Hope of Israel Ministries

Various end-time offshoots of the Worldwide Church of God claim that Yeshua the Messiah was the spiritual antitype of the "wave sheaf" which was offered by the high priest on the "day after the Sabbath" during the feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:10-11, 15-16). They believe that the Jews offered the wave sheaf on the Sunday morning following the weekly Sabbath day. They teach that the Messiah ascended to heaven that same morning, to be "accepted by the Father," thus fulfilling the wave sheaf symbolism.

But is this scenario true? There is compelling evidence that Pentecost should be counted from the day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread -- but are there other considerations to keep in mind? Let's understand this matter, once and for all!

First of all, we know that Passover can occur on different days of the week, and represents the day Yeshua died for our sins. But how many of the Churches of God realize that the weekly Sabbath can also fall on different days of the week (in the Gregorian calendar of today) since the weekly Sabbath is determined by the phases of the moon? Now since the Worldwide Church of God, and most of its offshoots, all believe the wave sheaf was always offered on Sunday after the weekly Sabbath, and since they also believe the weekly Sabbath always falls on Saturday, and since they all believe the Messiah was buried on a Wednesday and rose from the dead on the weekly Sabbath, they have a problem! With this scenario the following perplexities can occur: True, whenever Passover (Nisan 14) occurs on Wednesday, there would be "three days" till the resurrection (supposedly at the end of the weekly Sabbath), and the following day when Yeshua supposedly ascended to heaven. However, with a Sunday night Passover, the wave sheaf would not be offered until seven days later! With a Monday night Passover, there would be six days between Passover and Sunday! On the other hand, with a Saturday night Passover, the wave sheaf, according to them, would be the very next day -- allowing only one day for the Messiah to be in the "grave"!

Obviously, there seems to be something seriously wrong with this whole arrangement! Depending on the year, there could be anywhere from only 1 day between Passover and the "Sunday" of the supposed wave sheaf, to as many as 7 days! Therefore the scenario of Wednesday crucifixion, Thursday Passover, three days and nights in the grave (Matt. 12:40), and Sunday morning wave sheaf offering would only be accurate when Passover fell on a Wednesday -- that is, occasionally. Every other year the whole crucifixion-resurrection and "ascension" sequence would be thrown out of order!

The problems with this theory were amply demonstrated in a recent year when Nisan 15, the First Day of Unleavened Bread, fell on a Sunday. Since Leviticus 23 says to count from "the sabbath," and they believe the weekly Sabbath is referred to, the question arises -- count from which weekly Sabbath? Since the Feast begins on a Sunday, one might assume they should wait and count from the only weekly Sabbath which falls within the Feast -- in that year, the last day of the Feast! But that would be seven days after Passover! Or, they could count from the weekly Sabbath before the Feast -- that is, the Sabbath the day before the First Day of Unleavened Bread! But in that case, the "omer" count would begin on the first day of the Feast itself!

What disarray! What consternation! What confusion!

The first thing we have to realize is that back in the Messiah's day the days of the week did not have the pagan Roman names they have today. The Jews of Judea, and the Israelites of the Dispersion, simply numbered most of the days and only had names for two of the days: First Day of the week, Second Day of the Week, Third Day of the Week, Fourth Day of the Week, Fifth Day of the Week, Preparation Day and the Sabbath. To try and apply the Roman names we use today to the days of the week back in the first century does nothing but add confusion to the whole situation. Due to the many changes in the calendar -- and in the length of the week -- since the Messiah's time, it is all but impossible to accurately know how the days of the week in first-century Judea line up with the days of the week in our century and with our calendar! Therefore, we must thrust out of our minds the whole idea that the Gregorian system we use to today, with the Roman names of the week days, is applicable to the Messiah's time.

The second thing we must realize is that the first high Holy Day of Unleavened Bread ALWAYS falls on the weekly Sabbath! It is a fact that the Sabbath of the crucifixion week, as mentioned in Matthew 28:1, is in the PLURAL in the original Greek. Not only that, but the apostle John clearly reveals that there were TWO SABBATHS ON ONE DAY at that time -- the weekly Sabbath AND the first Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread!

That the day after Yeshua's death was a weekly Sabbath can be clearly demonstrated by Luke 23:56, which reads: "On SHABBAT the women rested, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENT." What "commandment" is this? The FOURTH COMMANDMENT, of course! In reference to this verse the Jewish New Testament Commentary makes this clarifying statement: "It is sometimes claimed that the New Testament says nothing about keeping the fourth commandment. This verse contradicts that claim, so it is important for a Jewish understanding of the New Testament. ON SHABBAT THE WOMEN RESTED, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT (Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15; also Exodus 16). Of course they did! They observed Shabbat EVERY WEEK" (David H. Stern, p. 150). Obviously, the WEEKLY SABBATH is the focus of verses 54 and 56.

Now, having established that the weekly Sabbath is the focus of these verses, let's go to John 19:31 in the Jewish New Testament and read what the apostle John has to say: "It was the Preparation Day, and the Judeans did not want the bodies to remain on the stake on SHABBAT, since it was an especially important Shabbat." The New King James Version makes it clearer: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the [weekly] Sabbath (FOR THAT [WEEKLY] SABBATH WAS A HIGH DAY)." What "high day" was this? My Bible references it to Exodus 12:16 -- the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread! Now consider this -- if that day had been a regular week day, John would have said "FOR THAT DAY WAS A HIGH DAY." But he says "for that SABBATH was a high day"!

The fact that the weekly Sabbath day here mentioned was also the first high Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is understood by numerous researchers. Writes Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Rabbinical sources...indicate that the weekly Sabbath was called a "high day" when it COINCIDED WITH PASSOVER, because, as well stated by Charles C. Torrey, 'its inherent solemnity was greatly heightened by the celebration of the foremost feast of the year.'" (The Time of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, chapter 3). "This information," continues Bacchiocchi, "is important because it disproves the claim that the weekly Sabbath was never called or referred to as a 'high day'".

The fact that the First Day of Unleavened Bread ALWAYS falls on the weekly Sabbath is confirmed by Exodus 16 and Joshua 5:11 -- as well as John 19:31.

The final thing we must realize is that the Messiah was NOT put to death in the middle of the week (Wednesday, as some think) and resurrected on the following weekly Sabbath (Saturday, as some think). The Messiah was NOT in the tomb -- dead and buried -- for a total of 3 days and 3 nights, or 72 full hours! This is another fallacy! The term "three days and three nights" is strictly an idiomatic expression from the first century that means "three days" counted inclusively -- NOT a full 72 hours! When you read the gospel accounts of the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah, there is absolutely no way you can insert a period of 72 hours between the Messiah's death and his resurrection without seriously violating the Biblical accounts. For further information on this subject, send for our article Was Yeshua the Messiah Really In the Grave for Three Days and Three Nights?

However, there is an even more devastating problem with the theory. The proponents of this theory all assume without any "proof" that Yeshua the Messiah was the fulfillment of the "wave sheaf offering" of Leviticus 23. They assume that he was the "firstfruits" from the dead, and therefore is comparable to the "firstfruits" of the harvest.

But the fact is, the literal translation of I Corinthians 15:20 is, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the FIRST FRUIT [singular noun, not plural!] of them that slept." Christ is ONE PERSON -- not two, three, four, 500, 1,000, or 3,000, or 100,000 -- just one person!

Just what is the "wave sheaf" offering, anyway? Notice! The original Hebrew word translated "sheaf" is omer. This word means "a heap" -- or "sheaf" -- a dry measure. Says Gesenius Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon, it means "a measure of dry things, containing the tenth part of an ephah." An omer, according to Unger's Bible Dictionary, held about 5.1 pints.

According to Alfred Edersheim, the greatest Jewish-Christian scholar of the 19th century, during Temple times a noisy throng of Jews would converge at a field across the Kidron Valley, at the base of the Mount of Olives, following delegates from the Sanhedrin. They were to reap this Passover-sheaf in public the evening before it was offered. So they gathered on the evening following Nisan 15 (or at the beginning of Nisan 16, after sunset of the 15th), and cut down the barley which had been previously marked off.

Says Edersheim, three appointed men cut down "the amount of one ephah, or ten omers, or three seahs, which is equal to about three pecks and three pints of our English measure. The ears were brought into the Court of the Temple, and thrashed out with canes or stalks, so as not to injure the corn; then 'parched' on a pan perforated with holes, so that each grain might be touched by the fire, and finally exposed to the wind. The corn thus prepared was ground in a barley-mill, which left the hulls whole. According to some, the flour was always successfully passed through thirteen sieves, each closer than the other" (The Temple: Its Ministry and Services, p. 204-205).

Edersheim continues, "Though one ephah, or ten omers, of barley was cut down, only one omer of flour, or about 5.1 pints of our measure, was offered in the Temple on the second Paschal, or 16th day of Nisan" (p. 205).

Now notice! This is a WHOLE SHEAF of barley -- consisting of 5.1 pints, or a little over two quarts, at least! How many individual "grains" of barley would that be? There are multiple thousands of barley grains in one omer. The "omer" then was not one grain, or the grain from one plant, but many barley plants -- many grains! What does a "grain" symbolize?

YEHOVAH God says, "For behold, I am commanding, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet no kernel shall fall upon the earth" (Amos 9:9, Dead Sea Scrolls Bible).

The "grain" represents ISRAEL! This "omer" represented the firstfruits of ISRAEL -- that is, the "Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16) -- the 144,000 of Revelation 14!

Notice, now, the reason for the Wave Sheaf Offering --

Through this ancient ceremony the nation of Israel was to find acceptance (Hebrew: "delight, favor") before YEHOVAH God -- NOT the Messiah! Israel -- or the Church -- is the firstfruits of the harvest of YEHOVAH God:

The firstfruits harvests of both barley, the first crop of firstfruits, and the wheat which came later, ALL symbolize the elect of YEHOVAH God, the firstfruits of the age of the Church, both Old and New Testament saints, prior to the Messiah's second coming. Now the wheat harvest is the consummation of the firstfruits, of this early harvest of souls. The firstfruits' harvest was FULLY GATHERED IN at Pentecost where the ceremony -- at which the two loaves representing the firstfruits (Leviticus 23:16-17) were also waved before YEHOVAH God -- was both parallel to, and the fulfillment of, the Wave Sheaf Offering.

The Day of Pentecost pictures not only the age of the Church, but also its glorification at the resurrection. Grain is used to picture the resurrection of the dead -- notice!

But some one will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body (1 Corinthians 15:35-38, RSV).

Here we see that the resurrected saints of YEHOVAH's great spiritual harvest (both former and latter) will together make up the Body of the Messiah, and will be composed of all types of people (grain) -- as attested to by the description of the Promised Land, symbolizing the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God, found in Deuteronomy 8:8 --

So the Messiah's sacrifice, likened to the "dying" of a grain of wheat, is directly linked to a future harvest picturing the salvation of all of mankind:

The Messiah's sacrifice for our sins was accepted immediately upon his death -- not three days later! When the Messiah died, an earthquake shook the ground, the lintel above the curtain of the Temple broke, the veil itself was ripped in two parts from top to bottom, and the bodies of many dead saints arose from the grave (recently deceased saints), to live out their natural lives (Matt. 27:50-54). Such awesome events indicate that the Messiah's greatest Sacrifice of all time was accepted IMMEDIATELY when he died! But to fulfill prophecy, he had to remain 3 days in the grave, as a "sign" he is the Messiah (Matt. 12:40).

To believe that Yeshua's sacrifice was not "accepted" for several hours after his resurrection, which occurred early in the morning -- close to dawn -- of the First Day of the Week makes no sense whatsoever.

There is a passage in the Book of John that gives the expositors and doctrinal scholars no end of trouble:

Many assume that the reason Yeshua told Mary not to touch him, after he had been resurrected, was because he had not yet ascended to YEHOVAH God the Father to be "accepted" of Him as our "wave sheaf offering."

Is this true? Did the Messiah disappear and ascend to heaven shortly after he was seen by Mary, and return to earth shortly afterwards, before he revealed himself to all the disciples? Let's understand this!

Writes a "pastor" of one of the Worldwide Church of God offshoots --

We are not told, in the Scriptures.

First of all, the Messiah was NOT in the grave for exactly 72 hours -- nowhere near that long, in fact! Therefore, he was NOT resurrected on the evening of the Sabbath, and did NOT have numerous hours to lollygag around before he revealed himself to Mary! As the Scriptures clearly reveal, he was resurrected early in the morning of the First Day of the Week -- probably not long before the disciples found the tomb empty and Mary encountered the risen Messiah in the garden.

Continues our confused "pastor" friend:

The question is: Why did He tell Mary not to touch Him, and yet the disciples held Him by the feet, worshipping Him? The assumption is that between these two events, very quickly He ascended to Heaven and returned, being accepted of the Father -- so now they could "touch" Him. But is this assumption correct?

Let's examine John 20:17 in detail and see what it really says!

Notice, now, what the Messiah prayed to his Father for just before his crucifixion --

On that early morning of the First Day of the Week the Messiah, though resurrected, had yet to be exalted to YEHOVAH God's right hand. The Greek word that is translated "NOW" in John 17:5 also means "at the present time," and gives the sense of urgency -- of happening right now or very shortly -- NOT weeks into the future! This same sense of urgency is also found in Ephesians 1:20:

There is no large space of time insinuated between "He raised him from the dead" and "made him sit at His right hand." Also, in Acts 5:30: "The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at His right hand as leader and savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."

Until the risen Messiah was exalted to the right hand of YEHOVAH God, and until the Messiah -- as our High Priest -- "waved" the omer before his Father, the promised holy spirit could not be made available to those Christians of the first century, nor could they be fully reconciled to the Messiah and begin the process of salvation. This is made plain by John 7:39:

Just as the new grain could not be eaten until the wave sheaf was offered, neither could those called by YEHOVAH God begin the process of salvation until the risen Messiah had "waved" the sheaf or omer before his Father to be accepted for them. Also, until the Messiah was exalted to the right hand of YEHOVAH God, the holy spirit could not be poured out on the New Testament Church.

The reason the Messiah said to Mary "do not hold me" is because he was still in a "human" resurrected form -- just like Lazarus was when he was raised from the dead, and just like those resurrected when the Messiah died were (see Matthew 27:52-53). Lazarus and the others were resurrected to the human form they had just before they died. Resurrected and cured of whatever caused their death, they continued to live out the rest of their normal lives. The Messiah, when Mary encountered him in the garden, was in this resurrected human state. He didn't want Mary to hold him, or cling to him or get used to him in this form because shortly he was to be exalted to YEHOVAH God's right hand and to take on his new spiritual form. Yeshua didn't want Mary to get used to seeing him in his resurrected human form because it was only temporary and to be replaced with a new spiritual body that could materialize at will. Also, he probably didn't want Mary to see him in his terribly disfigured state -- the result of the stoning he received while hanging on the tree.

Our "pastor" friend completely ignored the statement the Messiah made in John 20:17 where he said, "go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." With a little reflection this seems like a strange thing to say at this juncture -- WHY would he have Mary tell the other disciples he was going to ascend to his Father when he had forty more days before his ascension, recorded in Acts 1:9, to tell them himself -- starting that very evening! WHY the urgency of letting the disciples know he was to ascend to his Father? Because at exactly 9:00 a.m. that morning -- the very time of the Morning Sacrifice in the Temple -- the Messiah was to appear before YEHOVAH God in Heaven to "wave" the sheaf or omer (representing the first-century Church and all those to follow) before his Father, and to be exalted to the right hand of YEHOVAH God and to take on his NEW spiritual body.

This is corroborated by Mark when he recounts the incident of the two men (Cleopas and an unknown person) walking on the road to Emmaus -- "After this he [the resurrected and exalted Messiah] APPEARED IN ANOTHER FORM to two of them, as they were walking into the country" (Mark 16:12).

Comments Ernest L. Martin, "we are told that the scars in his hands (or wrists) and feet, and the scar from the deep sword wound that penetrated his side...were allowed to remain on his GLORIFIED BODY as a proof of his identity (John 20:24-31) and probably as a reminder to all of what he accomplished for the human race" (Secrets of Golgotha, p. 200).

The Messiah's exaltation and glorification was prophesied centuries before by the prophet Daniel, who wrote --

Because the Messiah's authority was now absolute and worldwide, he could say to his disciples in Matthew 28:18 (BEFORE his final ascension in Acts 1:9): "ALL authority in HEAVEN and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." The Messiah could NOT have issued this directive to his disciples BEFORE being exalted to YEHOVAH God's right hand and receiving the power and authority to do so. Similarly, the first-century Church could NOT have carried out this directive before they were "waved" before YEHOVAH as a fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering.

Yeshua the Messiah had been officially exalted to YEHOVAH's right hand and the wave sheaf -- representing the New Testament Church -- had been accepted by the Father through our High Priest and Elder Brother!

Our misguided "pastor" friend tries to put a sexual slant on the Messiah's statement to Mary by saying: "The simple answer is revealed by the Greek expression Jesus used, when He told Mary, "Touch me not." The word for "touch" in this verse is haptomai and literally means, "to attach oneself to, i.e., to touch (in many implied relations)." It is the same word Paul used in I Corinthians 7:1, where he wrote, speaking of sexual or sensual holding or hugging, and close bodily contact: "It is good for a [single] man not to touch a woman."

Such are the ways of this world -- a sexual connotation has to be applied to almost everything! The fact is, the Greek word haptomai simply means "to touch," "to lay hold on," "to embrace"; "to hurt" (Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament, by Dawson and Taylor). This word only takes on a "sexual" implication when used in a sexual context. Here the Messiah simply didn't want Mary to become too attached to him -- physically and mentally -- while he was in his resurrected human form because it was to last but a few short hours to be replaced by the glorified spirit body that was to be his TRUE and everlasting representation.

To recount the events of the day, the Messiah was

1/. resurrected from the dead "early on the first day of the week" (Mark 16:9) and "toward the DAWN of the first day of the week" (Matthew 28:1).

2/. He appeared to Mary Magdalene, in his resurrected human form, shortly after his resurrection and shortly after the two Maries entered the sepulcher (John 20:14-17).

3/. At 9:00 a.m. -- the exact time of the Morning Sacrifice in the Temple -- the Messiah entered Heaven and was exalted to the right hand of YEHOVAH God where he "waved" the omer before his Father for the acceptance of the FIRSTFRUITS.

4/. Returning to earth he appeared to the two men walking on the road to Emmaus "in another form" (Mark 16:12), i.e. in his exalted spiritual body, and later that day (the First Day of the Week) he appeared to the eleven disciples while they were gathered together and "breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the holy spirit'" (John 20:19, 22). He also told them to "go into ALL the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15).

Clearly, the Messiah rose to heaven on that same day, and returned with power and authority from his Heavenly Father.

The Messiah had originally been sent only to the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" (Matthew 15:24), among whom, for the most part, he exercised his authority (John 5:27). His exaltation to the right hand of YEHOVAH God, however, meant that the Messiah was now fully invested with the authority he had been promised and which he had often spoken about as receiving. So, after his resurrection, exaltation and return to his disciples, he could say -- "ALL authority in HEAVEN and on earth has been GIVEN to me" (Matthew 28:18). Because the Messiah's authority was now absolute and worldwide, the door of salvation was now open and worldwide:

Go therefore and make disciples of ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

The idea that Yeshua the Messiah rose up to Heaven on the morning of the First Day of the Week, thus fulfilling the Wave Sheaf Offering himself, is totally false. However, he DID rise up to Heaven on the morning of the First Day of the Week to be exalted to the right hand of YEHOVAH God and to "wave" the omer, or wave sheaf, before YEHOVAH God for OUR acceptance. The true fulfillment of the wave sheaf or "omer" is the 144,000, which are the FIRSTFRUITS of the harvest, then all of those called by YEHOVAH down through the centuries to the present time. We, today, are the FIRSTFRUITS of spiritual Israel -- the Church of YEHOVAH God!