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Mustard Seed May/June 2006
Count Fifty To Pentecost
Mustard Seed - May/June 2006
God's holy days are laid out in detail in Lev. 23. They are repeated, but not in quite such detail as in Num. 28 and 29. Many other scriptures can be added to Lev. 23 but the full color picture is recorded in Lev. 23.
Over the years there has been some confusion as to which day we must keep Pentecost on. Even today among the churches of God there is still some confusion over when to keep Pentecost.
All the feasts of the Lord are spelled out and specific dates are given in Lev. 23 The only holy day that does not have a fixed calendar date for observance is the feast of weeks, or Pentecost. This one according to the instructions from God must be counted.
Most of the confusion arises from, when to begin the count.
It all began in Egypt. You all know the story, it began in the first month of the year, [Ex 12:1] That first month was later identified as Abib. [Ex.34:18, Deut. 16:1.]
Passover was observed in the evening that began the 14'th. The feast of unleavened bread was observed the evening that began the 15'th, and unleavened bread eaten for seven days.Lev.23:10, middle of verse, "then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest." v. 11,"And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you, on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."
The context is still within the days of unleavened bread. The fulfillment of the wave sheaf was when Jesus Christ was resurrected and ascended to the Father in heaven on the first day of the week. John 20:17, "Jesus said 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 God and your God."
Mat. 28:9, "And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, all hail and they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him."
All this took place on that wave sheaf day, the first day of the week, after Jesus was resurrected at the end of the Sabbath.
The count to Pentecost begins on the day the wave sheaf was offered. Lev. 23:15, "And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be complete." v 16, "Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days"---
So the count begins with the morrow after the Sabbath which occurs within the days of unleavened bread. That first day of the week is counted as day one. Sunday the first day, the following Sabbath is the seventh day. After seven Sabbaths are complete, the morrow after the seventh Sabbath is Pentecost. A total of fifty days. Pentecost is always on a Sunday.
Another question that has confused many is this; Is the focus on the Sabbath or Sunday? What if the first day of unleavened bread is on Sunday? That would make the last day of unleavened bread a Sabbath. The question would be, do we place the focus on the Sabbath before the first day of unleavened bread or on the Sabbath, the last day of unleavened bread? If we pay close attention to Lev. 23:11, 23:15-16, we will see that the focus is NOT on the Sabbath at all but the morrow after the Sabbath, the first day of the week. The count begins with Sunday as day number one. All the scriptural emphasis is on the morrow after the Sabbath and not on the Sabbath itself. And that morrow after the Sabbath must fall within the days of unleavened bread. If the first day of unleavened bread is on Sunday, then the following Sunday would be outside the days of unleavened bread. Remember the count is not from the Sabbath but rather the morrow after the Sabbath.
So the count begins with the Sunday that falls within the days of unleavened bread. Seven weeks of Sabbath, each week beginning with the first day of the week and ending with the Sabbath plus one day totals fifty days.
So if we accept the scriptures exactly as they are presented to us, no twisting, no shuffling, no changing, then we will always observe God's Holy Days and especially in this case, Pentecost, on the correct day and date.
-Neil Wroten
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