Resurrection and Promise in the

by Randy Folliard

As Yahshua the Messiah fulfilled the Passover through His death, so He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread through His resurrection. It was during this time when our Savior conquered death and the grave.

I have often considered which is greater – Yahshua’s death or His resurrection? I believe they are equal in importance. Without Yahshua’s death we would have no redemption from sin, and without His resurrection we would have no hope of the resurrection.

If He had never conquered the grave, we would die eternally. It is only through Him that we find the promise of redemption and the hope of eternal life. In John 11:25 Yahshua said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”

As we reviewed His death during the Passover, let us now focus on His triumph over death and proclaim that the Messiah is risen!

A key biblical concept is firstfruits. It was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the wave sheaf was offered, being the firstfruits of the barley harvest, Leviticus 23:10-14.

Understanding Firstfruits

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto Yahweh. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto Yahweh for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your Elohim: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”

This a description of the wave sheaf offering. As we see from Deuteronomy 16:9 and from Jewish antiquity, including from Josephus and the Mishna, the Israelites could not harvest or eat the new grain until the wave sheaf was offered:

“Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn” (Deut. 16:9).

Ancient historian Josephus writes, “And while they suppose it proper to honor [Elohim], from whom they obtain this plentiful provision, in the first place, they offer the first-fruits of their barley, and that in the manner following: They take a handful of the ears, and dry them, then beat them small, and purge the barley from the bran; they then bring one tenth deal to the altar, to [Elohim]; and, casting one handful of it upon the fire, they leave the rest for the use of the priest. And after this it is that they may publicly or privately reap their harvest. They also at this participation of the first-fruits of the earth, sacrifice a lamb, as a burntoffering to [Elohim],” (Antiquities of