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Ten Facts About Pentecost

1. The Hebrew word for Pentecost is Shavuot, meaning “weeks.”

2. The Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai fifty days after crossing the Red Sea.

3. The Torah was given on Shavuot.

4. Pentecost ends the Passover season.

5. Dairy is always eaten on Pentecost because the Torah is referred to as the milk of the Word.

• 1 Corinthians 3:1-3: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?”
• 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
• Hebrews 5:12, “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!”

6. Greeneries and flowers are used to decorate because it is believed that the wilderness around Mt Sinai bloomed with flowers and grass at the giving of the Torah.

7. Also when God spoke the Ten Commandments there was a fragrance in the air.

8. Shavuot (Pentecost) is the Day of the First Fruits (Numbers 28:26) or the Harvesting Festival (Deuteronomy 16:9-10), and so because of this flowers and greeneries are used to decorate.

9. On this Day of the First Fruits (Pentecost) the Holy Spirit was given (Acts 2:1-4), and we know that the Holy Spirit has fruit also, as Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

10. While Pentecost is the Day of the First Fruits, there is an earlier Festival of First Fruits which takes place at the time of Passover (Leviticus 23:4-11). That was the day when Yeshua (Jesus) rose, for He was the first fruits from the dead, as 1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us, “But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” From this earlier Festival of First Fruits, we begin counting the days to Pentecost, which is the second Day of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:15-16).