In 1974, the Worldwide Church of God made a change to how it counted to Pentecost that was not announced to the church. This change stated that the day of the Wavesheaf offering always had to be within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was a departure from their previous method, which used the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread as the anchor for counting to Pentecost. The new rule inadvertently undermines some of the foundational arguments used to prove that Pentecost should not be on a Monday, setting up contradictions that were never resolved before the change was implemented. The change was made quietly and then became the norm due to inertia, similar to how a political color scheme became the de facto reality after a quiet change by media outlets.

Counting to Pentecost is a critical aspect of observing God's festivals, as it determines the date of this significant event by counting fifty days from the Wavesheaf offering. There is wide agreement among various groups, both ancient Jewish sects and modern Christian communities, on using the Hebrew inclusive counting method, which begins with the day assigned for waving the sheaf. The Church of the Great God maintains that the count should always start on the day following the weekly Sabbath that falls within the two annual high holy day Sabbaths marking the beginning and end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ensuring the first day of the count is a Sunday and the fiftieth day, Pentecost, also falls on a Sunday. However, when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, which occurs approximately once every eleven years, the count begins the day after the last day of Unleavened Bread, outside the Feast, to maintain a consistent rule. This approach aligns with the Sadducean reckoning that the count starts on the first Sunday after the first day of Passover, ensuring consistency regardless of Passover's occurrence. Scripture provides no command that the Wavesheaf must be waved during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, emphasizing instead the importance of the weekly Sabbath within this period as the marker for beginning the count. Thus, in years when Passover is on a weekly Sabbath, starting the count outside the Feast does not disrupt the spiritual connection to Pentecost. God's command to count each year ensures Pentecost is observed on the correct day, as the date of the weekly Sabbath within Unleavened Bread varies, leading to different possible dates for Pentecost.

A decision was made to count to Pentecost from the Sunday within the Days of Unleavened Bread, altering the date of Pentecost to May 26 as announced in a letter dated March 30, 1974. The wavesheaf offering, though observed in or near the Days of Unleavened Bread, holds a direct symbolic tie to Pentecost, fifty days later, as it begins the count on day one, culminating at Pentecost on day fifty. Both the wavesheaf and Pentecost depict a harvest, with the wavesheaf representing the start and Pentecost the completion, emphasizing their close relationship over any connection to Unleavened Bread. The count to Pentecost must consistently begin from the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread, as no instruction exists to alter this rule even in years when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath. Using Passover as the starting point for the wavesheaf day is incorrect, as it is a separate festival from Unleavened Bread, and doing so would place the wavesheaf offering on a Sabbath, violating the command to offer it after the Sabbath on a common workday. The consistent defining point for beginning the count remains the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread, ensuring clarity in observing Pentecost.

The Pentecost counting controversy arises because of a so-called anomaly when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, which happens about once every ten years. This affects the starting point for the count to Pentecost, leading to a choice between two consecutive Sundays for the observance of Pentecost. Most churches of God keep Pentecost one week earlier than the Church of the Great God, which keeps it one week later. Leviticus 23 provides the instructions for counting to Pentecost. God lists His feasts in chronological order, starting with the Sabbath. In the Hebrew text, the weekly Sabbath is designated with the definite article "ha," indicating the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. The verses concerning the count to Pentecost (Leviticus 23:11 and 15) use "ha Shabbat," referring to the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread. Passover and Unleavened Bread are separate festivals. Passover occurs on the fourteenth day of the first month, while Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth and lasts a week. The Feast of Firstfruits, or Wave Sheaf Day, follows immediately after the instructions for Unleavened Bread. To count to Pentecost, one must first determine the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread. The count begins the day after this Sabbath, which is always a Sunday. This means Pentecost will always fall on a Sunday. The weekly Sabbath can fall on four different dates within the month of Abib or Nisan: the 15th, 17th, 19th, or 21st, resulting in Pentecost falling on the 6th, 8th, 10th, or 12th of Sivan. The Church of the Great God follows the plain instruction in Leviticus 23:11 and 15, counting from the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread, even if it coincides with the last day of Unleavened Bread. This results in Wave Sheaf Day and the beginning of the count to Pentecost falling outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread in some years. Other churches of God choose to start the count from Passover, which is not part of Unleavened Bread and is a workday, not a Sabbath. This approach leads to Wave Sheaf Day falling on a holy day Sabbath, which contradicts the requirement in Leviticus 23:11 and 15 that the wave sheaf offering must be made on a common workday. The Church of the Great God believes that following the letter of the instruction in Leviticus 23:11 and 15 is simpler and more aligned with biblical teaching than making exceptions based on symbolism or assumptions about Jesus' fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering.

Brethren, as we consider the count to Pentecost, we look backward for clues through this significant period that God has commanded with purpose. Though the count did not begin until Israel's first sheaf was harvested in the Promised Land some forty years later, we can overlay it on the first three months of Israel's journeys to uncover vital instructions. The first day of the count, starting on a Sunday, aligns with the fourth day of Israel's journey out of Egypt, which began on a Thursday. On the fifteenth day of the second month, marking the fourth Sabbath in God's commanded seven-Sabbath count to Pentecost, we find significant events in Exodus 16 that offer lessons for us at this end time. On this fourth Sabbath, God laid bare His holy Sabbath once more, revealing His glory as the sole provider for every need. More importantly, He opened the door to true peace, rest, and communication with Him within the specific time He declared holy. Israel, far from Him as slaves, was given the main tool to draw back to the one true God, who patiently led them, though His glory was beheld only at a distance. From their wilderness wanderings, we learn the vital importance of the seventh-day Sabbath in developing our relationship with Him. We see that longing for the past leads to contention and draws us away from thanksgiving to God. We recognize that God provides all our needs at the right time with abundance for those who obey Him, that we have a small part in collecting our daily bread of life, and that He shows patience with those who scarcely knew Him. Fast forwarding one year, during what would later be the count to Pentecost, we see Israel's orderly march under God's direction in Numbers 10. No longer chaotic, they were set in His way of order. His glory was no longer distant but in their midst, leading them as no false god of Egypt ever could. God had been shaping them outwardly into His image of order within His laws of outgoing concern. Yet, to whom much is given, much is required. Their complaining now, unlike a year earlier in their ignorance, brought greater consequences. Lusting after what they left behind became a source of rebellion, spreading from the mixed multitude to Israel itself. They despised what God provided to sustain life, craving carnal desires, and His reaction was severe. These two events, in Exodus 16 and Numbers 11, perhaps a year apart, hold lessons God expects us to learn during this count to Pentecost. He brought slaves from bondage with great mercy and patience, allowing stumbles as He introduced them to His bread of life leading to rest. He gave them a year of health, strength, order, and satisfying work with His gifts to bring Him into their midst. Yet, without a new heart, they could not grow in His image according to His likeness, and as they despised His provision, God despised the image they presented to Him. For us now, with the privilege to be a new creation, we must thoughtfully consider the count to Pentecost and the examples of those who have gone before us.