Pentecost

FEAST OF WEEKS

The Feast of Weeks, known today as the Day of Pentecost, is the fourth of the seven annual feasts of God in the Bible. As the seven feasts are grouped into three, the Day of Pentecost belongs to the second group of feasts together with Resurrection Day. The Day of Pentecost takes place 50 days after Resurrection Day. There are seven Sabbaths between the two feasts, hence their names.

Leviticus 23:15 “From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering [Day of Firstfruits], count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.”

Origin of the Feast of Weeks

The Feast of Weeks takes place on the 50th day after the Day of Firstfruits.

Forty days after crossing the Red Sea, Moses went up to Mount Sinai for the first time to receive instructions from God and deliver God’s will to the people. Ten days later (50 days after crossing the Red Sea), Moses returned to Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 19:16-25)

God commanded the Israelites to commemorate the day when Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments as the Feast of Weeks. There were seven Sabbaths from the Day of Firstfruits when the Israelites came out of the Red Sea until the day Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.

Leviticus 23:15-16 (NIV) “From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.”

Meaning of the Feast of Weeks

Each feast of God has been established for our blessing. When we celebrate Pentecost, God promises us the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The Feast of Weeks was fulfilled when Jesus resurrected and entered into the Most Holy Place in heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost – fifty days after his resurrection.

Hebrews 9:11-12 (NLT) So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood – not the blood of goats and calves – he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Once Jesus entered the Most Holy Place in heaven, He poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples of the Early Church.This was the motivating power that spurred the growth of the Early Church as described in the book of Acts (Acts 2:1-47).

Acts 2:1-47 (NLT) On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. … And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them ability. … Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day – about 3,000 in all.

Celebrating the Day of Pentecost

Just as the disciples celebrated the Day of Pentecost, today, the Church of God also celebrates the Day of the Pentecost and continues to grow exponentially, being moved by Holy Spirit.