PENTECOST PUZZLES
by Richard Burkard
TO: "The scribebler" [as you spell it], location unknown
Dear Sir/Madam:
I had never heard of you, before I found one of your plain white tracts in the city where I live. It was on the front of a downtown box, where brochures about home sales usually are kept.
You addressed the tract "To the Membership of the United Church of God." That would include myself, a member of several years.
This tract deals with "Yeshua's Time Line on earth 3967YM - 4000YM Year of Man." Your four-page tract does not explain how you figured those dates (apparently from creation), so I won't get into that topic. Instead, I'd like to respond to other parts which apparently are designed to challenge and provoke people across the Church of God movement, not merely United.
Timeline to Bethlehem
You write King Herod began rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple in 20 B.C. A 1999 Good News article puts the date as 19 B.C., and the Jewish Encyclopedia actually shows the 18th year of Herod's reign as an overlapping 20-19 B.C. What's one year among friends? A lot to you, it appears.
You then say "WORD was born a Jew" (clearly referring to Jesus) on the Feast of Trumpets in 7 B.C. Of course, you're setting a division mark with UCG here. But it's too bad no source is given for your claim; instead, the tract has a small blank space - as if the person handing out tracts is supposed to write a name. Mine didn't have any.
Your Time Line continues in 6 B.C., with a "caravan with seven Israelite magi" visiting the baby Jesus. As you likely know, Church of God groups for decades have disputed the common Christian teaching about "three wise men." They note Matthew 2 never says how many there were. So how are you so sure there were seven?
(My mother actually asked me about this when I was in college. A question apparently arose in the United Methodist Sunday School class she taught. I checked several commentaries at the school's religion library, but don't recall "seven" ever being mentioned in any of them.)
In 5 B.C., you say, Herod "killed toddler boys and girls" from ages 0-2. This required a trip to the concordance - and yes, you well could be right about that. The Greek word translated "boys" in the NIV translation of Matthew 2:16 ("male children" in NASB) also appears in Luke 8:54 - where Jesus heals a "girl of about 12" (v. 42). Maybe that's why the King James Version of Matthew 2:16 simply says Herod "slew all the children...."
Then comes 4 B.C., where you say King Herod died "five days after the March 13th eclipse of the moon." You cite Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus for this information - and indeed, I found a "Google Books" copy online which agrees with that date in a footnote. But it also says that was "the year of the Julian period 4710...." That's a long way from your 3967YM -- so why are you citing a source which you apparently consider only semi-accurate?
When Did It End?
Based on your starting construction date, you write John 2:20 took place in 27 A.D. - where scoffing Jews tell Jesus, "It has taken 46 years to build this temple." That makes mathematical sense. But then you contend: "This cleansing of the Temple in the other Gospels was on Christ's Passion Week."
You seem to conclude John put this incident out of sequential order, and it happened days before the crucifixion. Yet John 3:22 says, "After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside...."
"John mentions three or four Passovers during Jesus' ministry...." notes the IVP New Testament Commentary in analyzing this section. If that's so, why should we conclude John had his time-line out of line? Can we not presume there were two cases where Jesus cleared the temple?
You "build" on historic temple dates to contend "Rabbi Yeshua was 33 years and six months old in 27AD." But here's where your math does not make sense -- at least if you base B.C. and A.D. on a January 1 New Year, as most people do.
If Jesus was born on Trumpets in 7 B.C. (and as you properly note, there's no year zero), He would have turned seven on Trumpets of 1 A.D. Then 27 in 21 A.D. Then 33 in 27 A.D. -- and actually becoming 33 ½ in the spring of 28 A.D. So if UCG is three years off in Jesus's birth (and "the Church's 4 BC to 31 AD time line for Jesus" which you mention comes to 33 ½ years, not 34 as you allege), you still seem to be one year off in computing His death and resurrection.
It's "About" Time
So how do we reconcile this? One web site I found goes far outside the Church of God box - and claims Jesus did indeed die in the spring of 27 A.D., but at the age of 32. Most COG's would challenge this based on Luke 3:23, which says Jesus's ministry began when He "was about 30 years old...." But here's the thing - they take "about 30" to mean exactly 30.
Herman Hoeh baffled me with his explanation of the word "about" when I was a teenager, first reading Worldwide Church of God literature. In the booklet The Crucifixion Was Not on Friday he wrote: "Luke did not say 'about 29' or 'about 31.' He records that Jesus 'began to be about 30' -- and he meant it, for he was an inspired historian. Either this record is true or you might as well discard the Bible." (1968 ed., pg. 25.)
Way back then, I circled the word "about" in the booklet and put two question marks in the margin. Why could an "inspired historian" not be more precise? Besides, there are several other New Testament cases where "about" in Greek is understood as an estimated number - such as the approximately 5,000 people fed by Jesus with five loaves and two fish (e.g. Mt. 14:21).
The "Abdicate" web site linked above actually has posted "Jewish year" calendars going back to the time of Christ. Based on when the Days of Unleavened Bread begin (Nisan 15), a crucifixion date in 27 A.D. (Jewish year 3787) meets the common Church of God understanding of "Wednesday-Saturday" for the three days and three nights Jesus lay dead (Mt. 12:40). It would not work in 28 A.D., as the crucifixion would have occurred on Monday.
But here comes the biggest shocker of all - it would not work in 31 A.D., either! In that year (Jewish year 3791), Nisan 15 also took place on Monday to require a Sunday crucifixion. The Wednesday-Saturday theory works in 30 A.D., but not in the years surrounding it.
The WCG booklet tried to explain this by arguing the Jewish calendar had a "postponement" in 142 A.D., so the month of Nisan actually was one month later in Jesus's day than it is now -- and thus our Lord was crucified on Wednesday, April 25, 31 A.D. (pgs. 44-46) Yet several online sources for "Jewish calendars" show no such adjustment in the Hebrew months. And an article posted by the Christian Biblical Church of God indicates Dr. Hoeh recanted his argument before he died (as he did several other WCG writings).
But that admittedly doesn't stop other COG's from maintaining the Hoeh position. We found a hefty Living Church of God study paper which traces the matter all the way back to a change in the usage of the word "from" in Daniel 9:25. It claims "the Bible demands that Jesus died on a Wednesday Passover in 31 A.D., not 30 A.D." If the common use of "from" cited by LCG is applied (as in counting "from the day after the Sabbath" for Pentecost), there's no such prophetic demand - and a Wednesday crucifixion in 30 A.D. fits.
A Date of Pride?
Now where were we with your tract, Scribbler? Oh yes - you argue the motivation for COG's setting a 31 A.D. crucifixion date actually comes from something else. "Mr. Armstrong's pride influenced his perceived significance in a 31AD date...." citing a statement in his autobiography.
Here's the statement I think you mean: "Exactly 100 time-cycles later, after 3 ½ years of intensive study and training, Christ ordained me to preach.... This ordination took place at, or very near, the Day of Pentecost, 1931." (Pg. 428) I'll leave it to Jesus to judge the motives and the heart of Herbert Armstrong. But I can see where his perception (or perhaps desire) of a "parallel religious experience" could explain the setting of that crucifixion date.
Tough Questions
Your tract ends with 15 "tough love" questions based on a thesis: "Counting Omer and the annual sacred Pentecost-Shavuot." If that title is posted online, a Google search didn't bring it up. You really ought to try Angelfire for storing such things, you know (giggle).
Since I can't fairly analyze a thesis I haven't seen, I'll settle for attempting to answer some of your questions:
3. Yes, Leviticus 23:7 tells us not to work on Nisan 15, the first Day of Unleavened Bread. And you note a "day after, a day of rest" (mentioned far beyond verse 15 which you cite, going to verse 21). You then ask how Satan tricks people to "ignore God's Word and embrace next week's pagan secular Sun's day instead."
Based on this and the tone of other questions, you imply Pentecost should not be kept on Sunday. But in this case, there are times when the Holy Days for Unleavened Bread (days one and seven) occur on Sunday-Saturday. I doubt you'd say those cases constitute a Satanic trick.
4. You ask if God's Spirit is "only within UCG and those who observe His sacred seventh day and appointed annual sacred Sabbaths." I'm sure you realize that's a disputable issue within Christianity.
Many COG ministers would quote Acts 5:32, and say God's Holy Spirit is "given to those who obey him." To them, of course, obedience includes keeping all Sabbaths. But other groups might point to the Pentecost sermon of Acts 2:17, where Peter quotes Joel and mentions God "will pour out my Spirit on all people." Does a Spirit poured out on mean the same thing as having it in?
Paul attempts to settle this in Galatians 3. "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law," he asks in verse 2, "or by believing what you heard?" He indicates in verse 5 the gift of God's Spirit is driven by belief instead of observance -- then adds in verse 14, "by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." (See also Eph. 1:13; Acts 19:4-6)
5. You ask if it's logical for Satan to deceive "the world," but not UCG. The first part is based on Revelation 12:9 (KJV). Some COG ministers would quote Matthew 24:24 to answer the second part: false Christs and prophets would "deceive even the elect - if that were possible." Jesus implies it's not possible, the ministers would say. But we all clearly have to guard against deception - whether from friends (Jer. 9:5) or ourselves (I Jhn. 1:8).
6. You ask if Jesus was "a 'ff' offering on 16th or Sunday," which really gets to the heart of your thesis. I'm assuming "ff" stands for firstfruits, as mentioned in Leviticus 23.
"In the phrase the morrow after the sabbath, [verse 11] 'sabbath' has two possible meanings: it may refer to the regular weekly sabbath.... or to the Passover as the day of holy convocation, which was followed by the week of Unleavened Bread. The Pharisees took the one view, the Sadducees the other." (New Bible Commentary: Revised, 1970 ed., pg. 162)
COG's traditionally take the Pharisee view - that with a late Saturday resurrection, Jesus presented Himself to the Father as a form of the wave-sheaf offering on Sunday (based on John 20:17). That would go against the common Jewish tradition of conducting this offering on Nisan 16. (An exception would occur if the Spring Holy Days fall on Saturday-Friday, which sometimes happens.)
You obviously raise this issue because the Pentecost "count 50" is at stake here. But consider Leviticus 23:16. "Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath...." Assuming a Wednesday crucifixion of Jesus, days 1 and 50 in your version of the count would occur on Fridays - and I really don't think you'd consider Thursday a Sabbath at any time of year.
7. You ask if Sunday-to-Sunday over a seven-week span really is 50 days. Didn't the Worldwide Church of God have a split about this very thing in the 1970s?
The counting of days has been done in different ways by different groups for a long time. You may not realize even news services have done this differently. I've noticed this in my journalism career. The Associated Press would count a standoff which started on Sunday as being "in its sixth day" the following Friday, while United Press International would count it as "five days old" based on Sunday-to-Monday being one day, Monday-to-Tuesday a second, etc.
Using the AP count, Sunday to Sunday would be 50. Using UPI's count, it might be called 49. In any case, you'll be thrilled to know I now have a separate in-depth article on this topic.
8. You appeal to "spiritual logic," in asking if God would direct Israel "His sacred Shavuot Shabbat every year on the Sun'sDay." I would appeal to historical logic and ask: Who set the sacred calendar first - God or the Roman Catholic Church?
Perhaps you're implying an omniscient God should have known the Catholics were coming, and set up a calendar they wouldn't think about using. But wouldn't that mean God was letting "sinners" be more powerful than Him -- thousands of years before those "sinners" came along?
9. You make the "WWJD" appeal -- which is interesting, because my Bible shows no specific instance where Jesus kept Pentecost. He seems to leave it open for debate, doesn't He?
12. You ask why the "Sanhedrin clergy" hated the preaching of the New Testament apostles. You suggest it was because the theology was "scripturally sound." That statement seems sound to me, and this web site has an article dealing with that.
14. Citing John 8:47, you ask if God "answers prayers on scriptural issues for contrite people with 'ears that hear.'" I sure hope so, because I've prayed for God's help in preparing this response. But isn't that verse more about hearing God's words in the first place, as opposed to prayers being answered?
15. Your last question is really a challenge for pastor to stop being "shepherd hirelings," and to "do what Christ's Spirit tells you to do." Perhaps UCG Pastors are following what they actually consider the lead of the Spirit; I'll let Jesus judge whether they are or not. And I'll let him do the same to you.
Conclusions
But O Scribbler, do you see what you're doing? Your seemingly simple four-page tract is really a complicated Bible challenge with plenty of nit-picky fine points. Those points can lead people down a trail that might result in them giving up on church and God completely. Isn't it better to focus on what Jesus called "the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness"? (Mt. 23:23)
And O Scribbler, why are you writing tracts aimed at relatively small religious associations? (Not to mention having people spread them in cities far from Cincinnati, and several miles from meeting halls?) What sort of threat are they to you? Shouldn't you be going after the millions of people who don't know Jesus at all, or believe in Him for salvation?
The LCG study paper we mentioned earlier includes this noteworthy statement in its conclusion: "If we in God's Church (ministers and members) have the right spiritual priorities, God will help us set in order even matters as technical as the sacred calendar."
To borrow from a Church of God-Seventh Day author, can we have faith that God might not set this in order immediately? Can we be patient in the knowledge that some things might not be settled until Jesus returns? And can we have the right spiritual priorities now - such as the ones mentioned in I Corinthians 13:13, where love is the greatest of all?
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