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entecost 2025 is only a few days away, and the controversy over when to begin the count continues. Over the past 35 years, I’ve been exposed to several different methods, but the two most common are (a) beginning the count on the morrow of the weekly Sabbath and (b) beginning the count on the morrow of the first “high day” Sabbath that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Abib 15). I’ve written three separate studies on this topic, but they’re rather lengthy, with my original study comprising over 100 pages. Some would say it shouldn’t take 100 pages to prove how to count to Pentecost, and I agree. Much of the content consists of my responses to the various objections, and answering objections tends to consume a lot of time and space.

        I have always tried to be congenial and understanding of different viewpoints on when and how to begin the count; June and I used to travel 113 miles to spend the day with fellow believers who celebrated Pentecost on Sunday each year. We would also drive to their home and celebrate Pentecost on whichever day of the week it happened to fall, based on how June and I begin the count. We never doubted or challenged each other’s sincerity and love for truth.

        After a few years, we moved over 600 miles away for employment purposes. In our new environment, fellow believers both shunned us and expressed their belief that one cannot be under the influence of the Holy Spirit if we begin the count to Pentecost on any day other than Sunday. Although we were disappointed by this level of treatment, it nevertheless compelled us to further our research in the interest of “proving all things” (1 Thess. 5:21).

        I know many folks want clear and simple explanations about our beliefs versus being expected to pour through chapter after chapter of information. To that end, for this newsletter, I decided to offer a brief, clear and simple summary of why June and I are persuaded the count to Pentecost begins on the morrow of the first high day Sabbath that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

        First, the Septuagint version of the Bible, which was translated from Hebrew to Greek during the 3rd century bce, makes it clear that the count begins “on the morrow of the first day” (Lev. 23:11). The first day of what? It’s the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is Abib 15, and that day is a “high day” Sabbath. The morrow of Abib 15 is Abib 16, so Abib 16 is day one of the count to Pentecost. That’s just the way the Hebrew scholars who translated the Torah into Greek believed about when the count begins. Please bear in mind, the Septuagint translation was carried out over 240 years before Yeshua was born.

        Philo of Alexandria was a Torah-observant Jew who was born around 15 years before Yeshua and died around 15 years after Yeshua’s resurrection and ascension. Thus, he was contemporary with Yeshua. Philo lived in a city heavily populated by Jews (100,000 + Jews), and was so well respected by his peers that he was chosen to lead a delegation to Roman emperor Gaius Caligula in order to request fair treatment of Jews, who were being mercilessly persecuted by non-believers. Philo, in his many writings, matter-of-factly expounded on the Torah, including how to count to Pentecost. He did this in “The Decalogue” XXX (159-160) and in “The Special Laws, II” XXIX - XXX. Since Philo was so highly regarded by his fellow Jews, it follows that they most likely agreed on the basic precepts of Torah, including when to begin the count to Pentecost. And when did Philo teach the count to Pentecost begins? The morrow of the first day, just as it's written in the Septuagint.

        Again, Philo’s lifetime overlapped Yeshua’s, having been born before Yeshua and having died after His resurrection and ascension. There are no records indicating whether or not Philo and Yeshua ever met, but that doesn’t matter, since, as I’ve already mentioned, Philo was greatly respected by Judaism, and there is nothing in the annals of history suggesting that the Jews of Alexandria held conflicting views of Torah observance, including how to count to Pentecost. It follows, then, that the Jews of Judea reckoned the count to Pentecost the same way as the Jews of Alexandria, Egypt. If this is a mistaken premise, then we should certainly expect to read about conflicting views on how to count to Pentecost in the Messianic Accounts. There were certainly conflicts within the ranks of Judaism, such as whether or not there is a resurrection of the dead, whether or not there are angels, and even about ceremonially washing one’s hands before eating. If there existed a conflict over how to count to Pentecost, and especially if it was as sensitive of an issue then as it is today, we should expect to read about it. But no such conflict is so much as hinted.

        First-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus was born a few years after Yeshua’s resurrection and ascension (37 ce). Some fifty years later, Josephus matter-of-factly wrote of how his people reckon the count to Pentecost. You can read his commentary in Antiquities of the Jews, X, 5. And when did Josephus teach that the count to Pentecost begins? The morrow of the first day, just as it’s written in the Septuagint.

       Over the years, I’ve found that many “Sunday-Only Pentecost” believers try to discredit Josephus. I’ve heard several comments to the effect of, “You actually believe Josephus??” And they will insert a little chuckle in their effort to make believing anything Josephus had to say look all the more absurd. What they conveniently overlook is the fact that they’re unable to produce conflicting testimony from any of Josephus’ peers. Certainly, if a first-century author misrepresented what it says in Torah, you can expect first-century critics to express their objections in no uncertain terms. Why do we read from such prominent Jews as Philo and Josephus that the count to Pentecost begins on the morrow of the “high day” Sabbath, but we read of no corrections or protests from first or even second-century detractors?

        I cannot end this newsletter without mentioning the various commentaries found in the Talmud alluding to the belief that there was an ongoing controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees over when to begin the count to Pentecost.[1] We need to remember that the Talmud was compiled from the 3rd – 6th centuries ce; its origin came about some 300 years after Josephus’ death. For some perspective, 300 years ago the United States of America as a nation did not exist and George Washington had not yet been born. Yet we are expected to “just believe” a Pentecost controversy existed 300 years prior to when the Talmud says it did? Is that the best evidence Sunday-Only Pentecost advocates are able to produce?

        Finally, I should at least comment on how the Hebrew Masoretic Text translates Leviticus 23:11. According to the MT, the count begins on the morrow of the Sabbath. A question arises as to whether or not the “Sabbath” refers to the weekly Sabbath or the “high day” Sabbath. I could respond that the Septuagint translation answers the question, but on another level, I have found that the Torah, as translated in the Septuagint, often corrects the reading of the Hebrew Masoretic Text. I cover this fact in my more expansive studies, but I will here supply one recent example we found during our Sabbath reading. In Genesis chapter 7 of the Masoretic Text, we read about Yahweh’s instructions to Noah, that he was to bring into the Ark clean animals by sevens and unclean animals by two, the male and his female (Gen. 7:2). So far, no problem. But then, in verse three, we read that he was to also take the fowls of the air by sevens. There is no mention of clean fowls versus unclean fowls, which would suggest that all species of fowls, both clean and unclean, were to be taken by sevens. It’s strange that Yahweh would instruct Noah to take clean beasts by sevens and unclean beasts by pairs, but to bring in both clean and unclean fowl by sevens. It’s simply inconsistent.

        However, the Septuagint supplies the needed clarification, including an extra clause for verse three. Verse three of the Septuagint has Yahweh instructing Noah to take clean fowl by sevens, and the unclean fowl by pairs, male and female. Did the original Hebrew include specific instructions for clean versus unclean fowl, but the second clause of verse three was inadvertently skipped over by a copyist? Or did the Hebrew scholars who translated the Septuagint “add to the Word”? I think it’s obvious that the original Hebrew from which the Septuagint was translated included the specific instructions for clean fowl versus unclean fowl. Again, I supply additional evidence demonstrating that the Septuagint of the Torah often corrects the Hebrew Masoretic Text in my more extensive studies on this topic.

For more in-depth reading, I invite you to check out any or all of my three studies:

Facing the Pentecost Controversy

Counting to Pentecost

The Count to Pentecost: Countering Master Key Magazine’s “Counting the Omer”

 

[1] See, for example, The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Menahoth 65a and 65b.