COUNTDOWN TO LIBERTYPart 1The Wave Sheaf OfferingbyRod England(if you've already read part 1,and want to read Part 2, GO HERE ) Almost two thousand years ago near the city of Jerusalem , just as the sun was setting towards the first day of the week, a Levitical priest stood poised with sickle in hand before a sheaf of bound barley. As the last rays of the sun waned, and the weekly Sabbath was ending, the priest shouted out to the assembled crowd, “Is it sunset?” The crowd answered back “Yes!” He then asked, “Shall I reap?” And the jubilant crowd responded to his second question by answering back, “Reap!” The Levite assigned this task then cut the sheaf and raise it up from the ground. Those attending were happy in that this ancient agricultural ceremony marked the beginning of the harvest season for the barley crop- the first of the grain crops ready for reaping. In fact, none of the ripened grain could be harvested or eaten until this yearly spring rite was completed. But on this particular occasion, and in this particular year, the ceremony was different.... for in another part of Jerusalem, at the very same time that the Levitical priest was cutting the wave sheaf and removing it from the earth, a Man was being ‘raised up' from the dead out of a rock hewn tomb in the earth. This miraculous event occurred right around sunset, and was predicted by the very One who was being resurrected. It was the only sign offered by Him in response to His detractors.... and given by Him as proof of His true identity. The evidence that Yeshua was indeed the Son of God- the Messiah, was that He would be in the grave for three days and three nights just as the prophet Jonah was in the belly of a great fish. As we celebrate the first festival season with the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, I thought it fitting that we take a closer look at a seemingly insignificant ceremony that took place on “the morrow after the Sabbath ” during these days. I am of course referring to the Wave Sheaf Offering . This ancient ceremony has mainly been viewed in the past from the perspective of the Feast of Pentecost - for it is from the offering of the Wave Sheaf that the daily count begins, culminating in what is referred to in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks . Although this agricultural ceremony wasn't seemingly given much emphasis in Leviticus Chapter 23 , it in reality depicts one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the history of mankind .... rivaling in importance the very creation of man. Had what the Wave Sheaf Offering symbolized not indeed been fulfilled, salvation for mankind would literally be impossible. Let's begin, as most studies concerning God's festivals usually do, by turning to Leviticus Chapter 23 for our initial information. We'll begin in Verse 9 under the Heading, The Feast of Firstfruits : “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Children of Israel , and say to them, ‘ When you come into the land which I give you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord , to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it . And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord.'” Verse 14 - “You shall neither bread nor parched grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.” The Sheaf This offering, done once yearly during the Days of Unleavened Bread, was to be offered up on the day following the Sabbath at the same time as the daily sacrifice was usually offered; which occurred at the third hour of the day- or approximately 9AM. But what we have being described in Leviticus 23:11-14 is the culmination of the ceremony , and not the beginning. This annual ritual actually commenced with the cutting of a barley sheaf at sunset on the previous evening. The High Priest's entourage would travel to a designated field before sunset, wait until the proper time, and remove the ‘chosen' sheaf from the earth. The barley would then be taken back to the temple, where it would be properly prepared as an offering for the following morning. A better understanding can be ‘gleaned' from the actual Hebrew word translated as sheaf in this passage.... for it is different than is used elsewhere in describing a bundle of grain. An example of this can be found in Genesis 37:5-11 , where Joseph's dream about his brothers' grain sheaves bowing down before his is being described. The word translated here as sheaf , along with most other passages concerning grain sheaves, is alummah (al-oom- mah ), meaning “something bound, a sheaf.” In Leviticus 9:11-14 on the other hand, the word translated as sheaf is the Hebrew word omer , Strong's Concordance #6016, which means “a heap, a sheaf, also an omer - a dry measurement.” An omer was a dry measurement equal in amount to approximately two litres by today's standards. It was equal to one-tenth of an ephah . The harvested omer of grain underwent a specific method of preparation before it was to be offered up in front of the altar by the High Priest the following morning. Notice how this preparation is described in the Mishnah concerning the Wave Sheaf :
The sheaf (omer) was made into a cake of sorts- an unleavened cake . Does this description concerning its preparation bring to mind anything concerning what our Lord and Savior endured during His punishment and crucifixion? This omer of grain was put to the test ( fire- Hebrews 2:17-18 and Hebrews 4:14-16 ), and beaten with rods ( reeds and plant stems- Matthew 27:27-31 ); but care however was taken to avoid crushing or breaking the grains of the offering ( that the grains should not be crushed- John 19:34-37 ). With Ephraim and Manasseh counted as two separate tribes due to the Birthright Promise given by Jacob, the Children of Israel were actually composed of thirteen tribes ( They put it in a griest mill and took a tenth which was sifted through thirteen sleeves - Numbers 2:1-34 ). Notice that oil and frankincense was also used in the mixture. Oil is symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and incense is symbolic of the prayers of the saints. Mere Coincidence? Maybe.... maybe not. The Only Sign Given Before we delve any further into this study, we must address an issue that should be of extreme importance to all followers of Jesus Christ; of all who believe Him to be the Messiah of prophesy. When asked by His detractors for a miracle in order to validate His claim of being the Son of God, Jesus would give no other sign than that of the prophet Jonah; that He would be in the grave for three days and three nights just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale. Many in mainstream Christianity hold to the belief that Christ was crucified and died on a Friday, and then was resurrected early Sunday morning. This gives rise to the Easter tradition of Good Friday- and the year of 33AD being given as the supposed year for his death and resurrection. When confronted however with the fact that it is quite impossible to place three days and three nights within the time frame of Friday evening to Sunday morning, defenders suggest that the biblical phraseology being used actually means any portion of three days and three nights; and they resort to Jewish idioms as a means of possible explanation. But there are two problems with this supposition:
Let's look at four scriptures that provide us with the proper time frame: 1 ) Matthew 12:38-40 - “Then some of the Scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish , so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth .” This is referring to three complete days and nights- 72 hours. 2 ) John 19:31 - “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath ( for that Sabbath was a high day ), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” The particular Sabbath being referred to was an annual Sabbath, one of God's appointed holy days. It was not the weekly Sabbath. 3 ) Luke 23:50-56 - “Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member (Sanhedrin), a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God . This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. (the high holy day just mentioned in the previous verse) And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment .” The women who followed Joseph and Nicodemus, and observed where and how Yeshua's body was laid to rest, did so before sunset on the day preceding a high Jewish holy day. As Torah-observant Jews, they would not have done any kind of work on one of God's appointed holy festivals. According to Hebrew observance, a day was to be reckoned from sunset to sunset. Thursday evening at sunset, the First Day of Unleavened Bread had ended; and Friday- the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath, began. The various spices and ointments needed for embalming were purchased and prepared, as well as all the usual and customary Friday preparations done in anticipation of the upcoming Sabbath. The account states that they then rested according to the commandment - the fourth commandment to be specific. ( Note : I am using the contemporary names of the days of the week as a means of clarification in determining the proper time line. In actuality, the seventh day was the only of the days in the weekly time cycle that was biblically given a name- that of the Sabbath. All other days were simply numbered in sequence to their relative position concerning the Sabbath.) 4 ) Mark 16:1-2 - “ Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices that they might come and anoint him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week , they came to the tomb when the sun had risen . These women waited until the weekly Sabbath was past, then traveled to the tomb early the following morning, which is identified as the first day of the week- or Sunday. It's interesting that all of the gospel accounts were written at least thirty years after the actual events took place.... yet the Sabbath is still identified as the day preceding the first day of the week. Hmmm! So using these four scriptures, let's establish the proper time frame- In 30 AD, the First Day of Unleavened Bread began at sunset on Wednesday evening. This was the high holy day that the Pharisees were concerned about when requesting that the legs of those being crucified be broken so as not to intrude on its observance. Jesus died at the ninth hour of the day, or approximately 3PM. His body then had to be retrieved from the Roman officials, and prepared for burial according to Jewish custom before being laid to rest. ( John 19:38-42 ) Jesus was entombed before sunset. How do we know this? Because Joseph and Nicodemus, the ones who retrieved and prepared Jesus' body, were devout Jews; both Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin- the ruling religious council that was responsible for condemning Jesus to death. They would not have done what was definitely considered to be work on one of the high Jewish holy days, lest they themselves be renounced and condemned. The body of Jesus was subsequently claimed, prepared, and entombed- all before sunset late Wednesday afternoon. Three days and three nights from Wednesday evening just before sunset would bring us to Saturday evening just before sunset . The sign given by Jesus concerning the prophet Jonah was indeed fulfilled down to the minute, just as predicted. This time line also calls into question the traditional Christian rite of Easter Sunrise Service. ( Ezekiel 8:15-16, Deuteronomy 4:19 ) The Pieces Now we've already addressed the matter of the Lord's death in our observance of the New Testament Passover. What then remains to be discussed are the matters of His resurrection and glorification . These are both symbolized prophetically by the Wave Sheaf Offering . This is why the Wave Sheaf Offering was so important! Now let's turn to Acts 2:32-33 , a section of verse that speaks directly to our topic: “... This Jesus God has raised up , of which you are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit , He poured out this which you know see and hear.” Here we see all the components concerning the Wave Sheaf Offering being mentioned: resurrection and glorification . Also revealed within this passage is the reason for there being a connection between the Wave Sheaf Offering and the Feast of Pentecost . It is the promise of the Holy Spirit; that which provides us with His grace and redemption. (More about this in Part Two of this study) Resurrection - Concerning His resurrection - 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 - “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits , afterward those who are Christ's at His coming.” At the very moment that a Levitical priest was cutting the wave sheaf, raising it up from the ground to be prepared and presented before the Lord on the following morning, our Savior was resurrected from the dead. Verses 42-45 - “ So also is the resurrection from the dead . The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body . There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit .” What is being referred to in this passage is the changing of a physical being into a spiritual one. This is not simply referring to a resurrection back from the dead, but of a miraculous transformation from temporal to eternal. There have been several occasions in the Bible where people were resurrected back to physical life; but Christ was the first to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, from physical to spiritual. Colossians 1:14-15 - “... in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation .” Verse 18 - “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead , that in all things He may have the preeminence.” But keep in mind that our Lord and Savior had to be accepted as a physical sacrifice by God the Father on our behalf; a lamb without blemish whose blood was shed for us (Hebrews 9:13-14, 1 Peter 1:19-20, Revelation 13:8 ). After all, this was what the sacrificial system pictured and was all about. So what does this mean? It means that there is a strong possibility that Yeshua was resurrected from the dead, after three days and three nights in the grave, back to physical life at sunset that evening! He had to be accepted on our behalf as a physical sacrifice for our transgressions. Notice John 20:13-17 : “Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher) Jesus said to her, “ Do not touch Me , for I have not yet ascended to My Father ; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'” Why is it that Jesus warned Mary not to touch Him? Had He already been changed into a spirit being, it would have made no difference whether she touched Him or not; for He would have already been glorified. Ask yourself this question : When is a reward ever given before what it is to be awarded for is fully earned and accepted? Revelation 22:12 - “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work .” There is every possibility that, just as those who are alive and remain at Christ's second coming are to be changed from physical to spiritual, Jesus experienced the very same thing as the firstfruits of the resurrection. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, our Savior was changed from mortal to immortal as He ascended and was accepted on our behalf as the fitting sacrifice by God the Father- fulfilling the symbolism of the Wave Sheaf Offering . Christ- The Firstfuits 1 Corinthians 15:23 - “But each in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His second coming.” Now please pay close attention to what is actually being declared in Verses 50-53 : “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep , but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed . For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Let's break this passage down into points in order to better determine its content: 1 ) Christ was the firstfruits of this type of resurrection. Those who are Christ's at His second coming will experience the very same thing. 2 ) It is not possible for flesh and blood to inherit the kingdom of heaven. 3 ) There is a mystery being revealed in this passage, and the mystery concerns those who are flesh and blood- those who are not dead : “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep , but we shall be changed...” Those who are not asleep shall be changed. In other words, the mystery concerns those that are alive and remain * at the point of Christ's return to this earth.... and not those who are dead and buried. 4 ) Those who are alive and remain * will be changed in a split second from temporal to eternal at the sound of the last trumpet. At the end of Verse 52 , it is speaking of those who are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.... those who are not dead . Notice Verse 53 : “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality .” Let me ask an appropriate question : Who exactly was Paul writing to in this Epistle to the Corinthians? Was he writing to the dead?.... or to those who were alive at that particular time in history? When considering the mystery being spoken of in this passage, keep in mind that Paul, as well as the other apostles, fully expected to see the Messiah's second return in their lifetimes . Those comprising the early New Testament Church lived out their lives in anticipation of this as well.... as have most Christians down through the ages since that time. In Verse 53 , where it states that “this mortal must put on immortality,” the Greek word translated as mortal is thnetos , meaning, “ liable to die , mortal, mortality.” It is referring to one who is alive, but is capable of death; and not one who is already dead. How can we be sure of this? By letting God's Word interpret itself. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 - “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain * until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep . For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Here we see the same two groups of saints spoken of. This is Paul again- writing about the very same thing ; but this time writing about it to a different congregation in a different city. Remember that, in 1 Corinthians 15:50 , it states that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ”..... therefore a transformation from physical to spiritual must take place as those who are alive and remain are ‘raised up' from the ground to meet the Lord in the air. This transformation, however, will not take place until after the dead in Christ are first resurrected. We know from Scripture that there is a physical body and a spiritual body- and that they are distinct, one from the other: 1 Corinthians 15:35-38 “But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain- perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. Verses 44 - “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural bod y and there is a spiritual body .” 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 - “For we know that if our earthly house (marginal reference- physical body) , this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God , a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life .” Question One : What happened to Christ's physical body? That the physical is distinct from the spiritual is made evident in the previous verses. The physical body decomposes over time- so it is highly unlikely that a rendition of the physical body is what's to come forth from the grave. (Read Revelation 1:12-18 concerning Jesus Christ as He appears now.) If this is indeed the case, then had our Savior been raised from the dead and immediately given a spiritual body, His physical body should have still been in the tomb. Question Two : Why would the Messiah's acceptance and glorification have been any different than those who are to follow Him as the rest of the firstfruits at His second coming? He would have been the first of mankind to be transformed in this manner. His sacrifice, and the acceptance of that physical offering on our behalf, is what makes eternal salvation possible for man. Now I am not declaring this assertion to be cast in stone. What I am saying is that this is just as plausible an explanation compared to what has traditionally been given in the past.... maybe even more so since the Wave Sheaf Offering itself lends credence to this viewpoint. What was cut from the ground at sunset on the previous evening is not what was waved in front of the altar on the following morning. The bundle of grain was transformed into an unleavened cake. Was this grain unleavened to begin with? Of course! It was merely changed into a different form. Validation There were no real eyewitnesses that we know of to the actual resurrection of Yeshua from the dead. What we do have however are eyewitness accounts of His appearance after His death. But what about the actual event of His resurrection? Let's look at Matthew 27:51-54 for a moment. And in reading this passage, let's read what it really states, and not what we may have assumed that it says: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised ; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection , they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” As a miraculous evidence that Jesus was indeed resurrected from the dead, many dead saints were also resurrected at the same time from their graves. I know that on the many occasions when I have read this passage, I wrongly assumed that these many dead people came out of their graves when the veil to the temple was rent at Christ's death..... but that's not what it says ! It says that there were many others who were also resurrected at roughly the same time as our Lord and Savior was- three days and three nights after His death. This supernatural occurrence would then have also taken place around the same time that the Levitical priest was cutting the wave sheaf from the ground on Sabbath evening around sunset. Can you imagine a Jewish family of that day answering a knock on their door, only to find their Uncle Yosef standing on the stoop..... the same Uncle Yosef who had died over a year ago; yet there he was in the flesh, saying, “I haven't eaten for awhile.... what's for dinner?” People all over Judea would have been wondering what could have possibly taken place to cause this miraculous event to occur. There would have been tremendous excitement and speculation by the people as to the cause and reason for this mass resurrection. The earthquake, and destruction of the veil to the holy-of-holies, were affirmations of the power and import of Christ's death. The resurrection of many saints back to physical life, and His later appearances to the disciples, were affirmations of the power and import of Christ's resurrection. Another thing worth considering is that the Sadducess- one of the major sects of Judaism responsible for His crucifixion, did not believe in a resurrection from the dead. This event would have called their beliefs into question. Glorification Concerning His glorification : Philippians 2:5-11 - “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Now notice the end-result of His tribulations: Verses 9-11 - “ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name , that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” At the very moment that the High Priest was ‘lifting up' the Wave Sheaf Offering before the altar in the Temple on the first day of the week, our Lord and Savior was ascending to His Father to be accepted as the fitting sacrifice on our behalf. This took place at the same time of day as the daily sacrifice did; at the third hour, or 9AM. His acceptance and glorification paved the way for our eternal salvation. Hebrews 1:1-4 - “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir to all things , through whom He also made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He has by Himself purged our sins , sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high , having become so much better than the angels , as he by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Verse 5-9 - “For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, today I have begotten you?” And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?” But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says , “ Let all the angels of God worship Him .” And of the angels He says: “Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” But to the Son He says: “ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom . You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Hebrews 2:9 - “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor , that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” We can find this divine coronation ceremony being prophetically described by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 7:13-14 : “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom , that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Counting to Fifty Leviticus 23:15-16 - “And you shall count for yourselves, from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath ; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.” Notice the time of day when the Holy Spirit was given: Acts 2:14-15 - “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised His voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and heed my words. For these are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day .” The third hour of the day is the time when the High Priest would traditionally wave the Sheaf Offering in front of the altar in the temple. The omer count began at the third hour of the day, and ended exactly fifty days later at the third hour of the day. As a result of counting fifty days from the morrow after the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks was also called Pentecost- which literally means “fifty count” in the Greek. It is the only of God's appointed times that doesn't fall on a particular date in the yearly calendar, but falls instead on a particular day of the week- the first day of the week. Due to the command to count the days between the Wave Sheaf Offering and the Feast of Pentecost , the period between them came to be known as the ‘omer.' Sound familiar? Once again, the word translated as sheaf in Leviticus 23 concerning the Wave Sheaf Offering is omer . It is very specific that we are to count exactly fifty days..... why this particular number? Let's turn to Leviticus 25:8-10 . These verses are found in my Bible under the heading, The Year of Jubilee : “And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land.” (This would have been on the fiftieth year that the trumpet sounded.) Verses 23-24 - “The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land. Verse 28 - “But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee ; and in the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.” Every fifty years the land was to be redeemed - it was to be released back to those who rightfully owned it according to Israelite inheritance rights, regardless of who currently owned it. It this manner, no Israelite family would remain destitute due to the mistakes of their forefathers. The fifty count in this case had to do with inheritance rights. The Year of Jubilee was all about liberty. Isaiah 61:1-2 - “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord ...” The number fifty in Bible numerology signifies the Year of Jubilee ; but more specifically, it signifies liberty . It signifies freedom from bondage and oppression. Exactly fifty days from the crossing of the Red Sea- the last obstacle encountered in leaving the land of Egypt (Sin), the Children of Israel found themselves standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai; listening to God Almighty present His covenant to them. Exodus 19:3-6 - “And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you shall speak to the Children of Israel.” True Liberty John 8:31-32 - “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free .” What exactly is the truth? In John 14:6 it says: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth , and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Now notice Verse 36 in this passage: “ Therefore if the Son makes you free , you shall be free indeed .” 2 Corinthians 3:17 as a reinforcement to this: “ Now the Lord is the Spirit ; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty .” Galatians 5:1 - “ Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free , and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Verse 13 - “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty ; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Romans 8:1-2 - “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death .” Verse 21 - “... because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God .” The Connection Leviticus 23:11 once again: “He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf ; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Exactly fifty days after the offering of the Wave Sheaf on our behalf, another grain offering was to be waved before the Lord on the Feast of Pentecost . This grain offering was unique in that it was the only time that leavened bread was allowed as an offering before the altar in the Temple. Leviticus 2:4 describes the normal grain offering: “And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.” Verse 11 - “ No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be with leaven , for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in an offering in any offering to the Lord made by fire.” Now concerning this special offering: Leviticus 23:15-17 - “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah (one-tenth each) . They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven . They are the firstfruits to the Lord .” In part two of this study, we will be looking further into this connection- the reason for the omer count from the “morrow after the Sabbath” during the Days of Unleavened Bread. The purpose of that fifty day count is to bring us to the next festival of God's ‘appointed times.' It is called the Feast of Weeks , and Pentecost ; and due to its connection with the Wave Sheaf Offering, it is also called the Feast of Firstfruits . There is an incredible connection to be found between these two festival seasons in God's sacred calendar.... it truly is a Countdown to Liberty . So next time, as it approaches sunset at the end of the weekly Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread, pause for a moment and think back almost two thousand years to a levitical priest, poised with sickle in hand, asking those assembled, “Shall I reap?” We should all rejoice in the answer given back to him, “Reap!” For at that very moment , our Lord and Savior was resurrected to become our true Wave Sheaf .... to become King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. All glory and honor to Him ! CLICK THIS LINK TO READ COUNTDOWN TO LIBERTY, PART 2 - THE FEAST OF THE FIRSTFRUITS 11 Timothy 2:15 - “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a worker who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth .” ©2006 Rod England Direct any questions, comments, or article requests to Rod England at rodeeng@hotmail.com [Ed.
note - The Day of Pentecost commemorates the giving of the
Holy Spirit to the early New Testament Church of God. Most Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, identified as the Comforter and Helper,
is the third being of the Godhead. Some believe it is God in three
persons, a trinity, a triune God. But is this true? Just who, or what,
is the Comforter and Helper that Jesus promised to his disciples?
Read the eye-opening article by Rod England entitled "Who
Is the Helper?" which is listed on our
site map and article archive index
page. I guarantee you will have an entirely new concept of who the
Holy Spirit actually is after you read this informative article. ]
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