BY JEFF SCHMIDT
There are some people who just have the knack of being in the right place at the right time. Some people admit that they’ve come into their fame and fortune by just being at the right place at the right time. Well, and actually I guess I could agree with that. Years ago I guess I was at the right place at the right time on a football field and tackled the love of my life—ha, ha, ha—and been with her ever since. So timing is everything and I have to agree with that to a certain point.
Caleb, as most all of you know, I mean he’s a little sports enthusiast playing ball. And we’ve been working on his timing. That is your hand and eye coordination of being able to hit the ball. And he’s doing pretty well. He’s doing pretty good and had a game this past week. And everything went well for him. He pitched which was a shocker for him but he was ready for the time. Again, timing could be very important and being prepared for that timing could be very important.
But what I also want to share with you before I get started into the sermon this morning is another game that we went to this past week. On Tuesday night we went and watched the Cardinals play the Cincinnati Red Sox. And it was really a good time. Jonathan, Mike and Roz’s son, went with us as well as, of course, Carol and Caleb.
And we got there early. We had to actually wait for a few minutes for them to open the gates but we went in early so we could watch the batting practice, hitting practice, and all that sort of thing. Well by doing so, when we bought these tickets back in January I think when they first come on line that we could purchase them, so we had decent seats. Cost quite a bit to have good seats but we felt, “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right.” So we ended up pretty close to the dugout. Well we got there so early we could go down to the dugout and actually just stand right behind it. And it was great because we could see all the players going in and out, doing the practicing, hitting, whatever. They’re stretching. Just right up close.
The boys were taking all these pictures. Here’s Albert Pujols from right here to Tania away. And they’re taking his picture. Rick Ankiel and Troy Glaus—that guy is huge. I didn’t realize how big he was till we got there. But having all these pictures of these players just right there, just right up close, I think better than any baseball card could possibly turn out to be. So it was great.
But you know, toward the end of that all the players came into the dugout and one person was left over there. And I knew who he was right off the bat. It was Red Schoendienst. And he’s been with the Cardinals I think longer than I am old and I’m 52. So I think the guy’s about 80-85 years old, somewhere in there. And so here he comes over toward the dugout. And Carol gets all excited. She says, “Quick! Quick! Get his picture.” And so she takes his picture. And Caleb and me and Jonathan are just kind of looking at her like. And he’s only ten foot away. We’re right by the dugout. And Caleb’s kind of like, “Mom, you’re going to embarrass him.” And all this you know, really concerned for him. Well, Carol just looks at us and she said, “Well, that one was for Grandma Schmidt.” [Laughter.] And so Caleb, and Jonathan, and I was kind of looking puzzled the whole time and when she said that we still just kind of like, “Oh, boy!” Didn’t know if we was going to let her go back with us anymore to a baseball game or whatever.
But it all worked out pretty good. We actually ended up getting the signature of Brendan Ryan. I think he signed a ball both for Caleb and for Jonathan and that worked out great.
One other little incident there and again timing is everything. These parents with their little girls were there. And the little girls made up like a poster about like that and it said, “We love Yadi and Albert.” So Albert Pujols comes off the field. He’s got a baseball in his hand and he rolls it across the dugout to this little girl and so she gets it. And, of course, they’re all ecstatic and all that.
So me and Caleb and Jonathan are sitting there looking and we went, “How did they get that?” Then we saw their sign. So we wanted to borrow their sign. [Laughter.] See if it’ll work for us. Anyhow, it was just a lot of fun. We really enjoyed it.
And the timing is everything is going to tie in a little bit with my message here. God is concerned with timing. He’s concerned that we keep the appointed Feasts, as Jim alluded to, on a specific day, on the time to which they were appointed, to which they were assigned.
If you want to, begin turning with me to the book of Leviticus. We’re going to begin there in chapter 23. And what I’m going to do today is follow up on the sermonette that I began a couple of weeks ago and actually focus in upon, once again, the Wave Sheaf Offering and carry that onto the next ceremony that’s mentioned right here in this chapter and that is the Wave Loaves Offering. And we’re going to try to tie those two together in this particular sermon.
Now I didn’t have time—actually I forgot—to call Mr. Lee and give him the title of this message and so I’ll just give it to you here as I get started this morning and hopefully you’ll see how the title fits in with the message as we go. But the title is Wave Sheaf To The Wave Loaves. And again, we’re going to see that’s two ceremonies but we’re going to see that there’s a common link, a common thread that ties these two ceremonies together. And actually that same link ties the first three festivals of God’s Holy Days together, the festivals. And that is Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the Day of Pentecost. And again, hopefully we’ll see that as we go along here.
So here in Leviticus chapter 23 and let’s begin reading in verse 4. It says
Leviticus 23:4. ‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall
proclaim at their appointed times.
So these are God’s Feasts and He’s given them and established them at appointed times. That is specific days to occur on the calendar during the year.
Verse 5.
Leviticus 23:5. ‘On the
fourteenth day of the first month at
twilight is the Lord’s Passover.
And, of course, we kept that this year as the Church has continued to keep it from the day it was established back at this time on the fourteenth day of the month, meaning at the end of the thirteenth going into the fourteenth.
Leviticus 23:6. “And on the
fifteenth day of the same month is
the Feast of Unleavened Bread
Again, it’s established on the fifteenth. There’s no questions about it. It’s on the fifteenth day of the first month.
Leviticus 23:6. “And on the
fifteenth day of the same month is
the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord;
seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
7) ‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no
customary work on it.
So it’s established as a Holy Day. No working. We are to observe it as a Holy Day to God like a High Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:8. “But you
shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord
[to the Eternal] for seven days. The
seventh day shall be a holy
convocation; you shall do no customary work on
it.’”
So with a little bit of arithmetic here, we can add the seven days together starting on the fifteenth. And that means then on the twenty-first day of the month—and, of course, there are several Scriptures we could actually go to and read where it says “the twenty-first day of the first month”—is the seventh day of the Days of Unleavened Bread. So in other words, it is an appointed time. It’s established. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It’s on the calendar, on the Hebrew calendar, the one that God’s inspired for us to keep and to go by in observing His Holy Days.
Now every year it seems like we have questions that come up
regarding the Passover, keeping the Passover—which day?—and the Days of
Unleavened Bread. And it gets into all
these calendar issues. Brethren, I don’t
want to get into that today. It’s a lot
of time and everything to go into that.
But trust the Bible. And in the
New Testament, just let the Scriptures do the interpreting of the
Scriptures. There’s so many Scriptures,
even in the Old Testament, that shows it was on the fourteenth. The Passover was on the fourteenth. And they were commanded to stay indoors all
that night. Then, of course, we know
they left
Now this year, it seems like every year God gives us a
little bit more information. Little
tidbits of information to kind of drive home another point for you to
understand, grow in grace and knowledge, grow in understanding of what He’s
doing. This year it seemed to me when
Mr. Buchanan covered the subject of the covenant, the marriage covenant, or the
espousal period that was made with Abraham four hundred and thirty years before
they left
The connection that I kind of put together with that this
year is this: Think about the Parable of
The Ten Virgins. You know the ten
virgins that were waiting for the bridegroom to come. They all had their lamps, but they all slept
and slumbered. But half of them had oil
for their lamps and half of them didn’t.
And when did the bridegroom come in that parable? At night.
Actually, it says “about
But think about then in the Old Testament whenever God came
to
But think of that procession for just a second. That God came to deliver
Now tying that in with the, again, the ten virgins. They were leaving. They were with this procession that were with
the wedding party. And they would parade
through the town and through an area and then finally go to where the wedding
ceremony would take place. Isn’t that
exactly what
And what did they do once they got to
But think about that.
They made that marriage covenant with Him at
So let’s continue on here. Actually, not much further on that than what I intended. Let’s just drop down to Leviticus chapter 23 and again reading in verse 9. And again, we covered this in this last sermonette that I gave but I’d like to just go over it, rehearse it once again just to get it fresh in our minds once again. It says
Leviticus 23:9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10) “Speak to the children of
Now just remember the word “firstfruits.” We’re going to see that that’s the common link as we continue throughout this message today.
It says
Leviticus 23:10b. then you
shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11) ‘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.
Again, here we just read through these next verses. Just gives us more instructions on other sacrifices. And it says
Leviticus 23:12. ‘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. 13) ‘Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the [Eternal], for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin.
Verse 14, it says
Leviticus 23:14. ‘You shall
eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh 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.
First of all, notice here it doesn’t say on a specific date of this first month. It doesn’t have in one sense, like the other Holy Days do, it does not have an established and an appointed time. It does have an appointed way of doing it and keeping it. And again, I think Mr. B. put this just as succinctly as you could when he spoke here last week or a couple of weeks ago and just in what he said, this little formula the way to remember that. If I got this right is that this offering, this Wave Sheaf Offering, took place on the first Sunday after the day of Passover, after Passover. Do I have that pretty close? Okay. So it’s just an easy way to remember it.
Now why do I say that? Why do we need to be specific with that? Well first because God is. He’s very specific. He tells us here, “It is to be offered up on the morning after, on the day after the Sabbath that falls during the Days of Unleavened Bread.” Now, we’ll see this. We’re going to rehearse this once again and see how that Jesus the Christ fulfilled this. We’re just going to try to go through it pretty quickly today.
But the Pharisees and the Sadducees disagreed on how to reckon, how to calculate when this offering, this Wave Sheaf Offering, this little ceremony, on when it was to be taken place. The Pharisees always contended and said, “It was to be kept after the first Holy Day, that first High Sabbath that occurred, meaning that was the fifteenth day of the month.” Well, you know if it was always on the day after that, wouldn’t it always fall on the sixteenth day of the month every year? And if it was that simple, wouldn’t God just say, “On the sixteenth day of the month you shall offer up this Wave Sheaf Offering”?
But that’s not how it happens. That’s not what it says. It says “after the Sabbath.” Well the wording here, “after the Sabbath,” does allude to the weekly Sabbath that it shall be kept, that this Wave Offering is to be offered up on the day after the weekly Sabbath or, as I just mentioned, the Sunday that follows after the Passover. And this year it just happened to follow the weekly Sabbath as well and that was a High Sabbath as well but that doesn’t occur, that doesn’t happen very often. But that’s when it is to be offered up. Now the Sadducees agreed with that logic. They said, “Yes, that’s when it’s supposed to occur on the Sunday after the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread.”
Now, again, let me just allude to this real quick to show how the Pharisees absolutely could not be correct. We know that Christ fulfilled what this Wave Sheaf Ceremony represented, that He was the first of the firstfruits. And we’re going to read more on that just in a second, but just to kind of set the stage. If the Pharisees were correct, first of all we know that Christ gave us the only sign that He gave that He was the Son of Man, that He was the coming Messiah, was what? That He would be three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. This Wave Sheaf Ceremony, which represents Christ, if it were to take place and be fulfilled like the Pharisees calculated it, Christ would have still been dead and in the grave. As a matter of fact, He would have just been into the first full day of the three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. So it could not have happened that way.
So the Sadducees, which agree with how we teach as a Church, are correct on this. He had to be in the grave three days and three nights. The timing had to be right so that whenever the Wave Sheaf itself was actually cut from the earth that Christ did come back to life and then, of course, fulfill what that Wave Sheaf Offering represented the next day. So all this had to be exact and had to be in order and it was.
And again, here we could just see on the last verse here that I read. Verse 14, it says
Leviticus 23:14. ‘You shall
eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh 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.
So
Now, as I mentioned last time, a lot of the things in the Bible you can’t find details on in the Scriptures. Like the Jewish wedding feast, you really don’t find all the details how that was carried out. We find it from other sources. And it’s the same thing with this Wave Sheaf Offering. There is not much detail here on how to do it, how to go about it, how to offer it up. What did it mean? What did it represent?
And I may have mentioned before that every now and then I
e-mail a orthodox Jew in
What it did, Brethren, is made me recognize just how blessed we are! That we understand these things here. As a matter of fact, we hear them. We teach them. But I hope they never become old hat to us. That we don’t realize just how great it is, how wonderful it is, to understand the spiritual application of Old Testament laws, ceremonies, Holy Days, and the like. Brethren, we’re so blessed. And Rick and I have talked about it so much of being able to understand the deep things of God. Now having said that, that’s nothing good for us. That’s not that I understand it of and by myself nor he or anyone else here. We have done nothing of and by ourselves to understand the plan of salvation and even the deep things of God which I think this is one of those points. It is through God’s Spirit. And, of course, we’re going to see how that’s tied in with these two ceremonies as well in just a few minutes. But it is by God’s Spirit that He reveals these things to us. We are just so fortunate and so blessed to understand these things.
And even in professing “Christianity,” try to tell them what these two ceremonies represent. See how far you get. See if you can teach anyone in the world without God’s Spirit what these two ceremonies represent, and the first one here particularly representing Jesus the Christ. And you may get a ways with that one because it represents Jesus the Christ. But we’re going to get into that second ceremony here and the Two Wave Loaves in just a minute. And nobody will want to believe you, what those two represent.
But anyhow. So to find out the details of this Wave Sheaf Offering, again, as I referred to last time, I went to the Mishnah on the internet and just punched in “Wave Sheaf Ceremony” and followed it through and came up with what they gave as how the instructions were to keep this ceremony of offering up the Wave Sheaf Offering. And I’m just going to just breeze through here. And I think I mentioned last time that the messengers from the Temple went out on the day before and tied the sheaves, tied the grain, into shocks so that when the priests would come later, it would be much easier for him to just come and cut the Wave Sheaf, cut the sheaves and prepare them then for this offering. And that’s what they did.
Now they had quite a ceremony to go with that. It wasn’t like they just went out with their cart, donkey, and what have you. The people of the town, of the city, went out. It was quite the ceremony. It was a lot going on with it. It meant a lot to them to do this. This is just how they were instructed. They didn’t understand why but this is what they did. But anyhow, they would repeat the words three times. “Is the sun set?” “Yes.” “Is the sun set?” And I really don’t know. I still don’t know why they did it three times. On everything that they did, they asked and then did it. Before they cut the Wave Sheaf here, this stalks of grain, they asked three times, “Is the sun set?” “This sheaf?” “Yes.” “Should I cut?” “Yes.” But they would ask that three times. I still don’t know if that has anything to do with anything other than the fact, of course, we know Christ was three days and three nights in the belly of the earth.
The other thing I just kind of got a kick out of this. And that was just watching the movie. Sometimes I amuse myself. Maybe I should say that. But I was watching, seeing the movie of The Ten Commandments with Cecil B. De Mille. And I just got a kick out of how the Pharaoh would say, “Let it be said. Let it be written. Let it be done.” And so it was like these three ways of just affirming this is what’s going to happen. This is going to take place. This is it without a shadow of a doubt.
So maybe this just a custom at the time as to why they did this, why they said it three times before they actually carried it out. And so again, just affirming it, attesting to this is rock solid. This is the way to do it. This is what we’re going to do. I really can’t put any other kind of connection with it. So if any of you have ideas, I’d certainly listen to them.
But anyhow, so they would take the three baskets and they
would go out and cut the grain and then take it back to the
But they would prepare this grain then. They would grind it, make the meal out of it. And then they would run it through these thirteen sieves so that they would sift out any debris, any foreign matter. So that after that process, it would be as pure a flour and grain as it possibly could be. So that they would use it then. And actually, just take out a measure, an omer, of it to do this offering. And, of course, they would mix with the oil with it, and the myrrh or the frankincense for the aroma. And then that’s what they would offer up to God.
And, of course, we know the next morning is whenever they
offered that up. They went out at the
And think about it again. They did it for years. Thousands of years! They did it from the time that God commanded them and never understood what it meant. But they did it. How blessed are we to understand what it meant? And then whenever it was fulfilled, the meaning of it being completed?
So turn with me to the book of John now. We’ll read through that real quick. I don’t know why I say “real quick.” I seem to never do anything real quick and always hear about it too from my brother Jim, Tommie, everybody else. Ha, ha, ha. Here in the book of John, we just go to it here because it just makes it so clear. In chapter 20 and verse 1, it says
John 20:1. Now on the first
day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark,
and saw that the stone had been taken
away from the tomb.
So here when we see that’s it on this first day of the week, which we know is Sunday, this was the exact time in which the Wave Sheaf Offering was offered up. The same day, I’ll put it at that point right now because what I also read in the Mishnah, it wasn’t like they had a wristwatch. They didn’t have a huge clock like we have in the back of the hall here to go by on the when to offer that sacrifice up. It actually varied within a couple of hours. And actually the only thing the Mishnah alludes to and says it was offered up at about the same time as the morning sacrifice, the daily sacrifices which they offered up every day. Remember? Morning and evening, the daily sacrifices? So they would offer up this Wave Sheaf Offering at about the same time as the morning sacrifice of the dailies. And, of course, we know that represented Christ as well. And I know that’s been emphasized this year. And I definitely agree with that. Christ fulfilled every offering, every sacrifice that pointed to Him. He completed it.
But this is at the same time then, the first day of the week, early in the morning. In that particular year with the Passover happening on Wednesday and Christ being dead for the three days and three nights, when it comes Sunday morning—and actually, if I backed up, we would say, ‘Okay, He came to life that evening. Whenever they cut the shocks from the ground, He came back to life.” And that’s been a traditional teaching of the Church. But He did not ascend to the throne that night. He did not go and see God the Father. And there is a specific reason and that was because this offering had not been offered up yet.
So we see that Mary then came to the tomb very early on the first day of the week.
Let’s drop down to verse 17. I think we all know the story here how that she then was, of course, very upset. And I think a very emotional story that she was weeping and looking for Christ, and really looking for a dead body that she wanted to—I won’t say “anoint”—but prepare for a proper burial. And so it was very emotional really. And so then she was asking what she supposed to be the gardener, “Where did they put His body?” Let’s just break into it in verse 17. It says
John 20:17. Jesus said to
her, “Do not cling to Me,
This was after He had already said her name and she looked at Him, and, no doubt, emotionally probably wanted to grab Him and hug Him. Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you if you had a loved one and something like this happened? And, I’m sure, if we were there, we would have the same emotions and the same feelings.
John 20:17. Jesus said to
her [That is to Mary.], “Do not cling to 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.’” 18) Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
Now John doesn’t allude to it here, but in the book of Matthew, in the account of Matthew of this, when Mary was on her way to the disciples, He actually appeared to her there and allowed her to touch His feet, to worship Him, and grasp Him by the feet. So what happened between that time in that Christ could not allow her to touch Him at this point? He says the reason: because He had not yet ascended to His Father and to our Father, and to His God and to our God. From the time that she saw Him at that time until on the way back, He had to ascend to the Father.
And think about it? How much time did He stay? Well how much time did it take to wave the Wave Sheaf Offering? It was lifted up and brought down. It was lifted up and brought down. It was lifted up and brought down. How long did that take? I think perhaps what we’re to see here is that Christ fulfilled exactly what the Wave Sheaf Offering did and that was to be presented to God the Father on our behalf. He was, in a sense, waved before Him. And He fulfilled exactly what this ceremony represented. And then, His love, His concern was where? With His disciples, with His Brethren, and including the ladies, the women here and so He came right back to the earth. To what? To show them what had just transpired.
I wonder sometimes. I wonder how long it took them in the Church to realize that this ceremony was fulfilled perfectly by Him because you see, as we go on, Paul alludes to it quite often and calls Him the “First of the firstfruits” or the “Firstfruits” quite often.
If you would, let’s just begin to read a couple of those Scriptures. Let’s turn to Colossians chapter 1 and we’ll begin reading in verse 15.
And as you do so, again, we know that Christ was the First of the firstfruits spiritually speaking. In the physical ceremony itself remember they could not begin the rest of that physical harvest. They could not reap and they could not eat until this offering had transpired. Think about that in the spiritual application. Christ came and said what? “No one has seen the Father except for the Son of Man that both ascends and descends from heaven.” No one, Brethren, could be resurrected. No one could be brought back to life and I mean that as eternal life because there were miracles that occurred and did happen. But those people were brought back physically not for eternal life, for eternity. No one could be resurrected and be a part of a firstfruits harvest until Christ had to complete and fulfill that role spiritually speaking.
So let’s read it here in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 15. It says in referring to Christ
Colossians 1:15. He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
The firstborn, what is it referring to?
Colossians 1:16. For by Him
all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for
Him. 17) And He is before all things,
Do you get the sense that Paul’s trying to tell you He’s first and foremost? He is the first and has the preeminence in all things.
Colossians 1:17. And He is
before all things,
Verse 17.
Colossians 1:17b. and in Him
all things consist. 18) And He is the
head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn [Still
referring to Christ.] from the dead, that in all things He may have the
preeminence.
The emphasis here is on Jesus the Christ being the Firstborn, the Firstborn Son of God, the Firstborn—if you would—that set the example for us, that pioneered the way for us, that we’re going to follow this example. Whatever happened to this Man, Jesus of Nazareth, and His body as He being God in the flesh, He fulfilled all that but yet whatever happened to Jesus of Nazareth, Brethren, that’s what we’re looking forward to, the same thing to happen to us, whether our bodies are changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, or resurrected back from death. We’re looking for that same process to occur with us.
Acts chapter 26, let’s turn there. I’m just going to go through some Scriptures pretty quick. Another Scripture that Paul’s referring to Jesus the Christ, Acts chapter 26 and verse 22. It says
Acts 26:22. “Therefore,
having obtained help from God,
In this here Paul’s alluding to himself and his mission, his work, what he was doing. He says
Acts 26:22. “Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great,
“To all peoples,” is what Paul is saying.
Acts 26:22b. saying no other
things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—
You know what Paul is just saying? He’s saying, “I’m saying no other things than what the prophets and Moses said would happen and would occur.” So in other words, he’s saying, “I’m not speaking anything crazy. Nothing out of line here.” But he goes on to say that he’s speaking of those things to come that the prophets and Moses would. And
Acts 26:23. “That the Christ
would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would
proclaim light to the Jewish people
and to the Gentiles.”
And so we know Paul was an apostle to the Gentiles.
So again, we could just see here that He would be the first to rise from the dead. We’re not going to go back to all the Old Testament prophecies and Scriptures of prophets and even more of Moses. There are other ones that we can go back and read but we know he’s referring to Jesus the Christ as being the first to rise from the dead.
Let’s go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I think all of us know that 1 Corinthians chapter 15 has been termed, been dubbed, “The Resurrection Chapter.” It’s all about the resurrection or resurrections. Let’s begin in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in verse 20. It says
1 Corinthians 15:20. But now
Christ is risen from the dead,
And has become what?
1 Corinthians 15:20b. and has become the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep.
He has become the first to be resurrected from the dead of those that will follow by falling asleep or that is that are dead.
Verse 21.
1 Corinthians 15:21. For
since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
all
That is the same “all.”
1 Corinthians 15.22b. shall
be made alive.
Now notice verse 23.
1 Corinthians 15:23. But
each one in his own order:
In other words, it’s a matter of timing. Everything in its place. Everything in its order. Everything at its appointed time.
1 Corinthians 15:23. But
each one in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, afterward those who are
Christ’s at His coming.
So this is way after Christ fulfilling the Wave Sheaf Offering.
But notice here, Paul goes right into the rest of the firstfruits. He is the firstborn among many Brethren. He’s the firstborn to be raised from the dead implying in every one of these Scriptures that there are more to follow. And there’s going to be an additional resurrection.
Let’s turn back to Leviticus chapter 23 now to continue on. Leviticus chapter 23 and now let’s drop down and beginning reading in verse 15. And again, we’re going to see this word “firstfruits” again. And this time it’s tying into and it’s actually alluding to going into another ceremony. Not a Wave Sheaf ceremony but what’s going to be the Wave Loaves ceremony. Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 15, it says
Leviticus 23:15. ‘And you
shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath,
That’s the same day after the Sabbath that we just read back in verse 11, “On the day after the Sabbath” referring to that day, that time.
Leviticus 23:15. ‘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.
Verse 16.
Leviticus 23:16. ‘Count
fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new
grain offering to the [Eternal]. 17)
‘You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves
Not a wave sheaf this time but two wave loaves.
Leviticus 23:17b. of
two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be
baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the [Eternal] [to the Lord].
Again, we read the Wave Sheaf Offering was what? The firstfruits. We’re reading. What are the two Wave Loaves? The firstfruits to be waved and to be accepted by God. They’re both termed “firstfruits” but they’re waved fifty days apart, exactly fifty days apart. Now the connection there is—I guess we could look at it and say—the spiritual application is that we’re in that process of the firstfruits harvest of what those fifty days represent because Christ was the First to be born of the firstfruits, the First to be resurrected from the dead. And we just read the Scriptures that alluded to the fact that there are going to be more that are going to be resurrected. And now we read of this ceremony of the Two Wave Loaves to be offered up.
And again, the word that’s translated ‘firstfruits”—I’m looking for it here—back in verse 10, the meaning of that word is that it is the first in order. It is the first in rank and in position. Like if you had a general over an army. He is the head of that particular army. He’s first. He’s got the highest rank. He’s number one.
The word “firstfruits” over here that’s connected to these Two Wave Loaves are talking about the rest of that group that are part of the firstfruits. I’ll just make a simple analogy of like going to a parade. And whenever you see a parade, the first person coming down the road may be flag banners or whatever, but they are in position. They are first in that parade. The band to follow them is the first ahead of all the rest. So it’s just speaking of one in particular that’s the First of the firstfruits and then the rest of this group are the firstfruits. They are the next in order of a harvest, a spiritual harvest, and that is the firstfruits harvest.
Verse 18, it says
Leviticus 23:18. ‘And you
shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one
young bull, and two rams.
So these are, again, more sacrifices and offerings that were to be offered up at the same time as these Two Wave Loaves.
Leviticus 23:18b. They shall
be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and
their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord.
19) ‘Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering,
and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering.
So, again, all these sacrifices connected to and with these Two Wave Loaves.
Verse 20.
Leviticus 23:20. ‘The priest
shall wave them [That is these other offerings.] with the bread of the
firstfruits as a wave offering before
the Lord, with the two
lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.
So again, I just want to zip through here. We could see then that there was more to take place on this day. And it finishes out by saying
Leviticus 23:21. ‘And you
shall proclaim on the same day that
it is a holy convocation to you. You
shall do no customary work on it. It
shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your
generations.
We could see there that it is now established as a Holy Day, a High Sabbath Day, one of the seven Holy Days that God has given us, but it doesn’t have an appointed time. It’s not established on a certain day of a month, of the first month, second month, or third month. Why? It is because it is connected to the previous ceremony, The Wave Sheaf Offering. You start from that day and you count forward fifty days to establish each year when the Day of Pentecost is to be observed and to be kept. And then you are to offer up that Wave Loaves Offering. So again, we could see that the connection here between the Wave Sheaf Offering and the Wave Loaves Offering are that they are called “the firstfruits” of the Eternal. They are firstfruits from the beginning to the end.
Now let’s turn to the book of Acts.
I don’t know. We’ve always said that these Two Wave Loaves being puffy they have leavening in them. And so they’re big old puffy loaves of bread that that represents the sin that was in the firstfruits, these firstfruits. Because you see the First of the firstfruits, Christ, had no sin. So He had no leavening in Him so to speak picturing sin. And that could be, again, a very important spiritual lesson that can be ascertained from that perspective. You could learn that.
But you know there’s more to it. On this feast, that bread also represents the bounty that God had given. That represents the people. But this is how I look at it. How would we offer up these Two Wave Loaves full of sin? Because you see we’ve been cleansed through Jesus the Christ, through His blood. There’s a lot more to it. But these Two Wave Loaves just may represent the bounty and everything that’s associated with this Holy Day, the Day of Pentecost.
Remember Pentecost is one of the three Holy Days—one of the
three seasons, I should say—wherein people, Jews, made a pilgrimage to
Brethren, Pentecost was a very happy and joyous type of
festival. People did make the pilgrimage
to come and keep this feast at—and we’re going to see that here in Acts chapter
2. It alludes to several people that
came there. But they come to keep that
feast as a joyous occasion in
Acts 2:1. When the Day of
Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And we know this is the hundred and twenty being referred to. And I do agree full-heartedly. I think these one hundred and twenty represented the Church. They represented the firstfruits harvest and the change and the dispensation of God’s Spirit and how He’s working with them. Well, we’ll get to that in a second.
It says
Acts 2:2. And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. 3) Then
there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I don’t think we could fully imagine and visualize what just took place there. Can you imagine if you were there with these one hundred and twenty and all of a sudden this sound of a mighty rushing wind?
Now I wasn’t in
I don’t know how much noise this made, but we know it was enough that people in the city heard it and came to there to see what had happened. But can you imagine what these one hundred and twenty people, disciples of Christ, were thinking and being a part of at that time? It was an incredible event for them to be part of. They just heard the sound of this rushing mighty wind and then they saw this tongue of fire sit and light upon each one of them. And then they began to speak. And I’m quite sure they began to speak like they always did, like I do today. But in the hearing of the people that came there to see what was going on, in their hearing they heard each person speaking in their own language.
Let’s just continue to read. I’m getting ahead of myself. It says verse 5
Acts 2:5. And there were
dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men,
And so here the writer of the book of Acts, Luke, is just giving a very abbreviated reference, an outline, of what took place here in this event. I mean he got through the first four verses of what happened there very quick. And you know? I bet those people never forgot that day the rest of their lives. They never forgot what happened that day till they died. That didn’t go away. They never lost sight of that. They couldn’t have. It was that such an impact and a dramatic event that happened to them. But Luke just gets through it pretty quick, four little sentences. And so verse 5.
Acts 2:5. And there were
dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
Well, perhaps every nation that Luke knew at the time.
Acts 2:6. And when this
sound occurred,
Again, there was enough noise there.
Acts 2:6b. the multitude
came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own
language.
And then he goes through and says in these different areas.
Acts 2:7. Then they were all
amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans?
And that’s a polite way of saying, “Are not all these who speak hillbillies? Aren’t they hillbillies? They have no knowledge. They have no proper education, training in how to speak these languages.” That was the confusion. It was from those that were listening.
Can you imagine what it was like to be one of the one hundred and twenty? Christ had been persecuted. He had been crucified. Fifty days later—and we’re going to see this. I can only imagine how good it felt for these one hundred and twenty, Peter included, and the others that did speak and actually give this message to those that assembled, that came together when they heard this noise. I can only imagine how good it felt for them to be able to tell the people what had happened, what was going on, and why. And we’re going to see Peter just refers right to Jesus the Christ. It was all because of Him. But there was also a fulfillment taking place here.
Verse 7 again, it says
Acts 2:7. Then they were all
amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Galileans? 8) “And how is it that we hear, each in our own
language in which we were born?
In other words, “How could they have learned that?”
Verse 9.
Acts 2:9. “Parthians
And he just gives a list here of where these people were from.
Acts 2:9. “Parthians and
Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia, 10) “Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews
and proselytes, 11) Cretans and Arabs—we
hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
That’s what they heard.
Acts
They understood where the miracle was. It was in the hearing. They each heard each one of these people speaking in their own language.
Acts
So, you got to find a way out, got to find a scapegoat here where they’re about half lit up and just talking out of their mind. Well, of course, we know that is not what happened.
But you know what’s different here is that the Wave Sheaf Offering, Christ fulfilled it by being crucified, by being dead three days and three nights, and then being resurrected from the dead. Here we see an event that ties in with and is connected to the Wave Loaf Offering. It is not the same way at all. Is it? Instead of it being a death and resurrection, at this point in time it’s a joyous occasion. It’s a Holy Day.
And on the Feast of Pentecost did you know tradition has it
that the Jews actually had a parade? And
the parade would go throughout the city that morning and would venture
throughout the city and come back to the
Brethren, if this event took place in the same place, the
same house with the large upper room in which Christ fulfilled and finished the
Passover with the disciples, it also was next to the
But the difference here is that this was a very joyous occasion. And we could see here that we know what happened. They were given the Holy Spirit and the Spirit showed itself, revealed itself in a very miraculous way. But that’s how the beginning of this Church started.
Think about it.
Christ entered into the espousal period, the marrying of the
Church. He had previously died. He was no longer attached to, connected to
Old Testament
I’m just going to skip forward here. Obviously we know how this day ended up. Peter was able to give the message and the people there, their conscience, as it says, “They were pricked in their hearts.” And they said, “What shall we do?” And he said, “Repent and be baptized.” And we know that day three thousand people were added to the Church. So, again, a very joyous occasion. And I think those one hundred and twenty represent the Church. They represent the firstfruits.
Let’s go to Romans chapter 8 and verse 23. What I’d like to do is try to go through some verses very quickly now that cause the Church, we that belong in the Church, we that being called out of the world and been made a part of the body of Jesus the Christ, a part of the firstfruits. I’d like to read some of the Scriptures that just categorically state that. It says it. In Romans chapter 8 verse 23, it says
Romans 8:23. Not only that,
Just breaking into the thought.
Romans 8:23b. but we also
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
Paul got it. Paul was a Pharisee. We know that. He understood the laws, the rituals, to a certain point. He followed obedience until he was called, until he was knocked off of his horse, and, of course, he was filled with the Holy Spirit then. Then, he knew and understood the spiritual application of these laws and of these ceremonies.
It says
Romans 8:23. Not only that,
but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
That is we are awaiting the resurrection and the completion of the firstfruits harvest.
Dropping down to verse 29, it says
Romans 8:29. For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to be
conformed to the image of His Son,
His Son that was what? The First of the firstfruits.
Romans 8:29b. that He might
be the firstborn among many brethren.
The many brethren is us represented by the Two Wave Loaves.
Let’s go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 once again and again, this has been titled “The Resurrection Chapter” for all us in the Church. And let’s just read verses 20 through 23 again. It says
1 Corinthians 15:20. But now
Christ is risen from the dead,
This is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 20.
1 Corinthians 15:20. But now
Christ is risen from the dead, and
has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21) For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Christ] also came the resurrection of the dead.
We know that.
1 Corinthians 15:22. For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
But again, here’s where I want to emphasize.
1 Corinthians 15:23. But
each one in his own order:
God is very organized. He has ceremonies, Holy Days, all that picture and represent something and they are carried out at a specific time, at the appointed time.
1 Corinthians 15:23. But
each one in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, afterward those who are
Christ’s at His coming.
That’s the day, that’s the time that we’re still looking for. We’re still in the espousal period. The espousal period being engaged to Jesus the Christ, the First of the firstfruits. He is not only our elder Brother, He is also our Lord and Savior. He’s our High Priest.
Remember the priest is the one that went out and actually cut the grain from the field for that Wave Sheaf Offering? It was the priest that offered up the Wave Loaves to be accepted, to be presented before God, those Two Wave Loaves, one and then the other and let back down. That is still to be completed yet. But who is going to do it? Jesus the Christ as our High Priest, as our elder Brother, as our God and Savior. He is all those things to us.
Let’s just go toward the back of the Book. I want to finish there in Revelation. But in James chapter 1, I just want to read this very quickly.
And, again, I hope you could see that the Old Testament, these two ceremonies were connected by the term “firstfruits.” What is the first resurrection of Jesus the Christ and the completion of that resurrection or the firstfruits harvest, that resurrection? It is also connected by the same term, “firstfruits.” It is the firstfruits harvest that is yet to come.
In James chapter 1 verses 17 through 18, it says
James 1:17. Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18) Of His own will He brought us forth by
the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures [of
His creation].
“That we might be a kind of firstfruits,” the firstfruits harvest.
Turn with me now to the Book of Revelation chapter 14. Just winding down here.
And I know we’ve heard this so many times in the past, but again, I just wanted to tie these two ceremonies, the Wave Sheaf and the Wave Loaves, tie them together because they tie the first three Holy Days, the first three festivals of God together. And it does so by the term and the usage of and the meaning of “the firstfruits” and the offering up of that Wave Sheaf and the offering of the Wave Loaves.
Here in Revelation chapter 14 beginning in verse 1, it says
Revelation 14:1. Then I
looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on
That is implanted deep in our minds, perhaps deep in our conscience, deep in our hearts.
Revelation 14:2. And I heard
a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters,
Another loud noise.
Revelation 14:2b. and like
the voice of loud thunder. And I heard
the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3) They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four
living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the
hundred and forty-four thousand who
were redeemed from the earth.
Bought back, purchased, ransomed, redeemed from the earth.
Revelation 14:4. These are
the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins.
Not defiled in false religions, being deceived and being part of the religions of the world, even a Jewish religion that holds the strictness of the laws that they know and understand. Technically, they have it right. Spiritually, they haven’t a clue. Brethren, again think of how blessed we are to have the Spirit of God that we know and understand these things!
Continuing on.
Revelation 14:4b. These are
the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
These were redeemed from among
men, being firstfruits to God
and to the Lamb. 5) And in their mouth
was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.
That’s in the future. And I’m looking forward to that part and time in my life to become a real firstfruit, becoming a member of the God Family, following the pattern, following the order of Jesus the Christ, the First of the firstfruits. Can you imagine getting to that point in time and then never sinning? Wouldn’t we all love to make it through a day, a week, a month, a year without sinning? Maybe I could work that backwards too. But wouldn’t it be nice and isn’t it going to be nice that when we become members of the divine Family of God we never sin again? At least I hope that’s the way it is. I don’t want to sin. I know none of you want to sin as well. I look forward to the time when the completion of this firstfruits harvest will be fulfilled and we will be resurrected from the dead or changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. I look forward to the time that what these Two Wave Loaves represent.
We are in that espousal period. It started on Pentecost in 31 AD. The giving, the down payment, the earnest down payment of the Holy Spirit, but we’re waiting for the completion of that. We’re waiting for our Bridegroom to come back and gather the Bride, His Church, His people, and again, the firstfruits. We’re awaiting that event to happen. And when it does, those Two Wave Loaves, perhaps, will be offered up and be waved. We’ll be presented before God the Father. Just like Christ said, “I’m going to My Father, and to your Father; I’m going to My God, and to your God.” Brethren, He’s going to be our God and our Father together with the First of the firstfruits, the Captain of our salvation, our Priest, our High Priest, and our elder Brother. So reflect upon this.
I know that as we get closer to Pentecost we, no doubt, are going to have more messages regarding that day, and rightfully so, just like we do for the Passover. There’s a lot that can be learned about it, about that Day of Pentecost, its connection with these Two Wave Loaves that was offered up on that day and how it’s connected with the Wave Sheaf Offering that was offered up during the Days of Unleavened Bread. We see the connection. They are the firstfruits. They are one in body. They are one together in thoughts and mind and in heart. What are we to be doing? Putting on the very mind of Jesus the Christ. Now is the time to prepare for that ceremony. Now is the time to be a part of those Two Wave Loaves. Now is the time for us to submit and to surrender, not only to God the Father, not only to Jesus the Christ. In fact, you can’t submit to Them without submitting to one another. That’s where it’s at.
We are now learning what it takes to become a part of the firstfruits harvest. We are in the process of learning what it means to be a part of this harvest that’s taking place and is represented from the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering until the completion of that firstfruits harvest at the Day of the Wave Loaves. Brethren, that’s why I titled it from Wave Sheaf To The Wave Loaves.
That’s the process we’re in today spiritually. Let’s make sure we do that. Let’s prepare, not only now, between now and Pentecost, but from now until its actual fulfillment. When is that going to be? I haven’t a clue. Is it going to be on Feast of Trumpets? I don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say. Is it going to be on Feast of Pentecost? I don’t know. Is it going to be on July 4th? I don’t know. No one knows when this is actually going to be completed and be fulfilled. Will God follow the same pattern? Will He do what He’s done in the past? Does timing mean everything? Only God knows.
What we have to do at this appointed time is make sure that
we’re preparing. We understand these
deep things of God. We know what He’s
doing in our lives, what He’s called us to be and that is to be a part of the
firstfruits harvest.
Transcribed by kb