Holidays

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="23f005a0dvldtc.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC00" FACE="BoomBox" ><B>TSR: YOUR BIBLICAL GUIDE</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0099FF" FACE="BoomBox" >  </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="BoomBox" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF3300" FACE="BoomBox" > </FONT>|     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TSR: YOUR BIBLICAL GUIDE"><U>HOME</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="research.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Research"><U>Research</U></A>   |   <A HREF="covenant.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Covenant"><U>The Covenant</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="GoodEvil"><U>Good-Evil</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Light"><U>Light</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Truth"><U>Truth</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFCC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="TSR: YOUR BIBLICAL GUIDE"><U>Home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="artwerk.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Artwerk"><U>Artwork</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="research.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Research"><U>Index</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:Jacobjusticeham@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Jacobjusticeham@aol.com"><U>Contact</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="research.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Research"><U>Research</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="poetical.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poetry"><U>Poetry</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="poison.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poison"><U>Poison</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="idolatry.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Idolatry"><U>Idolatry</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="deans_list.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Deans List"><U>Deans list</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="grace.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grace"><U>Grace</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Money"><U>Money</U></A></div> <div> IMPACT THE SOUND AND POSITIVE WILL COME AROUND</div> <div> IMPART THE SOUND  POSITIVE ALL AROUND</div> <div> WE HAVE SOMETHING YOU MUST HEAR   <A HREF="hamm_radio.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hamm Radio"><U>ENTER HERE</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:brightcloudministries@yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:brightcloudministries@yahoo.com"><U>NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS!!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFCC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Holidays</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><U>Passover Overview</U></B></div> <div> The name of the festival, Pesach in Hebrew, passing over or protection, is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God (Ex. 6:6-8). Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God commanded Moses to tell the children of Israel, Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD (Ex. 6:6-8).</div> <div> Passover is the time of beginnings for Israel. This festival ushers in the coming of spring on the Jewish calendar. It is celebrated on the fourteenth1 day of Abib (the first month of the Jewish religious calendar, later called Nisan). Each of the three pilgrimage festivals Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles has an agricultural basis as well as an historical significance. Many different things are celebrated during Passover. A few of these include: the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the growing season; the new lambing time, and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt during Passover.</div> <div> It cannot be overemphasized as to how foundational Passover is in God's eternal redemption plan. Only Nisan can be the first month in God's calendar. Though other cycles and other aspects of life in the LORD are important, it is the sacrifice of the Lamb that gives it all meaning. Except for the sacrifice of the Passover and the blood on the doorposts, Israel would have suffered the same fate as the Egyptians. The promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would have then become void. With no Passover sacrifice and with no blood on the doorposts, then no Torah could have been given and no other celebrations could have followed. Apart from the sacrifice of the Passover and the blood on the door posts, there would have been no basis for Messiah, our Passover, to be sacrificed on the anniversary of that momentous occasion. We would have no hope and remain dead in our sins; however, the command was obeyed and deliverance was accomplished. Indeed, for us, this is most certainly the first of all the months, the first month of the year, truly the real beginning of all spiritual life (Michael 1996).</div> <div> God directs parents, this special night of the year, to take on the role of teacher, and pass down His story of the exodus from Egypt to future generations. This ceremony not only looks back to the miraculous story of God delivering His people, but it also presents the promise of Messiah's death and resurrection. It is an exciting experience centering on a mixture of ritual foods. The matzah, bitter herbs, wine, and the rest, provide a lasting link through the march of history.</div> <div> <B>Israel's Redemption from Egypt (Exodus 1:1-18:27)</B></div> <div> The Old Testament story of Passover has more light, more splendor, more vividness, and a richer application to life than any other story in the book of Exodus. Moses and his brother Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord said to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh refused to release the Israelites, even for a brief visit to the desert to worship their God. In fact, he made life for the Israelite slaves even worse. Moses had warned Pharaoh that God would send a series of plagues upon Egypt unless the people were freed.</div> <div> God sent the plagues to show the people that He is the one true God. He confronted the things that the Egyptians called gods. The ten plagues were righteous plagues, and justly inflicted upon the Egyptians because each plague had something to do with the false gods that the Egyptians worshipped. God makes those false things that we worship a burden to us.</div> <div> The word plague is from the Hebrew word oth, which means "sign". The Egyptians believed in magic. They were always trying to override the laws of nature to perform their "tricks" God used the laws of nature to bring about His signs and wonders.</div> <div> The entire episode of the plagues is supposed to have happened within eight to ten months. Each of the plagues spoke as a sign to the Egyptians, showing them that He is greater than their so-called gods. The first three plagues affected all the people, even the Hebrews. The next three plagues were much more intense and only happened to the Egyptians (I will put a division between my people and thy people v. 23). Before each plague, God commanded Moses and Aaron to warn Pharaoh, Let My people go or I [God] will bring a plague upon you. Before each plague, for three weeks, Moses warned Pharaoh. The actual plague lasted one week.</div> <div> <B>Seder</B></div> <div> During the Passover celebration, Jews and Christians remember this great event by eating special foods associated with the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom. The entire meal, called the seder, is eaten as the story of Israel's freedom is told. Everything in the Seder is directed toward the prime command from the Bible: And thou shall shew thy son in that day saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt (Exod. 13:8). See a Messianic Seder Process in the next chapter.</div> <div> <B>Redemption</B></div> <div> The great miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea is the climax of the departure from Egypt and the inspiring wonder that forged a group of slaves into a nation. The redemption from Egypt is not only that of Israel but also a salvation by faith in general. The celebration of redemption from Egypt will be a pattern for salvation from all other evil.</div> <div> During this God-ordained night we celebrate the doctrines of our salvation. Thus, like ancient Israel, we are sovereignty brought to the edge of the "sea" with no hope except to trust His deliverance and to follow Him. We marvel at His overwhelming sufficiency. Like ancient Israel, when we trust Him for deliverance and walk through the "sea" with Him, we end up singing and dancing on the other side. That's Pesach! (Berkowitz 1996)</div> <div> Pesach will begin on the following days on the American calendar: </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">March 28, 2002 (Jewish Year 5762) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">April 17, 2003 (Jewish Year 5763) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">April 6, 2004 (Jewish Year 5764) </div> <div> Note: A day on the Jewish calendar begins at sunset. When a date is given for a Jewish holiday, the holiday actually begins at sundown on the preceding day. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><U>Feast Of The Tabernacles (Ingathering) Overview</U></B></div> <div> The Feast of Tabernacles is a week-long autumn harvest festival. Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of the Ingathering, Feast of the Booths, Sukkoth, Succoth, or Sukkot (variations in spellings occur because these words are transliterations of the Hebrew word pronounced “Sue-coat”). The two days following the festival are separate holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah, but are commonly thought of as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. </div> <div> The Feast of Tabernacles was the final and most important holiday of the year. The importance of this festival is indicated by the statement, “This is to be a lasting ordinance.” The divine pronouncement, “I am the Lord your God,” concludes this section on the holidays of the seventh month. The Feast of Tabernacles begins five days after Yom Kippur on the fifteenth of Tishri (September or October). It is a drastic change from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. The word Sukkoth means “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that Jews are commanded to live in during this holiday, just as the Jews did in the wilderness. The Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days and ends on the twenty-first day (3x7) of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which is Israel's seventh month.</div> <div> This holiday has a dual significance: historical and agricultural (just as Passover and Pentecost). Historically, it was to be kept in remembrance of the dwelling in tents in the wilderness for the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. </div> <div> It is expounded in Leviticus 23:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. </div> <div> <B>What were they to remember? </B></div> <div> Matthew Henry's commentary explains,</div> <div> 1.) The meanness of their beginning, and the low and desolate state out of which God advanced that people. Note: Those that are comfortably fixed ought often to call to mind their former unsettled state, when they were but little in their own eyes. 2.) The mercy of God to them, that, when they dwelt in tabernacles, God not only set up a tabernacle for Himself among them, but, with the utmost care and tenderness imaginable, hung a canopy over them, even the cloud that sheltered them from the heat of the sun. God's former mercies to us and our fathers ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance. The eighth day was the great day of this holiday, because then they returned to their own houses again, and remembered how, after they had long dwelt in tents in the wilderness, at length they came to a happy settlement in the land of promise, where they dwelt in goodly houses. And they would the more sensibly value and be thankful for the comforts and conveniences of their houses when they had been seven days dwelling in booths. It is good for those that have ease and plenty sometimes to learn what it is to endure hardness. </div> <div> They were to keep this holiday in thankfulness to God for all the increase of the year; however, the emphasis is that Israel's life rested upon redemption which in its ultimate meaning is the forgiveness of sin. This fact separates this holiday from the harvest festivals of the neighboring nations whose roots lay in the mythological activity of the gods.</div> <div> <B>Was the first Thanksgiving a Feast of Tabernacles Celebration?</B></div> <div> Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. The American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. As they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, it is quite possible that they looked to the Bible (Leviticus 23:39) for an appropriate way of celebrating and based their holiday in part on the Feast of Tabernacles. </div> <div> Note: celebrating Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November was established by the American government and may not necessarily coincide with the pilgrim's first observance.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><U>Rosh Hashana (Feast of Trumpets) Overview </U></B></div> <div> The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) was celebrated at the beginning of the month Tishri, the first month of the civil year. It was one of the seven days of holy convocation. Tishri is the seventh month of the Biblical calendar, and as such parallels the Sabbath as a special and holy time to seek God. The previous month of Elul is the time of preparation just as Friday is the Day of Preparation for Shabbat. This season is a time of reflection, contemplation, and putting things in order and getting right our relationship with God.</div> <div> God named the other holidays, Sabbath, Passover, Day of Atonement, etc.; however, this holiday has no name. It's simply referred to as Yom Teruah (the day of the sounding of the shofar), so it became known as the Feast of Trumpets, a special day calling attention to the coming holy day-the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). A shofar (ram's horn) is blown during the Feast of Trumpets service. </div> <div> Leviticus 23 calls the blowing of trumpets a memorial but does not say what it is a memorial of. Many believe it is a memorial of God's grace to Abraham when He substituted a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac (Gen. 22). It is also regarded by both Jews and Christians as a memorial of the creation of the world, at which the sons of God shouted for joy (Job 38:7). This holiday was the new year's day, on which the people rejoiced in a grateful remembrance of God's benefits and implored His blessing for the future year. </div> <div> The Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) are the holiest days of the Jewish year. These ten days are called the Days of Awe or High Holy Days. Unlike other holy days, they do not celebrate a season or historical event. This season is a time for looking inward to spiritual growth. The themes surrounding this holiday include: </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah literally is “Head or beginning of the year.”) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">God's Royalty (Coronation Day) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Day of Judgment </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Remembrance (Yom Ha-Zikaron, the day of remembrance) </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Birthday of the world </div> <div> <B>New Year</B></div> <div> The Feast of Trumpets is the Jewish New Year. There is little resemblance between the Feast of Trumpets, one of the holiest days of the year, and a typical New Year's Eve midnight drinking party. It is a celebration of the earth's physical birthday on Tishri 1, the seventh month of the religious calendar, the first month of the civil calendar. It is the first of the fall holidays and usually occurs in September. </div> <div> Judaism has several different new years. This is similar to the calendar year starting in January, the new school year starting in September, and many businesses starting fiscal years in July and September. In Judaism, Nisan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar. Regardless when the king became ruler, the coronation was on Tishri 1. Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals. Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years. </div> <div> <B>Coronation Day</B></div> <div> Another theme of this holiday is God's royalty. The Jewish liturgical tradition has preserved tunes for many of the prayers that aptly accompany what the Chassidim called “Coronation Day.” The shofar, in this light, announces God's Kingship: With trumpets and sound of cornet [shofar] make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King (Ps. 98:6). Through repentance we become God's subjects. It is said that the day that God manifests His Royalty, the day He created His world, is also naturally the day He sits in judgment. Coronation Day is a joyous day and world celebration. </div> <div> <B>Judgment Day</B></div> <div> The history of the Feast of Trumpets as a “Day of Judgment” is from the legend that God sits in judgment between the New Year and the Day of Atonement over mankind to determine fates for the coming year. This symbolism is drawn upon to great effect by the authors of the liturgical poems written to heighten the prayers of the season. The sages say that destiny - whether financial, physical, or other- is pre-ordained on one day each year for the entire duration of that year (Talmud Rosh Hashanah). </div> <div> It is said that on this day God has three books that are opened. Those who have returned to God are written in the Book of Righteousness. All other people are divided into two groups. The first is the wholly wicked whose names are written in the Book of the Wholly Wicked. The other group are considered intermediates. They are people who have not been judged and have ten more days to repent. If they repent by the Day of Atonement their names will be written in the Book of Righteousness. Hosea 14:1-9 expresses this theme.</div> <div> The sages of the Jerusalem Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 1:3) say, “Normally, someone standing in judgment would dress somberly, cloaking himself in black robes and not trim his beard. After all, he does not know how it will turn out. Israel is different, though. We dress in white and cloak ourselves in white and trim our beards and eat and drink and are joyous for we know that God will do miracles for us. Being judged by God is at once an awesome thing - He knows all - but He is a merciful God. Even judgment itself need not be devoid of joy (Talmud Rosh Hashanah 1:3).</div> <div> <B>Remembrance</B></div> <div> The theme of “remembered” is thought to be from God remembering Sarah and Hannah. A Talmudic dictum (Rosh Hashanah 10b) says that on Yom Teruah, Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were “remembered.” </div> <div> <B>Birthday of the World</B></div> <div> Jewish tradition believes this day is the birthday of the world because the first part of Genesis, Bereishit, “in the beginning,” when changed around, read Aleph b' Tishri, or “on the first of Tishri.” Therefore the Feast Of Trumpets is known as the birthday of the world (Adapted Chumney 1994).</div> <div> <B>The Shofar</B></div> <div> The shofar has always had a special place for the Hebrew people. Trumpets were of a great variety of forms, and were made of diverse materials. Some were made of silver (Num. 10:2) and were used only by the priests in announcing the approach of festivals and in giving signals of war. Some were also made of rams' horns (Josh. 6:8). They were blown at special festivals, and to herald the arrival of special seasons (Lev. 23:24; 25:9, 1 Chron. 15:24, 2 Chron. 29:27, Ps. 81:3 98:6). Trumpets are among the symbols used in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:10 8:2) (Bushnell 1995).</div> <div> <B>Specific uses for the shofar:</B></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It was sounded to bring Moses to the top of the mountain to receive the Commandments. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up (Ex. 19:19-20). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It was a signal during time of war. And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them (Judges 3:27). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It was blown at the start of the Jubilee year. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land (Lev. 25:9). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It was blown during coronation services of a new King. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon (1 Kings 1:34). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It is a sign of the regathering of dispersed Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem (Isa. 27:13). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It was sounded as a warning of danger. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid… (Amos 3:6). </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700a000000000.gif" HEIGHT="11" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">And the greatest anticipation of all is the day of the arrival of the Messiah. And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south (Zech. 9:14). </div> <div> <B><U>Hanukkah Overview</U></B></div> <div> Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah or Hanukah), is an annual festival of the Jews celebrated on eight successive days to honor the restoration of divine worship in the Temple after it had been defiled by heathens. The return of their religious liberty was to them as life from the dead and, in remembrance of it, they kept an annual holiday on the twenty-fifth day of Kislev. Kislev is the third month of the Jewish calendar corresponding, approximately, to early December in the Gregorian calendar. Jesus kept this festival. The principal source for the story of Hanukkah is found in the Talmud. </div> <div> The biggest lesson of Hanukkah was the power of the spirit, the ability of God's people to live by God's commands. …Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts (Zech. 4:6). In between the Testaments, around 164 b.c., the Maccabees (or Hasmoneans), led by Judah Maccabee, wrested Judea from the rule of the Seleucids-Syrian rulers who supported the spread of Greek religion and culture. Hanukkah commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem by the Maccabees and the establishment of the Temple. The Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine. The Maccabees ruled Judea until Herod took power in 37 b.c.e. </div> <div> Hanukkah centers around a nine-branch menorah. The Temple menorah has seven branches. The Hanukkah menorah has nine branches, eight to remember the eight days of Hanukkah and one is the shamus, the candle used to light the other candles (this is usually either higher or separate from the other eight branches).</div> <div> <B>Pentecost or Shavuot Overview</B></div> <div> There are many names for the Feast of Weeks. It is identified in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22) and the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16). As explained in the previous chapter, this feast is referred to as Latter Firstfruits. The Hebrew name is Shavuot (pronounced sha-voo-ote). The Greek name Pentecost is only found in the New Testament (Acts 2:1). </div> <div> Pentecost is a major festival and has a dual significance: historical and agricultural, just as Passover and Tabernacles. Unlike Passover and Tabernacles, it is observed for only two days (only one in the Reform Movement). Pentecost marks the end of the barley harvest and beginning of the wheat harvest. Counting the days from the second day of Passover to Pentecost is called the “Counting of the Omer” (see previous chapter). The cutting of the omer of the new barley marked the beginning of the counting period; on the fiftieth day, Pentecost is observed. Pentecost is a Greek word meaning fiftieth. </div> <div> Pentecost is considered the closing festival of the Passover season (Ex. 34:22; Lev. 23:15; Deut. 16:9-10). This day is further referred to as “latter firstfruits” of the spring harvest. The “early firstfruits” (barley) were waved before the Lord during the Feast of Firstfruits (see Passover chapter) and the “latter firstfruits” (wheat) were offered unto the Lord during the Feast of Weeks. It is also referred to as the Day of the Congregation (Deuteronomy 18:16). Another name is Atserret, meaning stop or cease or conclusion of seven weeks of counting.</div> <div> Pentecost is the only festival for which no specific date is given in the Bible. Rather, the people were instructed to count seven weeks “...from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf [omer] of the wave offering (Lev. 23:15). This holiday occurs in the months of May or June on the American calendar. It is the successful conclusion of the first wheat-growing season and the anniversary celebration of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. </div> <div> It is a celebration to reawaken and strengthen personal relationships with God by rededication to the observance and study of the Torah - the most precious heritage. When Yahweh revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, His people heard His voice proclaiming the Ten Commandments. Then the Israelites pledged their allegiance to Yahweh by saying, “…All that the Lord has hath said will we do and be obedient” (Exod. 24:7). </div> <div> Passover freed God's people physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavuot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. The Torah contains the Five Book of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>