Pentecost is also known as the feast of weeks or the feast of harvest. Though not in scripture, it is also sometimes referred to as the feast of latter firstfruits. Jews refer to it as Shavuot which means “weeks”. Pentecost comes from the Greek word meaning “fiftieth”. Pentecost was to be observed by the Jews on the fiftieth day following the feast of passover. Pentecost is seven weeks plus a day from passover. Seven Sabbaths were to be counted. It is known as the feast of weeks since the Jews had to count seven weeks to know the date of the feast. (Exodus 34:22 ¶ And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.) Pentecost was one of the three mandatory feasts that all Jewish males were to come before the LORD with an offering. In latter times this was in Jerusalem in the temple. The other required feasts were the feast of unleavened bread and the feast of tabernacles. (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:) Pentecost was celebrated to honour the LORD with the firstfruits of the new grain of the summer wheat harvest. This is why sometimes it is known as the feast of harvest or the feast of latter firstfruits since the feast of firstfruits which is sometimes referred to as the early firstfruits was a time when the Jews offered to God the firstfruits of their spring barley harvest and now it was the summer harvest of wheat or the latter firstfruits. (Deuteronomy 16:10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:) Exodus gives its name of the feast of harvest. (Exodus 23:16 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.) Pentecost does not have an exact Jewish set date, but varies since it is based off of 50 days from passover or seven Sundays from Easter. It is normally in May or June of our calendar and in the month of Sivan in the Jewish calendar. This was done to remind the people of passover and their redemption as a people from Egypt and ultimately of Jesus as the passover lamb and the redemption of our souls. Pentecost is the last of the spring feasts. The book of Ruth is often read by Jews on Pentecost. The feast of firstfruits is an offering to God of the firstfruits of the barley harvest which was considered the poor man’s food and the firstfruits offering for Pentecost is from the wheat harvest which was considered the rich man’s food. Jesus rose from the grave on the feast of firstfruits and became the firstfruits of resurrection. (I Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.). He became a poor man for us to die for our sins so that upon his resurrection and our receiving of him as our Saviour, we might become spiritually rich and have eternal life with him. This is represented by the giving of the Holy Ghost to believers on Pentecost. (II Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.) God will not only give us eternal life, but a mansion in heaven with streets of gold.
Various offerings were to be made on the day of Pentecost: loaves of bread, sheep, bulls, and goats. Except for the bullock and rams, these were all first year animals just as the grain was the firstfruits of the harvest. God always demands your first and best. (Leviticus 23:15-21 15 ¶ 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.
17 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 the LORD.
18 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 the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.
19 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.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.) The Jews were to offer two loaves of bread with leaven. This may seem odd since earlier God had said no grain offering, which wheat is a grain, could be made with leaven. (Leviticus 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.) No leaven was allowed in the bread for passover, yet Pentecost requires it. Why since leaven in scripture represents sin? The reason leaven had to be used in the bread for Pentecost is because Pentecost is the time that God reminds us all that we are sinners in need of Jesus as our Saviour. The offering given at Pentecost represents the gospel with the bloody sacrifice of the animals including lambs along with the leaven bread which represents our sins showing how the blood of Jesus who is our passover lamb can wash away our sins. (I Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:) The offerings were commanded to be together to show that God only accepts sinful man by the blood offering of his Son Jesus. Without the blood of Jesus, there is no remission of our sins. (Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.) The two loaves were to be made with fine flour which removed all of the chaff and lumps. This is what Jesus does to sinners after we are saved and continues to fine tune us as we grow in the Lord by reading his word, praying to him, and living our lives for him by obeying his commandments. Pentecost reminds us that Jesus only saves sinners of which we all are. Only those who repent will be saved. As Jesus said, he came to save the lost. Jesus said those who are whole have no need of a physician. The Pharisees thought they were good enough and not sinners who needed Jesus. Do not be like them. Call upon Jesus today to save you if you have not already done so. (Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.) (Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.) Why were there two loaves of bread? Two witnesses were required by God in scripture. Jesus sent out his disciples by two’s. (Mark 6:7 ¶ And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;) Two witnesses are required to accuse a church elder. (I Timothy 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.) God will have two witnesses during the tribulation to accuse the antichrist and his followers and witness for Jesus. These two witnesses will most likely be Moses and Elijah. (Revelation 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.) God has the witness of two testaments or covenants (Old and New Testaments) against all people, but especially Jews that Jesus is the Messiah and only way for eternal life. A sin offering and a peace offering were given by the Jews at the feast of Pentecost. These two loaves represent these two offerings. Jesus is our peace offering to accept the sin offering. Jesus is the peace offering that allowed Gentiles as well as Jews to unite as one body of believers in him. The Jews were intended from the beginning to be witnesses for the LORD and to tell the world about the coming Messiah Jesus. Now by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Gentiles can also be a second witness for Jesus to the world just as scripture requires two witnesses. The two loaves were meant to be representive of the Jews and Gentiles as one body, but two witnesses for Jesus to the world. Jews were and are God’s chosen people. As such the feast of firstfruits represents them. Pentecost represents the firstfruits all believers in Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles as Jesus came to save the world, not just Jews.
According to Jewish tradition, God gave Moses the ten commandments on what would become Pentecost. This is why the Jews sometimes call this “The Season of the Giving of the Law”. God gave the Jews their new covenant also on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost was given as the Comforter. Some Messianic Jews [saved believers in Jesus] therefore refer to Pentecost as “The Season of the Giving of the Spirit” since all believers become one family, regardless of nation or tongue. If Jewish tradition is true then the difference between the law which shows us we are sinners and the giving of the Holy Ghost who lives in believers is clearly seen. The Jews after tiring of waiting for Moses to come down from Mt. Sinai turned to making an idol in the golden calf. Because of this sin about three thousand people died. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand were saved. This is the same amount of people, but with different eternal destinies showing those who die by the law of works and those who live by the blood of Jesus. (Exodus 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.) (Acts 2:41 ¶ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.)
There is debate over when the actual day of Pentecost is. Scripture says the feast of firstfruits was the day after the sabbath with Pentecost being the day following seven sabbaths from then. The debate was it counted from passover which was a sabbath or the weekly sabbath which would then make Pentecost on a Sunday. It appears that it was meant for the feast of firstfruits to be after the weekly sabbath just as it was on the Sunday that Jesus rose from the grave as the firstfruits of resurrection and with Pentecost being on a Sunday just as it was in Acts 2.
Pentecost was given its fulfillment of its real meaning in the new testament. Pentecost is considered by Christians the day the church was started as three thousand people were saved and the Holy Ghost was given to believers. Jesus who rose from the grave was in heaven at this time seated at the right hand of God the Father and no longer with his apostles and disciples. Jesus ascended to heaven ten days earlier and had told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem, for at a time appointed they would receive power and the Holy Ghost to be able to go out and witness for him. (Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.) (Acts 2:1-12 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?) These men full of the Holy Ghost spoke with tongues and were baptized with fire by the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:3 says cloven tongues like as of fire sat upon each of them. The baptism of fire was only on this day. John the Baptist spoke of this day. (Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:) Unlike what Pentecostals who get their name from Pentecost teach and believe, these tongues were actual languages, though not ones spoken by the apostles. They were not gibberish as the Pentecostals speak which in reality opens the door to devils. These were languages that were spoken by people in the crowd and verses 9-11 list these languages. What happened on this Pentecost, the first since the death and resurrection of Jesus, was never repeated. Unlike what Pentecostals teach, a person does not have to speak in tongues to be saved. This adds works to salvation and is unscriptural. Since this first Pentecost of the church, many souls have been added. Today all people receive the Holy Ghost the moment they are saved unlike on that day.
The feast of Pentecost, as all Jewish feasts, points not only Jews, but all people to Jesus Christ and their need of him for salvation. Most Christians only think of Pentecost as the day seen in Acts 2, but its true meaning goes much deeper with Acts 2 just being the fulfillment of the feast from the old testament with the giving of the Holy Ghost to all believers as the promised Comforter. (John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.) May all seek Jesus so they too may receive the Holy Ghost as Comforter.
