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Wave sheaf
WAVE SHEAF
HOW SHOULD PENTECOST BE COUNTED? FROM WHAT DAY SHOULD THE COUNT BEGIN? DOES GOD GIVE EXACT TIME TO COUNT FROM?
(1) DOES IT BEGIN FROM THE ANNUAL SABBATH OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, OR
FROM THE SUNDAY DURING THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE WEEKLY SABBATH?
(2) IS IT MANDATORY THAT THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE WEEKLY SABBATH
FALL WITHIN THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD?
(3) IS IT IMPERATIVE THAT THE WAVE SHEAF WEEKLY SABBATH FALL DURING
UNLEAVENED BREAD?
WE KNOW THAT GOD'S ANNUAL HOLY DAYS PICTURE STEP BY STEP HIS COMPLETE MASTER PLAN. GOD HAS PUT HIS PLAN IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. FEW REALIZE THAT THE WAVE-SHEAF THAT WAS OFFERED DURING THE DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD ALSO PICTURES AN IMPORTANT EVENT IN THE PLAN OF GOD.
Where does the wave sheaf fit into God's plan?
LEVITICUS 23:9-14, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savior: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings".
The wave sheaf was the first fruit from the barley harvest. This harvest was originally a type of spiritual harvest. Spiritually it represents Christ offered up as the first of the fruits accepted by God the Father. "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (I Cor. 15:23).
The presentation of the first fruit was waved during the celebration of the Days of Unleavened Bread. "He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it" (Lev. 23:11). This presentation took place on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath.
It is not uncommon for a Holy Day to fall on a weekly Sabbath. The day after that Sabbath is wave sheaf Sunday, the first day of the week. Christ, the human wave sheaf of God was offered up to the Father and accepted by Him on the Sunday during the days of Unleavened Bread. He was resurrected Sabbath evening and was accepted (as a wave sheaf) the following morning.
Quote from “Pagan Holidays or God's Holy Days Which?” by Mr.Herbert W. Armstrong, 1974 Edition, page 29. "This pictures the resurrected Christ ascending to heaven to be accepted by His Father as the very first human to be actually born of God--the firstfruit of the first harvest of souls! By comparing John 20:17 with Matthew 28:9, you see that Christ presented Himself before the Father on the morning after His resurrection the previous evening. (I Cor. 15:20, 23; Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18). This fulfillment of the wave-sheaf offering actually occurred on Sunday, the morrow after the Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread."
Jamison, Fausset & Brown: Leviticus 23:9-14..."It was reaped after sunset on the previous evening...The holy spirt came at the same time as the sheaf was waved. Acad.: about the 3rd hour Jesus was accepted by the Father."
A Harmony of the Gospels, by Fredrick R. Coulter, 1974 Edition, page 239, "Jesus was resurrected at sunset as the weekly Sabbath ended". Page 240, "The children of Israel could not eat of the first fruit harvest, usually barley, until the high priest waved the wave sheaf offering. This offering of the sheaf of the first fruits commenced at the time of the morning sacrificial lamb offering at about the third hour Hebrew time, or approximately nine AM our time."
Some think the wave sheaf does not always have to be offered during the Days of Unleavened Bread or that the wave sheaf Sunday necessarily needed to fall during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Joshua 5 is claimed as proof. Statements are made that the Worldwide Church of God was incorrect in using Joshua 5 to prove that..."the wave sheaf must always have been during the Days of Unleavend Bread--and not after that period." It is claimed that WCG made the mistake because they did not recognize the circumcision (Joshua 5:2-8) took many days and special circumstances led to the keeping of a second Passover the following month. In this way followers are led to believe a false premise.
According to Jamison, Fausset & Brown on Joshua 5:8: "But it has been calculated that the proportion between those already circumcised (under twenty when the doom was pronounced) and those to be circumcised, was one to four, and consequently the whole ceremony could easily have been performed in a day."
Also another quote from Adam Clarke establishes that Joshua 5 is the first Passover and not the second! "As the Israelites left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month (see Exo. 14) and they entered into Canaan the tenth of the first month, it is evident that forty years, wanting five day, had elapsed from the time of their exodus from Egypt to their entrance into the promised inheritance" Adam Clarke on Joshua 4:19.
Some however, think it is vital that the weekly Sabbath which precedes the wave sheaf Sunday should fall during Unleavened Bread. It is imperative that the wave sheaf always fall during the Days of Unleavened Bread!
There is a sequence of events that happen during the Passover season: (1) Passover (day of Christ's death) Christ was in the grave three days and three nights (72 hours). (2) He was resurrected Sabbath afternoon (just at sunset). On Sunday, the first day of the week He ascended to the Father in heaven. That event occurred on the day of the offering of the wave sheaf. Jesus Christ not only had to be sacrificed, but He had to be accepted by the Father as the sacrifice for all mankind.
For Churches of God who use the Hebrew calendar, some years the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread falls on the last day of the Feast. If you use this Sabbath and count from the next day [Sunday] for the wave sheaf offering then the wave sheaf offering is not within the Days of Unleavened Bread. If we do that, we completely destroy the chronological sequence of events picturing the plan of God. This means that we first take Passover which pictures the sacrifice of Christ. Next we have Christians putting sin out of their lives as pictured by Unleavened Bread. Then the wave sheaf offering the Lamb of God, is accepted by the Father.
Ask yourself, what is wrong with this three step sequence of events? The wave sheaf offering should come between Passover and the last day of Unleavened Bread. The wave sheaf is when God the Father accepts forgiveness of our sins through the perfect sacrifice of Christ. The wave sheaf offering was commanded in Leviticus 23:11-14 before Israel could eat of any kind of new grain. The wave sheaf Sunday was not: a Holy convocation, nor was it a Sabbath, yet we read in Leviticus. 23:14 an important work was done on that day by the priests.
The importance of the wave sheaf is: Pentecost is the 50th day, counting from the wave sheaf Sunday! Wave sheaf Sunday is to be within the Days of Unleavened Bread. Instructions are given in Leviticus 23:15-16 "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD". "Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the grain" (Deu. 16:9).
Let's take a closer look at these verses in Leviticus 23:15-16. We know these verses are in relationship to Pentecost. The word Pentecost is not a Hebrew word but a Greek word for fiftieth, (Strong's # 4005). In the old testament Pentecost is called Feast of Weeks or Feast of First Fruits. With this in mind, let's re-read some definitions for these two verses out of The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius-Hebrew-English Lexicon. Leviticus 23:15 "And you shall count or number unto you from, (the word from is used two times in this verse, each having a different meaning). This from is found in Strong's #4283, meaning---a day following a past day. It should read: on the morrow, you shall count or (number) unto you on the morrow after the Sabbath from, (this from, is Strong's #347, meaning---unknown), it should read like it does, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. (An exact time of day! “Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn” Deu. 16:9). Leviticus 23: 15, Seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Complete--Strong's # 8547, this word has lots of meanings: sound, whole, entire, entirely--in accord with truth and fact, perfect, safe, secure, blameless, upright in conduct. Verse 16 of Leviticus 23, Even unto,(unto in Strong's is #5704) meaning, being retained to some certain limit, transition from one to another, as far as, even to, up to, until, to. Verse 16 should read: Even to (or until) the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number (or count) fifty days. This word fifty in Hebrew is Strong's #2572.It has the same meaning as in Greek fifty or fiftieth. The same word is found in Lev. 25:10 "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family". Fifty or fiftieth can be translated either way, like a month or moon [both having the same Strong's number].
Reading these verses from other Bible translations makes the meaning clearer.
Good News Bible:"Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath on which you bring your sheaf of grain to present to the Lord. On the fiftieth day, the day after the seventh Sabbath present to the Lord another new offering of grain" (Lev 23:15-16).
Amplified Bible: "You shall count from the day after the Sabbath from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering seven Sabbaths (seven full weeks) shall they be. Counting fifty days to the day, after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall present a cereal offering of new grain to the Lord" (Lev 23:15-16).
New American Bible: "Beginning with the day after the Sabbath the day on which you bring the wave offer sheaf, you shall count seven full weeks. The day after the seventh Sabbath will make fifty days. And then you shall present to the lord a grain offering from the new crop” (Lev. 23:15-16).
Pentecost will always fall on a Sunday. Pentecost is counted from the Sunday after the weekly Sabbath [even if Passover is the weekly Sabbath before the wave sheaf Sunday]. Sunday is the important day during the Days of Unleavened Bread to start the count for Pentecost. This follows the sequence of events, step by step: the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension to heaven by Christ to be the first of the first fruits.
Christ shows after His resurrection that He had to go to the Father to be accepted as the firstfruit wave sheaf offering. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch 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” (John 20:17).
THE KEY FOR COUNTING PENTECOST KEEPS GOD'S HOLY DAY PLAN IN THE RIGHT SEQUENCE ! James Russell
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