Questions and Answers About the Feast of Pentecost

If you’re familiar with the Bible, you’ve likely heard of the Feast of Pentecost. 

It’s featured in one of the most prominent chapters of the New Testament—Acts 2. That day, which took place just over seven weeks after Christ’s death, was one of the most momentous days recorded in the Bible.

What is Pentecost and what is its meaning for Christians today? In this blog post, we’ll answer some common questions people ask about the Feast of Pentecost. 

Why is this day called Pentecost?

The name Pentecost comes from the Greek word used for this day in the New Testament. The Greek word pentēkostē literally means “fiftieth.” This is derived from the words “count fifty days” in Leviticus 23:16.

Is Pentecost the only name for this festival?

No, Pentecost is a name used only in the New Testament. The Bible refers to it by a few different titles. They are: 

• “The Feast of Harvest” (Exodus 23:16).
• “The Feast of Weeks” (Deuteronomy 16:10). 
• “The day of the firstfruits” (Numbers 28:26).

The Jewish community today refers to this observance as Shavuot, which is the Hebrew word for “weeks.” 

Is Pentecost connected to modern Pentecostalism?

Some religious groups refer to themselves as “Pentecostal” because they believe their purpose is to recapture the spirit and gifts that were given on the Pentecost of Acts 2. 

However, when their practices are closely examined and compared with the actual events of Pentecost in Acts 2—which we’ll explore in more detail below—it becomes clear that using the label “Pentecostal” is largely a misnomer.

Many of the practices of modern Pentecostalism are mere emotionalism, devoid of any genuine connection to the Holy Spirit or the Feast of Pentecost as described in Scripture.

For a deeper exploration of this, read “From Pentecost to . . . Pentecostalism?” and “What If I Can’t Speak in Tongues?”

How is the Day of Pentecost calculated?

This feast was the third of seven festivals God commanded and declared to be “the feasts of the LORD” and “holy convocations” (Leviticus 23:2). This meant that God expected His people to assemble together on these days to worship and learn about Him.

This observance is unique among the other festivals because the Bible doesn’t tie it to a fixed date on the Hebrew calendar. Instead, God commanded that this festival’s date would be determined by counting. 

Counting 50 days from “the day after the Sabbath” (Sunday) during the Days of Unleavened Bread always brings you to the Sunday that falls seven weeks later. Here’s God’s instruction:

“You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath [that is, from the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath” (verses 15-16). 

So, to determine the date of Pentecost, we must count 50 days (or seven weeks) after the Sunday within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to the Hebrew way of counting, when you count “from” a day, you include that day in the count. (In other words, the count is inclusive.)

Counting 50 days from “the day after the Sabbath” (Sunday) during the Days of Unleavened Bread always brings you to the Sunday that falls seven weeks later. This 50-day count is why the New Testament authors referred to it simply as the fiftieth day (Pentecost). 

In 2025, “the day after the Sabbath”—the Sunday that fell during the Feast of Unleavened Bread—was April 13. So, counting forward 50 days brings us to Sunday, June 1. 

Why do modern Jews often celebrate Pentecost (Shavuot) on a different day than the Church of God celebrates it?

Most of modern Judaism observes Shavuot on a fixed day—Sivan 6—on the Hebrew calendar. 

This is because instead of counting from the day following the weekly Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Jews calculate it from the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread, which always falls on Nisan 15. Since their count always begins on Nisan 16, Shavuot always falls exactly 50 days later on Sivan 6. 

The problem with this approach is that it makes the act of counting unnecessary to determine the date, which we believe compromises the specific command to “count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:16).  

In contrast, counting from the day after the weekly Sabbath (Sunday) during the Feast of Unleavened Bread leads to Pentecost always falling on a Sunday (“the day after the seventh Sabbath”), but on varying dates in the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars—usually in late May or early June. This involves an actual count to determine the proper date to observe Feast of Pentecost. 

What does the term firstfruits refer to?

Since most today don’t have experience with the agricultural cycles of the Holy Land, a day called “the day of the firstfruits” may be confusing. What exactly is a firstfruit? 

The word firstfruits in the Old Testament is a translation of the Hebrew word bikûr. This describes “the first of the crops and fruit that ripened” (The Outline of Biblical Usage). The word can also be translated “the hasty fruit” (Isaiah 28:4 in the King James Version) because it was the produce that ripened and was ready to eat first. 

The spring and early summer harvests in the Holy Land were primarily the grain crops, first barley and then wheat (Exodus 9:31-32). 

On the day beginning the 50-day count (“the day after the Sabbath”) a sheaf of the first ripened barley was collected and offered to God in a unique ceremony referred to as the wave-sheaf offering (Leviticus 23:10-11). This was considered the first of the firstfruits. 

The majority of the spring firstfruit crops were harvested weeks later around the time of the Feast of Pentecost. 

Since this was the first major harvest of the year and preceded the larger and more diverse fall harvest, it was called the firstfruit harvest. The festival associated with the larger fall harvest was called the Feast of Ingathering, or the Feast of Tabernacles (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13-15). 

Do firstfruits have significance that go beyond agriculture? 

Yes, the Bible uses many agricultural analogies to demonstrate deep spiritual truths, and the firstfruit harvest is an excellent example of that. 

In the New Testament, the people God calls into His Church are referred to as firstfruits. James wrote that Christians are “a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Paul referred to brethren in a particular city as “the firstfruits of Achaia” (Romans 16:5). The 144,000 of the book of Revelation are called “firstfruits to God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:3; 14:4). 

God’s firstfruit harvest began with Jesus Christ, the first of the firstfruits, and is continuing with the men and women God is calling to Himself in this age. This analogy points us to the New Testament significance of Pentecost—that God is harvesting human beings into His family in stages. Today, He is harvesting a comparatively small firstfruit harvest, but in the future He’ll call a much larger group composed of the rest of humanity—an enormous “ingathering.”  

Back to the firstfruit harvest. 

Above, we discussed the wave-sheaf ceremony that begins the 50-day count to Pentecost. That ceremony focused on the first-ripened produce of the firstfruit harvest. It could be called the first of the firstfruits. This pictured Jesus Christ and is why He is called “Christ the firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:23, see also verse 20). 

After Jesus was resurrected, He was “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). He was the “firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). 

So, God’s firstfruit harvest began with Jesus Christ, the first of the firstfruits, and is continuing with the men and women God is calling to Himself in this age. Then, after Christ returns, He will begin a much larger harvest—extending His calling to the rest of humanity. 

What major New Testament event took place on Pentecost? 

The founding of the New Testament Church and the giving of the Holy Spirit occurred on Pentecost. 

Acts 2 tells the story of the beginning of the New Testament Church. The events of that day are well-known—tongues of fire, speaking in different languages, Peter’s powerful sermon, baptisms, etc. We shouldn’t ignore the fact that these people, including Christ’s disciples and apostles, were gathered together observing the Feast of Pentecost. 

Notice Acts 2:1: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

Yes, the first Christians were assembled to observe Pentecost. That day would change history forever. On that Pentecost, God began the Church of God—a group of people called together out of the world to be “His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9). 

No longer would God work only with the nation of Israel. Through the Church, He would now begin calling people of all ethnicities, races and nationalities into a relationship with Him (Romans 9:24; 11:11; Galatians 3:14).

Did Christians continue to observe Pentecost after Acts 2? 

Yes, the Bible shows that the Church continued to observe the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8).

What is the connection between the founding of the Church and firstfruits?

When we understand that Pentecost is referred to as the “day of the firstfruits” (Numbers 28:26), it becomes clear why God chose this day to begin His Church. Pentecost symbolizes the first phase of God’s spiritual harvest. Those He is calling now are part of that firstfruit harvest. 

God established His Church on this feast day to highlight the deep spiritual meaning of Pentecost—that He is calling a firstfruit harvest and working with them through His Church. 

In summary, for Christians, Pentecost celebrates the calling of God’s firstfruits and the giving of the Holy Spirit, which formally begets them as God’s children and empowers them to live His way of life. 

What specific truths do Christians celebrate and remember on Pentecost? 

Every year when Christians gather to celebrate this day, they remember the events of the Pentecost that began the New Testament Church (recorded in Acts 2).

1. The giving of the Holy Spirit. 

One of the most significant “firsts” on that Pentecost was that those gathered were “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). Prior to this day, the Holy Spirit was with Jesus’ disciples—but after Pentecost it was in them (John 14:17).

Yes, the Holy Spirit had been given to select individuals prior to this—men like Moses, David, the prophets and John the Baptist—but this Pentecost marked the first time in human history it was given to a larger group of people—those who would repent of their sins and be baptized (Acts 2:38). 

It’s no coincidence that the Holy Spirit was given on the same day the Church was established. Receiving the Holy Spirit—God’s very power and essence—is what makes a person a true member of the Church (Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

To learn more about the Holy Spirit, read “What Is the Holy Spirit?”

2. Peter’s powerful Pentecost sermon. 

Peter’s powerful sermon in Acts 2 can be seen as somewhat of an inaugural address for the establishment of God’s Church. He articulated not only themes relevant to that day, but major elements of the Gospel message that the Church would continue to proclaim for the next 2,000 years. 

His sermon not only elaborated on the prophetic significance of that day, but declared who Jesus Christ was and is, where He now is, what He is doing—and how those are all connected. 

Peter concluded with one of the most powerful calls to repentance ever: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (verse 38).

This core message—repent, be baptized, have your sins forgiven and receive God’s Spirit—continues to be proclaimed by the Church of God today.

To learn more about the content of Peter’s amazing Pentecost sermon, read “The Sermon That Launched the Church.”

3. The establishment and growth of the Church. 

Acts 2 records that 3,000 people were baptized and added to the Church on that Pentecost. Those who were called that day continued “steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (verse 42).

That Church progressed forward with power after that day—growing beyond the confines of Jerusalem. However, when we come to the later books of the New Testament, we find that same Church was regressing—being attacked spiritually from the inside and outside, with many losing the doctrinal purity and spirit of the Pentecost of Acts 2 (Galatians 1:6; 2 Peter 2:1; Jude 1:3-4).

That explains why after the New Testament era, the Church became tiny and was largely overtaken by false forms of Christianity—which eventually coalesced under the leadership of Rome. (To learn more about that, read “How an Emperor Corrupted Christianity.”) 

When God’s people review what the Church was like on that very special Feast of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2, they recommit themselves to recapturing the same zeal, purity, unity and power today.

The Feast of Pentecost reminds us that Jesus Christ did build a Church, just as He said He would (Matthew 16:18). That Church continues to exist today, teaching the same truths taught by Jesus and the apostles.

Date Posted: May 27, 2025