PENTECOST, DAY OF

The day of Pentecost was an annual Jewish festival which came fifty days (the word signifies "fiftieth") after the Passover celebration (Lev. 23:15-21; Dt. 16:9-12). It was known also as the feast of weeks (Ex. 34:22), the feast of harvest (Ex. 23:16), or the feast of first fruits (Num. 28:26). It always fell on the day following the Sabbath, hence, on Sunday. It was on the day of Pentecost, fifty days following the death of Christ, that the apostles were empowered with the Holy Spirit. The gospel was preached in all its fullness and the Lord's kingdom was established. On that day the "first fruits" of Christianity were gleaned, which was a preview of the vast "harvest" to follow (see Acts 2:1ff).