Feast of WeeksThe Feast of Weeks goes by many different names in the scriptures, day of Pentecost, Feast of Harvest, and Firstfruits. The Feast of Weeks is one of the hardest days to calculate because it is the only feast that is counted over a month and two thirds. In the Old Testament we find detailed instructions for calculating this day. This was a day when the barley was out of the fields and the wheat was coming out of the fields. Perhaps a rest at the end of the spring harvest. A time to come together with brethren and celebrate before Yahweh for the bountiful harvest he has given Israel. This thank full time in the New Testament is when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Yahweh. The Holy Spirit is the force of Yahweh in our lives. The Holy Spirit is here today working in the brethren and helping to prepare the way for the return on Yahshua the Messiah. The firstfruits are to be resurrected first and the second death will have no affect on them. This is the resurrection that we should strive to have a part in with Yahshua the Messiah. We must strive to keep all Yahweh's laws perfectly as Yahshua kept them holy we too must keep this time holy. Let's start by looking at the timing on the Feast of Weeks. TimingThe question of figuring out when Pentecost is to be kept may be more confusing than most of the feasts because it is not counted directly from a new moon. The Feast of Weeks is counted from the waving of the sheaf. The sheaf is waved during the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the day after the first holy day. And Yahweh 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 sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 'He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Leviticus 23:9-11 NKJV)
The Wave Sheaf as we see in Leviticus 23:11 is when a sheaf of barley is waved before Yahweh. The sheaf is a firstfruit of the harvest and is presented as a offering to Yahweh of the upcoming harvest. This is in accord with what Yahweh asks for in Exodus 13:2, 13:12,13:15, 34:19-24, and Numbers 18:15 for the firstborn of all flesh and the Wave Sheaf is the firstfruits, the first product of the land. It was a sign of the blessing that Yahweh has given Israel. For anything to be fruitful it must be a blessing of Yahweh. So whether it is flesh or vegetation the first part of it is to be given to Yahweh. With the Feast of Weeks we are celebrating this blessing and thanking Yahweh for the bountiful harvest. Calculation of this time is specifically fifty days from the Wave Sheaf to the Feast of Weeks. Let's read Leviticus 23 starting in 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 fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahweh. 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to Yahweh. 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to Yahweh. 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest. 'And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am Yahweh your Elohim.'" (Leviticus 23:15-22 NKJV)
We find here that seven Sabbaths or weeks shall be completed after the Wave Sheaf. This can also be figured by counting fifty days from the Wave Sheaf. The following chart shows both of these methods used side by side. This is a chart for this Biblical year as it corresponds with the secular year of 2002. 
We see in verse 21 of Leviticus 23 that the Feast of Weeks is to be a holy convocation. A time when all Yahweh's people are to come together keep a feast unto Yahweh. This is one of the three times that all of Israel is to come together. "You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. "Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your Elohim with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as Yahweh your Elohim blesses you. "You shall rejoice before Yahweh your Elohim, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where Yahweh your Elohim chooses to make His name abide. "And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. (Deuteronomy 16:9-12 NKJV)
In Deuteronomy we find a little clarification of when the Wave Sheaf Offering was made. It was to be made before the sickle was put to the grain or in the beginning. This was during the month of Abib which literally means the month of green ears. So the grain was not yet completely dried out. Recognizing the time that the feast is to be kept we must look more closely at what was to be done. Pentecost signifies the end of a harvest and the beginning of much more. | 
