Topical Bible: The Feast of Pentecost: Called The: Feast of Weeks

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Topical Encyclopedia

The Feast of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, is a significant biblical festival with deep roots in the Old Testament and profound implications in the New Testament. It is one of the three major pilgrimage feasts in the Jewish calendar, alongside Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Old Testament Origins and Observance

The Feast of Weeks is first mentioned in the Torah, where it is established as a time of thanksgiving for the harvest. In Leviticus 23:15-16 , the Israelites are instructed: "From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD."

This festival is called the Feast of Weeks because it occurs seven weeks after the beginning of the grain harvest, specifically after the offering of the first sheaf during Passover. Deuteronomy 16:9-10 further elaborates: "You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you."

The Feast of Weeks was a time of joy and gratitude, marked by the presentation of two loaves of bread made from the new wheat crop, as described in Leviticus 23:17 : "Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD."

New Testament Fulfillment

In the New Testament, the Feast of Pentecost takes on new significance with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4 records this pivotal event: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

This event marks the birth of the Christian Church and the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter and Guide (John 14:16-17). The timing of the Holy Spirit's arrival on Pentecost is significant, as it symbolizes the firstfruits of the new covenant and the beginning of the Church's mission to spread the Gospel to all nations.

Theological Significance

The Feast of Pentecost, as the Feast of Weeks, represents the completion of the grain harvest and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, which Jewish tradition holds occurred on this day. In the Christian context, Pentecost signifies the harvest of souls and the giving of the Spirit, which empowers believers to live according to God's will.

The dual aspects of the festival—agricultural and spiritual—highlight God's provision and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. The Feast of Pentecost serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in both the physical and spiritual realms, calling believers to live in gratitude and obedience.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Exodus 34:22
And you shall observe the feast of weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Deuteronomy 16:10
And you shall keep the feast of weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give to the LORD your God, according as the LORD your God has blessed you:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Age of the Apostles (Ad 33-100)
... were gathered together at Jerusalem, to keep the Feast of Pentecost (or Feast of
Weeks ... he noticed a young man of very pleasing looks, and called him forward ...
/.../chapter i the age of.htm

The Two Sabbath-Controversies - the Plucking of the Ears of Corn ...
... Peter, Andrew, James, and John - were called a second ... for this event between the
first Passover and Pentecost. ... of the ears of corn after the Feast recorded in ...
/.../chapter xxxv the two sabbath-controversies.htm

The Miracle of Pentecost and the Birthday of the Christian
... Paul twice went to Jerusalem on Pentecost, Acts 18:21; 20:16. ... [256] Hence
called the feast of the joy of the Law (hrvth tchmsh). ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 24 the miracle of.htm

On Feast Days and Fast Days.
... is upon His shoulders; and His name is called the Angel ... day of the week, and celebrate
the feast of the ... after you have kept the festival of Pentecost, keep one ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec iii on feast days and.htm

The Book of Jubilees
... words on which he is commenting are found in what he calls "Microgenesis." The wives
of the Sethites are called by names ... The feast of Pentecost dates from ...
//christianbookshelf.org/deane/pseudepigrapha/the book of jubilees.htm

Concerning the Festivals; and How Each Day of Such Festival is to ...
... day, which is Pentecost, but is called by the Hebrews Asartha, which signifies
Pentecost, they bring ... and must slay sacrifices, in order to feast upon them. ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 10 concerning the festivals.htm

Festal Letters.
... At one time, as has been said, they called to the feasts; at ... count all the seven
weeks one by one, let us keep feast on the holy day of Pentecost"on that ...
/.../athanasius/select works and letters or athanasius/i festal letters.htm

Appendix xv. The Location of Sychar, and the Date of Our Lord's ...
... that in the Samaritan Chronicle the place is called Iskar, which ... Hence it could not
have been Pentecost. ... on that feast The Temple and its Services,' &c., pp.295 ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix xv the location of.htm

The Foundation of the Church.
... in pairs, and whose order was afterwards called the elders ... had come from their distant
homes to keep the feast. ... baptized; and thus, on the day of Pentecost, AD33 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson xxi the foundation of.htm

Faustus Fails to Understand Why He Should be Required Either to ...
... And as to the feast of unleavened bread, all Christians ... The Pentecost, too, we observe,
that is, the fiftieth ... see that the Spirit is there called the finger of ...
/.../faustus fails to understand why.htm