Now, from the 19th of the third month, count 40 days. You again end up on the 29th of the fourth month [assuming the third month has 29 days]. Evidence that this particular day is a Feast day -- see Exodus 32:1-6. Aaron knew it was a Feast day for it was his job as high priest to proclaim the Feasts of YHVH; he just celebrated it the wrong way and YHVH was wroth. On this same day (the day Aaron said was a Feast unto YHVH) Moses came down the mountain with the tables of the covenant, Exodus 32:7-20.

Not to be lost is the fact that the Law was indeed delivered at the Feast of Weeks, in written form, not orally on the 6th of Sivan, as Israel did not arrive at Sinai until the 16th. At the end of the 40 days and 40 nights, Moses received the tablets of stone, Deuteronomy 9:11. Granted, Moses broke them in a fit of rage, but the Law was indeed sent down the mount to the people at “Pentecost.” Remember, YHVH came upon the Mount on the 18th day of the third month, well after the day presently observed as the Feast of Weeks (the 6th of Sivan) which is in early June on the Roman calendar. This cannot be overlooked and should not be lightly regarded or ignored.

We have two witnesses placing the Feast of Weeks on the 29th day of the fourth month on YHVH’s calendar which is near the end of July on the Roman calendar. [Of Note: the months were originally 30 days in length with the Feast of Weeks falling on the 28th day of the 4th month. If the third month is ever a 29 day month, 50 days from the morrow after the seventh Sabbath would be on the 29th day of the fourth month. This won’t happen in the new earth when “time” is returned to the way it was created in the beginning.]

Can a “summer” Pentecost be proven by either the historical record or in the natural world?

Exhibit C: Historical record -- see Nehemiah 12:44. There are only three times in the year when Israel was to bring a tithe of first fruits. Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Harvest or Tabernacles. Which Feast time is Nehemiah in reference to here? Nehemiah 13:5 and 13:12 tells us that new wine and oil was also offered at this time. This is, by default, the tithe of the Feast of Weeks because the new wine and oil are summer harvests. Nehemiah 13:15 even records that the sheaves were being brought in from the fields along with wine and grapes.

Exhibit E: The Natural world -- it takes wheat more than 50 days to reach maturity. Now there are some who say that the wheat spoken of for the Feast of Weeks is sown in the fall along with the barley and matures a few weeks after the barley is harvested. And yes, this would permit a wheat harvest on or about the 6th day of the third month. The problem with this theology is that there are too many witnesses placing the wheat harvest late in the fourth month. This is the type of “contradiction” that sets Bereans searching for answers. The answers are found in both Scripture and the natural world.

Nature: The compelling fact is that there are 2 types of wheat. Winter wheat is planted in late fall and takes 7 months to mature (about early June), then there is spring wheat (planted in the spring) which takes 4 months to mature. (<Remember this). Which one was planted in Exodus 9 and is referred to for the Feast of Weeks? We agree that maybe both types of wheat are now planted in the Middle East. But this doesn’t answer the second part of the question above.

Scripture: Let’s examine Exodus 9:18-35 and the plague of hail that destroyed Egypt. In verses 31-32 we will find our answer. The flax was ready to harvest and the barley was near ready. Both crops were a total loss. When sown, winter wheat very quickly sends up a 4-6 inch blade of grass which winters over, then as the days get longer and warmer, it begins to mature.

The wheat was not destroyed in the plague of hail because it was “not grown up”. The Hebrew for this phrase means hidden or in the dark. By calculating the time between plagues, the hail fell on or about the 10th day of Abib. The significance of this is that the wheat in question had just been sown a short time before the plague and had not yet germinated. It was hidden in the dark, buried in the earth.

This phrase “hidden in the dark” does not mean that the wheat grass was dark green (not ready to harvest) and somehow survived the hail. Scripture does not permit this understanding. At the time of the barley harvest, winter wheat would already be sending up stalks. Said another way, it would be very much above ground. If in doubt, notice that “every herb of the field” was also smitten, Exodus 9:22-25. Strong’s Concordance (H# 6212) says that this word herb means “to glisten (or be green); grass (or any tender shoot): grass, herb.” If the winter wheat had not yet sent up a stalk, it was certainly in grass form, and therefore would have been destroyed by the hail. The Torah says that the wheat was not destroyed. So what wheat was used for Feast of Weeks? Regardless of what type is traditionally held, this wheat is indisputably spring wheat.

But don’t take my word for it. Judges 15:1-5 says that Samson not only destroyed the wheat, but the vineyards and olives as well. Feast keepers say that this took place at the Feast of Weeks. There are no grapes or olives in early June (the third month on YHVH’s calendar).

Acts 2:1, 13 says that the disciples were accused of being drunk with new wine after Pentecost had “fully come.” These men knew that there was new wine available otherwise there would be no basis for this claim. Peter doesn’t correct their agricultural assessment, but simply says that they were not drunk as supposed. There was no new wine in early June, there is at Pentecost.

Interesting isn’t it that nature proves that the wheat was harvested in mid SUMMER in Israel, not the first week of the pagan month of June.

Regarding the barley harvest, when they came into the land, they were to harvest a handful and bring YHVH a wave sheaf offering, Leviticus 23:10-11. This would have been barley planted by the Canaanites because Israel didn’t cross the Jordan until the 10th of Abib, Joshua 4:19. After wave sheaf (the 16th of Abib) they were to number seven Sabbaths complete (and then some, but let’s stop here for now).

Now Exodus 23:16 (part of the perpetual covenant) says that the first fruits of the wheat harvest would be that which Israel had sown in the field. They did not arrive in the land promised to Abraham until Abib, the first month. If they were to offer a “new meat” offering at the Feast of Weeks and this had to be from their labors that Israel had sown in the field, then they would have had to plant spring wheat after they arrived in the land in the first month. It is a physical impossibility for this wheat to mature in 50 days (early in the third month).

In order to have a “new meat” offering (in compliance with the covenant) after they numbered 7 Sabbaths complete they had to count 50 more days after the morrow after the 7th Sabbath. They could not have counted a mere 50 days from Wave Sheaf itself. Pay careful attention here for this alone proves that the final count to “Pentecost” begins after the 7th Sabbath.

John 4:31-35: "…Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Yeshua saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."

This was the first month when Yahushua [Yeshua] made this statement! Wheat is white when it is ready to harvest! From the beginning of Abib to the end of the 4th month, is four months. When the disciples turned around, all they saw were little spikes of green because the wheat had just been planted, however Yahushua [Yeshua] spoke of a harvest of souls, not the wheat. Without question, this precludes “Pentecost” from occurring in early June.

In conclusion: According to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture it takes 110-120 days for spring wheat to mature, so we need an accurate count to get us to that point. From the 16th Abib, 7 Sabbaths complete is 49 days. Added in this count are 2-4 new moon days (we’ll use three for this count) that are not figured in the weekly cycle, but are days in the sun for the wheat. 49 + 3 = 52. The morrow after the 7th Sabbath, adds one day to make 53. Now add 50 more. 49 + 3 + 1 + 50 = 103 days. Since this wheat is planted on or about the first work day of spring (Abib 2), we can safely add 14 or more days for a total of 117 days. Right on time for a new meat offering when there are also grapes in the field.

Fascinating thought: It’s just like YHVH to hide this count in Scripture so we could only find it by searching here a little, there a little, and by adding line upon line, precept upon precept. He foreknew that the New Testament would be translated into Greek, leaving us with the Greek word Pentecost. The Old Testament clearly tells us to number seven Sabbaths complete plus one day before the translators were permitted to muddy the water. By bequeathing to believers everywhere the word Pentecost, meaning literally, “fifty days”, the “Greek” New Testament clearly reveals the rest of the formula by telling us to count 50 more not just one more day after the seventh Sabbath complete. As Acts 2:1 says, when you do the math right, Pentecost will “fully come.”

If this evidence is solid, then there will at last be unity in the ranks of Feast keepers. No more will there be any argument whether Wave Sheaf falls on the 16th of Abib or the day after the “Saturday” Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. No more will there be any argument whether the Feast of Weeks is a fixed day or floating on the Roman calendar. (Should a Catholic calendar even be consulted?)

Wave Sheaf is always on the 16th of Abib (the first day of YHVH’s work week), the day after the 15th which is always a Sabbath on YHVH’s calendar. This way you always arrive at the 22nd of Abib as the first “Sabbath complete” numbering from Wave Sheaf, (six work days, then a weekly Sabbath). And finally, Pentecost is always on either the 28th or 29th day of the fourth month.

Facing the Evidence: The 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of YHVH’s lunar-solar calendar months are always Sabbaths. The Feast of Weeks/Pentecost is always on either the 28th or the 29th day of the fourth month. If there is fruit in this message, we will find out if we are faithful to it by observing the Feast of Weeks on the 28th or 29th day of the fourth month of YHVH’s calendar.

Just think for a moment. Look back at this study and all the harmony we can find by understanding only one passage of Scripture differently -- that we should number 50 days from the day after the seventh Sabbath is compete, not one day. It does not say to count 50 days after Abib 16, it says to count seven Sabbaths complete. A Sabbath compete (6 work days and a Sabbath) is a totally different yardstick than a day. Why do we count seven Sabbaths complete, arriving at a certain date, then go back in time to Abib 16 to count 50 days? Time goes only in one direction. The tradition of the Jews is not above Scripture. Talmudic Jewery, not true Israel, caused this error. And neither is the tradition of the Catholic or Protestant denominations to be accepted over the harmony of Scripture.

Some have pointed out that “ad” or “od” (Strong’s H-5704, H-5703) does NOT mean “FROM” the morrow after the 7th Sabbath, but H-4480 DOES. Guess where THAT word is?

Look at what Strong’s says about H-5704 “whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until)”. Leviticus 23:16 is about time, not space, so we’ve been applying the word in the wrong manner all along. The Hebrew actually could be translated: "WHILE FROM the morrow (after the) seventh Sabbath (shall ye) number fifty days (and ye shall) offer a new meat offering (unto) YHVH."

In fact, Fenton agrees with Philo, a man who lived 2000 years ago. “The solemn assembly on the occasion of the festival of the sheaf having such great privileges, is the prelude to another festival of still greater importance; for from this day the fiftieth day is reckoned, making up the sacred number of seven sevens, with the addition of a unit as a seal to the whole…” The Works of Philo, The Special Laws, II, "The Seventh Festival," XXX (176), page 584.

This sounds as if Pentecost is 50 days after wave-sheaf, doesn’t it? Let’s let Philo speak…

“These men assemble at the end of seven weeks venerating not only the simple week of seven days, but also its multiplied power. For they know it to be pure and always virgin; and it is a prelude and a kind of fore-feast of the greatest feast, which is assigned to the number fifty, the most holy and natural of numbers…” (The Works of Philo, On The Contemplative Life, VIII (65), page 704).

Another argument I have received is based upon Deuteronomy 16. It is said that there this passage does not mention 50 days, just the seven Sabbaths. Let’s look at Deuteronomy 16, shall we?

Passover and Unleavened Bread is listed from Deuteronomy 16:1-8. Please read this before continuing. If we base our observation on this passage alone, then we don’t have to fool with the wave-sheaf anymore because it is not listed anywhere in this chapter, but Leviticus 23:9-14 does, doesn’t it?

One fellow argued: Deuteronomy 16:9 says, “…as you put the sickle to the corn.” Every astute Bible student knows that this text is talking about the wheat harvest, for it is counting off seven weeks.

Of course the Feast of Weeks is mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:9-12. And if you will read it carefully, verse 9 says to BEGIN the seven week count from the time you put the sickle to the corn. This corn would be the BARLEY on Abib 16. How astute is it to tell folks that this is talking about a wheat harvest when the verse says to BEGIN the count (of seven Sabbaths, not days) from the time you put the sickle to the corn. Please read the verse for yourself…

The Feast of Tabernacles is listed in Deuteronomy 16:13-15. Nowhere in Deuteronomy 16 is the eighth day of the feast mentioned. So according to this chapter we don’t have to fool with the eighth day anymore, right? Should we make this assumption? Leviticus 23:36 very clearly orders us to observe the eighth day as a Sabbath. So which instructions are you going to follow? Leviticus 23 or Deuteronomy 16? If you obey Deuteronomy 16 only, then you are breaking Torah. If you observe Leviticus 23, you will automatically be obeying Deuteronomy 16.

The underlying Hebrew word translated as rye is spelt or fitches. Spelt is also planted in the fall, so this can also be ruled out. However, fitches (vetch or black cumin) IS planted in the spring after the last frost and it is native to northern Africa (meaning it would have been planted in Egypt in Exodus 9:32. Scholars admit that “rye” is a bad translation for this verse. So it should have been translated as fitches, which are sown in early spring and harvested 4 months later, JUST like spring wheat.

“Throughout its history, and still to this day, this spice is harvested by hand which takes place about 4 months after sowing.” http://www.bespokespices.com/cumin-plant.html

One objection I received went thus:

If you were walking from Galilee to Jerusalem in June, you might be inclined to think it was midsummer. Even the fig trees which weren't ripe in early Abib were to ripen soon, when "summer is nigh" (May).

If Israel was aware of the equinoxes and their relation to the seasons, and there is no reason to suspect they did not, do you suppose they were ignorant of the solstices? It gets mighty hot in early June here in Missouri, but only a fool would consider it summer.

Do you HAVE a fig tree? I do. Fig trees (and mine is the middle eastern variety) do not even set fruit until June, and are not harvested until July or August depending on where you live. To add insult to injury, Scripture tells us what season figs are harvested and it is NOT spring and certainly not the month of may...

Nehemiah 13:15: "In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals."

Song of Solomon 2:13: "The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."

Isaiah 36:16: "Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;"

Jeremiah 8:13: "I will surely consume them, saith YHVH: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them."

Habakkuk 3:17: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:"

See also Hosea 2:12, Joel 1:7, 1:12, Amos 4:9 and Haggai 2:19. This is not an exhaustive list.

Wheat, olives (oil), grapes (vine, wine) and pomegranates are ALL summer harvests. Not late spring. Nature does not lie. Men do.

 

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