Feast of Weeks of Pentecost or Feast of Harvest |
“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: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD” (Lev. 23:15-16).
Pentecost is the Greek name for Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, also known as the Feast of Pentecost. It is a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses at Mt. Sinai. In Christianity, Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter Sunday. Described in (Leviticus 23:17- 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 first fruits unto the LORD.), The Feast of Weeks is the second of the three “solemn feasts” This important feast gets its name from the fact that it starts seven full weeks, or exactly 50 days, after the Feast of First Fruits (Easter). Since it takes place exactly 50 days after the previous feast, this feast is also known as “Pentecost” (Acts 2:1-And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.), which means “fifty.”
It was fifty days after God delivered the Children of Israel from captivity in Egypt that He gave them the Ten Commandments and the Law, establishing Israel as a nation. On this same day, fifty days after Christ was crucified that God established the institution of the local church there in Jerusalem as Acts 2 records (Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.)
On the Day of Pentecost believers for the first time were permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit as they were praying together on one accord and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised the day He ascended into heaven.