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0bs@Pv&m@@On the Coruect Day at the Acearate Time

byJacob O. Meyer

bparioht @1W7, ASSEMBLIES OF flAWOn, Bethel, PA 19507 USA, All Righta ReaeroedA$embliee of Yahtoeh is a seraice marh ud trademark of Aseemblies ol Yahweh, Bethel, PA 19507.

F.ntecost is one of the threecommanded feasts of Yahweh duringwhich all Tr:ue Worshipers are

commanded to gather together inholy convocation to worship ourFather in Heaven.

The King James term "eonvoca-

tion" is derived from the Latin (coru

together and aoco- call), while theHebrew word from which it istranslat€d in Leviticus 23:21 ismiqra, meaning "sorneone orsotnething call,ed ou,t, a public

tneeting or a rehearsalr" (Strong'sConcordsnce #4lAl.

Therefore, we are commanded tojoin with others of like precious

faith to worship Yahweh on the daywhich He has specified. We cannotremain at home during thme com-

manded assemblies, but AlmightyYahweh wants us to worship Him inthe company of brethren who are insound doctrine. We either assemble

by gathering to worship or dissembleby refusing to hear the command.

Pentecost holds a deepspiritual meaningfor the people of

Yahweh. It is'7 the day onz which the child-zterr of Israel atMt. Sinai ratified

covenant withYahweh. This agreement becameknown as the Old Covenant.

In the New Testament, Pentecostbecame significant because on thisday the Holy Spirit wa.s poured outupon the faithful disciples, as described in the second chapter ofActs. It commemorates the sendingof the Holy Spirit in Yahshua'sName, the outpouring of the powerfrom on high that helps us toovercome sin and keep the law,Romans 7 and 8. The law did notchange. Yahweh's Holy Spiritwrites the law within our minds andhearts during this New Covenantera, Jeremiah 31:31-34. It is ourattitude toward obedience that has

changed. The New Covenant signif-ies the Tme Worshiper's willingcompliance with the terms ofYahweh's law so that for the people

of Yahweh it becomes a way of life,doing Yahweh's will from the heart.

The word Pentecost in Greekmeans "cou,nt fifty" or "fifticthday." In' the OId Testament,

however, this commanded feast wasknown by other names such as"Feost of Weeks" in Exodus 34:22;Deuteronomy 16:1G11 and 2 Chroni-cles 8:13. In Drodus 23:16 it isknown as the "Feost of Haruesl"meaning the firstfmits of our labors.In Numbers ?3:26 it is called the"Day of Firstfntits." The Jewsknow it a.s "Shaaos " (Ashkenazicpronunciation), or Shoauoth." Inthe Jewish writings it is sometimesreferred to a"s "The Feast of theFifty Days," Josephus, Wars, ii, 3,

1.

Probably the best scriptural ex-planation of Sharmoth is found inLeviticus 23. Here Magil's Inter-linear Bible reads, venrcs 1G11:

"Speak unto the Children of Isrreland saA unta thetry when Aou eomeinto the land which I gioe Aoq andAoa reap itt haroest, then Aoaehall bring the eheaf of the first ofAoar haroeet ufio the hieat andhe ehall waoe the eheaf beforeYahueh for Aoar rceeptance, onthe morrow after the reet fuA ehallthe hieet waoe it" We mustimmediately note that the term"rest day" in Hebrew is Shabbatluthe usual word used for the weeklyseventh day Sabbath.

the "morrow after the rest day"has been a sour@ of much discussionand disagreement (verce 11). The

Jews, for example, insist that the"rest day" means the 15th of Abibor the first Holy Day of UnleavenedBread. In following this practice ofcounting from Abib 15, theyALWAfS end up with the sixthday of the third month (Sivan). Ifthe Pharisees were correct in doingthis, the Hebrew word for Sabbathwould be "horShabbaton" whichmeans a "high Sabbath" according toGesenius Hebrew Lexicon. How-ever, this is not the case. The wordfor "rest day" simply is "harshab-bath" meaning the cornrnonuteekly Sobbath.

Again, in verce 15 we find theword "I€st day," which in theHebrew similarly is "ha-Shabbath,"which proves the day to be theweekly Sabbath. We shall subsequently find that this is theweekly Sabbath falling within thedays of Unleavened Bread. The 50

days are counted from the dayfollowing that weekly Sabbath.Absolutely no purpose would be

served in counting 50 days, if thecount began from the 15th of Abiband ALWAYS ends up with Sivan6! Yahweh could have saved muchconfusion-and most likely wouldhave done so, since He is not theauthor of confusion, 1 Corinthians14:33. Consequently, the countbegins with the day after the weeklySabbath (the first day of the week).We then arrive at the 50th day, thecorrect day for Pentecost, always thefirst day of the week.

"And Aou shall eowtt to Aoafrom the monow after the reetdoA, from the fuA that Aoabrought the eheaf of theoffering, teoen ueeke; comphtc(weeke) they ehall be," Leaiticus23:15, Magill's.

Notice in this venrc we aredirected to count from the weeklySabbath day which falls within thedays' of Unleavened Bread, and weare directed to count completeweeks. When is a week complete?These instructions obviously point ustoward the seventh day or theweekly Sabbath as the starting

The For'oh Vollny bding from the Jordant Riuer to Shechem otgreen eort time.

point. Sunday begins a new week,and is the first day of a sevendayweek. Note that the morrow afterthe Sabbath is also the day that awaveoffering is made. A completeweek is the seven days inclusivefrom the first day of the week(Sunday), to the end of the Sabbath(the seventh day). This feast is veryimportant and will greatly assist usin the study of the New Testamentfulfillment of the wavesheaf offeringlater.

"Until the morrow after theseoenth ueek Aoa ehall eount fitWdaas; and aoa shall offer a newmealnffering wtto Yahwelu"Leaiticus 23:16 (Magill's). Howclear! From the morrow after theweekly Sabbath that falls on Passover day or within the Feast ofUnleavened Bread, we number fifffdays, until we reach the morrowafter the Sabbath, or Sunday. Therequired fifty days shall be counted,beginning with a first day of a weekand ending with a weekly Sabbath,seven full weeks. The fiftieth daythen must be another first day!Pentecost always falls on the firstday of the week (Sunday). No otherday is acceptable in Yahweh's sightfor the observance of Pentecost!

Some people have been troubledby the Hebrew termMimrnocherath, which appeam inLeviticus 23:11, 1S16. The term alsoappeani in Numbers 33:3, anotherpassage that has been misinter-preted.

Ttre Brown, Driver, and BrigssHebrew Lexieon defines the rootterm a,s "tomorrow" (the day follow-ing the present day), and the termIllimmacharath Hashshabath, onthe morrow of (after) the Sabbath.

Tregelles Gesenius' HebrewLexicon confirms the Brown,Driver, and Brigss definition. Hedefines-"the morrow," and with theword Sabbath, "the day after theSabbath."

William Holladay in his ConciseHebrew and Aramaic Lexicon ofthe Otd Testament verifies thesefacts. He defines the term

Mimmacharath a"s meaning the dayafter, when it is used with the wordSabbath.

Consequently, w€ are left with noalternative than to translate as hasbeen done in most versions. Con-sequently, the correct meaning ofthe word "Sabbath" takes on vitalsignificance where the count towardPentecost is concerned. However, allthese lexicons agree that the countmust begin with the day followingthe Sabbath.

The designation of the day as"Feast of Harest" in Exodus 23:L6

indicates that the Feast of Weeks isa celebration closely related to thegrowing season.

Deuteronomy 16:9 reads, "&oenweeke [shivah, sharmothl ehall Aoanumber to Aoarself ..." Numbers?3:26 sys, "fn Aoar feut oflDeekt. . . " (which aho utet theplaral of "shabuq" from the root"teoen" and by extension ot mean-ing a week). A week is notcomplete until the end of theSabbath or seventh day. Since theweek ends on a Sabbath (Leviticus23:16), and the following day is thefirst day of the week (Sunday), the

harvest thanks"giving celebra-tion expressesour apprecia-tion for a bount-

Monday, nor can we begin our countwith an incorrect day. Sunday, thefirst day of the week, is the properday for Pentecost, since it is the dayfollowing seven complete weeks ofcounting.

Under the article, "Penteeost,"the Encyclopedia Britannica offersthe following information: "TIteflebrew numeration always in-elades the fuA whieh is the'terminus a quo' B well at thatwhieh is the 'term ad quem,'which simpl,A mearw that the fuAfrom which the eounting b begun,at well u the fuA where one endsare bth incladed in the eounting."

From the Jewish Encyelopedia,comes some additional interestinginformation regarding the 15th verseof Leviticus 23. "Regarding the

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Eloh Vollcy, 1985.Meyer e elccts the green eort of barley in the

The full weekly cycl,e of seaen dnys must be counted Nothing innature tells us when the week begins or ends, such o,s the sun uthichdelineates our dngs md the moon which determines ou,r months. It isonly Yahweh's Word that establishes the ru,l,es for a seaen day uteelc,Genesis 2:1-3. It is His Word that commands us to worlc for sir dnys and,rest on the seaenth.

biblical eommandnent to offer theomer on the monow after theSabbath, the Rabbie maintainedthat 'Sabbath' here eimply mearu afuU of rest and refers to Puaooer.The Sadduceet disputed this inter-pretation, eontending that 'Sabbath' meant Saturfuy or theweeklg Sabbatlu Aceordinglu, theywould tratafer the eount of teaenweeks from the momow of the first(weekly) Sabbath in - Pueooer tothat Penteeoet rnald alwaye fallon Sunday." The original conten-tion of the Sadducees was one of therea"sons for the fixing of the Chris-tian Passover on Sunday in the year325 Common Era (C.E.).

McClintock and Strong state thefollowing facts about the Sadducees:

"The Saddueeet uere the arhtueratie and conteroatioe priestlrypartU, who clung to their ancientprerogatioes and resieted eoery'innooation which the eoershiftingcircumstances of the eommorbwealth demandc* whilc their opponents, the Pharisees, were theliberalg the representatioet of thepeoplc . . . their principlc being toto deoelop and modify the Mosaiclaw oE to afupt it to the require-ments of the time . . . "

Here is a direct admission thatthe Sadducees were the fundamental,conselTative party. They did notehange laws to eonform to thedesires and whims of the people.

Josephus, himself a Pharisee,writes the following: "The Phari-teet haoe gioen to the peoplo manAstatates from the traditione oftheir fathere which are not writtenin the law of Lloses; and it is forthie reaton that the Saddnceetrejeet them, saying that it is onl,U

the written oberoaneet which arebinding, but thoee which aretratumirud bA the fathera are notto be obseroed" (Ant., xiii, 10, 6)

Hence the Sadducess provide ourprecedent for keeping sacred thefirst day of the week for Pentecost.If we are going to follow Tr:tre

Worship as taught in the Scripturesalone, the conclusions of the Saddu-cees who observed Pentecost onSunday would certainly hold thegreater weight of fundamentalknowledge for us than traditionalPharisaism. The Pharisees hadmodified the [aw and changed it.The Pharisees also taught that theRabbinic traditions, interpretations,and doctrines of men were on anequal plane with the Inspired writ-ten Word.

With the exception of Matthew16:1 and 6, the Sadducees were notseverely criticized by the Messiah tothe extent that He constantly upbraided the Pharisees. Yahshuacontinually denounced the Phariseesfor their hypocrisy and man-madedoctrines. In Matthew 15:9 Yahshuaindicates that one can worship theAlmighty in vain, with no purpose

or reverent recognition for Yahweh.The Messiah said, "But in oain theyworship ilte, teoahing as theirdoetrines the preeepts of metL"Yahshua referu here to Isaiah 29:13.

From the Mmsiah's own lips Hedeclares that the Pharisees wereguilty of empff, worthless worship.

A hoper Count

It is imperative that we begincounting toward the Feast of Weeks(Pentecost) toith the first day of theweek, or Sunday. 'W'e cannot begtncounting after the first day of the

week. Ttre full weekly cycle of sevendays must be counted. Nothing innature tells us when the weekbegins or ends, such as the sunwhich delineates our days and themoon which determines our months.It is only Yahweh's Word thatestablishs the mles for a seven dayweek, C'enesis 2:l-3. It is His Wordthat commands us to work for sixdays and rest on the seventh.Interestingly, although the Phariseesused the wrong days on which tobegin their count, they startedcounting with the day following theHigh Day, not TWO days later.They knew that the Hebrew Scriptures tell us to count from the daythat follows a day of rest.

There is a group that observes thefeast days which contends for aMonday Pentecost. This doctrine isnot upheld by the sacred Scriptures,which shows many proofs that thefirst day of the week ft the properday for Pentecost. The confusion oftrying to make Pentecost fall on aMonday results from the misunder-standing of one verse, and one wordin particular.

Let's underctand! We cannotbuild a doctrine on one isolatedvense (or word) and ignore all otherscriptural references on the subject.the error of specifying Monday asthe day of Pentecost stems from amisunderstanding of the meaning ofthe preposition "from," which appeani in Leviticus 23:L5. "And Aaushall count FROM the fuA afterthe sahbath FfuOU the tuA thatAou brought the sheaf of thewaoeeffering teoen eabbaths shallthere be eomplcte." Thie groapgoes to great lcngths in a tatilcattempt to prooe that the preposi-

We must carefully reoiew the scriptural teachings on the subject, and,both Old, and, New Testaments shou that the first ilay of the week is theproper da,y for the Feost of Weehs, Pentecost.

tion "from" mcora "anDay from."In other uords, they uould haoe tubelieoe that we do not inebde thhfiret fua (Swdayl which follawsthe fubfuth to begin our eounting.this is eeeminglg the onlA groapthat eelcbratee Pentecoet on the51et fuA rather thon the flUh doA.Our research hu yielded the con-crete frct that throughoat historyno religiotts bdA which hu obeeroed the feuts of Yahueh hueoer obeeroed the Feut of Shaauoth (Pentccost) eoery Aear on theeecond fuA of the ueek Monfuy).

A eareful perwal of manAdietionariee shows a eoraistentharmony with Webster's Una-bridged Dictiotrsry, which presentsthe following definition for the word"from": "A prelnsitiott, AngltSaron, from, fram, from, fortlu 1. aparticlc wed to indicate a point ofdeparture for motion, &tratiort,distanee, rctiott, ete., touree orbegfuming of ideq rctiort, ete.; Lbeginning at; exanplc; he wakedfrom the fuor; b. otarting with thefirst of the tuo naned limits;e;Eunplc; I staAed out hom three tosiB' c. out of derioed or comingout of; examplo; Ee took a eombfrom his pocket; d with a personor thing; exanplc; the maker,sender, qreaker, tcrcher, et&, at alottar hom trIory; frcts lcarnedfrom reading."

of; u not being like; because of."It is clear then that the whole

argument collapses when we realizn

that the preposition "from"INCLUDBS the point of reference.If you were told to count from 1 to5, would you bqin with 2? Ofcource not! You would begrn withthe numeral 1. If you were to recitethe alphabet from "A" to "2," forexample, would you begrn with "B"or would you start with 3' A')? If youwere told to read Leviticus chapter23, frorn verrrcs 1 to 2L, would youstart with venrc 1 or verse 2? Howcrystal clear! We must alwaysremember the basic, simple meaningof the t€xt and not compli cate theWord of Yahweh.

We cannot exclude the "morrowafter the Sabbath" as the originalpoint to begin our count towardPentecost. We start counting withthe first day of the week, a Sunday,and we end up with the Sabbath,the seventh day of the week. Thefirst day of the week specifies theHoly Day of the Feast of lVeeks(Pentecost).

Ttrere is a supneme doctrinalpattern uniting and interlockingwithin Yahweh's feast days. Notethat no days are skipped in thefollowing counts:

1. Sabbath of each week-theweekly seventh day Sabbath followsthe six days of work.

2. Sabbath of months-theseventh month, Ethanim, follows thesixth month.

following the seven weeks of thespring harvest sea"son. Ihis celebration commemorates the seven

weeks or 49 days harvest se:Nonwhich ends on a Sabbath. The verynext day is the proper day forPentecost-the frrst day of the week(Sunday).

Sabbatieal Cycles hooePenteeost Count

Another argument set forth bythose contending for a MondayPentecost is Leviticus 25, a passagewhich describes the Jubilee year.Many times we read of a Jubileecelebration commemorating a greatachievement, such as when the FordMotor Company some yearc agoproduced a Jubilee model tractor,celebrating their fiftieth year in themanufacture of farm tractors.Jubilee, even in the world, has cometo mean fifby y@rs.

Under close scnrtiny, Leviticus 25actually upholds a fiftieth count, notfiftyone. "And Aou shall numberteoen sabbathe of Aears to Aouteoen times teaen Aears; and thereshaU be wtto Aoa the daAs of eeoensabbathe of Aearq eoen forty andnine Aeare Then shall Aoa sendabroad the laud trumpret on thetenth fuA of the eeoenth month inthe fuA of atonement Aoa ehallsend abroad the trumpet through-out all Aoar lar,d And Aou shallhallow the fiftieth Aear, and pr>elnim liberty throughoat the landto all the inhabitortts of it: it shall

How plain! We are to keep sevensabbaths of years, which would be 49y@rs. Then, we are to sanctify the

Webst€r's New World Dictionart 3. Sabbath of years-(known as be a iabilee unto Aou; and Aouof the American Language, Secord, Sabbatical year) follows six years of ehall retum eoera mut to hisCollage Editiar\ defines, 'riom" as sowing and reaping. pwuion, and you ehall refitm"bginning aE atarthg witlu out 4. Jubilee year-following seven eoery mar, to his fumita. A iubitceof, u from a clneE originatiltg sabbatical seven-year cycles. ehall that ttttieth Aear b towith, out of the puibihfu ot tt& 5. Pentecost-a one day festival aoa..." tLeoitiane2i:8-11)

Ilr

There 0s @ suprerne doctrina,l pattemt, uniting and interlockingwithdn Yahutehb feaat days.

fiftieth year! We cannot skip anyy@ns. The fiftieth year is theJubilee year. The Jubilee is a yearof release for those in bondage.(Every pemon, zt least once in hisnorrnal lifetime, would be able tokeep a Jubilee year.) Ttre very samemethod of counting the Jubilee yearis also employed to count the weeksto Pentecost. Yahweh's Holy Daycommemorating the Feast of Weeksis the 50th day, not the 51st! Weshould also note that Yahweh di-vides time by weeks of y@rs. Thisfact should offer some evidence todetermine that the cycle of sevenyearc cannot be broken, nor can theseven day week be broken to set theday of Pentecost.

The Exodus houes PenteeostDaa

In Exodus 19:1 we find thestatement that the children of Israelcame into the wilderness of Sinai.Many Bible scholars agrce that theterm "same day" means the sameday of the week on which thechildren of Israel left Egypt. Theoriginal Passover day in Eg1ptevidently occurred on a Wednesday,and the children of Israel could notgo out of their houses on that night.Aecording to Numbers 33:3, they diddepart on the next night, whichmeans on a Thursday (note theHebrew word Mirnmacharothwhich means tomorrow). So it wasThursday that Mosm went beforeYahweh and was grven the promiseof the covenant (Exodus 19:5). Invenle 10 the people were instmctedto cleanse themselves today (Thurs.

day), and tomorrow (Friday), and beready against the third day (Sabbath).

Vene 16 of Earodus 19 indicatesthat on the third day (the weeklySabbath) there wene thunders andlightnings and a cloud upon themount. In verce 20, Yahweh camedown upon Mt. Sinai. ftris mani-festation was the "W'ord" orspokesman, known as "fubar" inHebrew and "Ingo{' in Greek, theone who eventually became ourSavior the Messiah. (Have you readour article entitled "Yahweh'sSpokesman?" If not, it will come toyou free of charge when you writeto: Assemblies of Yahweh, P.O. BoxC, Bethel, PA 19507, and requestit.)

In chapter 20, the Ten Command-ments wene given, and in verce 19,

the people had become so fearful atthe awesome manifestation on Mt.Sinai that they removed themselvesand request€d Moses to speak toElohim for them lest they shall die.Chapters 20, 21, 22, and 23 all tookplace on the weekly Sabbath.

In chapter ?L and verrre 4, weread that Moses wrote down all thatYahweh had commanded in thepreceding chapters from 20 to 23,and then he arose early in themorning (which would be on aSunday). Notice that this is thesecond morning and was obviouslythe flrst day of the week, the dayfollowing the Sabbath! A perusal ofStrong's Concordance will provethis transpired the second morning,or the first day of the week. Nothree mornings are mentioned inExodus 19 through Al. Only thefirst day of the week is indicated,not the second day of the week.

In verce 4 of the ALth chapter,Moses built an altar, and erected 12pillars to reprcsent the 12 tribes. In

vemes 5 to 8 burnt offerings andpeace offerings wene offered and thesacrificial blood sprinkled on thealtar, the people, and the book (see

also Hebrews 9:19) to make thecovenant binding. Ihis all tookplace on Sunday and oceurred onPentecost day, the annual Holy Daywhich commemorates the ratificationof the covenant with Yahweh byIsrael. Therefore, the two days-Sabbath and Sunday-form a doubleobseroance, the day on whichYahweh spoke His covenant and thefollowing day when Israel ratified it.

For further proof, we read in this?hth chapter of Exodus, veme 15,

that Moses went up into the Mount,which occurred on Pentecost day,the first day of the week. The cloudcovered the mount six days, we readin verse 16. Then, on the nextseventh day (the next weekly Sabbath), Yahweh called to Moses out ofthe cloud.

At Yahweh's direction, Moseswent up to the Mount on Sundayafternoon on Pentecost, remainingthere for the six working days, andthen on the following SabbathYahweh spoke to him. Yahwehmeets with His people on His HolyDays and He speaks with them.Pentecost cannot be on any otherday than the first day of the week!

The Resurrection hooes Cor-rect Pentecost Date

In the New Testament, we en-counter another example of theproper day of the wavesheaf offer-ing a.s repnffiented by the MessiahHimself. In John 20:Ll , Yahshuatold Miriam, "...Touch me notfor I haoe not Aet ucended to theFather: bat go to W brethren,

and saA to then, I ucend to mAFather and Aoar Father, and mAElahim and Aoar Elahim."

In Matthew 28:9 you will findthat later as the disciples and someother women came to sepulchre, therecord states, "And behold,Yahshaa met then, saying, AAhail And they eorne and tookhold of his feeL and worehipedhim."

Yahshua the Messiah has fulfilledthe wavesheaf offering as a perfectanti-type, when He arose in theevening, at sundown, zt the begin-ning of the first day of the week.He was accepted by the Father onthe FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK!He is the firstfmits of the humanharvest of the earth (1 Corinthians15:23) who wa"s accepted by theFather on Sunday, the dark part of

the day. We must therefore takethe example of our Savior and count50 days beginning WITII that verysame first day of the week, andafter SEVEN WEEKS are complete,we arrive at the 50th day beingSunday! Sunday is the day forPentecost as proven by our Savior'sexample at His resurrection.

The Companion Bible shows thatthe counting of the days of firsbfmits begins with the first day ofthe week, in the comment on John20:L. "On the firet fuA of theweek-on the first (fuil of theSabbaths (pL) Greek, Te Miasabator?^" The word "day" isrightly supplied, a"s min is feminine,and so must agree with a femininenoun understood, while sabbaton isneuter. Luke 24:L has the same.Matthew reads: ". . . at it began to

dou, thecoaenant

SundaA-coaerwnt

fuwn toward the first fuA of thelruek..." The expression here isnot an idiom, and the term Sabbathsshould not be rendered "week." Asshown in the A.V. and the R.S.V.reference to Leviticus 23:l*ll , thefirst day is the first of the days forreckoning the seven Sabbaths toPentecost. On this day, therefore,Yahshua became the firstfmits(verses 1G11) of Yahweh's rssur-rection human harvest (1 Corin-thians 15:23). The Holy Spirit willproduce the haruest of a resurrectionfrom the dead, who will be madespirit at the Second Coming of theMessiah.

The Watse Sheaf hoaesPentecost

We can further substantiate thedoctrine of Pentecost as always

This all took plnce on Sunday and occurred on Pentecostannual Holy Day which commemorates the ratifi'cati'on of theutith Yahweh by IsraeL Therefore, the lwo days-Sabbath andform a double obseruance, the day on which Yahweh spoke Hisand the follouting day when Israel ratified it.

Left: Eld,er Jrcob O.

Meyer deeigrutes thegreen heds of borl,ey hewill cut for the 19E6

eaidence of Yohuteh'eNew Yeor. Rlght; Acloseup shot of thegreen hed,s he cal

VWtr

ll meal offering to Yahweh, on thell morrow after the Sabbath

il (Hebrew here is "Hoshabbath" or

ll "every Sabbath"-"the common Sabll bath'). You will notice that thisII wave sheaf wa"s to be the firstfmitll of the spring harvest, the first cut

ll sheaf of the barley harvest. No

other gpain was ripe for cutting atthis precise time, nor wa.s anyharvesting allowed for personal use

until this first ripe sheaf had been

present€d to Yahweh (verse 14).

Yahshua wa"s the firstborn ofmany brethren (Romans 8:29). Those

who are called in this particular"day of salvation" comPrise the

spring harvest which is the grainharvest, compared to the later har-

vest of grapes. Yahshua fulfilled thehuman type of the first sheaf of thefirst harvest. He was the wavesheaf of the first ripe grain. Hiswas the first nesurrection.

Yahshua our Messiah fulfilled thesacrificial offerings (I€viticus 1-3), so

we must conclude that some event inHis earthly sojourn would fulfill thiswave sheaf offering (Ephesians 5:2'1.

Yahshua the Messiah wa"s the firsbfruit of the human harvmt from thisearth, the human wave sheaf. Hepresented Himself to Yahweh theFather as spiritual fulfillment of thetemporal Wpe (1 C,orinthians L5:20,

23). Not understanding the signif-icance of the firstfmit wave sheafoffering, nominal Christian theologians have failed b understand whyMiriam mistakenly identified theSavior a^s the caretaker of theGarden of C€thsemane (John

20:1416). Apparently, He Himselfperconally had cut the wave sheafgrain offering for the last time, tooffer it along with Himself toYahweh. Just as Yahshua instituted

the New Testament Memorial em-

blems in conjunction with the OtdTestament Passover supper, He corn-

bined the old and new wave sheaffirstfmits grain offering. SeeirtgHim carrying this wave sheaf ofbarley, Miriam had not recogni?dthe Messiah, but she had assumed

from seeing Him bearing a sheaf ofgrain that He was the caretaker (the

farmer or gardener.

Having come to this vitalunderstanding, we must recognizethat the Messiah had cut the lastgrain wave sheaf on the first day ofthe week. The first day of the weekthen identifies the correct day on

which to begin the count towardPentecost.

Yahshua had given the scribes

and Pharisees a very remarkableresponse when they asked Him for a

sign to prove His MessiahshiP. He

said that no sign would be given

them (or to us also), excePt the sign

of Jonah (Jonah 1:17). Yahshua had

repeatedly stated that He would be

three days and nights in the tomb

The Gonbn Tomb odcide the uolh ol Jerueolett, whrr,h preeents the best c{rrer.t posaibility of the site otthe gwoe uhere orr Sador ltg for three fuyt ond' three nighte.

and then be resurrected after threedays in the grave-a very difficulttask unless you are tmly a memberof the Elohim family, which He was.In fact, this was one of theaccusations made by two witnessesthe High Priest sought at Yahshua'strial, Matthew 26:61.

Now think carefully of this situ-ation. Had Yahshua followed thePharisaical method of counting, Hewould not have been the wave sheafoffering. He would have been deadin the grave. But, Yahshua wasraised in the resurrection, just as Hehad predicted. Furthennore, Hepredicted TEE WRY YEM whenfle would be impalcd INADVAI{CE! Remember, it had to be

a year wherein the impalementwould occur on Wednesday and theresurrection in the end of theSabbath. That is a doubly difficulttask. In addition, He had to fulfillall the Old Testament prophecies!(Please turn to John 7:L, S6, andunderctand the deeper meaning, thatthis was not the year of Hisimpalement). Consequently, Yah-shua the Messiah tells the Jews ofHis day that they are keeping theFeast of Weeks wrongly, that theywill not receive the Holy Spiritbecause the Holy Spirit comes inYahshua's Name. Additionally, ifYahshua the Messiah was not thehuman fulfillment of the wave sheaf,then He would not have beenresurrected-but the empty tombproved His rising from the dead.The Jews even tried to ensure Hewould not emerge from the grave byposting a Roman guard, Matthew27:62-66.

Consequently, the only way thatthe commandment keepers will receive the tme Holy Spirit ofYahweh is to rely upon the Messiahand keep His Word faithfully.

These facts alone are irrefutableproof that the first day of the weekmust be the one on which to beginour count toward the Feast ofWeeks because it has the verysanction of the Messiah! Do you see

now how so many facts coincide and

merge into perfect harmony? ThePassover, the Feast of UnleavenedBread, the resurrection of the Mes-siah, and the day of His present-ation to the Father all must serve afunction to verify the correct day forthe Feast of Weeks. Meditate onthese things.

Ffurther Eoidence

However, we do not wish to stophere. We go now to Acts 1:3. "Towhom he also shoued himself alioeafter his pusion bA UanA proofe,APPEARING to them ba the spaeeof forty fuaq and apeaking thethinga concerning the kingdom ofYahweh" Did you tmly comprehend the message conveyed in thismomentous vense? Without takingyou back to the accounts of theresurrection for proof (you shouldread each account for yourself if youwish), it can be proved that theMessiah wa^s seen a number of timeson the first day of the week! Fortydays would pinpoint His ascensionfrom the Mount of Olives on aThursday. Ten more days would ofnecessity bring you to a Sunday, thefirst day of the week! Nowremember, Yahshua did not appearto utAone on the day following thefirst Holy Day of Unleavened Bread(Abib 16), which would have been ona Ttrursday that year.

How tmly enlightening when yourealizn that here you have just onemore proof that the Feast of Weeksis always to be observed on the firstday of the week. Please turn now toActs 2:1. This verse should read,"And when the fiftieth day wasfully come..." As has alreadybeen explaiild, "Pentecost" means"the fiftieth day." The note in theCompanion Bible sys, "Literallyin the fiftieth fuA .. . fuing eom-plcted The Syriae and Vulgateread 'daAs.' Tltis refers to theeomplction of the set)en weeks(tittA daas inclilsiae) hom thewaoing of the sheaf of firstfruits(Leoitieus 23:7 &76)." How beautifula picture is pre sented to us by

Luke, the writer ofthe book of Acts!

*f:ffiffiX,X;N$

ffifi#;Nharmonirn perfectly. - \\r",\Acts 2:l states, "And when the

fuA of Penteeoet waE now eome,they uere all together in oneplf,ee." This does not refer to a"tarry meeting" of some kind, as

some religious organizations teach,but to the assembly to obserue theannual Feast of Weeks (Shavuoth,Pentecost). The Syriac and Vulgateread, "V[hen the DAYS of Pente-eoet taere tallu eome." This refercto the completion of the seven weeks(fifby days inclusive) from the wav-ing of the sheaf of firstfruits. Thedisciples were commanded to wait inJenrsalem for Pentecost duringwhich a display of Yahweh's Powerwould be manifested, the sending ofthe Holy Spirit or the power fromon High. By our own efforts wecould not properly keep the Law(which was given to Israel from Mt.Sinai, and ratified at Pentecost), butwith the help of the Messiah's Spiritdwelling in us, we receive the powerto become the Sons of Yahweh andinheritors of everlasting life. Wemay keep Yahweh's law faithfullyjust as Yahshua did.

More Resumeetion hoofNow notice Acts 20:6. In your

King James Version this versereads, "And we sailcd awaA fromPhilippi after the daas of unleaaened bread and came unto them,to lYoas in fioe daa* where weabodc seaen day*" Interestingly,the word which has been translated"aftnr" is "meta" in the Greek. Theword in question should be trans-lated "among, amid, in companywith." See Companion Bible, Appendix 104, Xi, for verification. Thisverise, then, should have been trans-lated correctly, "And we sailed awayfrom Philippi at the days of unleav-

V,W{{W**im{}H

ened bread..."The entourage of, Paul took five

days to arrive' at Tboas, which

At Philippi they spent seven daysduring the days of Unleavened Bread.

Then we come to verse seven,which has been totally misunder-stood by people who do not keep thefeast days. The Greek literal textreads, "And apon the first of theSabbathq when the dieciplcs e(nnetogether to break bread, Paul

preached to thero readA to departon the monou: and continued hisspeeeh until midnight"

The wave sheaf in the Hebrew isknown as the "bikurim," or "first-fruits." The incident introduced byvenie 7 occurred on the first day ofthe week, after sundown, afier theSabbath had ended. The discipleswere evidently gathered to honor theday on which the firstfmits wavesheaf had been eut. In other words,they gathered to offer a sacrifice ofthe praises of their lips at thisspecial time when the Law ofYahweh commanded that the wavesheaf was to be brought t0 Him.They may even have baked some

unleavened bread of the new barleyharvest and had eaten it at thiscommemorative occa.sion. Thesacred t€xt records that a meal wa"s

eaten, verrie 11.

Paul would naturally havepreached a sermon, using as his textLeviticus 23:lL-L4, proving the doc-trine of the Messiah by His resur-rection. Since he planned to departon the following morning, thebikurim service was remembered atthe evening hour, at the beginningof the scriptural day, just as theTalmud indicates it was done in theTemple era. Paul, being a somewhatlong-winded preacher, spoke untilmidnight, whereupon Eutychus

HIIW Ttl GtlUNT THE TEAST llF WEEKS

First Day Second Day Third Day Fourth Day Fifth Day Sirth Day Sob bath

(Pueooer)Yahchaa's

Death

Feut DaaUnleaoened

BreadReearrection

Bikurimot

Waoe Sheaf2 3 4

D

b 6 7

8 I 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31 32 33 :r4 35

36 37 38 39Aceetulon from

trIount of Olioee 41 42

43 44 45 46 47 48(7 complote wke)

49

50Feut of Weeke

10

dozed off and fell from a, third-storywindow. This was a sign fromYahweh that proved the resurrectionwhen Paul raised the young manfrom the dead.

The identical Greek grammatical

constmction found in Acts 20:7,

usually translated "on the first day

of the week," also appeani in Mark16:2. But, if translated literallYmeans the first day for countingPentecost. It refers to the wave

sheaf day. The Greek words are

te mia ton sob baton^ The termsob baton has no other meaningthan the weekly Sabbath, but insome instances when certain modi-

fying words are used, it can mean

the first day of the common week.

Perhaps this is what Prompted thetranslation in Acts 20:l , but then,

the wave sheaf wa"s also correctlYoffered on the first day of the week.

Therefore, the Apostle Paul actu-

ally came to Philippi in associationwith the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

the Greek word in question is meta,translat€d in the translations as

"aftnt." However, the Liddell andScott Greek Lexicon shows thateven the accusative case is sometimes translated in the ancientdocuments as a genitive. If Youneed additional proof, Pemse thisexhaustive volume.

Again, another passage of ScriPture which has been such an obstacle

to many people who have never

observed the feasts of Yahweh orkept them properly, now comes toIife with new meaning and under-standing. This passage does not atall support Sunday keePing, as most

commentators assert. Such know-

ledge should be beneficial to thepeople of Yahweh to build their

faith and knowledge in these lastdays.

The Sabbatical and JubileeYear Cycles

Finally, another point which deselves some discussion is the counttoward the Jubilee year. Read

again Leviticus 25:&13. In thispassage appear the accurate direc-

tions for asceftaining when the

Jubilee year would oceur. The

Jubilee wa"s the fiftieth year, just a^s

Sharruoth or Pentecost is the fiftiethday. It was the year which followed*r.n Sabbaths of yffiN, or 49 y&rc.In other words, the fiftieth Yearfollowed the 49th year and began anew cycle, just as does the Feast ofPentecost. Consequently, the cycle

of seven times seven years (49 years)

would not be altered, nor is the

seven day cycle of the week alteredwhen we count Pentecost. Please

note the chart which accomPanies

this article showing that the firstday of the week is Pentecost.

Since it is imperative that we

obey Almighty Yahweh as strictly as

we possibly catr, we should be

desirous to serYe Him perfectly inatl things. Let us allow the Word ofYahweh to correct us so that we can

tmly be called the children ofYahweh. Will you join us in thisrestoration movement?

Conclusion

It is quite understandable thatmany dedicated believers upon

learning that they have been inemor in keeping the weekly firstday as the Sabbath could be skePti-cal about any Holy Day that falls on

os a perfectbeginning ofon the first

a Sunday. But, the other feasts ofYahweh also fall on the first daY ofthe week if we keeP them ProPerlYwith a visible new moon.

We must carefullY review the

scriptural teachings on the subject,

and both Old and New Testaments

show that the first daY of the week

is the proper day for the Feast ofWeeks, Pentecost. Once we have

come to the knowledge of the

Sabbath as being the correct worshipday, we naturally build uP a latentprejudice against the socalledvenerable day of the sun. Now thatyou understand the tntth, do notcontinue keeping Pentecost wrongly.The first day of the week, a new

beginnirg, the first day of the suc-

ceeding cycle of seven, is indeed theproper day for Sharruoth.

Additionally, the 6th of Sivan oc-

casionally falls on the first day ofthe week so the Jews so occasionally

observe a first day of the week forShavuoth.

This study has been published t0bring to the attention of thinkingpeople that thorough research hasyielded conclusive proof in the Scriptures and scholarly references, so

that we can accurately pinpoint theday which our Heavenly Father has

designated for His annual Holy Dayof Pentecost. When we refer backto the description of the LaodiceanAssembly, we find that these people

have not perfect€d their doctrines.This study is designed to assist

you in amiving at the truth of abasic Bible doctrine in order thatyou may be so firmly convinced ofthe correct day for Passover

observance that the body of theMessiah may be totally unit€d in thekeeping of the law of Yahweh. n

Yahshua the Messiah has fulfillpd the watte-sheaf offeringanti,type, ushen He ari,se in the eaening, at sundowno at thethe first day of the weelc. He was accepted by the Fatherdaa of the week.

11

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THE DEATH

OF THE MESSIAH Did the Souior Die on a Crossa

it on a CfOSS

The history of this sambol is shocking tothose usho haue not preuiously studied thissubject. Do aou knout ushat aou u)orship?EractlA hout did the Messiah die?

The Bible supplies the ansuers ! For aourcopA of this enlightening study, s end Aourrequest to:

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by

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