The Mystery of Ephraim

A Congregation of the Church of God
A Congregation of God, A Free Church
Darryl Henson

Pentecost The Counting And Meaning Of It, a Sermon by Darryl Henson, Given on 06/16/2013 (14 Pages)

How to count Pentecost

Pentecost, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Firstfruits, Festival of Fifty Days, Feast of Harvest, Heptad, Feast of Heptads, Festival of Seven Heptads, Wave Sheaf, Omer

Draft I

This is a Critique of Darryl Henson’s Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, or the Feast of Firstfruits. The Counting to Pentecost is an extremely important subject and we’ll follow it in every point discussed. Besides the main issue of how to count is when to start counting towards Pentecost.

Quoted are Darryl Henson’s transcript “Pentecost The Counting And Meaning Of It” posted on his website. They are indented and in block form so as to differentiate his from my comments. The Scriptures must be our primary focus and guide, and sometimes the Scriptures, which include the Septuagint and the Targum, say things very different from what we think!

And so with that in mind, we’ll begin:

There are various groups who keep Pentecost. There are even people who call themselves Pentecostals who do not do very much that even resembles the word of God. The Jews keep Pentecost, they don’t know how to count it or what day it ought to be. They have chosen a particular calendar day Sivan 6 to keep it on. And that is not what the bible instructs on how to count it. There are different ideas and I don’t think anyone for the most part really understands the meaning of Pentecost.

So early in his writing, in his first paragraph, he has already spuned the evidence of the Septuagint and the Targum. If they are either or both the Word of God, then he is walking close to the fire.

Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal, to be accepted for you. (See Christ had to be accepted for us as new testament Christians) on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. It’s speaking here of the weekly Sabbath and I think we will see that very clearly before we are done. It is not talking necessarily about the first or the last holy day during the days of Unleavened bread. But you count from the weekly Sabbath during that time.

Why did he conclude it is the “weekly Sabbath,” and the next clause “and I think”? I rather see some evidence from him. He makes conclusions before he starts.

The JK21 version says:
Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. Yes, the word “Sabbath” is ambigious” because there are several meanings attached to it. This same word “Sabbath” is used in verse 15 and 16:

Leviticus 23:11 sabbaths [h7676 shabbat] — according to Strong, this shabbat could be translated as:

(a) sabbath
(b) day of atonement
(c) sabbath year
(d) week
(e) produce (in sabbath year)

This shabbat could be translated as a weekly or an annual holy day sabbath like the Day of Atonement. The same word could also be used for the seventh year where the land needs a rest. But the most important point for determining when to start counting Pentecost is whether it is from a weekly Sabbath or the annual Sabbath. Stong’s definition shows h7676 shabbat is a generic term—it could either mean a weekly Sabbath or the annual Sabbath.

The amazing thing is that most scholars ignore the testimonies of the Septuagint and the Targum:

Leviticus 23:11 and he shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the morrow of the first day the priest shall lift it up. 12 And ye shall offer on the day on which ye bring the sheaf, a lamb without blemish of a year old for a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord. (Septuagint)

The Septuagint, one that the NT writers used most often, is a great testimony to the truth. It translates “on the morrow after the Sabbath” in the KJV as “on the morrow of the first day.” Is this “first day” the weekly sabbath? Obviously not. It is the first day during the Days of Unleavened Bread. If we follow the Saddusaical reasoning, then the counting of the omer would begin on Monday, the day after “the first day” i.e. Sunday.

The Hebrew translators of the Septuagint knew that the omer counting begin after the first Day of Unleavened Bread on the 16th of Nisan. Most New Testament writers had relied much on the Septuagint when quoting the Old Testament, and is a great testimony to mean “the morrow after the Sabbath” to mean the first Days of Unleavened Bread. Hence the count is always on the 16th of Nisan.

And the Targum states even more clearly that the counting is the morrow after the first festal day of Pascha.

Leviticus 23:11-13 And he shall uplift the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for you. AFTER THE FIRST FESTAL DAY OF PASCHA (OR, THE DAY AFTER THE FEAST‑DAY OF PASCHA) on the day on which you elevate the sheaf, you shall make (the sacrifice of a lamb of the year, unblemished a burnt offering unto the Name of the Lord . . . 15 and number to you AFTER THE FIRST FEAST DAY OF PASCHA . . .(Targum)

Hence both the Septuagint and the Targum testify that the count start on the sixteenth of Nisan.

The next question is about “the seven Sabbaths” in Leviticus 23:15-16:
As much as the CoG Communities would like it to mean the weekly Sabbath, it could also mean week, or a block of seven days. If Leviticus 23:11,15-16 are restricted to a weekly Sabbath, the first problem is that there is no proof as to which one, since there are over 50 weekly sabbaths during the year. Why choose one instead of another especially where are no solid evidence to be found? All their conclusions are all based on human reasonings.

Lev 23:12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Eternal. Of course Christ is depicted as the Lamb of God. We know that.

Oh, how come nobody identify what this “he lamb” represents? If this “he lamb” represent Christ, why this lamb wasn’t waved? All the endtime CoG Communities made a big issue of waving the sheaf. But why virtually all the CoG Communities ignore this lamb? And why is this he lamb not waved? BLIND?

Then he tells us how to count it. This is important and critical. Lev 23:15 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: not seven weeks notice. Seven Sabbaths. Thats important in understanding how to count Pentecost. I can show you places, keep your finger here for a moment, turn to Deuteronomy 16:10 and you shall keep the Feast of Weeks unto the Eternal your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand and so on and in verse 16 it says essentially the same thing. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Eternal 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 so on. So it is called in the bible the Feast of Weeks and that can be confusing in terms of the count because people will say well you count seven weeks. If you count seven weeks that would allow for starting on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday and simply counting 49 days you see. But here (Lev 23:15) He specifically does not call it weeks, He calls it count seven Sabbaths. That means then that you have to start following a weekly Sabbath with your count. You always start on a Sunday so that you get seven complete Sabbaths.

Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; (So there it tells us what I just said. It has to be 49 days and it has to start the day after the Sabbath. ) and ye shall offer a new meal offering unto the Eternal.

Again Leviticus 23:15-16 seven sabbaths [h7676 shabbat] — according to Strong, one of these five different meanings is (d) week:

(a) sabbath
(b) day of atonement
(c) sabbath year
(d) week
(e) produce (in sabbath year)

This shabbat could be translated as a weekly sabbath, but for the purpose of studying what the above two verses mean, the most important point is that it could also mean week, or a block of seven days.

This is the same as in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 16:9 “Seven weeks H7620 shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks H7620 from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

Deuteronomy 16:9 Seven weeks [h7620 shabuwa] — Strong translated shabuwa as seven, period of seven (days or years), heptad, week

A. period of seven days, a week — Feast of Weeks
B. heptad, seven (of years)

It is useful to note that shabuwa is never translated as Sabbath; it is a block of seven days, or heptad. So what is a heptad?

(a) it is a group or series of seven
(b) the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one

In the Scriptures there are a total of nine times where it is used to designate Pentecost. Here they are:

(1) Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the Feast of Weeks, H7620 of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. — Feast of Heptads
(2,3) Leviticus 23:15 “‘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 H7676 shall be complete. 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath H7676 shall ye number fifty days, and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. — Feast of Heptads; seventh Heptad
(4) Numbers 28:26 “‘Also on the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the Lord, after your weeks H7620 be out, ye shall have a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work — Feast of Heptads
(5,6,7) Deuteronomy 16:9 “Seven weeks H7620 shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks H7620 from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. 10 And thou shalt keep the Feast of Weeks H7620 unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. — seven heptads; seven heptads; Feast of Heptads
(8) Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times 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, H7620 and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the Lord empty — Feast of Heptads
(9) II Chronicles 8:13 according to a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year: on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and on the Feast of Weeks H7620 and on the Feast of Tabernacles — Feast of Heptads

Note that it is only in Leviticus 23 that the count using the terms “seven Sabbaths” H7676 were used, yet this term “seven Sabbaths” was translated as “seven weeks” in the Masoretic JPS 1917 Hebrew Bible:

Leviticus 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest (footnote: Sabbath), from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete; 16 even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall present a new meal-offering unto the LORD. (JPS 1917)

All their uses show heptad is a block of seven—days, weeks or years—but NEVER is it used as a weekly Sabbath, nor does it has to align with the weekly Sabbath. Heptad, a BLOCK OF SEVEN, can start on any day or any year. The term was first used when Jacob had to serve seven years for Leah, and another seven to have Rachael. It started when Jacob and Laban at whichever time they agreed upon. When Moses spoke in Deuteronomy, he uses this word shabuwa that were different from that expressed in Leviticus, to clarify that the start of the count to Pentecost need not start at the beginning of a week, that it can start “on the morrow after the Sabbath,” and that Sabbath is an annual Sabbath—the First Day of Unleavened Bread—followed by seven HEPTAD of days. Moses would clarify seemingly confusing issues, or to elucidate complex subjects as the wordings in Deuteronomy 16 show. And when Ezra returned from Exile, he, too, uses expressions which appeared different from what God or Moses use. We could see those expressions in the Targum.

The Targum makes it very clear:

Leviticus 23:15 And number to you after the first feast day of Pascha, from the day when you brought the sheaf for the elevation, seven weeks; complete they shall be. (Targum)

The reference for the start of counting is from the day “after the first day of Passover.” Since Passover also mean Unleavened Bread, this is the day after the first Day of Unleavened Bread—the sixteenth of Nisan. And this is confirmed in the Septuagint version of Leviticus 23:11 and he shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you. On the morrow of the first day the priest shall lift it up. “The first day,” of course, refers to the first Day of Unleavened Bread; and to the morrow after is also the sixteenth of Nisan.

20And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Eternal, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Eternal for the priest. So Christ was the wave sheaf first offer but here you have 2 that are offered as a wave offering together with Him in that sense. So I think that the symbolism here probably is saying that this is a 2 part thing. You had the old testament and the old covenant and yet there were some back then who qualified for the kingdom of God even though Christ had not yet died. But remember His sacrifice is retroactive back to Adam and forward for all of mankind and thats why the wave sheaf cycles through all 7 of the days of unleavened bread. Because His sacrifice can go back and pick up those who lived and died before He ever came to the earth. It is an all inclusive sacrifice. So you have the 2 lambs representing those from the past and those in the future. Old testament and new testament. And indeed Hebrews 11 does tell us a great number of names of those who will be in the first resurrection from the old testament. Makes it very clear.

Verse 20 presents lots of difficulties for those who wants to be honest. Here the firstfruits were also waved toward heaven. Won’t they also need to be accepted by God in heaven if CoG Communities were to be consistent with their doctrines?

So, here, the three main questions are: (1) If the wave sheaf in verse 11 represents Christ, then what did this he lamb “without blemish of the first year” in verse 12 represents?
(2) And if this he lamb in verse 12 also represents Christ, then why was this he lamb wasn’t waved?
. . . and (3) if waving means going up to heaven and back, then why the 3000 on Pentecost (Acts 2) didn’t similarly go up to heaven as these firstfruits at Pentecost were also waved (Lev 23:20), each should be warning the others “don’t touch me” along the way and back from heaven on that day of Pentecost, wouldn’t they?

And why is it so coincidental that the end-time churches are described as ten “virgins” and yet “blind” and “naked”?

The virgins in the picture above are scantily dressed. At least they’re dressed. Imagine they are naked! That’s what the end-time churches are. — Naked!

( CRITIQUE OF DARRYL HENSON PENTECOST )

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~ by Joel Huan on October 1, 2019.

Posted in Pentecost