In the chapter on “Aviv Barley and the Head of the Year”, we saw that Rosh HaShanah (the Head of the Year) begins when we sight the first crescent sliver of the new moon from the land of Israel, when we know we will be able to offer the very first sheaf of aviv (medium dough) barley 15-21 days later, on Yom HaNafat HaOmer (the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering).
We also saw that this single omer (sheaf) of firstfruits symbolizes Yeshua, who was the first of the firstfruits to be raised from the dead.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 15:20-23
20 But now Messiah is risen from the dead,
and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
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 Messiah all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: [first] Messiah the firstfruits, [and then] afterward those who are Messiah’s at His coming.
We also saw that just as Yeshua represents the very first of the believers to be offered, the omer must consist of the very firstfruits of the barley to come ripe in the land of Israel, because nothing else can be harvested until after the wave sheaf has been offered. This offering also starts a 50-day count up to Pentecost (Shavuot).
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9-10
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks [Shavuot, Pentecost] to Yahweh your Elohim with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as Yahweh your Elohim blesses you.”
We also saw that the omer must consist of the very first of the new barley crop, because Yahweh uses the term biccurim (בִּכּוּרִים).
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 2:14-15
14 “Also when you bring an offering of firstfruits [בִּכּוּרִים] to Yahweh, you shall bring green heads of grain parched in the fire, [and/or] crushed carmel shall you offer for your firstfruits offering.
15 And you shall put oil on it, and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering.”
The term biccurim (בִּכּוּרִים) is Strong’s Old Testament OT:1061, meaning the very first of the fruits.
OT:1061 bikkuwr (bik-koor’); from OT:1069; the first-fruits of the crop:
KJV – first fruit (-ripe [figuratively]), hasty fruit.
The root at OT:1069 refers to the fruit that is truly first (as if “bursting the womb”). Thus, it refers to the very first of the fruits, such as those who are given the birthright (i.e., the right of the firstborn).
OT:1069 bakar (baw-kar’); a primitive root; properly, to burst the womb, i.e. (causatively) bear or make early fruit (of woman or tree); also (as denominative from OT:1061) to give the birthright:
KJV – make firstborn, be firstling, bring forth first child (new fruit).
As we saw in “Aviv Barley and the Head of the Year”, the idea is to offer the very first sheaf of barley to Yahweh to clear the way for the rest of the harvest. That way, none of the barley farmers with early ripening crops need to lose their crop or break Deuteronomy 16:9 (by cutting without starting the omer count up to Shavuot).
The Omer and Shavuot: NOT “Spring” Feasts!
The rabbis consider that Passover, Unleavened Bread, the Wave Sheaf Offering and Pentecost are “spring feasts”. That is because, according to the “Jewish” Hillel II Calendar, Passover may not take place prior to the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. This is a very grave error.
The terms equinox and equilux refer to when the sun crosses the equator, causing the day and the night to be of equal length. This happens twice a year, and it is considered important in witchcraft, on the Gregorian Roman Calendar, on the Equinox Calendar, and on the rabbinic Hillel II “Jewish” Calendar.
On the Gregorian Roman Calendar, the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox takes place on March 20th or 21st (depending on whether or not they consider it a leap year). There is also a Fall (or Autumnal) Equinox on September 22nd or 23rd (again depending on whether or not they consider it a leap year). And there is also a Summer Solstice marking the longest day of the year, plus a Winter Solstice on the shortest day of the year.
The term spring refers to the time in between when the sun crosses the equator (and the days and the nights are of equal length, but are starting to get longer) until the Summer Solstice, when the days are as long as they will be all year. This term, then, depends on the sun.
It is problematic to call Yahweh’s feasts either “spring feasts” or “fall feasts”, because Yahweh never uses these terms. Rather, Yahweh tells us to take heed (i.e., to be extremely careful) not to use the movements of the sun, the moon, or the stars in our calendar calculations, as He considers this to be worshipping (or serving) them. (For details, see “About Service” in The Torah Calendar.)
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:19
19 “And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which Yahweh your Elohim has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.”
Basing our calendar off of the movements of the sun is precisely what Elohim tells us to take heed not to do! However, this is exactly what we do when we use the terms “spring feasts” and “fall feasts”, because the terms “spring” and “fall” are based on the movements of the sun.
These terms are also inaccurate, as the aviv barley frequently comes ripe before the Spring Equinox. What seems more correct is to use the terms, “feasts of the first month” and “feasts of the seventh month.” This is because, as we will see, Shavuot (Pentecost) is really an extension of the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering (which takes place in the first month).
When is the Wave Sheaf and the Pentecost?
As we saw in the chapter on “Aviv Barley and the Head of the Year”, Yom HaNafat HaOmer (the Day of the Wave Sheaf Offering) takes place on the day after the weekly Sabbath in which the Passover falls.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:10-11, 14
10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
11 He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the [weekly] Sabbath the priest shall wave it…
14 “You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your Elohim; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
For example, if the new moon of Rosh HaShanah is seen on the first day of the week (as the Sabbath ends), then Pesach will be held on Shabbat, and Yom HaNafat HaOmer will be the very next day. This means it will be on the 15th day of the first month (which is the soonest Yom HaNafat HaOmer can take place).
| Rosh | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pass |
| Omer |
Alternately, if the new moon is seen on the second day of the week, that places Pesach on the first day of the week. When that happens, Yom HaNafat HaOmer is not held until the first day of the following week. In this case Yom HaNafat HaOmer takes place on the 21st day of the first month (which is the latest that it can take place).
| Rosh | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| Pass | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Omer |
Deuteronomy 16:9-10 tells us that when we begin to put the sickle to the standing grain (on Yom HaNafat HaOmer), we count seven weeks until the Feast of Weeks (or Shavuot in Hebrew).
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9-10
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your Elohim with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as Yahweh your Elohim blesses you.
In Leviticus 23, verses 15 and 16 give us the same command in a different form. The name Pentecost means count fifty, and we count fifty days from the day of Yom HaNafat HaOmer (which is the day after the Sabbath of the Passover week), and then we bring a new grain offering of wheat to Yahweh.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:15-16
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the [weekly] Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahweh.’”
What Does “The Day After the Sabbath” Mean?
In verse 15, the Hebrew for the phrase, “the day after the Sabbath” is “mimaharat HaShabbat” (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת). This means “the day after the Sabbath.” However, the rabbis wrongly teach that the term Sabbath here refers to the Pesach. However, this only works when Pesach falls on the weekly Sabbath, as it did in Joshua 5:10-12.
Yehoshua (Joshua) 5:10-12
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Pesach on the fourteenth day of the month at evening on the plains of Jericho.
11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Pesach, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.
12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
Since the children of Israel ate the produce of the land on the day after the Pesach, yet since Leviticus 23:14 (above) tells us that they could not eat the produce of the land until after they brought the omer offering, that means they offered the omer on the first day of the week (which was also the first day of Unleavened Bread).
| Pass. | ||||||
| 1ULB Omer |
2ULB 2Omr |
3ULB 3Omr |
4ULB 4Omr |
5ULB 5Omr |
6ULB 6Omr |
7ULB 7Omr |
| 8Omr | 9Omr | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14Omr |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21Omr |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28Omr |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35Omr |
| 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42Omr |
| 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49Omr |
| Pent. |
Pass. = Passover (Pesach)
1ULB = The First Day of Unleavened Bread
1Omr = Omer Offering and the start of the 50 Count
2Omr = Second Day of the Omer Count (etc.)
Pent. = Shavuot / Pentecost (fiftieth day)
When Passover falls on the weekly Sabbath (as it did in Joshua 5:10-12), the Omer falls on the First Day of Unleavened Bread, and the first seven days of the Omer coincide with the seven days of Unleavened Bread. However, this is not the case any other time.
The Karaite Error of “Harvestable Fields”
Verse 12 tells us the manna stopped falling the day after they ate the produce of the land (i.e., the day after the Wave Sheaf). Perhaps Yahweh decided to keep providing manna until after Yom HaNafat HaOmer and the First Day of Unleavened Bread so that no one would need to harvest anything on those days. This is important to realize because it shows fatal errors in the Karaite doctrine of “harvestable fields.” According to this erroneous Karaite (Sadducee) doctrine, Yom HaNafat HaOmer cannot be held unless there is enough barley to feed the nation of Israel from the new crop. However, this theory does not work.
First, while the parched grain was probably of the new crop, it never says that the mature grain that was eaten that day was of the new crop! In fact, most unleavened bread is normally made from last year’s crop, because nothing from the new crop can be harvested until after the omer is offered! However, in the Joshua 5 scenario, Yom HaNafat HaOmer was also the First Day of Unleavened Bread (1ULB), and we are forbidden to do any customary work on that day, since we are supposed to be busy assembling and worshipping.
Shemote (Exodus) 12:16
16 “‘On the first day there shall be a set-apart gathering, and on the seventh day there shall be a set-apart gathering. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat — that only may be prepared by you.”
Further, after Israel settled in the land, the men of Israel are to leave their fields and go up to Jerusalem, so there is no way for them to harvest the new crop! Therefore, the Karaite dogma of waiting until the nation’s crops are harvestable before allowing the omer offering makes no sense, because the men will be away from their farms, in Jerusalem! (Note, in this image, the new moon is sighted on the first day of the week, as Shabbat ends.)
Now let us consider that when the Pesach falls on the second day of the week, no one can eat anything from the new crop until after the feast, because the new crop cannot be harvested until after the omer is presented—and since that day is also the 7th Day of Unleavened Bread (7ULB), no regular work (such as harvesting) can be done! (Note, in this image, the new moon is sighted as the first day of the week is ending.)
One reason Yahweh prohibits work from being done on 1ULB and 7ULB is that He does not want us spending the day harvesting and then cooking unleavened bread! Instead, He wants us to spend the day gathering with Him and His people, so we can spend it in worship and in prayer. This makes “harvestable fields” irrelevant.
Finally, consider that before automobiles, it could take up to a week for the Israelites to walk to Jerusalem (and another week for them to walk home). Even if they wanted to go home to harvest their barley after the omer had been offered (on the afternoon of Yom HaNafat HaOmer), it was physically impossible for most of Israel. Further, we do not see the Israelites juggling these kinds of issues in the Book of Ruth.
All of these things inform us that the Karaite doctrine of “harvestable fields” is illogical, and unworkable. It needs to be abandoned.
The Rabbinical Error of “MiMaharat HaPesach”
Pesach can fall on any day of the week (and on average, it will fall on each day of the week 1/7th of the time). For example, in 2008 CE, on the Torah Calendar, the Pesach fell on the second day of the week.
| Pass. | 1ULB | 2ULB | 3ULB | 4ULB | 5ULB | |
| 6ULB Omer |
7ULB 2Omr |
3Omr | 4Omr | 5Omr | 6Omr | 7Omr |
| 8Omr | 9Omr | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 |
| 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 |
| Pent. |
Pass = Passover
1ULB = First Day of Unleavened Bread
Omer = Wave Sheaf and beginning of the Omer count
Omr = Abbreviation for the day of the Omer Count.
Pent = Pentecost (always on the first day of the week)
Because Pesach did not fall on the weekly Sabbath, the First Day of Unleavened Bread (1ULB) did not fall on the first day of the week. However, Leviticus 23:15 still requires us to hold the omer offering on the first day of the week.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:15
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the [weekly] Sabbath [מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת], from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
However, in contrast, the rabbis tell us to offer the omer on the day after the Pesach, no matter when the Pesach falls. This is because the rabbis say that when Yahweh told Israel to offer the omer on mimaharat HaShabbat (the day after the Shabbat, מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת), what He meant was to offer the omer on the day after the Pesach (mimaharat HaPesach, מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח). However, this theology fails, for many reasons.
First, Yahweh is perfectly capable of telling us which day of the week to offer the omer, yet He did not say to offer the omer on the day after the Passover (מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח). Rather, He said to offer it on the day after the weekly Sabbath (מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת). (Why not believe Him?)
Second, if Yahweh wanted us to offer the omer on the day after the Passover no matter when the Passover fell, then the instructions for offering the omer would have been given with the instructions for the First Day of Unleavened Bread. However, they are not. (Rather, they are given separately.)
Third, if we substitute the word Passover for the word Sabbath uniformly in Leviticus 23:15-16, it tells us we are not able to hold the Pentecost until seven Passovers (i.e., seven years) have been completed. It is nonsense.
Leviticus 23:15-16 (Rabbinical Nonsense Version)
15 “And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Passover, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Passovers shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days, to the day after the seventh Passover; then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahweh.”
Further, Yahweh fixes a date for every other feast in Scripture (e.g., Passover is on the 14th day of the first month, and the First Day of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th, etc.), yet He never sets a date either for Yom HaNafat HaOmer or for Shavuot. This is because even though Yom HaNafat HaOmer and Shavuot feast always fall on the first day of the week, the calendar dates change from year to year.
However, since the rabbis do not recognize their error, they hold Yom HaNafat HaOmer on the day after the Pesach (i.e., on the first day of Unleavened Bread) no matter when the Pesach falls. Later we will see how this causes them to stumble at Yeshua. However, first let us look at the Torah commandments for Shavuot.
The Torah Commandments for Shavuot
As we saw earlier, at the end of the seven weeks (i.e., after fifty-days) we hold Shavuot (Pentecost). Shavuot is called the Feast of Weeks.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9-10
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain.
10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your Elohim with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as Yahweh your Elohim blesses you.
In Israel, the oats, the barley, and the wild heirloom black Emmer wheat all come out of the ground at the same time, but they develop at different rates. However, if we time Rosh HaShanah correctly, then not only will the firstfruits of barley be ready by Yom HaNafat HaOmer, but the firstfruits of wheat will also be ready by Shavuot. This is perhaps why Shavuot is also called “the day of the firstfruits (of wheat).” (Note: the word firstfruits is biccurim (בִּכּוּרִים), which as we saw earlier is the word for the very first of the new fruits.)
Bemidbar (Numbers) 28:26
26 “Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to Yahweh at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a set-apart gathering. You shall do no customary work.”
Numbers 28:26 tells us not to do any customary work on Shavuot. Instead, we should have a set-apart gathering (as they did in Acts 2).
Then in Exodus 23:16, Shavuot is called the Feast of the Harvest.
Shemote (Exodus) 23:14-16
14 “Three times you shall keep a pilgrimage feast to Me in the year:
15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);
16 and the Feast of the Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.”
Next, Exodus 34:22 gives us another witness that we need the firstfruits of wheat for Shavuot.
Shemote (Exodus) 34:22
22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits [בִּכּוּרֵי] of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.
Further, in the same way we are told to bring an omer of the firstfruits of our barley for Yom HaNafat HaOmer, Leviticus 23:15-17 tells us to present two leavened wave-loaves from the firstfruits of the new crop of wheat.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:15-17
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the [barley] wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahweh.
17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits [בִּכּוּרִים] to Yahweh.”
About Making the Pilgrimages
Shavuot is described as a Chag (חַג), or a pilgrimage feast. As we saw in the last chapter, Yahweh said that He would again choose Jerusalem (e.g. 1 Kings 14:21, 2 Chronicles 12:13), and we believe He chose it again in 1948. That means that if we live in the land of Israel, we should go up to Jerusalem for the feasts. However, when we are not living in the land, we do not need to go up to Jerusalem for the feasts, and Shaul did not go up to Jerusalem for fourteen years when he was out on his missionary voyages (e.g., Galatians 2:1). (However, it is good to go if we can.)
About Yeshua in the Feast
In “Aviv Barley and the Head of the Year”, we saw that the Omer offering represents Yeshua (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
Most scholars believe that Yeshua was cut off in the middle of the week. This is based partly on the Renewed Covenant (below), and partly on Daniel 9:26-27, which tells us that the Messiah would be cut off in the middle of the week. (For details, see “The Anti-Messiah’s Temple” in Revelation and the End Times.)
Daniel 9:26-27
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”
Matthew 12:40 tells us that Yeshua would be in the grave for three days and three nights.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 12:40
40 “For as Yonah 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.”
We know that Yeshua was resurrected either on the Sabbath, or at the start of the first day of the week (when the Sabbath ends and the first day of the week begins). Either way, He was fully risen on the first day of the week (when the Wave Sheaf is to be offered).
Yochanan (John) 20:1
1 Now 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.
Seventeen verses later, Yeshua tells Miriam not to cling to Him, as He still had to ascend to His Father. This is just as the Wave Sheaf must be presented to Yahweh on the first day of the week.
Yochanan (John) 20:17
17 Yeshua said to her, “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 Elohim and your Elohim.'”
Yeshua was cut off in the middle of the week, and then raised three days and three nights later (either on the Sabbath, or as the first day of the week begins). Then He ascended to His Father on the first day of the week as the prophetic fulfillment of the omer.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Pass. | 1ULB | 2ULB | 3ULB | |||
| Omer | 5ULB | 6ULB | 7ULB | 5Om | 6Om | 7Om |
| 8Om | 9Om | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 |
| 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| 43 | 44 | 458 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 |
| Pent. |
Pass. = Passover in the middle of the week
3ULB = Yeshua raised on the third day (or at end)
Omer = Yeshua ascends as the Wave Sheaf
Pent. = Pentecost (always first day of the week)
The Rabbinic Error of “MiMaharat HaPesach” Again
The history fits so perfectly that we could easily move on without further comment, except that Josephus, Philo, and the Talmud all inform us that during the first century, the rabbis did not follow the Torah Calendar method either for the omer count or for Pentecost. Rather, they used the same method for determining the omer count as they do today. However, this has the omer being offered on the day after the Passover, which would have put the omer and Pentecost on the fifth day of the week that year. This is strictly against Leviticus 23:15, and this is how it would have looked:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Pass | 1Omr | 2ULB | 3ULB | |||
| 4ULB | 5ULB | 6ULB | 7ULB | 8Omr | 9Omr | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
| 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 |
| 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | Pent. | Sab. |
Pass. = Passover
1 Omer = Rabbinic Wave Sheaf offered
3ULB = Yeshua raised on the third day (or at end)
4ULB = Yeshua waived before Yahweh
R.Pent.= Rabbinical Pentecost
For people who may wonder what difference it really makes how we keep the calendar, note how Yeshua’s resurrection and ascension equate to nothing prophetic on the Rabbinical Calendar. This is probably one of the reasons why the rabbis stumbled at Yeshua, is that they had the wrong calendar model, and therefore they could not see how Yeshua fulfilled the omer offering.
When Pentecost was Fully Come
In contrast, the real Pentecost did not take place on the fifth day of the week, but on the first day of the week following that Sabbath. This is when the Pentecost was not falsely come, but fully come.
Ma’asei (Acts) 2:1-2
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
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.
Parallels Between Sinai and Acts 2
There are parallels between Shavuot in the Wilderness of Sinai, and in Acts 2.
According to tradition, fifty days after Israel crossed the Reed (Red) Sea, Yahweh gave Israel the Torah. Parallel to that, fifty days after Yeshua’s resurrection, Yahweh poured out the gift of the Set-apart Spirit.
At the Pentecost in Sinai, the Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of stone. At the Pentecost in Acts Chapter Two, Yahweh wrote His Torah in our minds and on our hearts.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 31:33
33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put My Torah in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.”
When the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai, three thousand men were slain (Exodus 32:28). However, when the Spirit was poured out in Acts 2, about three thousand men received salvation.
Ma’asei (Acts) 2:41
41 Then those who gladly received his word were immersed; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Pesach symbolizes our selection as the bride, and also our redemption from physical bondage in Egypt. Shavuot symbolizes our public betrothal to Elohim, and our spiritual redemption and renewal in the Bridegroom.
Yeshua was the firstborn of Miriam (Mary).
Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:24-25
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the messenger of Yahweh commanded him, and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Yeshua.
Yeshua is also the first-born of Yahweh the Father.
Ivrim (Hebrews) 1:6
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the
world, He says: “Let all the messengers of Elohim worship Him.”
Yeshua was also the first one to be raised from the dead.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 1:5
5 and from Yeshua Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
As the first born of the dead, Yeshua is also the first born of many brethren.
Romim (Romans) 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Scripture also tells us that Yeshua is the first fruits of those who will be resurrected unto eternal life.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 15:20-23
20 But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the First Fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
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 Messiah all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Messiah the First Fruits, afterward those who are Messiah’s at His coming.
Surely Yeshua was the First Fruits of all of these things on His Father’s Torah Calendar.
Symbolism of the Barley and the Wheat
There is also some fascinating symbolism between the barley and the black heirloom Emmer wheat. As we mentioned before, the oats, the barley and the wheat all come out of the ground at the same time, but the barley develops faster. That is why, when the barley is aviv, the wheat is still afilot (dark, or shady). In these photos by sister Becca Biderman, the black heirloom Emmer wheat was still in the boot (i.e., stalk).
While the barley has single grains, the wheat has a single grain at the top, and then the rest of the grains come in pairs. Since grains ripen from the tip on down, the single grain would fall to the earth first. This seems reminiscent of how Yeshua said a grain of wheat must fall into the earth and die, to produce more grain (and that is what He did).
Yochanan (John) 12:23-24
23 But Yeshua answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
And when Yeshua fell to the earth (so to speak), many graves were opened, and the many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 27:52-53
52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the set-apart city and appeared to many.
This image shows how the barley has single grains, while the wheat has grains held together in pairs.
This photo shows the clasp that holds the wheat grains together.
Here is a closeup of the clasp.
If Yeshua is the grain at the tip that comes ripe first, and then falls into the ground and dies, then the two grains that are joined together may represent Ephraim and Judah, and the clasp holding them together is the Father’s hand, which holds them together as one new man in His hand.
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 37:15-20
15 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
16 “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’
17 Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’ —
19 say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh Elohim: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”‘
20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.”