Pentecost/Feast of Firstfruits
Each year, in accordance with Laws of the Most High, Israelites are commanded to observe the holy day known as Feast of First Fruits or Pentecost. The Greek word “pentekoste” means "fiftieth day" which derives from the fifty days used to calculate the feast day.. The Feast of First Fruits is a time when the Children of Israel offers the “first fruits” of our harvest of ingathering to the Most High in honor of his blessing our agricultural prosperity. This law is found in the book of Leviticus 23:10-22. Key points in these verses are understanding how to calculate the day of the feast and how to keep it.
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The calculation of the Feast of First Fruits is based on the end of the Passover.
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Leviticus 23:15-16: “[15] 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: [16] Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.”
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To correctly calculate the day we are to celebrate the Feast of First Fruits, you must count seven complete weekly Sabbaths. This count will begin on the next weekly Sabbath that occurs after the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For example, if the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were to end on a Wednesday at sundown, the next weekly Sabbath, which would begin on Friday at sundown of the same week, will be the first of the seven Sabbaths that are to be counted. Seven weekly sabbaths would give you a total of 49 days (7 days x 7 weeks = 49 days). The law then states that the next day following the seventh sabbath will be the fiftieth day on which the feast is to be kept.
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“[16] Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.”
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This Feast is mandatory for all of Israel; especially the men to keep.
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Deuteronomy 16:16: “[16] Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.”
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The Feast of Weeks is the Feast of First Fruits. This feast was also observed in the New Testament showing that the laws are still to be kept:
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Acts 2:1: “[1] And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”
The Feast of Pentecost/First Fruits is a one day observance and is also a Sabbath. Since we no longer are required to keep the laws of animal sacrifice (Hebrews Chapter 9-10), we must present ourselves as a sacrifices and First Fruits to the Most High.
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Romans 12:1-2: “[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
James 1:18: “[18] Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
1 Corinthians 15:20: “[20] But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
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As Christ rose from the dead, we too have now risen from the dead and awoken into life and the Spirit. Our calling into the truth now makes us the First Fruits and offering to the Most High in truth and in Spirit (John 4:23). When observing this feast, we should read from the Law regarding this feast and understand the importance of us offering ourselves as the First Fruits of repentance to the Most High by doing and obeying his commandments. We gather ourselves together (Zephaniah 2:1; Hebrews 10:25) in honor of the Most High and Christ to reflect on the commandments and to help strengthen our reconciliation to the heavenly Father.