In our free booklet, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” we explained the following:

“The Church of God and the Orthodox Catholic and Protestant world may… at times observe Pentecost on the same Sunday. But this is merely coincidental. There are many years when the Church of God and the Orthodox Christian world celebrate Pentecost on different days. Why? Because the Church of God determines the correct date for Pentecost by counting 50 days from the Sunday [after the weekly Sabbath], which falls within the annual Holy Days of Unleavened Bread, as instructed in the Bible (Leviticus 23:11).

“The wave sheaf was offered on the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The wave sheaf pictures Jesus Christ, who ascended to heaven on a Sunday, even though He was resurrected on Saturday evening, just around sunset. Exactly 50 days later, He poured out the Holy Spirit from God the Father on His New Testament Church. This was the Day of Pentecost.

“In other words, we are not to count 50 days from the weekly Sabbath that falls within the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, but from the SUNDAY on which the wave sheaf was offered—and it is that SUNDAY, that must fall within the seven Days of Unleavened Bread (compare Leviticus 23:14-15; Joshua 5:11). [This will be explained below in more detail.]

“Orthodox Christianity determines the date of ‘Pentecost’ by using Easter as a starting point for counting 50 days. Easter, however, is not the correct starting point, as it is a pagan festival. It is not even mentioned in the Bible, and it is not a feast to be kept by true Christians… There are other obvious distinctions between the Biblical Pentecost, which IS to be kept by true Christians, and the Pentecost of this world, which was designed by the Roman Catholic Church and includes numerous pagan customs… [God] does not accept syncretism—which… is the combining of different forms of belief or thought, such as, mixing paganism and Christianity. Christ said that we worship Him in vain when we teach as doctrines the commandments of men, and when we follow man’s traditions in an attempt to worship God (compare Mark 7:6-9).”

In this Q&A, we want to further address the reasons as to why the Church of God celebrates the biblical Pentecost by counting 50 days from the SUNDAY within the days of Unleavened Bread, which follows the weekly Sabbath. Apart from the confusion created by Orthodox Christianity to count “Pentecost” 50 days from Easter, there is also utter confusion within Judaism as to how to count the biblical Pentecost.

The following article from the website of karaite-korner.org/shavuot.shtml gives interesting information as to why many Jews are incorrect on the issue:

“Shavuot (Feast of Weeks/Pentecost) is the Biblical harvest-festival celebrated 50 days after the Sunday which falls out during Passover [i.e., the entire Passover “season,” including the seven Days of Unleavened Bread]. These fifty days are called the Counting of the Omer. The Rabbis incorrectly celebrate Shavuoth on the 6^th of Sivan. In late Second Temple times a debate arose between the Boethusians and the Pharisees about whether the ‘morrow after the Sabbath’ [Heb. Mimohorat Ha-Shabbat; compare Leviticus 23:15, Authorized Version] refers to the Sunday during Hag HaMatzot [Feast of Unleavened Bread] or the second day of Hag HaMatzot (i.e. the 16^th of Nissan). Like the Boethusians and Ancient Israelites before them [including the Sadducees], the Karaites [a movement within Judaism] count the 50 days of the Omer from the Sunday during Hag HaMatzot and consequentially always celebrate Shavuot on a Sunday.

“The Rabbanites claim that in the phrase ‘the morrow after the Sabbath’ the ‘Sabbath’ referred to is the first day of Hag HaMatzot [i.e., the First Day of Unleavened Bread, on the 15^th of Nisan]. In the Rabbanite reckoning the 50th day of the Omer (=Shavuot) would NOT be on ‘the morrow after the seventh Sabbath’ as commanded in Lev[iticus] 23:16. Instead it would be on the morrow after the 7^th Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday or whatever day it happened to fall out after. The only way for the 49^th day of the Omer to be a Sabbath, thereby making the 50^th day ‘the morrow after the Sabbath’ as commanded in Lev[iticus] 23:16, is if the 1^st day of the Omer is on a Sunday.”

In regard to the last comments in the above-stated article, please note Luke 6:1. We read that “it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.” Some translators, unsure as to what the phrase means, omit it altogether and just say that it happened on a Sabbath. Others give numerous interpretations, but Luke 6 seems to be referring to the second Sabbath—the weekly Sabbath—after the first Sabbath—the annual Holy Day of the First Day of Unleavened Bread, showing that there were two Sabbaths in that week.

The One Volume commentary by Dummelow explains that it was the custom to number the Sabbaths from Passover to Pentecost from the day when the wave sheaf offering had been given.  As Leviticus 23:16 commands to count fifty days to the day AFTER the SEVENTH Sabbath, the Scripture in Luke 6 seems to confirm that the counting has to occur, beginning with the Sunday following the weekly Sabbath as, otherwise, we would not reach Sunday as the 50^th day, being the day after the SEVENTH Sabbath.

The above-quoted article explains correctly that the “day” or the “morrow (morning) after the Sabbath” must refer to Sunday morning, following the WEEKLY Sabbath within the Days of Unleavened Bread. It does NOT and CANNOT refer to the annual Sabbath of the First Day of Unleavened Bread. There was a controversy, according to the Jewish historian Josephus of the first century, between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. While the Sadducees counted the 50 days correctly from the Sunday which falls within the Days of Unleavened Bread and which follows the WEEKLY Sabbath, the Pharisees counted it from the day after the ANNUAL Sabbath—the first day of Unleavened Bread. But we should note, as will be explained below, that the Temple service was entrusted to the Sadducees, not the Pharisees. Their determination as to when to celebrate Pentecost was conclusive and decisive for the public celebration, as long as the Second Temple existed.

However, modern Judaism has adopted the view of the Pharisees, thereby celebrating Pentecost ALWAYS on the SIXTH DAY OF SIVAN (which could fall on any day of the week).  In passing, we should notice as well that most modern Jews have also adopted the view of the Pharisees (contrary to the view of the Sadducees) that one must observe Passover on the 15^th of Nisan, which is the wrong day and one day too late, erroneously claiming that the Passover lamb was sacrificed at the end of the 14th day of Nisan, while it was actually sacrificed at the beginning of the 14th day of Nisan, “between the two evenings”—the time span between sunset and nightfall.

In an article written by Herbert W. Armstrong and Herman L. Hoeh in 1974, the following is stated:

“The New Testament shows the Pharisees had considerable power among the people…  On the other hand, they had no official function in either the temple or the judicial system. Their power was through influence rather than direct office…  The Sadducees were most influential among the priests and those in charge of the temple…  the Sadducees (Boethusians) were firmly in control of the temple and the ritual until shortly before the 66-70 war, and… the wave sheaf was always offered on Sunday and Pentecost counted from then… Acts 5:17ff shows the Sadducees in charge of the temple. About a quarter of a century later, the Sanhedrin is divided between the Pharisees and Sadducees (Acts 23:6ff). But even then the Sadducees have their way in keeping Paul in prison although the Pharisees wanted to release him (23:9)…

“The Encyclopedia Judaica has this significant comment to make: ‘The Sadducees (and later the Karaites) understood the term “Sabbath” in these verses literally, hence, for them Shavuot [Pentecost] always falls on a Sunday’ (Ency. Judaica, 1971 ed., Vol. 14).

“The Universal Jewish Encylopedia says: ‘The Torah provides that the seven weeks up to Shabuoth be counted “from the morrow after the day of rest” (mimohorath hashabbath) of the Passover festival (Lev. 23:l5). The interpretation of this passage became one of the outstanding points at issue between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. According to the Pharisaic point of view, supported by the Septuagint and later universally accepted in the Talmud, the shabbath in question was the first day of Passover [the first Day of Unleavened Bread]; hence Shabuoth [Pentecost] would always fall fifty days later, on the 6^th of Sivan. The Sadducees, however, and later the Karaites, supported by the Samaritans, took the word to mean literally the Sabbath after the beginning of the Passover festival: thus Shabuoth [Pentecost] would always fall on a Sunday and might vary in date…’ (The Universal Jewish Ency., 1943 ed., Vol. 9).

“Notice that the Sadducees’ way of reckoning Pentecost is referred to as ‘the old Biblical view.’ ‘They (the Sadducees) contended that the seven weeks from the first barley-sheaf-offering (‘omer’) to Pentecost should, according to Lev. xxiii. 15-16, be counted from ‘the day after Sabbath,’ and, consequently, that Pentecost should always be celebrated on the first day of the week (Meg, Ta’an l.; Men. 65a). In this they obviously followed the old Biblical view…’ (The Jewish Ency., 1907 ed., Vol. X)… ‘The Boethuseans (a sect of the Sadducees), interpreting the Sabbath as the ordinary Sabbath that fell during the week of the massot between the 15^th and 21^st day of Nisan, kept Pentecost on the Sunday following the 7^th Sabbath’ (New Cath. Ency., 1966 ed., Vol. XI)…

“Notice how, according to history, the Sadducees were in control of the Temple until well beyond 31 A.D. They, therefore, controlled the religious ceremonies and ritual, rather than the Pharisees. ‘The Sadducees celebrated it [Pentecost] on the fiftieth day (inclusive reckoning) from the first Sunday after Passover (taking the ‘sabbath’ of Lv. xxiii.15 to be the weekly sabbath): their reckoning regulated the public observance so long as the Temple stood, and the [Christian] Church is therefore justified in commemorating the first Christian Pentecost on a Sunday… The Pharisees, however, interpreted the ‘sabbath’ of Lv. xxiii.15 as the Festival of Unleavened Bread (cf. Lv. xxiii. 7), and their reckoning became normative in Judaism after AD 70, so that in the Jewish calendar Pentecost now falls on various days of the week’ (The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., by J.C. Douglas)…”

We need to consider the clear instructions in the Old Testament to establish that the Sadducees—and not the Pharisees—were correct in their determination as to when to keep Pentecost.

In Leviticus 23:10-14, we are told that after the Israelites had entered the Promised Land, they had to bring first a wave sheaf offering “on the day [better: “morrow” or morning, compare Authorized Version] after the Sabbath” (verse 11), and only afterwards were they allowed to eat “bread” or “parched grain” or “fresh grain” (verse 14).

In Joshua 5:10-12, we read what happened when they did enter the Promised Land: “Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight [in Hebrew: “between the two evenings”—the time span between sunset and nightfall] on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land ON THE DAY [“on the MORROW,” Authorized Version] AFTER the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day [“morrow,” Authorized Version] after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.”

According to the view point of the Pharisees, the wave sheaf offering had to be brought on the day following the ANNUAL Sabbath; that is, on the day following the first Day of Unleavened Bread. The first Day of Unleavened Bread is always on the 15^th of Nisan (Leviticus 23:6). So, the Pharisees hold that the wave sheaf must be brought one day later, on the 16^th of Nisan. However, this is NOT what happened under Joshua. We read that the wave sheaf offering was brought under Joshua on the day after the Passover (the Passover is to be kept at the beginning of the 14^th of Nisan, Leviticus 23:5); that is, the wave sheaf offering was brought that year on the 15^th of Nisan—NOT on the 16^th of Nisan. The Sadducees’ viewpoint is correct in that the sheaf must be waived on the day after the WEEKLY Sabbath; in other words, on Sunday, which fell that year under Joshua on the 15^th of Nisan. This means that Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks) would be celebrated 50 days later—on a Sunday.

In addition, the view point of the Pharisees (and of the modern Jews) that Pentecost always falls on a fixed day—the 6^th of Sivan—makes no sense in that the day of Pentecost has to be determined by counting. While each particular day for all the other annual Holy Days has been specifically given in the Bible, this is not the case for the day of Pentecost. It can only be determined by counting each year 50 days from the Sunday within the Days of Unleavened Bread, which follows the weekly Sabbath. If the Pharisees were correct in that Pentecost always falls on Sivan 6, then the injunction to determine the day by counting 50 from the day after the Sabbath would be meaningless and superfluous.

We might also want to point out again that Jesus was the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering, in that, following His resurrection from the dead on Saturday, just before sunset (having been dead in the grave for three days and three nights, after His crucifixion on Wednesday), He ascended Sunday morning to the Father in heaven. According to the view point of the Pharisees, He would have had to ascend to the Father in heaven on Friday, since the First Day of Unleavened Bread fell in the crucifixion week on Thursday. But Christ was dead and in the grave on Friday. Again, we see that the view point of the Pharisees was incorrect, and that the view point of the Sadducees was correct, in that the wave sheaf offering was brought on the day after the WEEKLY Sabbath—and Jesus fulfilled that ritual at the prescribed time as the spiritual wave sheaf offering.

A passage in the New Testament might shed further light on the controversy between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Holy Spirit was given to the New Testament Church on Pentecost, June 17, 31 AD. Acts 2:1 states that when the Day of Pentecost had “fully” come, the disciples were all with one accord in one place. Some translators had difficulty with this phrase and chose to omit the word “fully” or say that Pentecost was “fulfilled” on that day. Even though the Day of Pentecost was filled with most significant meaning, due to the giving of the Holy Spirit, the Bible does not tell us that the disciples ceased from keeping the Day of Pentecost. The opposite is revealed in Acts 20:16 and in 1 Corinthians 16:8, showing that Paul continued to observe that annual Holy Day. (Another indirect reference to the keeping of Pentecost can be found in Acts 16:13, where we read that Paul and others went “on the Sabbath day” to the riverside where prayer was customarily made. In the Greek, the word for “Sabbath” is in the plural, indicating that reference is made to both the weekly Sabbath and an annual Sabbath or Holy Day—in this case, Pentecost.)

Rather, Acts 2:1 seems to hint at the controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and it seems to emphasize that the Sadducees were correct in that Pentecost had to be kept on that particular day—a Sunday. The J.B. Phillips translation states: “Then when the actual day of Pentecost came…” The reason for this statement could refer to the fact that the Pharisees had preached that the day of Pentecost had already come in that year, i.e. on the previous Friday (since they counted 50 days from the day after the ANNUAL Sabbath or Holy Day of the First Day of Unleavened Bread which was observed that year on a Thursday; that is, they began counting on Friday, not on Sunday, and would have kept “Pentecost” 50 days later, on a Friday). But the correct day to begin counting was Sunday, following the WEEKLY Sabbath, and it was 50 days later, on Sunday, when the Day of Pentecost had “actually” and “fully” come.

We therefore hold that the day of Pentecost is to be observed 50 days after that Sunday within the Days of Unleavened Bread, which follows the WEEKLY Sabbath. This means, that Pentecost always falls on a Sunday. This year (2015), it is to be observed on May 24 (counting 50 days from the Sunday (i.e. April 5, 2015) within the Days of Unleavened Bread, which followed the weekly Sabbath of April 4, 2015). Since the annual Sabbath of the First Day of Unleavened Bread fell this year on a weekly Sabbath, Saturday, April 4, 2015, the Pharisaical view point (counting 50 days from the day after the ANNUAL Sabbath) comes to the same result for THIS year in keeping Pentecost on May 24, 2015). And since Easter Sunday fell this year on April 5, 2015, orthodox Christianity also keeps “Pentecost” this year on May 24, 2015.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

Does this passage negate the biblical teaching that man does not have an immortal soul?  The answer is that it does not contradict the rest of the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 reads: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Before we discuss what this passage tells us, we need to focus on the basics. We explain in our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?” that man does not have a soul—mortal or immortal—but that man IS the soul. We point out the following:

“…  the word ‘soul,’ or the Hebrew word ‘nephesh,’ as well as the Greek word ‘psyche,’ applies to men and animals alike, and can refer to either a living or a dead person or animal. The soul is a ‘living being’ as long as the being is alive… man became a living soul when he was created, but… when he dies, he becomes a dead soul, and… a dead soul does not continue to live…”

When focusing on the Old Testament and the Hebrew word “nephesh” for “soul,” we explain, by quoting many Scriptures, that “one can eat the soul—the blood—but that one should not”; and that the “soul must eat something in order to stay alive.” We also show that “a soul can physically touch something unclean and be considered unclean as well. The soul can also… bathe”; and the “biblical teaching is that the soul can be put to death.”

We show that the word “soul” describes many times the entire person—his whole being.

On the other hand, the word “soul” can refer, at times, “to the psyche of the living creature; it can describe the heart—the feelings and motivations… the soul is the temporary, physical person, with all of his desires, wants and feelings.” We explain that “the emotional or psychological aspects of a person are sometimes identified with his ‘soul.’ The word ‘soul’ still describes the person—not something in the person—but it may emphasize from time to time what could otherwise be described with the ‘heart.’…

“A person has feelings. These feelings are sometimes described as originating in, and coming from, the heart or the soul. But this does not make the soul or the heart something separate from the person, something immortal that lives on when the person dies… when we become extremely frightened or fearful, it is sometimes presented in the Bible in such a way that ‘our soul’ becomes afraid…

“The Authorized Version translates the Hebrew word ‘nephesh’ 15 times as ‘heart.’ In several cases, the emotional side of anguish, fear, grief and anxiety is emphasized in those passages… Perhaps now, we can better understand why God commands us to seek Him with all of our heart [Hebrew, ‘lebab’] and soul [‘nephesh’] (Deuteronomy 4:29), and to love Him ‘with all thine heart [‘lebab’], and with all thy soul [‘nephesh’] and with all thy might [Hebrew, ‘meod’]” (Deuteronomy 6:5). This is just another way of saying that our entire being—everything we are, including our desires and emotions—must seek God and love Him beyond anyone or anything else…

“This word [“nephesh”] is also used to describe the emotional side of animals… God uses the Hebrew word ‘nephesh’ to describe even His own emotions and feelings… The word ‘soul’… describes the innermost feelings of the persons, both of God and of man, not something immortal within the person.”

When turning to the New Testament and the Greek word for “soul”—”psyche”—we explain that both words mean exactly the same; when an Old Testament passage with the word “nephesh” is quoted in the New Testament, the Greek word (“psyche”) is used as translation of the Hebrew word “nephesh.”

And so, we find that the New Testament “reveals that people are souls. Souls are not something within the people—rather, souls are people.”

At the same time, “the Greek word ‘psyche’ may describe… aspects of the person. It may emphasize the feelings, emotions and desires of the heart, while other aspects of the person might be described in different terms… the soul is equated… with special feelings. It is the person, of course, who has those desires and feelings, but special emphasis is given to the psychological aspect of a person…, describing it as the ‘soul.’ (Interestingly, the English word ‘psychological’ is, in fact, derived from the Greek word ‘psyche.’) When these psychological aspects are to be emphasized, the word ‘soul’ is sometimes used in combination with other human aspects—but this does not make the ‘soul’ an immortal element or entity within the man.”

New Testament Scriptures which are not quoted in the above-stated booklet, but which also prove that “soul” can refer to the feelings and emotions of a person, can be found in Matthew 11:29 (“you will find rest for your souls”); Matthew 26:38 (“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death”); Luke 2:35 (“a sword will pierce through your own soul also”); John 12:27 (“Now My soul is troubled”); Acts 2:43 (“fear came upon every soul”); Romans 2:9 (“tribulation and anguish… on every soul of man who does evil”); and 2 Peter 2:8 (“that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds…”).

With this understanding, we are ready to review the meaning of the passage in 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

In our booklet, we are giving the following explanation:

“We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, ‘And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit [Greek ‘pneuma’] and soul [Greek ‘psyche’] and body [Greek ‘soma’] be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

“In dividing the person into three aspects or ‘components,’ Paul did not address the issue as to whether some of the aspects were mortal or immortal. Rather, the ‘spirit’ of the person describes his mind, the ‘body’ describes his physical flesh, and the ‘soul’ describes his ‘temporary physical life.’ The Christians were asked to preserve blameless their minds, bodies and lives. To say that this verse teaches the immortality of the soul would mean that the ‘flesh’ or the ‘body’ would also have to be ‘immortal,’ which it clearly is not…”

We might add here that the “spirit” also refers to the spirit in man which God gives to every human being at the time of his physical conception (Zechariah 12:1), and which returns to God when the person dies (Ecclesiastes 12:7). That spirit imparts intelligence and human reasoning to the person (Job 20:2-3; Psalm 77:6; Proverbs 20:27). But that spirit in man is not something immortal, but it is only “functioning” as long as the man is alive (James 2:26). It imparts to the man and can be equated with the human mind (compare Ephesians 4:23: “… be renewed in the spirit of your mind”), which separates man from the animals (1 Corinthians 2:11). In addition, a person called by God receives the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism (his spiritual conception), which imparts to the man the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5), and which will also, together with the spirit in man, go back to God when man dies. But even the Holy Spirit in the man does not keep on “living,” as a conscious “entity,” apart from the man, when the person dies.

At the same time, the “soul” can refer to psychosomatic aspects of the man, including his emotions and feelings of joy or depression, hope or anxiety and “bitterness of soul” (1 Samuel 1:10; Job 10:1; Isaiah 38:15). But again, this does not make the soul immortal, because those feelings are only part of the man as long as the man is alive. Once the person dies, all his emotions and feelings have ceased (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).

Some commentators—including those who falsely believe in the immortality of the soul—understand that 1 Thessalonians 5:23 cannot be used to prove the teaching of an “immortal soul.”

The New Unger’s Bible Handbook states the following:

“Sanctification for the whole man… involves the whole nature of man: ‘body,’ the material tent (2 Corinthians 5:1-8) in which man pilgrims in this world and with its five senses has communication with the natural world; ‘soul,’ the seat of affections, desires, will and emotions (Matthew 11:29; 26:38; John 12:27); ‘spirit,’ the higher part of man which knows (1 Corinthians 2:11) and has communication with God (Job 32:8; Psalm 18:28; Proverbs 20:27).”

In addition, some commentaries feel that the terminology is not primarily used to divide the person into three parts, but to emphasize that the whole man—every aspect of the Christian life—should be sanctified or set apart for God’s holy purpose (compare the Ryrie Study Bible and the Nelson Study Bible). The same thought would be expressed here, as it is in Deuteronomy 4:29; 6:25 (see above), regarding the necessity of loving God with our entire being (that is, with our whole heart, soul, and might). For instance, the Life Application Bible states:

“The spirit, soul and body refer not so much to the distinct parts of a person as to the entire being of a person. The expression is Paul’s way of saying that God must be involved in every aspect of our lives. It is wrong to think that we can separate our spiritual lives from everything else, obeying God only in some ethereal sense or living for him only one day of each week. Christ must control all of us, not just a ‘religious’ part.”

In conclusion, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 cannot be used to teach the concept of an immortal soul. Rather, Paul is praying that we (our entire being) would be “preserved” or “kept” (Gr. tereo) by God; that we would be “kept” in the love of God (Jude 21) and that we “keep” ourselves unspotted from the world (James 1:27), so that we will be counted worthy to enter the Kingdom of God when Christ returns.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link