From Jesus’ Death to Pentecost
Jesus died and was buried “in the midst of the week.” We will prove that His resurrection was on the Sabbath, and His ascension into the Most Holy Place in heaven was not on Sunday the 18th of Abib, but it was on the 27th of Iyar. We will prove that the Holy Spirit was given on Friday, the 6th of Sivan. You will see that all of these events fit the Old Testament blueprint perfectly.
The Midst of the Week
Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy reveals that at the end of sixty-nine weeks “…shall Messiah be cut off…and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” (Daniel 9:26, 27). It was Jesus’ death in the “midst of the week” that led to the end of the sacrificial system. “And every priest stands daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:11).
The Passover sacrifices were performed on the fourteenth day of the first month (Exodus 12:6). “Christ our Passover” was crucified on the fourteenth day, thus He fulfilled the Passover sacrifice. The fourteenth was on Wednesday in 30 A.D., when Jesus was crucified.
The fifteenth day of the month is an annual Sabbath (Leviticus 23:6, 7), which began at sunset on Wednesday. “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation [3904, a making ready], that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath was a high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away….But when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was dead already, they broke not His legs” (John 19:31, 33).
Joseph of Arimathaea “…went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on” (Luke 23:52-54). Jesus died at the ninth hour (about 3:00 P.M.), and the annual Sabbath began at sunset (about 6:00 P.M.) Jesus was placed in the tomb shortly before the beginning of the annual Sabbath.
Three Days and Three Nights
When Jesus was asked for a sign, He said, “... there shall no sign be given ... but the sign of the prophet Jonah: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39,40). Jesus’ statement is very specific. This was the only sign that He was going to give. To conclude that He meant parts of three days and nights would render His statement completely meaningless. Counting three full days from late Wednesday afternoon will bring us to late Sabbath afternoon. Jesus was resurrected late on the Sabbath day. This is verified by the events of the three days.
“And that day [Wednesday] was the preparation [3904], and the Sabbath drew on [2020, the dawning of the next day, i.e. near sunset]. And the women also, which came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how His body was laid” (Luke 23:54, 55).
The annual Sabbath was on Thursday, then on Friday the sixteenth, “...when the Sabbath [Thursday] was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him” (Mark 16:1). Because the burial of Jesus was near sunset, they wouldn’t have had time to buy the spices on Wednesday before the annual Sabbath. Doing business on a holy day is forbidden (Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15-22). They could not have made their purchases until Friday, after the annual Sabbath had ended.
After making their purchases on Friday the sixteenth, “they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). The Sabbath referred to here is the weekly Sabbath. “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest …” (Leviticus 23:3). The Sabbath day was the seventeenth. At sunset, about 6:00 P.M., the Sabbath ended, and the first day of the week began. The first day of the week is the eighteenth.
Then, “...upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning they came to the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3). Jesus was not in the tomb, for “He is risen” (v.6). The Gospel of John adds, “it was yet dark” when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, and found Jesus had already risen (John 20:1). Since Jesus had already risen when they came to the tomb on Sunday, when was He resurrected?
From late Wednesday afternoon the three full days and three full nights (72 hours) would have concluded late on the Sabbath day, and that is when Jesus was resurrected. When the women came to the tomb after the Sabbath, on the first day of the week, He was already risen.
Sunday the Eighteenth
Sunday the eighteenth was the first day that Jesus was seen by His disciples. Mary Magdalene was the first to see Him, and, “Jesus said to her, Touch [680, to fasten to, cling to] Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God” (Jn. 20:17). Jesus said that He was going to ascend to the Father, but He did not say when He would ascend to the Father.
Scripture tells us that Jesus, “... by His own blood He entered in once [2178, upon one occasion only] into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12). One time only means one time only. He did not enter in twice! When did Jesus ascend to the Father? The day that Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place was pre-ordained by the Father from the foundation of the world.
Forty Days and the Twenty-seventh of Iyar
“The former treatise have I made...of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day that He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen: to whom He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3). On the fortieth day, “... while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight....Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet [Mount of Olives] (vv. 9, 12).
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We are going to use the calendar to count out the forty days, beginning with the eighteenth. The small red numerals count the days. The fortieth day is on the twenty-seventh of Iyar, which is on Thursday.
Jesus did not just happen to ascend on the 27th by chance. The number twenty-seven is the number of the New Testament. There are 27 books that make up the New Testament. On the night of His betrayal Jesus said, “This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Jesus’ blood was not shed on the night of His betrayal, i.e. the night of the fourteenth. His crucifixion began at “the third hour” (Mark 15:25), which is about 9:00 A.M., and He died at the ninth hour (about 3:00 P.M.). There are only two whole numbers that can be evenly divided |
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into 27. They are 3 and 9, which are the hours of the crucifixion.
On the 27th of Iyar, Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, and, “...Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us....And for this cause He is the mediator [3316, reconciler] of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:12, 15).
The twenty-seventh day of the second month fits God’s plan perfectly. The number two means the separation or division of two things. “…God divided [914, to separate, distinguish] the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). Light and darkness cannot dwell together. Hence, “…your iniquities have separated [914] between you and your God…” (Isaiah 59:2). However, God “…has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ…” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
When Jesus entered the Most Holy Place by His blood on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, we were reconciled with God. “Having therefore, brethren, the liberty to enter into the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is His flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart…” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
The Consecration of the High Priest
The priests had to be consecrated for seven days before they could take on their duties as priests. We are going to see how the consecration of Jesus Christ as High Priest fits the Old Testament pattern and the counting to Pentecost perfectly.
During the consecration process the priests were told, “... ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation seven days, until the days of your consecration [4394, setting in place, inauguration] be at an end: for seven days shall He consecrate you ... to make an atonement for you” (Leviticus 8:33, 34). Obviously Jesus Christ did not have to be atoned for as the earthly priests did, who had “...to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). However, He had to be inaugurated into the office of High Priest, because the priesthood was being changed.
The change in the priesthood was from the earthly Levitical priesthood, to a spiritual heavenly priesthood, “... after the order of Melchizedek .... For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken pertains to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning the priesthood” (Hebrews 7:11-14).
The Melchizedek priesthood is an eternal priesthood. For, “...there arises another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For He testifies, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek [Heb. 4442, King of Righteousness]” (vv. 16-17). The physical priesthood was a temporary priesthood, until the coming of Jesus Christ. “For there is verily a disannulling [115, abolition, cancellation] of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof” (v. 18).
On the 27th of Iyar, Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, and, “...Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us....And for this cause He is the mediator [3316, reconciler] of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:12, 15).
The twenty-seventh day of the second month fits God’s plan perfectly. The number two means the separation or division of two things. “…God divided [914, to separate, distinguish] the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). Light and darkness cannot dwell together. Hence, “…your iniquities have separated [914] between you and your God…” (Isaiah 59:2). However, God “…has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ…” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
When Jesus entered the Most Holy Place by His blood on the twenty-seventh day of the second month, we were reconciled with God. “Having therefore, brethren, the liberty to enter into the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is His flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart…” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
The Consecration of the High Priest
The priests had to be consecrated for seven days before they could take on their duties as priests. We are going to see how the consecration of Jesus Christ as High Priest fits the Old Testament pattern and the counting to Pentecost perfectly.
During the consecration process the priests were told, “... ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation seven days, until the days of your consecration [4394, setting in place, inauguration] be at an end: for seven days shall He consecrate you ... to make an atonement for you” (Leviticus 8:33, 34). Obviously Jesus Christ did not have to be atoned for as the earthly priests did, who had “...to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:27). However, He had to be inaugurated into the office of High Priest, because the priesthood was being changed.
The change in the priesthood was from the earthly Levitical priesthood, to a spiritual heavenly priesthood, “... after the order of Melchizedek .... For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken pertains to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning the priesthood” (Hebrews 7:11-14).
The Melchizedek priesthood is an eternal priesthood. For, “...there arises another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For He testifies, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek [Heb. 4442, King of Righteousness]” (vv. 16-17). The physical priesthood was a temporary priesthood, until the coming of Jesus Christ. “For there is verily a disannulling [115, abolition, cancellation] of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof” (v. 18).
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Because of the change in the priesthood, it was necessary for Jesus Christ to be inaugurated into the office of a new, eternal priesthood.
Count out seven full days, beginning with the twenty-eighth day of the second month. (There are twenty-nine days in the second month.) The seven days are: the 28th and 29th of Iyar, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th of Sivan. The 5th of Sivan completed the setting in place of Jesus Christ as the High Priest. |
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The Eighth Day
On the eighth day Moses called the priests out of the tabernacle (Lev. 9:1). There were several offerings that were made on the altar. “And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings” (v. 22). The sin offering was for the sins of the people. The burnt offering was a voluntary offering “to make atonement,” and the peace offering was a voluntary offering of thanks for what God had done for them. The New Testament fulfillment of the peace offering is to “…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [40, separated, sanctified], acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
“And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle...and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when the people saw, they shouted [7442, to shout or sing for joy], and fell on their faces” (vv. 23, 24). This was a type of the Day of Pentecost.
“And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord [3661, of one mind] in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven [1266, to distribute, parcel out] tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...” (Acts 2:1-4). The fire, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, came from the Most Holy Place in heaven. The disciples had presented themselves “... a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God...” (Romans 12:1), and their offering was accepted.
The Jews call Shavuot (Pentecost) the eighth day of Passover, because of its connection to the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Shavuot/Pentecost is the eighth day that follows the seven days of unleavened bread, and it is connected to them by the counting of seven weeks.
The eighth day is also when circumcisions were to be done. “...If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days....And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:2, 3). Circumcision corresponds to the giving of the Holy Spirit, because “...circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:29).
The Day after Passover
The Day of Pentecost was the forty-eighth day from Sunday the 18th of Abib, the day that Jesus was first seen after His resurrection. Pentecost is the 50th day, so we need to count back two days from the 18th of Abib to find the first day of the count. The beginning of the count was the 16th of Abib, the day after the first annual holy day.
When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, they were forbidden to eat any of the produce of the land until they brought their wave sheaf offering to the priest “…on the morrow after the Sabbath…” (Leviticus 23:11). After they entered the land, they “…encamped in Gilgal, and kept [6213, to make, to produce, to create] the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho” (Joshua 5:10).
The fourteenth is the day before the annual Sabbath, and it is “…the preparation of the Passover…” (John 19:14). To kill, bleed out, skin, clean, and “…roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the inward parts thereof” (Exodus 12:6), would require several hours. “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (v. 8). The first day of unleavened bread is the fifteenth—a Sabbath.
“And they did eat of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched grain in the selfsame day” (Joshua 5:11). The wave sheaf was offered on the day after the annual Sabbath of Passover. The 16th is the first day of the counting of seven weeks to Shavuot/Pentecost. Passover is connected directly to Pentecost, because the shedding of blood is required for the covenant to come into force.
Conclusion: Jesus was three days and three nights in the tomb, and He was resurrected late on the Sabbath day. He was first seen on the 18th day of the first month, and forty days later, on the 27th day of the second month, He ascended into the Most Holy Place by His blood. His consecration as High Priest was completed on the 5th day of the third month. On the 6th day, Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
The counting of the seven weeks to Pentecost began on the 16th day of the first month, which is the day after the annual Sabbath of Passover. Passover and Pentecost are connected by the counting of seven weeks because the shedding of blood is a requirement for the covenant to be of force. The Day of Pentecost is not always on Sunday, but it is always on the sixth of Sivan!
On the eighth day Moses called the priests out of the tabernacle (Lev. 9:1). There were several offerings that were made on the altar. “And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings” (v. 22). The sin offering was for the sins of the people. The burnt offering was a voluntary offering “to make atonement,” and the peace offering was a voluntary offering of thanks for what God had done for them. The New Testament fulfillment of the peace offering is to “…present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy [40, separated, sanctified], acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
“And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle...and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when the people saw, they shouted [7442, to shout or sing for joy], and fell on their faces” (vv. 23, 24). This was a type of the Day of Pentecost.
“And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord [3661, of one mind] in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven [1266, to distribute, parcel out] tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...” (Acts 2:1-4). The fire, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, came from the Most Holy Place in heaven. The disciples had presented themselves “... a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God...” (Romans 12:1), and their offering was accepted.
The Jews call Shavuot (Pentecost) the eighth day of Passover, because of its connection to the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Shavuot/Pentecost is the eighth day that follows the seven days of unleavened bread, and it is connected to them by the counting of seven weeks.
The eighth day is also when circumcisions were to be done. “...If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days....And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:2, 3). Circumcision corresponds to the giving of the Holy Spirit, because “...circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:29).
The Day after Passover
The Day of Pentecost was the forty-eighth day from Sunday the 18th of Abib, the day that Jesus was first seen after His resurrection. Pentecost is the 50th day, so we need to count back two days from the 18th of Abib to find the first day of the count. The beginning of the count was the 16th of Abib, the day after the first annual holy day.
When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, they were forbidden to eat any of the produce of the land until they brought their wave sheaf offering to the priest “…on the morrow after the Sabbath…” (Leviticus 23:11). After they entered the land, they “…encamped in Gilgal, and kept [6213, to make, to produce, to create] the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho” (Joshua 5:10).
The fourteenth is the day before the annual Sabbath, and it is “…the preparation of the Passover…” (John 19:14). To kill, bleed out, skin, clean, and “…roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the inward parts thereof” (Exodus 12:6), would require several hours. “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (v. 8). The first day of unleavened bread is the fifteenth—a Sabbath.
“And they did eat of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched grain in the selfsame day” (Joshua 5:11). The wave sheaf was offered on the day after the annual Sabbath of Passover. The 16th is the first day of the counting of seven weeks to Shavuot/Pentecost. Passover is connected directly to Pentecost, because the shedding of blood is required for the covenant to come into force.
Conclusion: Jesus was three days and three nights in the tomb, and He was resurrected late on the Sabbath day. He was first seen on the 18th day of the first month, and forty days later, on the 27th day of the second month, He ascended into the Most Holy Place by His blood. His consecration as High Priest was completed on the 5th day of the third month. On the 6th day, Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
The counting of the seven weeks to Pentecost began on the 16th day of the first month, which is the day after the annual Sabbath of Passover. Passover and Pentecost are connected by the counting of seven weeks because the shedding of blood is a requirement for the covenant to be of force. The Day of Pentecost is not always on Sunday, but it is always on the sixth of Sivan!