Christian Churches of God

No. 106bz

 

 

Summary:

The Wave Sheaf Offering

(Edition 2.1 19950416-20000423)

The Wave Sheaf Offering is important in order to understand the full implications of Christ’s sacrifice, and the power that he was given in terms of his resurrection from the dead.

 

 

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA

Email: secretary@ccg.org

(Copyright ã 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 Wade Cox)

(Summary by Dale Nelson edited Wade Cox)

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The Wave Sheaf Offering

Christ commenced a sequence of offerings waved before the Lord, which are brought before the face of God. Christ was the first fruit and this is symbolised by the Wave Sheaf Offering Service held during the Passover/Unleavened Bread period. He was the first of a sequence, which continues all the way through until the time of the Gentiles is completed and all of the 144,000 in Israel are numbered.

Leviticus 23 shows when the Wave Sheaf offering is to be made. It is on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath within the Passover/Unleavened Bread period.

The Wave Sheaf Offering requires that neither bread nor grain parched or fresh, be eaten until the offering is made on that day (Lev. 23:14). Hence prior to the Wave Sheaf Offering, fruit of the old harvest is eaten. This correlates also with Joshua 5:11-12 when the new corn is eaten after the Passover in the new land of Canaan.

This is because the Wave Sheaf is the first of the first fruits of a new harvest. Christ is that first fruit. He is accompanied by a meal offering of bread and wine. The he-lamb offered was Christ.

This is consistent with John 20:1, 14-18 where we find that Mary goes to the tomb early on Sunday morning while it was still dark and the tomb stone had been taken away. Hence, Christ had been resurrected some time on the Saturday night. It was at the end of the Sabbath just as they were entering the first day of the week. From his conversation with her in John 20:15-17 we know that he had not yet ascended to heaven and could not be polluted by anyone touching him until he had. He was waiting to fulfill this sacrifice, waved as the firstfruit, so that he could then take his place in heaven as our High Priest. From Hebrews we know that he had to take a blood sacrifice in order to enter the Holy of Holies. That blood sacrifice was himself and the Holy of Holies is God the Father’s presence.

The importance of this is that God required a leader of his people who was willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his people. Satan was not willing to do that and hence was cast out of heaven. This laying down of your life for your brother was the example set for us all. All the disciples except for John died from martyrdom, also demonstrating their love for all brethren in trying to overcome the adversary and the forces of this world.

It is both the physical world and the spiritual that is being dealt with by this sacrifice of Christ. This wave sheaf offering and the sacrifices required are tied in together. All the blood sacrifices and wave offerings made pointed towards this ultimate sacrifice of Christ’s. They were done to show that an atonement and consecration of the physical to God was a requirement for us to come before God. Christ has now achieved that.

Exodus 29:24-27 talks of an offering for the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood. Exodus 29:29-30 shows the first of the heave offerings was to consecrate the priesthood and cleanse their garments in order that they could minister within the Holy Place. Christ replaced the physical Aaronic ministry through his sacrifice. Messiah was understood to have been the Messiah of Aaron and he was the priest Messiah. He became the High Priest of a new order, that of Melchizedek. Other related scriptures regarding the reconciliation of the priesthood to God are Leviticus 8:27-29, Leviticus 9:21, and Leviticus 10:14-15. Out of this concept of the Wave Offering the priesthood was given a portion. The portion is now extended into the Elect, showing a reconciliation of us with Christ, as part of the Wave Offering. (Lev. 14:12-24). Christ cleansed the garments of the elect by the wave offering so that they can become priests and be clothed to come before God. (See also Ezek. 44:17ff, Zech. 3:5, Mat. 22:11-12, Rev. 3:4,18, 6:11, 7:9,14, and 16:15).

Leviticus 7 deals with the Trespass Offering, which is offered for the priesthood. This too was fulfilled in Christ. Every male, the entire tribe of Levi and every Priest was to be consecrated to the Lord and in Christ every one of the Elect, every person selected and brought into the faith as a Priest was consecrated by Christ as a Trespass Offering by his death.

This symbolism follows on for the peace Offerings from Chapter 7:11 through to verse 25 and the Breast and Heave Offerings. Christ’s sacrifice allows us to be at peace and achieves the prophecies in Isaiah as a Prince of Peace. He offered himself for peace and did away with the sacrifice of the Peace Offering. When it is said that Christ fulfilled all the sacrifices he did not just do so by his existence. He also did so by his sacrifice.

The jealousy offering of Numbers 5:12-31 is also related. The Wave Offering to reconcile the woman to her husband is also to reconcile the elect of the nations to her husband, Christ. The woman is cursed for adultery (Num. 5:21) as Israel is for idolatry. Messiah reconciled Israel and the Host to God through his Wave Offering.

The vow of a Nazarene is also now no longer applicable to us. Through Christ’s sacrifice we are reconciled as Nazarites to the point where we can drink of the bread and wine of Christ. The reason the Nazarite abstained from wine was because he did not have the Holy Spirit. The closest they could get was through this ritual purification; the Holy Spirit was not achieved unless granted by God in special cases such as with Samson. Nothing we can do, of and by ourselves, can reconcile us to God. Christ’s sacrifice is essential to that and hence we are all Nazarites once and for all to God. The light and countenance of God shines upon us, and the name of God is placed upon us, as part of the children of Israel (Num 6:27).

The Wave Sheaf Offering of Christ also begins the countdown to Pentecost (from Lev. 23:15-17), which is a symbolism of the redemption of the elect in the first resurrection. Seven clear weekly Sabbaths are counted from the day after the weekly Sabbath to come to Pentecost, which is on the morrow of the seventh Sabbath. Both the Wave Sheaf and Pentecost are hence on the first day of the week, a Sunday (50 days apart).

These fifty days demonstrate the Jubilee system in man. They represent fifty years of the Holy Spirit developing in man. (That is from being an adult at 20 and the average life span being three score and ten, hence having 50 years of adult life). This offering also shows the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Elect. The elect receive the Holy Spirit as a people in power at the first Pentecost in 30 AD. This fulfilled the symbolism of the leavened loaves (Lev. 23:15-17); being leavened or increased with the Holy Spirit.

The Pentecost sacrifice from Leviticus 23:18 also involves seven lambs, a young bull and two rams with cereal and drink offerings. The seven lambs represent the seven Churches of God (Rev. 1-3). The bullock is the bullock that was sacrificed as the central leader of the elect and the two rams symbolise the two witnesses (Rev. 11). This is also symbolised by the lampstands in the Temple, which build up to the return of the Messiah. There are ten.

The wine and drink offerings are the elect. It is only those who are baptised into the body of Jesus Christ who are clean in terms of the sacrifices and the offering. With Christ’s sacrifice he became the High Priest of the elect who were instituted as the living stones of the temple of God, the Holy Place. The Heave Offerings and hallowed things were placed with the elect, the priests of God (Num 18:11-18).

What this is pointing to is the concept of being clean in Israel and being accepted by God. All of these offerings are waved before the Lord so that they come before the face of God and are taken into his system. Christ commenced this sequence, the first fruit waved before God. He set the stage for all of the elect to be taken out of the Nations and baptised, redeemed and waved before the Lord. We are to become priests, separate and consecrated to God in preparation for the Millennium.

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