50 Reasons Pentecost is on Sivan 6, Not Sunday! (Part 4)
Section 6: Mt. Sinai Timeline
Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai on the first day of the third month. “In the third month of the going out of the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in this day they have come into the wilderness of Sinai” (Ex. 19:1; YLT). This was the day of the third month, that is, the day the third month began. So on Sivan 1, Israel encamped before Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:2).
Now, if we follow the timeline, each day seems to be accounted for. Here’s the scenario. On the next day, Sivan 2, Moses went up the mountain and spoke to God, then brought back word to the people (Ex. 19:3-7). On Sivan 3, the people gave their answer, Moses brought that answer before God on the mountain, and returned with God’s response to the people (Ex. 19:8).
The following day, Sivan 4, “the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people’” (Ex. 19:10-11). So God told the people to prepare today (Sivan 4), tomorrow (Sivan 5), and be ready for the third day (Sivan 6). This timeline, and several clues within it, point to a Sivan 6th Pentecost.
Reason 37: The Sabbath Commandment
First, notice God’s instructions: be consecrated and wash your clothes today and tomorrow, and be ready for the third day. This doesn’t fit a Sunday Pentecost scenario because Sunday would be the third day, making the Sabbath itself one of the preparation days. You can be sure that God didn’t tell the people to bathe and do their laundry on the Sabbath!
Reason 38: God Spoke the Ten Commandments on Friday, Sivan 6
Now, as we just saw, the timeline indicates that God spoke the Ten Commandments on Sivan 6. The Exodus timeline also shows that this was a Friday.
Back in Ex. 16:1, the Israelites reached the Wilderness of Sin on Iyar 15, the 15th day of the second month. The next morning, God sent them manna for the first time (Ex. 16:12-13), and did so day by day for six days. On the sixth day, God told them to gather a double portion so that they would have food for the seventh day, the Sabbath (Ex. 16:22-26). This means that the seventh day, Iyar 22, was also the seventh day of the week. If Iyar 22 was a Sabbath, then so was Iyar 15, the day Israel arrived at that place.
We can count backward from there and see that Abib/Nisan 14 fell on a Wednesday that year, just as it did when Christ was crucified. And if we count forward, Iyar 29, the last day of the second month, was again a Sabbath. Sivan 1 was therefore a Sunday, and Sivan 6 a Friday. So God spoke the Ten Commandments on Sivan 6, a Friday.
Reason 39: Standing at the Foot of Mt. Sinai
On Friday, Sivan 6, Israel stood before God at the foot of Mt. Sinai, but couldn’t ascend into His presence, under penalty of death (Ex. 19:12-13). Similarly, we stand at the entrance to God’s Kingdom, of which we are citizens (Phil. 3:20), but we cannot yet enter, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). As the Book of Hebrews tells us,
18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest,
19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. ...
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… (Heb. 12:18-19, 22.)
The Israelites stood before Mt. Sinai on Friday, the eve of the Sabbath. As Heb. 4:1-11 shows, the Sabbath pictures God’s Kingdom. So the Israelites stood before Mt. Sinai, a type of God’s Kingdom, on the day before the Sabbath, a type of God’s Kingdom. Thus, both the timeline and the symbolism point to this day being a Friday.
Reason 40: Back to Back Holy Convocations
Now, the day God spoke the ten commandments was not only Friday, Sivan 6, but it was also a holy convocation, for God told Moses to sanctify the people and assemble them before Him. And on that day, God called the people to assembly with a trumpet blast: “When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain” (Ex. 19:13).
A holy convocation is a sacred assembly, and that’s exactly what this was. All holy convocations were announced by a trumpet blast (Num. 10:10), just as this was. The only holy convocations established by God are the seven annual Holy Days and the seventh day Sabbath, as we can read in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28-29. Besides these, there are no others.
The next day was the weekly Sabbath, another holy convocation, and so the people assembled on that day (Ex. 24:4) to hear Moses read “the Book of the Covenant” (v. 7). After hearing Moses read, the people agreed to obey God’s law and formally accepted His covenant (Ex. 24:8). After this, Moses and the elders of Israel ate and drank before God on the mountain (Ex. 24:9-11) — a covenant meal. All this happened on the Sabbath, which is itself a sign of God’s covenant (Ex. 31:13, 17; Ezek. 20:20).
So at Mt. Sinai, Israel observed back-to-back holy convocations, with the first being on Friday, Sivan 6, and the second being on the Sabbath, Sivan 7. Scripture records no holy convocation or sacred assembly on Sunday, Sivan 8.
Reason 41: God Spoke to Moses on the Sabbath
Instead, God called Moses to come up the mountain and meet with Him on that day (Ex. 24:12). So Moses took Joshua with him and ascended the mountain, but left the elders of Israel in the camp (vv. 13-14). Moses alone summited the mountain to God (v. 15), while Joshua waited for him further down (Ex. 33:11). All this happened on Sunday, Sivan 8.
After Moses went up the mountain, God’s glory rested on it for six days (Ex. 24:16), but God did not speak. On the seventh day, God broke His silence and began speaking to Moses (v. 16). This seventh day was the seventh day Sabbath. God was silent from Sunday, Sivan 8 through Friday, Sivan 13. On the Sabbath, Sivan 14, He began to speak again.
Everything in this scenario lines up perfectly, and none of it fits a Sunday Pentecost. Only a Sivan 6th Pentecost fits the patterns, the timelines, and the math of God’s Word.
Section 7: Historical Evidence
At this point, we’ve seen 41 Biblical reasons Pentecost is on Sivan 6th, not Sunday. Now, we must set doctrine by the Bible, not history, but the witness of history confirms the Bible. Multiple eyewitnesses testify when Pentecost was observed in Jesus’ day.
Reason 42: The Septuagint Text of Leviticus 23
Around 250 BC, some 70 Jewish rabbis translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, the first known translation of Scripture into another language. This translation, the Septuagint, is the source of most Old Testament quotes in the New Testament. The Septuagint version of Leviticus 23 is clear that Pentecost is 50 days after the First Day of Unleavened Bread:
10 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye shall enter into the land which I give you, and reap the harvest of it, then shall ye bring a sheaf, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest;
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….
15 And ye shall number to yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which ye shall offer the sheaf of the heave-offering, seven full weeks:
16 until the morrow after the last week ye shall number fifty days, and shall bring a new meat-offering to the Lord. (Lev. 23:10-11, 15-16; BES.)
The “morrow of the first day” is the day after the First Day of Unleavened Bread, as the context shows: “And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread. And the first day shall be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work” (Lev. 23:6-7; BES).
Whether one puts the Septuagint on par with the Hebrew manuscripts or not, it was good enough for Jesus’ apostles to use in the New Testament. And it is, at the very least, a historical record of how the Jews, 250 years before Christ, interpreted the instructions in Leviticus 23.
Reason 43: Josephus’s Testimony
The Jewish historian Josephus (c. AD 37-100), a Pharisee and a Levite from a priestly family, witnessed both the temple ceremonies as a young man and the temple’s destruction in AD 70. He testified that the wave sheaf was offered “on the second day of unleavened bread, which is the sixteenth day of the month” (Antiquities of the Jews, Bk 3, Ch. 10, Sect. 5).
Reason 44: Philo’s Testimony
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC - AD 50) added his testimony that the wave sheaf was offered “on the day of the paschal feast, which succeeds the first day” (The Special Laws II, 29, 162). So we have three witnesses — the Septuagint, Josephus, and Philo — that the Jews offered the wave sheaf on the second day of Unleavened Bread. This is simply historical fact. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established” (Deut. 19:15; Mat. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1).
Reason 45: More Than 2,200 Years of Jewish Practice
After the temple’s destruction in AD 70, mainstream Jews continued to count from the second day of Unleavened Bread. The Mishnah (c. AD 200), the Talmud (c. AD 450-550), and the medieval sages all agreed on this. And while sects such as Karaites and Samaritans diverged and observed Pentecost on Sunday, these are splinter groups. To this day, most devout Jews still observe Pentecost on Sivan 6, as more than 2,200 years of documented history shows, and they affirm this to be the tradition handed down in every generation since Moses.
Remember what the apostle Paul said: “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:1-2).
Did the Jews faithfully preserve the Old Testament? Yes. Can we trust that they preserved the weekly cycle and the true seventh day Sabbath? Yes. Have they delivered the Hebrew calendar to us, so we can keep God’s Holy Days? Most Churches of God would affirm that they have. Have the Jews forgotten when to observe any of God’s other six Holy Days? No, they have not.
It is true that the Jews have added many customs and traditions, even pagan ones, apart from Scripture. But they have preserved the oracles of God committed to them, as Paul wrote. God entrusted them with that task.
Reason 46: No Proof of Sunday Observance at the Temple in Jesus’ Lifetime
Now, it’s often said that, in Jesus’ day, the Sadducees controlled the temple, disagreed with the Pharisees and the rest of the Jewish nation about Pentecost, and observed it at the temple on Sunday. But however common these claims might be, there’s no proof for them.
The Bible records disagreements between the two parties, but not about Pentecost. Josephus, too, mentioned differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees, but not about Pentecost. Philo mentioned no Jewish sects, nor any disagreement about Pentecost. And no Sadducean writings have survived that record Sunday Pentecost observance. In short, no contemporary record mentions a Sadducean disagreement with the Pharisees’ Sivan 6th view!
After the temple’s destruction, the first collection of rabbinic writings, the Mishnah (c. AD 200), never attributes a Sunday Pentecost to the Sadducees. The next major rabbinic compilation, the Talmud (c. AD 500-600), attributes Sunday Pentecost observance, not to the Sadducees, but to the Boethusians, whose identity is disputed to this day.
The earliest writing that ascribes Sunday Pentecost observance to the Sadducees appears to be one manuscript of a medieval commentary on the 1st-century document Megillat Ta'anit. But the other manuscript of this commentary, like the Talmud, attributes it to the Boethusians instead. And this was nearly a thousand years after the Second Temple Period!
So there’s no proof or eyewitness testimony that the Sadducees and Pharisees disagreed about how to count Pentecost. The only recorded Pentecost interpretation or practice at the temple during the New Testament is that of Sivan 6.
Therefore, in Acts 2, when Jesus’ apostles gathered on the Day of Pentecost with the rest of the Jews (Acts 2:5-11), history indicates that it was Sivan 6. And that brings us to the next point.
Reason 47: Jesus and His Apostles Affirmed the Pharisees’ Practice
Jesus Christ told His disciples: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Mat. 23:2-3).
But never did Jesus affirm the Sadducees’ teaching, nor does God’s Word say anything good about them. On the contrary, Jesus rebuked them for denying the resurrection of the dead, telling them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Mat. 22:29).
The apostle Paul, after decades of preaching Christ, testified before the Jewish leaders, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” (Acts 23:6). Elsewhere, the Book of Acts informs us that some of the Pharisees accepted Christ (Acts 15:5), but never says so of the Sadducees. One simply couldn’t be both a Sadducee and a Christian, because the Sadducees denied the resurrection!
Therefore, even if it could be proven that the Sadducees favored a Sunday Pentecost — and it cannot be proven — Jesus Himself favored the Pharisees over the Sadducees in interpreting God’s law and Scripture in general. His apostles followed suit.
Section 8: The Great Counterfeit
Whereas a Sivan 6th Pentecost fits Scripture, history, and God’s plan, a Sunday Pentecost does not. Instead, it aligns best with pagan counterfeits of God’s plan. Here’s what I mean.
Reason 48: The True Meaning of Sunday
Pentecost is a day of covenants. Are God’s covenants tied to Sunday? Is Sunday a sign of God’s covenant? No! The Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant (Ex. 31:13, 17; Ezek. 20:20); Sunday is a counterfeit.
Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead or ascend to His Father on Sunday? Does Sunday have anything to do with resurrections or God’s Kingdom? No! It is the Sabbath pictures that these things; Sunday is a counterfeit.
Sunday is the sharpest contrast to the Sabbath. It’s 180° away, the polar opposite of God’s Sabbath. Sunday is the first day of the week, but the Sabbath is the seventh and last. Whereas the Sabbath pictures God’s Kingdom, Sunday pictures this world. It’s fully on-brand for pagan Christianity to have chosen Sunday as its day of worship. But God never chose it!
Reason 49: God Made No Weekday Holy, Except the Sabbath
God honored the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, and made it holy. He did the same for certain dates on the calendar, such as Nisan 15, Tishri 1, Tishri 15, etc. A Sivan 6th Pentecost remains consistent: God made a date holy, not another day of the week apart from the Sabbath.
But by fixing a Holy Day to a day of the week rather than to a date on the calendar, the Sunday Pentecost doctrine proclaims that Sunday itself is holy. That God made another day of the week, besides the Sabbath, a Holy Day. Even if it’s only once a year, the Sunday Pentecost doctrine exalts Sunday and gives it honor that God gave only to the Sabbath.
God never sanctified Sunday, never honored it, and made it merely the first of six work days before the Sabbath. God made no weekday holy, except the seventh day Sabbath!
Reason 50: Sunday Pentecost Tradition Mirrors Pagan Practice
The painful truth is, the Sunday Pentecost doctrine mirrors pagan tradition. About 80-90% of the time, “wave sheaf Sunday” falls on Easter Sunday! So while a Sunday wave sheaf lines up with Jesus’ death and resurrection less than 30% of the time, it does line up with Easter Sunday!
And 50 days later, many well-meaning folks observe Pentecost on the same day the Catholics and many Protestants observe “Pentecost” or “Whitsunday.” About 80-90% of the time, this Sunday Pentecost tradition is in lockstep with the Catholic Church!
But there’s a sad irony in all this. The early Catholics took great pains to ensure Easter Sunday never fell on the date of the “Jewish” Passover. That’s a matter of historical record; you can look it up for yourself. Yet if one places the wave sheaf on Sunday to line up with Jesus’ resurrection, the result is that it rarely lines up with Jesus’ death and resurrection, but instead usually falls on a day that Catholics chose to avoid any connection with Jesus’ Passover sacrifice!
Closing Thoughts
We’ve now seen 50 reasons Pentecost is on Sivan 6, not Sunday. We count seven weeks, or 49 days, from the day after the First Day of Unleavened Bread. The fiftieth day is Sivan 6 on the Hebrew calendar, the 6th day of the 3rd month, and that day is Pentecost.
While there’s a mountain of evidence that Pentecost is on Sivan 6, there’s — to put it mildly — a bit less that it’s on Sunday. The Sunday Pentecost doctrine relies on six major claims. Some may come up with others, but these are, as I understand, the major assertions:
That the Sabbath in Lev. 23:11, 15 must be the weekly Sabbath, and that “the day after the Sabbath” must therefore be Sunday.
But the annual Holy Days are also Sabbaths, and Scripture consistently describes Sunday as “the first day of the week,” never as “the day after the Sabbath.”That the “seven sabbaths” of Lev. 23:15 must be Sabbath days.
But there are 8 Sabbath days during the count, not 7; Scripture defines “seven sabbaths” as “seven times seven” (Lev. 25:8); and Scripture also offers multiple examples of “sabbath” being another term for a week, depending on the context.That counting to Pentecost means it cannot be on a fixed date.
But the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread and the Eighth Day (or Last Great Day) are on fixed dates, dates which can only be found by counting!That the count to Pentecost mirrors the Jubilee in Leviticus 25, and that Pentecost must therefore fall on the day after a weekly Sabbath, just as the Jubilee was the year after a sabbatical year.
But this is merely an analogy, not direct evidence. And while the year after a Jubilee was the first year of the next cycle, the day after Pentecost is never the first day of the week.That “the day after the Passover” in Josh. 5:11 must mean Abib/Nisan 15.
But that isn’t the only scenario, nor the right one, as it would’ve required profaning the Holy Day! This verse does, however, link the wave sheaf to Passover and not Sunday.That Jesus Christ fulfilled the wave sheaf by either, A) rising from the dead on Sunday, or B) ascending to His Father on Sunday, and that the wave sheaf must therefore always be on Sunday.
But Scripture doesn’t say Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, or that He ascended to His Father on that day, nor does it call Him the wave sheaf. And none of this proves that the wave sheaf must be on Sunday. If so, then one might also claim His Wednesday crucifixion proved Passover must be on Wednesday, which would be absurd!
Now, each of us must study these things for ourselves. This is, as stated at the beginning, a huge subject, and this miniseries of blog posts is but an overview. There’s much more that could be written. But I hope that I’ve given you some things to think about, and a curiosity to study the matter further.
So let us be sure that we aren’t among those who simply ignore inconvenient facts, but among those who, like the Bereans, “searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The truth will stand. Let us therefore love the truth, pursue the truth, and search the Scriptures diligently to ensure that we align ourselves with the truth!
ADDITIONAL READING: The Miracle of Pentecost
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