How does one count to Pentecost when Passover is on a weekly Sabbath, making the Last Day of Unleavened Bread the only other available Sabbath to begin the count?

The Sabbaths midway through the count to Pentecost represent times of faithlessness among our ancestors who complained about food and rejected God's leadership.

Even as we are to personally count the 50 days to Pentecost, we also must think continually of the lessons these days teach us about our spiritual journey.

The counting of Pentecost has been source of controversy within the church of God. Here are vital points that will help to sharpen the focus of the fuller explanation.

This sermonette on the 1974 doctrinal change on counting Pentecost explains the confusion of our previous understanding.

The phrase, 'when you come into the land' (regarding offering the Wavesheaf), sounds like an absolute command, but its usage shows there may be qualifiers.

How does one count to Pentecost when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath? If we are consistent and honest with the Scriptures, the solution is clear.

The late spring Feast of Pentecost shows the harvest of firstfruits, God's church. It is a continual reminder of our part in God's plan!

Because Pentecost does not have a specific date, God commands us to count from the day after the weekly Sabbath falling within the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Joshua 5 makes no mention of a harvest, an altar, a priest, the waving of the sheaf, or the offerings God commanded to accompany the waving of the sheaf.

Being careless with something we deem minor can be fatal. We are to live by every word God gives to us, kept pure, unadulterated by additions and subtractions.

We must look beyond our own calling, realizing that the sacrifice of Christ was for all men, with the hope that they will be added to the family of God.

The Bible has much to say about the number fifty, such as counting 50 days to Pentecost, the measurements of the Tabernacle, and the 50 year Jubilee.

Right now in the church of God, doctrinal differences divide us, including when to start the count to Pentecost when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath.

Each day in the count is a reminder to consider what we are sowing and what we are cultivating because it will assuredly come to fruition and then evaluation.

The offerings of the Old Testament are like divine parables, acted out to teach about the Messiah, unveiling a beautiful picture once we understand the symbols.

Those who ignore the clear biblical instructions for the wavesheaf offering with its unambiguous prohibitions risk the displeasure and judgment of God.

Because of our 'time-bound' state, unless we sync with God's timetable, we are squandering our God-given time to become members of His family.

The Greek phrase mia sabbaton appears in seven New Testament verses, indicating Wavesheaf Day. They help to determine when to begin counting to Pentecost.

Just as the ministry does not eat unleavened bread for us because it says you are to eat it, it follows that they are not to count Pentecost for us either.

Pentecost emphasizes the Christian's work, both in the field, his external labors, and his house, his internal labors. Being converted takes a great deal of work.

Many do not realize that Wavesheaf Day appears seven times in the New Testament. Translators obscure it by overlooking a plural in the Greek text.

This day beginning the countdown to Pentecost was a work day. We must live by every word of God in order to properly count to Pentecost.

The 'very same' or 'selfsame' day is a memorial of a past event, typically on the same date, including several of God's appointed times and pronouncements.

Passover, though a festival, is not a Sabbath, so that eliminates it as a possibility as the anchor from which Pentecost is found each and every year. It is not a Sabbath.

Most know little about the wavesheaf offering, even though it represents one of the most significant acts: the resurrection and ascension of Christ!

Like Christ, we too are firstfruits, represented by the leavened loaves picturing our acceptance by the Father.

For decades, the church of God has struggled with counting Pentecost, especially in years when Passover falls on a Sabbath. Does Joshua 5 hold the key or not?

Fruit is a product of growth requiring knowledge, work, patience, truth (light) and water (God's Spirit). Only by remaining on the vine will we bear fruit.

We must allow God to show us how to carefully number our days in order to gain a heart of wisdom and develop a godly perspective upon our remaining time.

Confusion over time of Passover, the wavesheaf offering, and Pentecost results from making assumptions unwarranted by clear scriptural evidence.

Fruit maturation takes time. Waiting for the fruit is just part of the story; while we wait, we must also work, including thinning and pruning.

The wavesheaf offering is reckoned from the weekly Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread. It had specific requirements that were not met in Joshua 5.

The Pentecost season generally corresponds to Book II of the Psalms, Exodus, and the story of Ruth. Major themes include exile, separation, and redemption.

The Jews establishes a fixed date for Shavuot in contradiction to the instruction for counting to Pentecost. This is part of the leavening of the Pharisees.

Neither Christmas or Easter appear in the Feasts of the Lord, but we find plenty of emphasis on the resurrection and ascension of Christ in the Holy Days.

Adherents to the Pentecostal movement try to mimic some of the superficial surface manifestations of Acts 2 rather than follow the teaching given on that day.

We are being judged by our works, based upon what we know and what we are doing with this knowledge. The more we know, the more God expects from us.

Pentecost forces us to stand out from the crowd, separated as firstfruits for sanctification and holiness. God has called us to be different.

Naomi's attractive personality, selflessness, godly conviction and common sense characterize her relationship with her Gentile daughters-in-law.

The church of God is not immune to the deterioration of doctrine. Minor deviations from doctrine bring about irreparable, disastrous consequences.