The Stewarton Bible School observes Pentecost on the 50th day after the Passover Sabbath; counting - as do the Jews - from the morrow after the first day of unleavened bread.
As is well known, Pentecost occurs seven complete weeks after the consecration of the harvest by the offering of the wave sheaf of first ripe barley. This sheaf was waved on "the morrow after the Sabbath".
Lev. 23:11 | 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. |
Note the words "on the morrow after the Sabbath." Several opinions are held as to which Sabbath is meant here, so I will begin by quoting the Westminster Dictionary of the Bible on this subject and then go on to give a few scriptural verses which have influenced us to count as we do. Article Feast of Weeks (page 633)
The critical question now is, "which of these three opinions is the correct one?" for though SBS, like the Jews and the Westminster Dictionary, favours the third alternative, that does not necessarily mean that it is the correct one. In this letter, therefore, I will give you scriptural reasons why we count to Pentecost from the morrow after the first day of unleavened bread - the method mentioned at point 3 above. I will do this because I fully realise that even the best authorities can be wrong. Besides, we should base our opinions on the Scriptures alone. On this subject we find that Leviticus 23:11-14 states that the harvest was not to be eaten till after the wave sheaf and the food and drink offerings had been presented to God.
Lev.23:11-14 | And ye shall eat neither bread, not parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God. |
The statutory progression of events was as follows:
It is this third point, the eating of the bread, parched corn or green years,
that gives us the clue as to which Sabbath triggers the
50th day count to Pentecost.
We read further in the book of Joshua that the children of Israel,
in obedience to the regulations laid down in Leviticus 23:11-14
ate the corn of the land "on the morrow after the
Passover."
Note the words "on the morrow
after the Passover".
Josh.5:10-12 | And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn on the selfsame day. |
The answer is, the Passover is held on the first day of unleavened bread, which is also a Sabbath day. Yes, the Passover is held on the first day of unleavened bread (15th.Abib) Here is the proof.
Matt.26:17 | Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover. |
Mark 14:12 | And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover. |
Luke 22:7 | Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. |
These three texts prove that the preparations for the Passover
took place just before the first day of unleavened bread - that
is, at the end of the 14th Abib. This is in complete agreement
with Yahweh's instructions as recorded in Exodus 12 where we
see how the Passover Lamb was slain towards the evening or
end of the 14th Abib - the period which immediately preceded
the first day of unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:5-6)
For further evidence see our leaflet
entitled The Passover - When?
The inevitable conclusion, therefore, is: that Joshua must
have kept the Passover on the first day of unleavened bread
and then gone on to eat the corn of the land on the morrow
after it.
In other words, Joshua's 50 day count to Pentecost
must have begun on the morrow after the first day of unleavened
bread, which is a Sabbath day.
By way of summary we may say that we in Stewarton count to Pentecost from:
Concerning the wording of Leviticus 23:15-16, Hebrew scholars admit that the words "seven sabbaths"
and the "seventh Sabbath" in these verses do
not necessarily mean seven Saturdays but rather "seven
weeks". Even the Greeks who translated this as Pentecost
understood it to mean 7 weeks - not 7 Saturdays. Using a calendar
which is not distorted by manmade regulations and traditions
we count to Pentecost each
year, because it does not always fall on the 6th day of Sivan
every year as some incorrectly suppose. Because the first
and second months do not have fixed lengths Pentecost must be
counted to.
In the present Jewish calendar months have fixed lengths -
and this is not strictly scriptural. Abib, for instance could
be 30 days or 29 days in length. Likewise the second month, it
may be 29 or 30 days in length. This affects the count - so
Pentecost is counted to, because it does NOT always fall
on the 6th day of Sivan.
Our method is by no means a new one; it was used long, long ago and was used by the Pharisees and, as the Westminster Dictionary puts it, "by those who directed the services of the 2nd Temple," the one the Saviour walked in. He recommended that we listen to the Pharisees in this matter (Matt.23:2-3).
The Boethusian way of counting 50 days from the Sunday during
the week of unleavened bread is, nevertheless, worthy of consideration.
You will need to contact other groups who use that method. We
in Stewarton also keep a close watch for the SIGNS in the sun, moon and stars on the Sunday that
is arrived at by that method of counting. As it is a non-working
day in Britain, we have no trouble doing this. No doubt a SIGN
in the sun or moon, as indicated in Genesis 1:14, would settle
the matter as to which counting method is correct.
There has been centuries of dispute over the 'count to Pentecost,' and no doubt this will continue till the Master returns. Meanwhile my advice to all is to keep an open mind on it and respect the opinions of other believers. Above all we cannot afford to pontificate on the subject, because it is not as clear cut as some think.
INCORRECT CALENDAR
By far the greater issue is the one about the distorted
calendar that so many festival-keeping Christians are currently
using. That error alone causes millions of believers to inadvertently
keep over half of Yahweh's festivals on the wrong dates in
two out of three years. For further details see Question 6.
Sincerely
Elder: David B Loughran