Holy Days
Part Eight
Resurrection of Messiah and the Day of the Wave Sheaf
According to the biblical festival system, the following Sunday (First Day of the week) immediately after the Passover is not called "Easter". In fact, the children of Israel have been commanded not to mingle the names of the pagan deities into the the worship of YHWH with their lips. (See Exodus 23:13) Easter was the Mesopotamian fertility goddess whose worship the Israelites are commanded to shun. Unfortunately the Christian church took a wrong turn long ago and fell back into this practice. Instead of celebrating it as "Easter Sunday" the Hebrews were commanded to memorialize the day by presenting a sheaf of barley at the temple (See Leviticus 23:11).
After the priest presented it, all the people picked up their cutting tools and went to work mowing down the barley in their fields. The was not to happen until the Sunday after the Passover. According to the scriptures, Sunday remained a day of work for the Apostolic church and was not recognized as a substitute for the 7th day Sabbath (Saturday) even if the Messiah rose from the grave on that day. The only exception to this was on the Day of Pentecost (which always occurs on a Sunday) or if the Feast of Unleavened bread falls on Sunday.
The meaning appears to be prophetic as Jesus presented himself to the father immediately after his resurrection. Most likely this event occurred in conjunction with the wave offering at the temple. He was most likely accompanied into the heavenly courts with those who had been resurrected immediately after his death (see Matthew 27:52). So while the barley sheaf was being waved on earth, Jesus was waving those resurrected at his death before the father. The 24 elders found in the book of Revelation are likely made up of these resurrected persons.