it…

Here is the instruction: And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame ^{H6106=etsem=bone}day

That is how I know in Joshua 5 that they can’t have parched corn until that day of the wave sheaf.

that ye have brought an offering unto your Elohim: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Here is the count: 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 YHWH. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto YHWH. (Lev 23:10-17 KJV)

I hear a lot of people say that leaven is all about sin, so what are these two leavened loaves about? Are these sin offerings or what are they? We will examine that in the session of the two leaved loaves that I think will be exciting to go through if you haven’t run into this before or thought about it. Why do they use leaven?

Here is the way they count, it’s important to get our feet on the ground.

Feast of Weeks – Deu 16:1, 8-12, 16
– Weeks = H7620=Shabua=sevened
– Num 28:26 – after Shabua

The Feast of Weeks is also mentioned in the count in the scripture in Deuteronomy 16:

Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly ^{H6116=atsarah=from H6113=hold back, restrain, refrain, withhold}to YHWH thy Elohim…

This is another side bar discussion; there are two solemn assemblies mentioned atsarah in the holy day festival cycle. One is the seventh day of the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the other is the Eighth Day at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. Both of those days you will see if you check it out are called atsarah. You will have to do some homework on that. It is interesting to note that the last day of each of the main spring and fall festivals are atsarah.

Seven weeks ^{H7620=stock of grain (barley)}shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks^shabua from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn ^{stock of grain (barley)}. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks ^H7620=same unto YHWH thy Elohim with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto YHWH thy Elohim, according as YHWH thy Elohim hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before YHWH thy Elohim, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you…And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes…Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before YHWH thy Elohim in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before YHWH empty ^{H7387=ineffectually, undeservedly, in vain}.
(Deu 16:8-12 KJV)

Numbers 28 has a reference to this and I want to bring this up so we are given the fullness of the examination. Numbers 28 mentions in passing:

Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto YHWH, after your weeks ^{H7620=Shabua=sevened} be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: (Num 28:26 KJV)

If you don’t look carefully you might think this firstfruits is associated with the Passover, but it is not, it’s associated with Shavuot and you know that because this little statement says “after your weeks be out”, after your Shabua be out. In other words, after you have completed the count is when you make this offering. It’s a little gem here buried in Numbers that gives us more insight into counting to Shavuot and having a first fruits offering.

The same general instruction has another highlight associated to it. Keep in mind the first highlight we looked at is the counting, the methodology to counting. I really only discovered the second highlight a few years ago but it is really more the heart of the matter and it has to do with the first fruits emphasis. What I am going to show you is in the English we see the word “firstfruit”, and the word firstfruit is always translated the way it is in English and there isn’t a distinction made to what it is, but when you look at the Hebrew that it is translated from you find an interesting observation. That observation is that there are two kinds of first fruits.

Instructions
First Fruits Emphasis

Passover and DOUB and Pentecost
Lev 23:10-20
– First fruits – Days of Unleavened Bread
Vs. 10-13- Wave sheaf=Yahushua, one perfect lamb and one unleavened loaf offered
Vs. 14 – can’t eat new before offering
Vs. 15-16 – then count 50 days

It’s the same scripture:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits ^{H7225=reyshiyth=first in place, time, order or rank, principal thing} of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto YHWH. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil…and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

We have a real beginning entry of bread and wine, we have unleavened bread associated with this Holy Day and we certainly have wine.

And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day ^{H6106=etsem=bone} that ye have brought an offering unto your Elohim: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 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 YHWH. (Lev 23:10-16 KJV)

The highlight in this section is about first fruits. The sheaf, the reyshiyth, the reyshith first fruit means the first in place time order or rank. It is the principle thing, or the principal first fruit in this scripture. This is what this is showing us and is in contrast to the first fruit that is given at Pentecost which says:

– Vs 17-19 – Two perfect lambs for peace offering and two leavened loaves

Pentecost also referenced as “Day of the First Fruits”, not confused with wave sheaf first fruits (Num 28:26)

Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits ^{H1061=bikkur=first fruits of the crop}unto YHWH.

If you didn’t look you would think that first fruits is just first fruit but look what the Hebrew shows us. This word for first fruit is “bikkur”, it is the first fruit of the crop. Perhaps the light starts to come on here. During Passover the first fruit is the reyshith, the first in time, place, order and rank. That would that point to Yahushua of course.

This is versus the first fruit during Shavuot first fruit which is the first fruit of the crop. That would point to the Saints that are resurrected at the time of Yahushua’s return. We will get into the details of this, I’m not just making this up, this follows through, this pattern is exciting to have seen and discovered this.

And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto YHWH, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto YHWH. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits ^H1061=bikkur for a wave offering before YHWH,

A wave offering of the first fruits of the crop is different from the wave offering of the first fruits from time, place, order and rank.

with the two lambs: they shall be holy to YHWH for the priest. (Lev 23:17-20 KJV)

This is an interesting discovery.

– Two kinds of first fruits
Vs. 10- H7225=first in place, time, order or rank, principal thing
Vs 17, 20 H1061=first fruits of the crop
allegorical implication

We see a reference also when you go look in depth at this in Numbers 28 again. The scripture in Numbers 28 is referring to the day of first fruits or Shavuot. This scripture shouldn’t be confused, even though it’s using the word ‘bikkur’ it shouldn’t be confused with reyshith.

Also in the day of the firstfruits ^H1061=bikkur, when ye bring a new meat offering unto YHWH, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: (Num 28:26 KJV)

We should see from this that there are two different uses, translation and meaning of the word ‘first fruits’. It is important to keep the two separate. The word reyshith is the first in place, time, order, and rank or the principal thing.

The first fruit that is translated from bikkur is the first fruits of the crop. Of course I have already made the allegorical connection to Yahushua and the New Testament assembly and the New Testament Saints, the first called and the resurrection of the first fruits which we will get to in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

Notice how this ends: “Ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work”. With that background, I want to make a couple of comments on this particular chart.

Feasts of YHWH – 3 Types of Holy Convocations (Leviticus 23:2)

Shabbath – H7676
Intermission

Shabbathon – H7677
Special Holiday

Holy Convocation
Sacred Meeting

I need to do a full presentation on these differences but it is worthy to be aware of the highlights of this as we start the Pentecost or Shavuot season coming up in the presentations that I will be making.

There are three kinds of holy convocations that you will find when you examine the scriptures. One is Shabbat which is the weekly Sabbath or intermission, one is Shabbathon which is referring to a special holiday or holy day, and there is something called a Holy Convocation and a Sacred Meeting. The Sacred Meeting and Holy Convocation don’t show that they are a Sabbath or a Shabbathon when you find them.

All Sabbaths and Shabbats are Holy Convocations but not all Holy Convocations are Sabbaths. When you examine this in the scriptures this will probably be somewhat an eye opener but if you look at the first example which is the Shabbat, which is really the term for intermission, specifically the seventh day Sabbath, you will find that term is used in association with the weekly Sabbath and the Day of Atonement and the Land Sabbath. You don’t find it in any place else. I think that has been of interest for me to see that.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide6Copy.jpg$ By contrast, the alternative for Shabbat is this other word Shabbathon and it has the connotation of a special holiday.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide7Copy.jpg$

The word Shabbathon is called out specifically and is associated with the fall holy days, specifically the Day of Trumpets, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. It is also associated as a Shabbat along with the land Sabbath and in fact, the word Shabbathon is last seen in the scriptures in Leviticus 25. This may be new material for some but check it out on your own and see if this is what you come up with.

These are all YHWH’s holy convocations, His appointed times. When you read Leviticus chapter 23 particularly verses 3 through 5 you see that these are “My convocations, My assemblies, My holy times”. YHWH goes on to list the different types of days of the Holy Day seasons starting with Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Leviticus 23 is a good summary of the entire Holy Day Feast cycle from YHWH.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide8Copy.jpg$

The final type of the three types is a Holy Convocation and a Sacred Meeting.

These days are not mentioned as Sabbaths or Shabbathons. They include Passover, First Day of Unleavened Bread, Last Day of Unleavened Bread and Shavuot. The Spring Holy Days are Holy Convocations and Sacred Meetings, and you might say that this is just phonetics and these are all Sabbaths. That is the connotation that most people have with the Holy Days, that all Holy Days are Sabbaths. Passover is not, people seem to understand that but the First and Last Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost are Sabbaths and yes, they are Holy Convocations and Sacred Meetings but I don’t see anything in the scripture anyplace they are called out as Sabbaths.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide5Copy.jpg$

I will mention in the New Testament in the Greek, the Greek only uses one word for Sabbath. It is the seventh Sabbath day and the word that the Greek uses is from Hebrew and it’s Shabbathon of all things. This has been somewhat interesting to us because we started looking into when the actual crucifixion, burial and resurrection was. We have studied this before but we have taken a second look at this.

The word Shabbathon in Greek in the New Testament is pointing at the Sabbath day it appears in all of the context that I see. That might change the dynamics and equation for some to look at this, but in any case, this needs a lot more attention than these few minutes that I am showing in this one chart. Know that this is here and Leviticus 23 is a good starting spot if you want to examine the subject.

We will take a look at the Shavuot instructions specifically how leavened bread is specified because leaven bread turns out to be a significant part and component to Shavuot and significant meaning for the future of the New Testament church and assemblies.

Shavuot Instructions
Leavened Bread Specified

Marks conclusion of 50 day count after waving barley sheaf ^H6106=omer(Lev 23:11)
– Fifty days later, after 7 complete weekly Sabbaths, Shavuot is celebrated
Shavuot comes at the end of the barley harvest
– Acknowledges when the produce from new grain (wheat) harvest is offered by the Priest
First fruits of wheat harvest “waved” as offering at Shavuot

There are several wave offerings mentioned in the Bible but the wave offering is when the two loaves were held up and waved, pushed up and down. The word wave means quaver so this time of the year is when that first fruits of the wheat harvest was waved. We have talked about this already but I will highlight it again.

Torah specifies leavened bread used as offering (Lev 23:17

Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto YHWH. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits ^{H1061=bikkur=first fruits of the crop} unto YHWH. (Lev 23:16-17 KJV)

The question that came up a few years ago was what size these two loaves of bread are. What are two tenth deals? We have done quite a bit of examination on this so I am comfortable what I am about to say. A tenth deal is the same as an omer and is also the same as one tenth of an epah. An epah is about a bushel. We see evidence of some of this explanation in Exodus 16.

Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah (Exo 16:36 KJV)
Omer = ~2 dry quarts
Two tenth deals = 2 omers = 4 quarts = 1 gallon

A lot of people have studied this in depth and we have researched it. Fundamentally an omer is approximately 2 dry quarts in the measuring system we use. Two tenth deals would be two sets of omers, or two omers which is about 4 quarts or one gallon. A gallon of dough is quite a large loaf of bread.

My wife Linda has been making two of these loaves during this time of the year, and one loaf is quite a sight to behold as you can see.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide9Copy.jpg$

The summary of this so far and the significance of the wave sheaf is what is important. The sheaves of barley harvest is brought to the priest and presented to YHWH. The wave sheaf marks the beginning of the harvest season. Leviticus 23:10 in summary says:

This is the reyshiyth being the barley harvest or the time during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Wave Sheaf is offered the day after the weekly Sabbath – Leviticus 23:11

And he shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Lev 23:11 KJV)

Barley harvest begins immediately after the Wave Sheaf ^{not before}– Deu 16:9

Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. (Deu 16:9 KJV)

Here is a clue of when you can start the harvest. You start to number your seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the corn and you can’t begin the count until you have had the wave sheaf offering. I have noted that particularly this year some have said that because some people think the calendar is late, there has been quite a controversy of the question of the Passover in March or if the Passover season in April. Of course consequently Shavuot or Pentecost gets moved one month later depending upon how you make that count. We believe the count was early so that is what we have adhered to.

Some people have said that if there was barley ready in the land of Israel they would just harvest it and wrap it up into bundles and wait until the wave sheaf and then they could finish the harvest. This thinking insinuates they could start the harvest before the wave sheaf. This scripture in Deuteronomy 16:9 says you don’t do that. It says that you don’t start your count to Pentecost until you have had the wave sheaf offering during the Days of Unleavened Bread and after that you begin to put the sickle to the corn or the new barley growth. It is interesting to parse that out and you can think about that on your own.

Presentation of Barley Firstfruits is agricultural based “thank you” to YHWH

Certainly all of these offerings are an agricultural thank you to YHWH but we start with the one of first fruits of reyshiyth.

Commemorates firstfruits of the spring harvest – Exo 23:19

The first of the firstfruits ^{H1061=bikkur=first fruits of the crop} of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of YHWH thy Elohim. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. (Exo 23:19 KJV)

I used to wonder why is “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk” there. In the next sentence after we see seething a kid in the mother’s milk after the first fruits of the land, you shall bring into the house of YHWH. I think as the years have gone by we have started to get an understanding of this. This isn’t just an instruction of boiling a lamb in milk, I think that is how it is taken today but this is an instruction about not offering a new offer with something that is old. The new offering is the firstfruits of your crop in this case; you don’t mingle that with any other old offerings. The example that is given here is not mingling the kid with his mother’s milk. In other words you don’t boil the sacrifice of the lamb in the mother’s milk. You only offer new stand-alone sacrifices. I think that is what the purpose of this scripture is to show us about first fruits.

Barley wave sheaf initiates 50 day count to Shavuot

Summary instruction that we see in Exodus 23 has to do with the first fruits of the crop.

With that background I am going to talk about the other side of this because many of us have been keeping these days for a number of years and maybe understand the calendar alternatives but if you are new and watching this material, if you start checking you will find this controversy quickly about what day do you keep Shavuot or honor Pentecost today. Does it have to be a Sunday? Can it be a Monday? Can it be any day of the week? You start running into this controversy so I’ll show you the background of this controversy.

Calendar Accounting – Shavuot
Two main calendar alternatives

The Pharisee protocol
– Counts from Abib 16, day after the First Day of Unleavened Bread
unassociated with a fixed day of the week
– Ends with Pentecost on Sivan 5 or 6, fifty days later
unassociated with a day of the week

The Pharisee protocol counts from what they call the Sabbath day of the First Day of Unleavened Bread meaning the 15^th day of Abib. That next day is the 16^th and they count from the 16^th day. Perhaps now you know why I showed the chart on what days are Shabbats or Shabbathon’s or which days are Holy Convocations. Part of that edification is that the First Day of Unleavened Bread isn’t mentioned anywhere as a Shabbat of Shabbathon. Counting from the 16^th as the first day after the Sabbath has a ding against it when you start to understand that. The Pharisee protocol nonetheless, that is what they do and in fact, there have been years that we have kept it from that counting method ourselves.

What you see is that the Pharisee protocol isn’t associated with any fixed day of the week. It typically ends up with Pentecost or Shavuot on the fifth or sixth of Sivan which is the third month some 50 days later unassociated with any day of the week. You can’t say Shavuot is always on a Sunday or Monday or any day of the week.

The alternative accounting methodology:

The Sadducee protocol (Same as Karaite)
– Counts from Sunday after weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread
– Ends with Pentecost on a Sunday (or some calculate Monday) 50 days later

The Sadducee protocol counts from the day after the weekly Sabbath, or Sunday or the first day of the week. That starts the count and it’s during the days of Unleavened Bread. It ends up with Pentecost some 50 days later always on a Sunday. Some would calculate that it is on a Monday 50 days later and the reason the difference of Sunday versus Monday is whether you are using inclusive or exclusive counting from your beginning point. That part of the controversy exists even within this counting methodology.

Additional permutations
– Essenes protocol counted from day after weekly Sabbath after LDOUB
Qumran/Enoch fixed solar calendar – 364 day year
Wave sheaf day 1 ^{of 50}always 26^th day of the 1^st month
Shavuot always 15^th day of 3^rd month (Sunday)

Calculated Hebrew Calendar
First visible new moon crescent calendar

There are other permeations, one that you will run into but certainly not as prominent as the Pharisee or the Sadducees protocol but one is the Essenes way of counting. That methodology counts from the day after the weekly Sabbath after the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Not counting from the day during the Days of Unleavened Bread. You will see that associated with the Qumran or the Enoch fixed solar calendar which is a three hundred and sixty four day calendar year.

Fundamentally that is made up of four groups of months; each group starts with a thirty day, a thirty day and then a thirty one day. Two thirties and a thirty one, which adds up ninety one days four seasons of those, add up to three hundred and sixty four days.

They are a day and a quarter short of a full revolution around the sun so there must have been some intercalation of an extra day now and then but I don’t see evidence of that. The point of it is this fixed solar calendar also called the Jubilee calendar is something that the Essenes used. They counted the wave sheaf day one always on the twenty sixth day of Abib in the first month which made Shavuot always the fifteenth day of the third month on a Sunday.

There are also permutations differences depending upon if a person uses the Calculated Hebrew Calendar versus the fixed visible new moon calendar from Jerusalem or from a North American vantage point but that is another variation on the theme. A number of calendar alternatives that you will run into when you start to look at this. Suffice it to say today we believe that the Sadducee method that we see here using the first visible crescent moon from Jerusalem is the proper way to do this. First and foremost Yahushua died for us and honoring his Holy Days is something we want to do, if people are doing it on different days well, we just have to study and prove the hope that lies within us is magnified.

I will mention Josephus testimony here because he is often used; one part in particular, is often used to promote the Pharisee protocol.

Josephus Testimony

Josephus (a Pharisee) wrote historical accounts showing both counting methods were used at different times

Josephus himself was a Pharisee and he wrote the historical accounts and effectively most people don’t know that he showed both accounting methodologies were used at different points in time. The one that you see most common in the arguments of how to count to Pentecost is the account that Josephus wrote in Antiquities 3.10.5. It says:

Pharisee method
– Ant 3.10.5 – “On the second Day of Unleavened Bread, which is on the sixteenth day of the month, they first partake of the fruits of the earth…when a week of weeks has passed over this sacrifice…is Pentecost”

I have summarized all of this, you can go look at this and read the context of it on your own. Josephus seems to be saying that the Pharisee method that is known today is counting from the sixteenth day of the month they partake of the first fruits of the earth which is the day after the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring.

Actually when I first discovered this I thought it is strong evidence that Josephus is saying here is what they did. We don’t view Josephus as infallible scripture but his historical record is strong and an accurate one from our standpoint. We ended up changing some years ago just as a result of this particular scripture and some other arguments that were brought to our attention.

It turns out that when you look a little deeper in Josephus you find out that Josephus also talks about the alternative method, the Sadducee method. You find out in Antiquities 13.8.4 that it is a section that talks about the Maccabees, particularly a guy named John Hyrcanus but you have to read this to get the right context.

Sadducee Method
– Ant 13.8.4 – ^{regarding John Hyrcanus}“for that festival, which we call Pentecost, did then fall out to be the next day after the (weekly) Sabbath”

I added weekly, the next day after the Sabbath and it is referring to the weekly Sabbath here.

Cf. 13.10.6 – “the Pharisees have delivered a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the laws of Moses” Needless to say, only a Mishnah and a Talmud full of those observances which are not written in the laws of Moses.

This is an account in Antiquities about John Hyrcanus to show you where John Hyrcanus fits. He was in the late second century BCE around 100 BCE, and was a second generation or Hasmonian or Maccabean as they would be called.

Of course the Hasmonian Dynasty was a significant part of the history and the four books of Maccabees provide a lot of good historical detail of what transpired and what they did. John Hyrcanus was one mean military general and he became a high priest on top of that.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide14Copy.jpg$

As an incident, Herod became married to Miriam and married into this dynasty what he thought to be his own King of the Jews. The Hasmonian Dynasty has a lot of legs to it.

Pharisee Protocol

Pharisee represented common man – counted starts on Abib 16
Count initiated day after the First Day of Unleavened Bread (annual Sabbath)
– After Temple destruction in 70 CE and Sadducees no longer in control, historical records were updated to include the Pharisees counting method
– Now included in Talmud
– Pharisees morphed into 21^st century Rabbinic Judaism
– Pharisees counting protocol widely used to this very day

The Pharisee protocol was geared to the common man; these Pharisees were the bourgeoisie if you will of the day. They were the union leaders and their count started on the sixteenth of Abib and initiated after the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the annual Sabbath. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE by Titus, the Pharisee’s fundamentally took over control of most things traditional and religious from a Judaism standpoint. The Sadducees no longer had any implication or control. The Talmud was written and was fundamentally a Pharisee document. Today we have rabbinic Judaism, the start of that goes back to around 400 CE. The way of rabbinic Judaism that has a lot of tradition and ritual is by the way, quite different from Mosaic Judaism. The information that has been handed down by the oral tradition has been condemned by many starting with Yahushua.

Tradition of the elders

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of YHWH, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of YHWH, that ye may keep your own tradition. (Mar 7:3-9 KJV)

Maybe that’s not the greatest testimony, the background of the Pharisees but it is what it is.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide11Copy.jpg$

If we put this on a calendar, and I will use a comparative calendar starting in 30 CE, our understanding is that the Passover was on a Thursday, not a Wednesday or Friday. It certainly wasn’t on a Wednesday, which is an easy conclusion once you start digging into this.

We still believe though that it was on a Thursday, and the First Day of Unleavened Bread was on a Friday which would have put the Pharisee wave sheaf on the weekly Sabbath fifty days later would have ended up on a weekly Sabbath in the third month on the fifth.

That is how that would fit, it really doesn’t make any difference which day of the week you say that the Passover is, this methodology would just work out to be whatever. If the First Day of Unleavened Bread was on a Monday, the wave sheaf would have been on a Tuesday and the day of Pentecost would have still been the fifth as the calendar calculates out, but it would have been on that same Tuesday as the wave sheaf day if you were using this methodology.

Sadducee Protocol

Sadducee represented aristocracy
Count initiated day after weekly Sabbath during Days of Unleavened Bread
Ended 50 days later on Shavuot (Lev 23:16)
– Controlled the Temple administration prior to 70 CE
– After 70 CE they disappeared and relinquished authority to Pharisees
– Wave sheaf occurs the day after the Sabbath
The weekly Sabbath = H7676 = Shabbath = intermission
The annual Sabbath = H7677 = Shabbathon = special Sabbath

The Sadducees were the minority in the leadership scheme but they were the ‘follow the money’, they were the guys with the money and some of them could and would pay to play. That is how they got their priestly garments; they represented the aristocracy and were wired into the new world order. These would have been the elites in the globalists in their day. Their count initiates from the day after the weekly Sabbath and ended fifty days later. These guys controlled the Temple administration until Titus took the Temple out in 70 CE. They disappeared; you don’t see anything from the Sadducees after the Temple was taken down. The wave sheaf offering occurs the day after the weekly Sabbath. Again, Leviticus 23 says:

And he shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath ^H7676 the priest shall wave it. (Lev 23:11 KJV)

Sabbath = H7676 = shab-bawth’ = intermission, that is specifically the weekly Sabbath
The Sabbath referred to is weekly Sabbath (Shabbath H7676), not 1 DOUB (holy convocation)

I think this is on firm ground that the Shabbat that is here, when you compare it, in all cases this word ‘Shabbat’ is used as the weekly Sabbath, the intermission and not the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

$D:\Documents\Spiritual\HolyDaysSpring\PowerPoint Presentations\PentecostPt1V3ForWord\Slide13Copy.jpg$

If you were to plot this on that same comparative calendar from 30 CE you would see that the wave sheaf occurred on Sunday and that is in alignment with what Yahushua said when he first met Mary. The wave sheaf would have occurred on a Sunday and fifty days later would have made Pentecost on a Sunday as well.

New Covenant – Pentecost
First Fruits

The first of first fruits now ready to be presented to the Father
– Joh 20:1-6, 11, 17 – touch me not
– First fruits believers represented by wheat (Mat 3:12, Mat 13:24-30)

The New covenant Pentecost and the first fruits that are associated with the Greek terminology is what this next section is going to be about. We will start with this account in John 20 that talk about Mary meeting with Yahushua at the garden tomb. The first fruit is now ready to be presented to the Father and what Mary said is noteworthy.

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

I need to interject that when we read through this section of John, it’s somewhat amusing because John is writing this and you will note how he writes about himself in a third person cloak.

Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple ^John, whom Yahushua loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Master out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple ^Johndid outrun Peter,

It appears they had a friendly rivalry going on.

and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie…But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping:

She was by herself at this point

and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher…Yahushua saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my Elohim, and your Elohim. (Joh 20:1-6, 11, 17 KJV)

I’m not sure if this account is in chronological order but when Mary saw Yahushua he told her not to touch him. Why is that? Because Yahushua is fulfilling the wave sheaf offering at this point in time, he had just been resurrected and He is the new wave sheaf. He is the first in time, rank and order, the reyshith that we looked at during the barley harvest, the omer that is given during the First Day of Unleavened Bread week.

He said, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father. He was going to be accepted by the Father at this point as that wave sheaf. This is really incredible that this is in here, just a real short indication of what this is talking about but Yahushua was the wave sheaf.

New Covenant – Pentecost
First Fruits

First fruits believers represented by wheat (Mat 3:12, Mat 13:24-30)

Wheat is used in the New Testament in a number of places in several parables particularly in Matthew 13 which we will examine in the final session of this series. Wheat is used as representative of the believers, the saints, the elect. Let’s take a look at that thought starting in Matthew chapter 3. This is John the Baptizer talking in his dialogue and he is talking about Yahushua. This is a thrashing floor image.

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (Mat 3:12 KJV)

Undeniably the wheat gathered into the garner are those that have been saved, those first fruits of people, the bikkur is what this is referring to. I will give you a snippet of one of these parables in Matthew 13.

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
(Mat 13:24-30 KJV)

Hopefully the lights start to come on here connecting what the wheat is that is mentioned is in these parables going all the way back to Leviticus 23 and the first part of all of the sacrificial offerings and these wave sheaf that were taking place both at Passover and at Shavuot.

Yahushua became the first of first fruits during Days of Unleavened Bread (1 Co 15:20-23)

But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits ^{G536=aparkhay=beginning of sacrifice}of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits ^G536=same; afterward ^{not before}they that are Messiah’s at his coming. (1 Co 15:20-23 KJV)

It’s interesting to see that the firstfruits means beginning of sacrifice in the Greek. Yahushua is the beginning of sacrifice of them that slept, those that are sleeping. That is what we have today, people are sleeping. Nobody has ascended to the Father, John 3:13 “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down” who would that be? That is Yahushua. The idea that people have gone to heaven when they die is in real conflict with this scripture.

But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits ^{G536=aparkhay=beginning of sacrifice}of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits^G536=same; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming.
(1Co 15:20-23 KJV)

Not before, afterward. This idea that people have gone to heaven when they die is in conflict with this scripture here.

50 days later YHWH’s Spirit is given on Pentecost – Acts 2:38-39
– Salvation made available to everyone
– Fifty days after Yahushua’s resurrection

Fifty days later, after Yahushua’s resurrection Pentecost occurred and Peter is now talking about how salvation is going to be made available to all. We know this through the accounts and are going to examine this in detail in the next sets of sessions about the Gentiles and how they have been now accepted, grafted in to the body of Yahushua.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahushua the Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as YHWH our Elohim shall call. (Act 2:38-39 KJV)

Parse this out a little bit, this last scripture. “For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off”, yes, the promise is to all but there is a caveat, “even as many as YHWH our Elohim shall call.” Just last night I looked up this word “call” in Strong’s and found that it is a nice surprise. It means to summon or to invite, yes, the promise is available to all, but you have to be invited. You have to be summoned to the table here. That is what Pentecost is about. We see Pentecost in terms of getting a foundation for the subsequent sets of presentations, Pentecost is mentioned in three places in the New Testament and the first one is in Acts 2.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Act 2:1 KJV)

They were in harmony and unison, all in one place.

Then in Acts 20:

For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. (Act 20:16 KJV)

The third place is in 1 Corinthians 16:

For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if YHWH permit. But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. (1 Co 16:7-8 KJV)

I read through this and I wonder if Paul is observing Pentecost. Yes, it sure looks like it. As we wrap all of this together, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 comes to my mind because the Levitical system has been abolished. This scripture shows us, but what has been abolished and now uncovered is beyond anything that you could imagine if you were living in the time of the Old Testament, that which is available for us to see and understand now is just glorious and magnificent and of the highest degree of excellence by comparison. Look what this says.

Old covenant abolished 2 Co 3:11-14
– Center calibrated to love – heart and mind transformed (Heb 10:14-17)

For if that which is done away ^{G2643=katargeo=render entirely, idle or useless, destroy, make void} was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished ^G2643=same: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away^G2643=same in Messiah. (2Co 3:11-14 KJV)

Is there any thought of what “done away” talking about? What really jumps out at me is not only how the old Levitical system and all of its ritual has been abolished. That whole system is gone; but look what is left, when you don’t have that vail on anymore, look what is unfolding from it. How all of the sacrificial system points to Yahushua, it points to the New Testament, it points to the day of Pentecost that we are rehearsing. What an amazing scripture Paul wrote and how we can unfold this today to our understanding. This day remains the same, until this day many have their vail still on in reading the Old Testament. That vail has been done away.

In Hebrews we see the conclusion of this:

For by one offering he hath perfected ^{G5048=to complete, consummate in character}for ever them that are sanctified ^{G37=purify, make holy}. Whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after that it had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith YHWH, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more ^{Jer 31:33-34}.
(Heb 10:14-17 KJV)

Keep in mind where we are reading, we are reading in Hebrews 10, and you can find this same quote from Jeremiah 31, and in Hebrews chapter 8 it is in two different places in Hebrews how YHWH is going to put his laws in our heart and mind and write them in our hearts and minds and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. What a glorious day.

I always like to conclude with:

Do Your Own Homework

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched ^{G350=scrutinize, examine} the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Act 17:11 KJV)

Those in Thessalonica received the word in a readiness of mind, hopefully you have a readiness and openness of mind but you must go scrutinize and examine these scriptures. What does it say here as to how often they did it? They scrutinized daily whether these things were so. Hopefully that is our practice; that we have a daily schedule to read something in the scriptures, research some of the things I have been talking about.

Study to show yourself approved.

Prove ^{G1381=test, discern, examine}all things; hold fast that which is good. (1Th 5:21 KJV)

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Master; walk as children of light: for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; proving ^{G1381=test, examine}what is acceptable ^{G2101=fully agreeable}, well pleasing unto the Master.
(Eph 5:8-10 KJV)

Study to shew thyself approved unto YHWH, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing ^{G3718=make a straight cut} the word of truth. (2Tim 2:15 KJV)

Answers Of Life

Transcript – Pentecost Pt 1 v3 – History, Background, Instructions and Calendar Accounting

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free – John 8:32