Pentecost
Each year, in accordance with the Ceremonial Laws of YHWH, we are commanded to observe the holy day known as the Feast of First Fruits or Pentecost. In the Greek “pentekoste” means fifty, in which this feast day is kept fifty days after the first weekly sabbath that follows the feast of unleavened bread. The Feast of First Fruits is a time when the Children of Israel offer the “first fruits” of our harvest of ingathering up to the Most High in honor of his blessing of our agricultural prosperity. This law of the Feast of First Fruits is found in the book of Leviticus 23:10-22. Key points in those verses are understanding how to calculate the day of the feast and, of course, how to keep it.
As with the calculation of any holy day, it is important to first understand the cycle of the moon and get acquainted with the Hebrew Lunar Calendar (New Moon). A quick overview regarding the purpose of the moon:
Genesis 1:14: “And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
The lights in the firmament are the Sun and the Moon, but specifically important the Moon (Psalms 104:19). The calculation of the Feast of First Fruits is based on the end of the Passover.
Leviticus 23:15-16: “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: [16] even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.”
To correctly calculate the day which we are to celebrate the Feast of First Fruits, you must count 7 weekly Sabbaths beginning with the next weekly Sabbath immediately after the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For example, if the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread ends on a Wednesday at sundown, the next weekly Sabbath, which would begin on Friday at sundown of the same week, is the first of the 7 Sabbaths we must count. Seven weekly would give you a total of 49 days (7 days x 7 weeks = 49 days). The law requires that we count 50 days total:
Leviticus 23:16 “even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.”
After counting 7 weekly Sabbaths, the day after the 7th weekly Sabbath counted (“even unto the morrow”) is the 50th day, the day which we are to observe and celebrate our feast. This Feast is mandatory for all men of Israel to attend and take part of:
Deuteronomy 16:16: “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God 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 the Lord empty.”
The Feast of Weeks is the Feast of First Fruits. This feast was also observed in the New Testament showing that the laws were still being kept!
Acts 2:1: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Please read the rest of Acts Chapter 2 for a complete understanding. But key to remember is that the Pentecost was kept by all Israelite men even in the New Testament. The Feast of First Fruits is a one day observance and is also a Sabbath. Since we no longer are required to keep the sacrificial laws (Hebrews Chapter 9-10), we must present ourselves as sacrifices and First Fruits to YHWH.
Romans 12:1-2: “ Beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of god, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto god, which is your reasonable service. [2] and be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
James 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
1 Corinthians 15:20: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
As Christ rose from the dead, we too have now risen from the dead and awoken into life and the Spirit. Our calling makes us the First Fruits of offering to serve YHWH in truth and in Spirit (John 4:23). When observing this feast, we should read from the Law regarding this feast and understand the importance of us offering ourselves as the First Fruits of repentance to YHWH by doing His will. We gather ourselves together (Zephaniah 2:1; Hebrews 10:25) in honor of YHWH and Yahawashi to reflect on the commandments and to help strengthen our reconciliation with the Father.