The Calendar, Part 14

Today I want to continue our series of Bible studies on the calendar. I kind of like to wind it up and complete it. We actually now have come to the final aspect of issues dealing with the calendar, and that has to do with counting to Pentecost, which is a calendar issue that people vary on. I was going to conclude today, but this actually, this final point is really a big subject. There's a lot to it, a lot more than you might think, and I think when I gave it the first time, it took me about an hour, 15 minutes to an hour and a half Bible study. So I'm going to actually break it into two parts. This will be part one, then I'll conclude my final series next time with part two when I give it to get the next one. But the only annual holiday that has to be determined by counting is Pentecost. Of course, the word Pentecost, the Greek word Pentecost, as we know itself, means count 50. That's what it means. It means count 50. From the instructions given to us in Leviticus 23, two primary interpretations have been used for counting to Pentecost.

And as I present these, I'm going to try to be objective in presenting both views.

So my title for this particular Bible study is the Calendar, Part 14, and it's Counting to Pentecost, Part 1. That's a little confusing. The subject's confusing, but anyway, the Calendar, Part 14, Counting to Pentecost, Part 1, because I have to do this in final part of it. I'm not doing two parts. First, I want to go take a look at the problem. I want to begin by showing you the problem. Turn to Leviticus 23 so we can just kind of understand why there's two major views on how to count to Pentecost.

Leviticus 23, we'll just start in verse 9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheep of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheep before the eternal, to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Now, you get the context of this. It's during the days of unleavened bread. You go back to verse 6. It's during the days of unleavened bread. On the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Dropping down to verse 15. And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, for the day that you brought the sheep of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Verse 16, count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. And then finally, verse 21, and you shall proclaim on that same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You should do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. Now, in the Old Testament, this holy convocation is called the Feast of Weeks. In the New Testament, it is called Pentecost, which as I've already stated means count 50 in Greek. The problem has to do with verses 11 and 15 here in Leviticus 23. Let's read those again. Verse 11, he shall wave the sheep before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf on the day after the Sabbath, the priest shall wave it. Verse 15 again, and you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheep of the wave offering. Seven Sabbaths shall be completed. And as I said within the context here that this is given, this Sabbath mentioned here in verses 11 and 15 as is in the New King James, this Sabbath mentioned here in these two verses is the Sabbath within the days of unleavened bread, Leviticus 23, verse 6 that I just mentioned. Now the question or problem is this, which Sabbath is this referring to? Is it referring to the weekly Sabbath that occurs during the days of unleavened bread? Or is it referring to the first holy day Sabbath of the days of unleavened bread? Is it referring to the first day of unleavened bread, which is the annual holy day Sabbath? Because we will arrive at a different day for appointing the observance of Pentecost, depending on two factors. One, depending on how we count. And number two, depending on which Sabbath we count from. And there's two major interpretations. That's why people don't all observe Pentecost in the same time, same day. If we count 50 days from the day after the first holy day Sabbath, from the day after the first day of unleavened bread, which is an annual holy day, we will arrive at one day for observing Pentecost.

But if we count 50 days from the day after the weekly Sabbath that occurs during the days of unleavened bread, we will arrive at a different day for observing Pentecost. In covering county to Pentecost, I'm going to be objective. I'm going to try to cover both sides of it objectively as much as I can. But I'm going to give the pros and cons of both sides.

As far as my specific purpose statement for today, then, in this particular Bible study, we will objectively look at the pros and cons for county to Pentecost from the day after the first holy day Sabbath, from the day after the first day of unleavened bread.

Now, here's a first point. Since the first day of unleavened bread always occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, since it always occurs on a fixed day of the month, then counting to Pentecost from the day after that annual Sabbath will always bring us to another fixed day of the month. Thus, counting to Pentecost from the day after the first day of unleavened bread will always bring us to the sixth day of the third month of the Hebrew calendar. The third month of the Hebrew calendar is called Sivan. S-I-V-A-N. So then, counting that way, you're always going to be observing Pentecost on the sixth of Sivan, on the sixth day of the third month. So when we use that method for counting to Pentecost, Pentecost is always going to occur on a fixed day of the month, but it can then also occur at different days during the week, because a fixed day of the month can be different days of the week. So a sixth of Sivan can occur on various days of the week. It can occur on a Monday, maybe a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.

Now, in my view, this immediately presents what I would consider to be the first problem in using that method for counting to Pentecost. You only have to count once. Once you count once, you know it's the sixth day of the third month, you just always put it down on the Pentecost. It's always going to be in the sixth day of the third month. You only have to count one time, and you've got it figured out. Once you determine it falls on the sixth of Sivan, you never have to count again.

See, that's a problem for me, especially, and this ties very much into the excellent sermon that we just had from Darren. This is really a problem for me, especially when we get to the spiritual side of counting to Pentecost, which I think is the most important part of this whole thing, is what can we learn spiritually from having to count every year in some manner?

Because what is Pentecost's picture? I'm just going to touch on it. I don't have this in my notes, but I'm just going to touch on it. As we know, regardless of when that first resurrection is going to take place, I'm not getting into that, regardless of that, counting to Pentecost portrays the spring harvest, doesn't it? The early spring harvest.

We are a part of that early spring harvest.

Pentecost portrays the spiritual harvest of the firstfruits, and we are part of that harvest. So, when you think about spiritual aspect of counting to Pentecost, counting down that period, we are now in that countdown period, spiritually speaking. We have this season, right now, from the time we were baptized, betrayed by Passover, made a commitment to God and to Jesus Christ. We have this time between now and when we die or when Christ comes, whichever comes first, to complete our part of being ready to be spiritually harvested, to be a part of the firstfruits. And so, there are some spiritual lessons you can learn, then, from counting to Pentecost, which I think is extremely important, which is why we count. And, like I said, if you use the other method, you only have to count once, and you have to worry about counting again.

So, I think there's a crucially important spiritual reason God has us count to Pentecost. And I think that ties in with the way we count, or we at least have to count to some extent, each time, each year. Because when you count from the weekly Sabbath, it's fairly easy to count. I realize that when you count from the weekly Sabbath that occurred during the days of unlimited bread, or from the day after the weekly Sabbath, again, it's pretty routine. But you do at least have to count. You have to count seven weeks. You've got to count. You can't just pluck on a certain day of the month. You have to count. Every year, you do have to count at least seven weeks to determine when it's going to be. Now, I'm just going to bring this out. The vast majority of the Jews today, and for the past 2,000 years, observe Pentecost on the sixth of Stephen. They count from the first Holy Day Sabbath, not the way we do. And that's, you know, millions of them. So the vast majority of people on the earth today who observe Pentecost do not count Pentecost as we do, and they observe Pentecost on the sixth of Stephen. So you might say, well, that means that that's probably right. The majority must be right. Well, let's look at the Bible more closely and we'll see. It's also, during Pentecost and the sixth of Stephen, accounting from the first Holy Day Sabbath, that is also how the Pharisees of Christ day counted to Pentecost. The Pharisees would observe Pentecost on the sixth of Stephen, even as the vast majority of Jews around the world still do today. In contrast to that, at the time of Christ, the Sadducees, a group known as the Bauphinians, and the Samaritans, they counted as we do today, as we've been united in most of the churches of God, although not all. They counted from the weekly Sabbath. Now, the Balthusian Jews were closely aligned with the Sadducees, but the main group of Jews today who count as we do from the weekly Sabbath. There is a group of Jews that count the way we do from the weekly Sabbath, and that's the Karaite Jews. If you're familiar with the Karaite Jews, they are the one group of Jews today who count to Pentecost as we do from the day after the weekly Sabbath that falls during the days of Unleavened Bread. Nearly all other Orthodox Jews today count from the first day of Unleavened Bread and observe Pentecost on the sixth of Stephen. And some Christians of the churches of God also tend to be supportive of observing Pentecost on the sixth of Stephen. You can understand why. That's when most of the Jews do it.

Those who count from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread have two main problems that have to be addressed. And to be objective, I'll say they have answers for both of those problems. And I'm going to give you their answers, their responses to those problems. So I'm going to try to be objective here. And I'm going to focus today mainly on that method of counting, counting from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread and arriving at the sixth of Stephen, the sixth day of the third month. But let's look at two problems with counting from the first day of Unleavened Bread. And again, when I say that, I mean counting from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread. The first problem is right here in Leviticus 23 verses 15 to 16. So let's read it again, those two verses. Leviticus 23 verse 15. And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the Sheaf of the Wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. Now, if you stop and read that literally the way it is here in the New King James, the day after the seventh Sabbath would always be a Sunday, which supports counting from the weekly Sabbath as we do in United, rather than counting from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread, which results in Pentecost following our various days of the week. Now, to address that particular problem, those who caught from the first day of Unleavened Bread must find support, then, for translating these words here in verses 15 and 16. They must must find support for translating the word Sabbath in verse 15 as weeks.

And they must translate also, they must translate the word Sabbath in verse 16 as week. They must translate these two verses this way. You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you brought the wave sheep offering, seven weeks shall be completed. Count 50 days to the day after the seventh week, then you shall offer a new grain offering. So that is how they then must translate those two verses to make it fit. Now, here's what I would say is a problem with that method. The problem is that this particular Hebrew word, Shabbat, is number 76, 76 in Strong Concordance. It means a Sabbath, and there is no place in the Old Testament where it is ever translated week or weeks. So that's a weakness with that particular position. It is always translated Sabbath or Sabbath. I'll get you more information in a little bit, but that's what I believe is for right now as far as the Hebrew Bible is concerned. But here's how they would respond to that. There is an answer for that, however. They could then respond to that problem by citing the usage of this word in Leviticus 25 verse 8. You can just turn the page over here to Leviticus 25 verse 8. It's talking about the Jubilee year, where it says in the New King James, in regards to the Jubilee year, you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years. Now the word Sabbath here obviously refers to seven years or seven weeks of years. Thus, in this particular usage here in Leviticus 25.8, this Hebrew word translated Sabbath is referring to seven weeks of years or to 49 years. As the latter part of this verse indicates, where it says, and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you 49 years. Thus, for some, the scriptural justification for translating this word as week or weeks back in Leviticus 23 verses 15 and 16 is the fact that's used here in referring to seven times seven years or to seven weeks of years. However, the fact remains that the only place this word is ever translated week or weeks is in the Septuagint or in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which is done in Alexandria Egypt back in the third century BC. The Septuagint does translate, Leviticus 23 verses 15 to 16, as seven weeks and as the day after the seventh week. That's the way the Septuagint translates it. But the overwhelming evidence of Hebrew scripture supports the translation of Sabbath or Sabbath.

Also, many would respond to this first problem by emphasizing that Pentecost in the Old Testament is called the Feast of Weeks. Thus, justifying in their minds the translation of weeks in Leviticus 23 verse 15, because it's called the Feast of Weeks. However, either way you count, seven weeks will still be completed. Whether you count from whichever way you count, you still have to go set count seven weeks. It will still be the Feast of Weeks, regardless of which way you count. It still be the Feast of Weeks. You still have to count seven weeks. So that argument or justification doesn't really prove anything one way or the other, in my view. Now, here's a second problem. The second problem was counting from the first day of Unleavened Bread.

When you count from the moral after the first day of Unleavened Bread, then the wave sheaf offering will always be offered on the second day of Unleavened Bread, which would be the moral after the annual Sabbath. The problem, then, is this, in my view. If that were the case, how then did Christ fulfill that?

If the wave sheaf offering represented Christ, then he should have fulfilled that by being resurrected on the second day of Unleavened Bread. On the day the wave sheaf was supposedly offered. In the year Christ died, that would have been on a Friday. Passover was on a Wednesday. The first day of Unleavened Bread was on a Thursday. And the day after that was a Friday. Thus, if the wave sheaf was offered on the day after the first Holy Day Sabbath, in the year that Christ died, for Him to be fulfilling the wave sheaf offering, He would have had to have been offered back to His Father and offered up on a Friday. But Christ ascended to His Father as the wave sheaf offering after sunset Saturday night, or we call it on the first day of the week, on a Sunday, which supports the way we count to Pentecost. Now, if they have a response to that, also those who count the other way, that will end up with the sixth of Stephen, their response to the second problem is this. Okay? So you'll know, I'm being objective. I'm trying to cover for them as well if you know how their explanation would be. They will say, at least this is what I believe, and maybe some can fill me in if there's more to it than that, but they will say that the wave sheaf offering represents all the firstfruits, not just Christ as the first of the firstfruits. That would be their response. At least, many of them would be their main response. But my response to that is this. Leviticus 23, verse 6, On the fifteenth day of the same month as the feast of unleavened bread, to the Lord to the eternal, seven days you must eat unleavened bread. Verse 11, He shall wave the sheep before the Lord to be accepted on your behalf. On the day after the Sabbath, the priests shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day when you when you wave the sheep a male lamb of the first year without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Verse 13, Its grain offering shall be two tenths of anepa, a fine flower mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet aroma, and its drink offering shall be of wine, one fourth of a hen. Now, since this is during the days of unleavened bread, the grain offering here of fine flour would have to be an unleavened grain offering, which symbolically portrays Christ who had no leaven who had no sin.

Verse 16, Leviticus 23, verses 16 and 17, Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. New grain, and I was talking about Pentecost grain offering, a new offering to the Lord. And you shall bring from your dwellings two loaves of two tenths of anepa, there should be a fine flower, they should be baked with leaven. They are the first fruits to the Lord. Why is this new grain offering baked with leaven?

Because all of us, the rest of the first fruits to the Lord, we do have sin.

Only Christ as the first of the first fruits was without sin. Only Christ. None of us were without sin. Only Christ could be properly symbolized by an unleavened grain offering. We could not be symbolized by an unleavened grain offering. Only Christ could be, because only Christ was without sin, without leaven. Thus, it would seem to me that the wave sheep offering only represents Jesus Christ. It can't represent all the first fruits, as would have to be the case in the argument of those who count to Pentecost and come up with the sixth of Stephen.

It would seem to me that the wave sheep offering represents only Christ, not all the first fruits, as their response to this second problem would indicate or demand. Now, there is another primary scripture that is used for counting to Pentecost from the day after the first day of unleavened bread. That scripture is a primary scripture that can be used to support that position. It is found actually in the New Testament. It is found in Matthew 23. Let's turn to Matthew 23 and read that, because this is a very interesting scripture. I think it is a very misunderstood scripture, so I want to try to explain it in a way that might make it a little bit more meaningful. This is a scripture that can be used for supporting counting from the day after the first day of unleavened bread and arriving at the sixth of sevents, as most Jews around the world do today. And that's in Matthew 23, verse 1, 1-3. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works, for they say and do not.

So it says right here, Christ Himself says regarding the Pharisees, He says, whatever the Pharisees tell you to observe, that observe and do. And the Pharisees, as I just mentioned a little while ago, the Pharisees come to Pentecost from the day after the first day of unleavened bread, and they would observe Pentecost on the sixth of sevents, as Jews around the world do today. So then, what doesn't this scripture then support the view of the Pharisees the way they count? And that doesn't this verse tell us here, very straightforward, then we should observe Pentecost on the sixth of sevents, because that's when the Pharisees observed it. That's the way they counted. The Pharisees counted Pentecost from the day after the first day of unleavened bread, observed Pentecost on the sixth of sevents. Is this then a proof scripture for doing that, as many would suggest? And there are some that highly suggest that, and use this scripture to support that. Now, let me ask another question. Is Christ then, here, telling us to observe everything the Pharisees taught, and to observe everything they observed? Is that what Christ is saying here? So, he says, they sit in Moses' seat. What else did Christ say in regards to the Pharisees? Let's go to Matthew 16. Let's just see what else he said. Just to get it all in perspective. You have to take everything on the side and try to put it together, so it makes sense. Matthew 16, verse 6. Then Jesus said to them, Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Remember, the Sadducees count like we do. But here Christ says, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. What was Christ referring to by the word leaven? Verse 12, he tells us. Verse 12. Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So here then, Christ is warning his disciples to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. So he condemned at least some of their teachings. He condemned at least some of the teachings of both groups. Thus, Matthew 23.3, cannot, of and by itself, be used as a proof scripture for counting to Pentecost from the first day of Unleavened Bridges, because that was how the Pharisees counted, because Christ condemned some of the teachings of both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. What then did Christ mean here in Matthew 23 verses 2 and 3, where he said, the scribes and the Pharisees, they sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do. What did Christ mean by that? What does that mean? Here is what William Barkley says in his New Testament study Bible in regards to Matthew 23 verses 2 and 3. It's very interesting what William Barkley concludes, what he says. Here's what he says. It must not for a moment be thought that Jesus is commending the scribes and Pharisees with all their rules and regulations. What he is saying is this, in so far as these scribes and Pharisees have taught you the great principles of the law which Moses received from God, you must obey those principles.

William Barkley later in this same commentary says that would include the whole of the Ten Commandments, which principles Barkley goes on to say are eternal and their teaching is eternally binding and eternally valid. So that's what William Barkley says. In other words, you can't use this scripture to say just because the Pharisees counted the Pentecost that way that that means that we should observe it because they did it. Also, it's very interesting to look into a little bit more deeper and see what does it really mean by Moses? We'll give an explanation here. We're living 2,000 years later. We're not living back to the time when there were synagogues in Palestine and we never attended those synagogues. We don't know what was in there, what they were like. We're reading this 2,000 years later. What was meant by Moses's seat? Now, the understanding they had of Moses's seat back at the time of Christ might be much different than we might interpret it today. So what was actually meant by that term? What is meant by Moses's seat? How would that term have been understood in the first century AD back at the time of Christ when this was written? The seat of Moses was a position in the first century synagogues. It did not exist in the temple. It didn't exist in Solomon's temple. It didn't exist in Herod's temple. It was something that was developed only in the Jewish synagogues between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. Again, the synagogue system was not found in the Old Testament. It was developed after the close of the Old Testament, after the Jews returned from captivity. And the seat of Moses, from some research that's been done, the seat of Moses was the seat occupied by the leader of the synagogue or by someone who was appointed to read from the book of Moses. And while seated in that particular seat or that chair in the synagogue, that official was not allowed to read anything but Moses, and he was not allowed to add his own interpretation while he was sitting in that particular chair or seat. Any interpretations could only be stated outside of what was called the seat of Moses. So Christ here is instructing his disciples and all of us to pay attention to the synagogue leaders when they were reading from Moses to do and to observe what was written in the law of Moses. That's basically what Christ is saying here, because that's how the seat... that would have been interpreted back and understood at the time of Christ. In other words, to observe what was written in the law of Moses, but not to follow their interpretations or their teachings that were not contained in the law of Moses. That's kind of the point that Christ was making there, Matthew 23 verses 2 and 3.

The individuals who would have sat in the seat of Moses were Pharisees, primarily, because the Pharisees, back at the time of Christ, mostly controlled the synagogues. The Pharisees were the ones who controlled the synagogues for the most part. So Matthew 23 verses 2 and 3 cannot be used as a proof text for counting to Pentecost as the Pharisees did from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread.

It can't be used as a proof text. There are a number of problems with that. Neither can the Sadducees be used to prove that... you'd say, well, because the Sadducees count as certain. Well, you can't prove it from the Sadducees either, that they're in business because they counted that way.

Because Christ condemned both groups. He condemned the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So you can't try to support either one of their positions in a proof of which way to count. Proof on how to count to Pentecost must be found apart from any teachings of the Pharisees of the Sadducees. Those then are two basic problems when it comes to counting to Pentecost from the moral after the first day of Unleavened Bread. Number one, you cannot scripturally justify, translate in the Hebrew words, for Sabbath and Sabbath, in Leviticus 23 verses 15 and 16, as week or weeks.

It's very difficult to stick with that. I mean, they do that, but it's hard to justify that from the Hebrew scripture. Very difficult. Also, the second problem is how did Christ fulfill the wave sheep offering if it was offered on the second day of Unleavened Bread, which should be done if it was counted the other way.

Which in the year Christ died would have been on a Friday instead of on a Sunday. The scripture indicates. Of course, I realize that Christ would have been resurrected on Saturday evening right around sunset, and then he would then ascended to his father to be accepted as the wave sheep offering on the first day of the week, which begins after sunset, Saturday night. But those are two major problems when it comes to counting the Pentecost from the morrow after the first day of Unleavened Bread.

But now, before closing this particular Bible study, I want to address one additional question that I brought up at the very beginning of the Bible study. I said we all, we will arrive at a different day for Pentecost depending on two factors. One was depending on which Sabbath we count from.

I've covered that part of it, I hope. And I'll cover the second half of that, counting Pentecost the other way the way we do. I'll cover that next time, and then I'll conclude this series, but I'll take a whole Bible study just to go through that.

There's a lot to that as well. Plus, there's some very important spiritual lessons we can learn. That's why I want to get into. But the second factor which determines what day is appointed for observing Pentecost, it depends on how we count. It depends on how we count. So I want to just take a moment here to talk about the two possible ways you can count. So let's now look at two ways we could then count to Pentecost. Now, some of you have been, go back to the early 70s and before. You realize, back in the early 70s and the 1960s and even back in the 50s, if you came into the church that early, we used to observe Pentecost on a Monday, didn't we?

How many were with us when we observed Pentecost on a Monday? Raise your hand. Okay, a lot of you go back that far. You observed Pentecost on a Monday. That was because of the way we counted. So it's important to understand the difference between these two ways you can count. Why did we observe it on a Monday back then? We observed it on a Monday because we counted the wrong way. We counted exclusively instead of inclusively. We counted in English, not in Hebrew. In English, we count exclusively. I'll explain that in a moment. In Hebrew, counts inclusively.

Now, what is the difference between those two methods for counting? When you count exclusively, you exclude the day you begin counting from. For example, if I told you I wanted to meet you for lunch three days from tomorrow, what day of the week would I meet you for lunch? Tomorrow is Sunday. One day from tomorrow, one day from Sunday would be Monday. Two days from Sunday would be Tuesday. Three days from Sunday would be Wednesday. So counting as we do today, counting in English three days from tomorrow would be a Wednesday. That is an example of counting exclusively. Sunday, tomorrow, is excluded in the count. Day one would be Monday. Day two would be Tuesday. Day three would be Wednesday. Not so if you count in Hebrew. In Hebrew, tomorrow or Sunday would be included as the first day in the count. If I said to you in Hebrew, I want to meet you three days from tomorrow, tomorrow Sunday would be day one, Monday would be day two, and Tuesday would be day three. So I'd meet you on Tuesday, not on Wednesday. Thus three days from tomorrow in English or counting exclusively would be on a Wednesday, whereas three days from tomorrow in Hebrew or counting inclusively would be on a Tuesday. So in counting to Pentecost, from the moral after the weekly Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread, was the way Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong counted, not the one I'm talking about today, but from the weekly Sabbath. In counting to Pentecost, from the moral after the weekly Sabbath that occurred during the days of Unleavened Bread, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong counted exclusively. He excluded Sunday as being the first day of the 50-day countdown period and arrived at a Monday for observing Pentecost. When that was challenged in the early 70s, he contacted, and I'm not, I think I got this right, as I remember, I'm reminding this from my memory now because I was back there back then. But as I recall, he contacted a Jewish rabbi who told him that, biblically speaking, or in Hebrew, Sunday would be included as the first day of that 50-day countdown period. The first Sunday is day one. The second Sunday would be day eight. The third Sunday would be day 15. The fourth Sunday would be day 22. The fifth Sunday would be day 29. The sixth Sunday would be day 36. The seventh Sunday would be day 43. And the eighth Sunday would be day 50. Or Pentecost. Count 50.

By the eighth Sunday, seven Sabbaths would have been completed, because 2313, and then count 50 days. The day after the seventh Sabbath, because 2316, and the day after the seventh Sabbath would be a Sunday.

That'd be the 50th day in the countdown period when you count inclusively. It's the day after the seventh Sabbath, it's the 50th day counting inclusively, which is why we observe Pentecost on a Sunday. Now, when that was pointed out to Mr. Armstrong by a Jewish rabbi back in the early 70s, he changed the observance of Pentecost from Monday to Sunday. That's why that change took place, because he realized we were not counting the way you do in Hebrew. So that gives you a little bit of history and background, and I know it's a little bit confusing, but it's an interesting subject, and I think especially when you get into the spiritual aspect of it, which we'll get into next time, but I'll conclude there for now. Again, in our final Bible study, we will look more closely examine counting the Pentecost from the morrow after the weekly Sabbath that occurred during the days of Unleavened Bread, as we do today, and we'll look at what the role of prophecy plays in that, because prophecy does play a role in that, but it's interesting. So we'll look at that a little bit, what role prophecy plays in that method of counting the Pentecost, and we'll also see how counting the Pentecost as we do today here in United, as most of the churches of God do. We will see the spiritual implications of that, and there's some very, very, very interesting and very vitally important spiritual implications that you can learn from having to count every year, as you do. At least you have to count seven weeks. There's some very important spiritual lessons, which I want to spend a lot of time next time going to those spiritual lessons, because I think that is the primary reason that I feel we are counting correctly, is because the spiritual lessons you can tie in from doing it that way, that are missed out if we count from the first day of Unleavened Bread. You don't have those lessons driven home to you in the same way. So I'll conclude this series with all that next time.