WHY CHRISTIANS KEEP WHITSUNDAY (THE DAY OF PENTECOST) - Lawson C Briggs - May 1978

Lawson C Briggs

Whitsunday," says the Encyclopaedia Britannica, is "one of the three major festivals of the Christian Church" (article "Whitsunday," 1973 edition). But you will never find it by that name in the Bible. Instead, you will read of Christians observing "Pentecost," a term derived from the Greek language. And in the Old Testament, where Hebrew was the original language, you will find it variously called the "feast of first fruits," "feast of harvest," and "feast of weeks." All of these terms refer to the same festival - originally taught by Moses to Israel, and observed by the people of God ever since. Each name is descriptive of some phase of its observance, and each of these terms is connected with a different aspect of the meaning of this deeply meaningful day. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library