Whit Sunday or the Day of Pentecost?

EDITOR: “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, You must keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.” Exodus 31:13. Do you desire to do what is pleasing to our Heavenly Father?

Is it your aim to be an obedient child of Almighty Yahweh- a person for His own possession?

If you do, then you will observe the days which our Father has set aside to be kept holy- these days in which He commands that He be worshipped.

In Exodus 23:17, Almighty Yahweh directly commands that His people appear before Him at three seasons of the year. A list of the annual Sabbaths can be found in Leviticus 23, Deuteronomy 16 and Numbers 28 & 29. These special Holy Days fall within these three seasons of the scriptural year.

The second holy season of the year is now upon us. The Day of Pentecost this year will fall on the 28th of May in the secular Roman calendar. Some of the Old Testament names for this festival are as follows: “Feast of Harvest, the first fruit of your labours” Exodus 23:16; “’The Feast of Weeks” of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10; “The Day of the First fruits” Numbers 28:26. The Jews know this day as “Shavuoth” which is Hebrew for “weeks.” We in the Assemblies of Yahweh affirm that the Day of Pentecost is to be kept seven weeks (49 days) after Passover, beginning our count with the day following the weekly Sabbath which falls on Passover or during the week of Unleavened Bread. The Day of Pentecost therefore always falls on the first day of the week. Please see Leviticus 23:9-21.

In this passage we can see that we are commanded to count seven weeks and then keep the Feast of Weeks as a sabbath in which no work is done, and a solemn assembly is kept. The Day of Pentecost therefore falls on the fiftieth day of the count.

This Feast Day is very significant to true worshippers, as it was on this day that Israel ratified (confirmed) the Covenant Law which Yahweh had given to Israel at Mt. Sinai. In the New Testament, we find that the Day of Pentecost was the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostolic Assembly [Acts 2:]. The covenant between Yahweh and His people is of vital importance. Yahweh tells us that if we obey His voice indeed, and keep His covenant, we will be His own possession (Exodus 19:4-6). When Yahweh’s people confirm this covenant, they show their dedication and love to their Heavenly Father. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is also of utmost significance. With the Holy Spirit, Yahweh’s obedient children would have the ability and strength to bring their lives into a state of perfection pleasing to their Father (John 14:15-27). Acts chapter 2 begins, “And when the Day of Pentecost was now come, they were all gathered together in one place.” Why was the Apostolic Assembly gathered on this day?

What was significant? It is because they were being obedient to Yahweh’s law in keeping the Feast of Weeks. The word ‘Pentecost’ literally means “’count fifty”, hence, we can see that this day points directly to the Old Testament Feast of Weeks. Please note that the disciples kept this Feast Day even after the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Almighty Yahweh blessed them with the Holy Spirit for keeping His commandment. Please also note that Paul made mention of keeping the Day of Pentecost on several occasions [Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8].
The observance or holiday that is more commonly known in our context is Whit Sunday. This is a Christian holiday which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.
It takes place fifty days after Easter Sunday. Christians also call this holiday Pentecost on occasion. According to sources such as Dictionary.com and Collins Dictionary, Whit Sunday got its name from the fact that newly baptized persons wore white robes on this day. In Christianity, this day is a remembrance of the New Testament outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, no mention is made of the origin of this Holy Day, or the confirmation of the covenant at Mt. Sinai. Not many people are aware that this Holy Day was commanded to be kept thousands of years before that incident in Acts 2. Friends, we cannot be selective when it comes to Yahweh’s laws. We must keep all the Annual Feast Days listed in the scriptures.

Yahshua’s apostles kept them. So should we. Additionally, these Holy Days should not be mixed with pagan practices.

Please recall that the Day of Pentecost is also known as the “day of the first fruits”. When this world has come to an end, the harvest of the earth would have been prepared. These are the first fruits unto Yahweh. The thanksgiving for the early wheat grain harvest points us toward the 144,000 who follow the lamb wherever He goes, Revelation 14:6. Those who hear the Law of Yahweh, enter His covenant, receive the Holy Spirit and are faithful to the end will surely be resurrected when Yahshua returns. Their bodies shall be changed, and they will be made spirit. They will receive the crown of life and be called the very children of Yahweh in His Kingdom. Will you be one of these people?

Ulrika Sutherland
Assemblies of Yahweh, SVG