Amir Tsarfati and his „First Fruits Resurrection Sunday“

As already demonstrated in the chapter on the Calendar of God, on the counting of the Omer, on the Palm Sabbath and especially in the text on the First Fruits, the Hebrews, Pharisees, Jesus, Paul and the first Christians defined the „day after the Sabbath“ mentioned in Leviticus 23 (on which the firstfruits of barley were harvested) as the „day after the High annual Sabbath“ (i.e. as the 16th Nisan), but not as the „day after the small weekly Sabbath“ (i.e. not as Sunday), as the Sadducee sect thought.

Although the biblical text and extra-biblical sources are clear on this point, there are still many pastors in Christendom who do not follow God's biblical calendar (Lev 23; Deut 16), but the Pope's Gregorian calendar. They only celebrate Sundays every year: [1st] weekly Sunday, [2nd] Palm Sunday, [3rd] Easter Sunday, [4th] Pentecost Sunday and [5th] the 4 Sundays of Advent. Since the words "Easter" and "Easter Sunday" sound too pagan or too Catholic to them (although the word "Easter" appears in the KJV at Acts 12:4), they prefer to use the non-biblical word "First Fruit Sunday". Since this word has been adopted by many pastors worldwide, these people do not even realize that they are spreading a doctrine that is against God because it replaces God's calendar.

Eph 4:11-14: „And he Jesus] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.“

The Bible speaks of the „first Sabbath“ after Passover, but Mr. Tsarfati speaks of the „first Sunday“ and does not pay attention to Paul's warnings:

1Cor 4:6: „I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.“

1Thess 5:21-22: „Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil“ (KJV).

Eph 5:11: „Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them“ (ESV).

Those who are cowardly silent are complicit in the disunity in Christendom with the two days of resurrection; and it is normal that those are hated who expose these Sunday errors and take the Bible (Mark 16:9) and Jesus' Messiah sign of the „3 days and 3 nights“ (Mt 12:38-40) literally, the most important sign in the history of mankind. But the world prefers a turbo resurrection of Jesus so they can get to the Sunday they want, the feast day of those who crucified our Lord and the day the world celebrates to this day.

It really hurts us when millions of Christians have to hear this advertisement for the alleged Easter Sunday, which some call "Firstfruits Sunday", over and over again and have fallen into this Catholic trap. They have heard it so often for decades that they have already internalized it as a fact. Consciously or unconsciously, they have isolated themselves from God's calendar with the 7 days of assembly (Hebrew moedim) with God. Instead, they gather with the Pope and all the many daughter churches that have sprung up around the world. Unfortunately, Messianic Christians (or Messianic Jews) are also among them, as some follow either the Catholic Gregorian calendar or the inaccurate Jewish calendar from the 4th century AD, which in some years (such as 2024) is a whole month late because the leap month was calculated at the wrong time. With the exception of a few years, almost all Christians worldwide therefore celebrate on the wrong days and what is even more dramatic: they do NOT gather with God. They either come 1-3 days too early or too late, or, as in 2024, even a whole month too late.

Let's take a look at a video that Amir Tsarfati published on YouTube before Easter 2024. Here are some translated quotes (with the minutes). The original English version can be found on the English website:

• 04:32: „Father we thank you for... the resurrection, the first fruits resurrection, the first Sunday after the Passover just as you prescribed for the children of Israel to celebrate as in Leviticus 23.“
• 06:02: „It [the replica] has a closed tomb because it's not yet Sunday morning, it's not yet the time for that prophecy to be fulfilled.“
• 31:09: „So the Christian calendar this year and the Jewish calendar this year do not really coincide, do not really come together. But I can tell you folks that I don't believe in Christian or Jewish calendar. I believe in biblical calendar. And the biblical calendar is telling us that there is the month of Nisan is the first month… But I want you to know that the Bible says that Passover shall be celebrated and the first Sunday after Passover is the first fruits. And it's not interesting if He was crucified either, you know, Thursday or Friday and I don't want to get into that because again, the minute you get into where He was buried and when He was crucified, you are dragged to the place that takes away the emphasis of the resurrection itself. But I can tell you that Sunday morning, when Mary came to that tomb, He was already resurrected and as 1 Corinthians 15 says, He was the first fruit. Just like He was our Passover, now He is our first fruit.“
• 1:02:28: „I want to wish you a happy first fruit resurrection. I don't like to use the term "Easter" that comes from Isthar and Astroth and the goddess of fertility and bunnies and eggs. I prefer the biblical term from Leviticus 23 „first fruits“ and indeed He was the first fruit resurrection so I wish you a wonderful First Fruits Resurrection Sunday and God bless you all and Shalom…“

The only point that is true here is that Jesus was our firstfruits-resurrection, because He was the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep and was raised to eternal life (1 Cor 6:14; 15:20-24; Col 1:18). But what is not true is the day of the week on which the firstfruit of Jesus were raised. Please allow me to make a few comments on Mr. Tsarfati's wording:

Mr. Amir Tsarfati thanks God for the „first Sunday“, but we thank God for the „first Sabbath“. He speaks several times of the „first Sunday“ after Passover (Nisan 15), but the Bible speaks of the „first Sabbath“ after Passover, on which our Lord rose from the dead. This refers to „the one/first of the Sabbaths“ (Mk 16:2; Luke 24:1; Jn 20:1), namely the first of the 7 weekly Sabbaths that must be counted each year after Passover (15th Nisan) until Pentecost (50th day), as commanded in Leviticus 23. These 7 Sabbaths are found in every biblical calendar and in every Jewish calendar, even with Gregorian dates. Leviticus 23 does not count 7 Sundays, but 7 Sabbaths. So that there is no misunderstanding, Mark said it very clearly: „early on the first Sabbath“ (Mk 16:9), but not „early on the first Sunday“, as Mr. Tsarfati says. Who should we believe more, him or the 4 evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

If he is referring to the „first Sunday after Passover“, how does he determine this "Passover", like the Pope does every year? In any case, not according to the biblical calendar and not according to the Jewish calendar either, because in 2024 the Jewish festivals were a month later because the leap year was calculated incorrectly. Easter Sunday 2024 was therefore celebrated a whole month before the Jewish Passover 2024. Thus, there is also an extreme difference to the temporal celebration of the Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruach) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In 2020 and 2023, Passover fell on the same days in both calendars, the 14th of Nisan (Preparation Day) fell on a Wednesday, the 15th of Nisan (Passover) on a Thursday and the „first Sabbath“ after Passover fell on the 17th of Nisan. 

The Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (*ca. 285, †337), who himself worshipped the sun god Sol Invictus (the invincible sun god), determined at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD with the participation of over 300 bishops that the biblical 14th Nisan (day of preparation) and 15th Nisan (feast Sabbath) should no longer be celebrated, but instead the new Easter according to the new Roman church calendar. It was determined that the new Easter must be celebrated by all churches on the same day, namely on a Sunday after the Jewish Passover. This was the „first Sunday“. Many Christians who rejected this and preferred to observe the biblical feast of Israel were cruelly tortured or killed. So Mr. Tsarfati is not even aware that he is following the Roman Emperor's calendar with his own feast days, which have nothing to do with the Bible, but want to distance themselves from it. If anyone has a different opinion, please show us this „first Sunday“ after Passover, because we only find the „first Sabbath“ after Passover in the Bible (Mk 16:9; Mk 16:2; Mt 28:1; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19).

According to the Catholic Church, the high Sabbath (15th Nisan) in the year of the crucifixion fell on a little weekly Sabbath, so that there is talk of a Double Sabbath. This is actually possible in some years in God's calendar (e.g. 2019, 2026) and in the Jewish calendar (e.g. 2022, 2029, 2032) (see illustration below at point 4). However, the major Catholic holiday "Easter Sunday" is then always not a biblical holiday, but a normal working day AFTER the biblical feast day. In concrete terms, this means that Christians gather with the Pope and his church on Easter Sunday, but not with the God of the Bible and His spiritual church, as His feast day was the day before. There has never been a turbo resurrection desired by many Christians, because the Word of God (Jesus Christ) can express itself better than any human being and it is up to us whether we believe Him or whether we deny or abolish His Messiah sign (3 days and 3 nights) in favor of a Roman holiday:

Easter Sunday (Firstfruits Sunday) is the „first Sunday after Passover“, as Mr. Tsarfati and the Pope say. In our context, it is irrelevant whether the word "Passover (Pesach)" refers to the 14th Nisan (preparation day) or the 15th Nisan (as the High Sabbath is called in the Jewish calendar), as both days always precede Easter Sunday. The big exception was the year 2022 (see illustration under point 4), when Easter Sunday fell on the High Sabbath (15th Nisan), which is extremely rare and, as far as we know, only occurs about once every 2,000 years. This is not surprising, as the Pope's aim was to strictly distance himself from all biblical festivals because they were considered „too Jewish". Most Christians consciously or unconsciously follow these man-made guidelines. They do not know that the Bibles in the basic Greek text and in many translations actually speak of the „first Sabbath“ after Passover, which is also the „first Sabbath“ of the 7 weekly Sabbaths until Pentecost. 

The Bible speaks of the Sabbath 7 times (number of completeness, see Interlinear Bible) in the resurrection chapter of the NT, but Sunday is not mentioned once in the entire Bible. When Mr. Tsarfati nevertheless speaks of Sunday, he adds something to the Bible (Sunday) and at the same time takes something else away (Sabbath). He does refer to the King James Bible, which tells of the „first day of the week“, but as a Christian he must also observe the basic Greek text and other correct translations that have existed throughout the world for centuries. 

1Thess 5:19-21: „Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.“

The day on which the firstfruits sheaf was always offered rarely falls on a Sunday in God's calendar. And even if it does, it should always be noted that this day was not a holiday, but a normal working day „after the Sabbath“, from which the harvest of the early grain barley began after the sheaf of firstfruits was waved in the Jerusalem temple at 9 o'clock in the morning. But Mr. Tsarfati, like many Christians, turns a working day into a major holiday. The Bible only knows these following 7 High Sabbaths (feast days) and the Day of Firstfruits is only a small part of the entire 7-day Passover and has never been a High Sabbath (feast day) and never will be in all eternity, because Jesus was resurrected „on a Sabbath“. This was indeed „on the day after the great annual Sabbath“ (i.e. on the 16th of Nisan), but not „on the day after the small weekly Sabbath“, which was never a feast (evidence). Most Christians have therefore never gathered with God, but only with the Jews (according to the Jewish calendar) or with the Pope (according to the Gregorian calendar). The 7 feasts (High Sabbaths) of God are the 7 days of assembly with God according to Leviticus 23. If you disagree, please prove it to us biblically:

Mr. Tsarfati quotes the KJV, which speaks of the „first day of the week“. In this case, it is completely understandable that he must assume the Sunday resurrection. But this translated text was written from the year 1611, i.e. only in the 17th century, whereas in the 1,500 years before that, almost all Bibles in the world stated that Jesus was NOT resurrected „on the first day of the week“, but „on a Sabbath“ or „on a Saturday“. This is not only the case in the basic Greek text, but also in the most important translation in the history of Christianity, namely in the Latin Vulgate: „una sabbati = on a Sabbath.“ Since either the Greek basic text or the Vulgate served as the basis for translation into other languages, it is understandable why there are so many correct Bible translations worldwide, which we have listed (see Old Bibles). The KJV is not „inspired by God“ as some claim, but contains several errors and has even replaced the biblical word "Passover" with "Easter", which follows a completely different calendar, an absolute NO GO. One can even speak of a sin to bring this word into the Bible. More on this in the chapter: The KJV was not inspired by God.

Quote: „So the Christian calendar this year and the Jewish calendar this year do not really coincide, do not really come together.“ Only this year? There are three calendars: [1.] the biblical and astronomical calendar of God, in which each month begins with the first visible crescent moon (new light) over Jerusalem, [2.] the mathematical Jewish calendar from the 4th century AD and [3.] the Catholic (Gregorian) calendar from 1582, which was derived from the Roman (Julian) calendar.

Since no exact differentiation is made between the different calendars and dates, this results in an even worse error, which is mentioned in the following point:

Quote: „But I can tell you folks that I don't believe in Christian or Jewish calendar. I believe in biblical calendar.“ This quote really leaves us stunned. It is a real pain to hear this, because this is how millions of Christians are deceived, because they now think that the Bible would supposedly teach Resurrection Sunday in God's calendar. Yes, for anyone who really has agape love in them, it is a real pain and suffering to have to hear and read something like this. Can Mr. Tsarfati please show us where in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 it says that God wants us to celebrate only Sundays every year and have a Palm Sunday, an Easter Sunday (Firstfruits Sunday) and a Pentecost Sunday every year and that the weekly Sabbath has been turned into a weekly preparation day for the pagan feast day Sunday? Mr. Tsarfati cannot show this, but we can show the calendar of God and it is explained here in detail and so far there has not been a single Christian for many years who has shown us that even a part of this calculation of the 7 feast days (High Sabbaths) is wrong, but we have received many thank you emails because we have opened the eyes of Christians. Once again, Mr. Tsarfati, please show us your many annual and weekly Sundays in the Torah (Lev 23; Deut 16), then we'll see, ok?

Now there are supposed to be only holy great Sundays, preceded by the small Sabbath preparation days?

1. weekly Sunday,

2. Palm Sunday,

3. Easter Sunday (Firstfruits Sunday),

4. Pentecost Sunday,

5. Sunday of Advent.

The fact is: all (!) Sabbaths have been abolished and degraded to small preparation days for Sunday, on which the car is washed, the house is cleaned and the shopping is done. A biblical day of rest "Sabbath" (from Hebrew: "to cease" or "to rest") and all 7 High biblical Sabbaths (feasts) have been turned into new working days. And this is really supposed to be the will of God and Jesus, to introduce the holidays of the Romans and the Pope? Really? So we are supposed to keep the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman holidays of those who killed our Lord and then call these festivals "Christian" or even "biblical according to Leviticus 23" based on the pagan calendar? And we are supposed to remain silent about this?

With regard to the day of Jesus' resurrection, are we to overshadow the Word of God or reinterpret it in such a way that the biblical „first Sabbath“ (singular and plural) after Passover becomes a pagan „first Sunday“ after Passover? And from „3 days and 3 nights“ should a turbo resurrection be created in order to achieve this Sunday goal?

Are these Christians really not aware of the damage they are doing to Christianity and how they are destroying unity in the faith? What kind of different gospel is it to abolish God's astronomical calendar and postpone the day of Jesus' resurrection?

Quote: „The Bible says that Passover shall be celebrated and the first Sunday after Passover is the first fruits.“ Where does the Bible say that? No, it's not in Leviticus 23, but Mr. Tsarfati follows the teaching of the Sadducees, of whom Jesus insistently warned) and the teaching of the Pope. He lives in Israel and should know that the Hebrews always offered the firstfruits „on the day after the high Sabbath“, i.e. on the 16th of Nisan, not „on the day after a small weekly Sabbath“. This is still the case in Israel today, that the 50 days to Pentecost are always counted from the 16th of Nisan, because the 15th of Nisan was the day of deliverance (Exodus) after the blood of the lamb was shed, and this day is the decisive day in the connection to Pentecost (our spiritual Exodus). This is not a new teaching from us. Here is further evidence that the firstfruits were always waved on the 16th of Nisan in Jerusalem and that this 16th of Nisan fell on different days of the week from year to year.

Quote: „And it's not interesting if He [Jesus] was crucified either, you know, Thursday or Friday and I don't want to get into that because again, the minute you get into where He was buried and when He was crucified, you are dragged to the place that takes away the emphasis of the resurrection itself.“ Wrong, completely wrong. It's the other way around, it's very interesting and important. Please give some thought to how you would come up with the Messiah sign with the „3 days and 3 nights“ if Jesus was crucified on a Good Friday and resurrected on an Easter Sunday? A Thursday is also impossible as the day of the crucifixion, only a Wednesday comes into consideration. Statistically speaking, the 14th of Nisan (preparation day) very often falls on a Wednesday, namely about every third year. This was also the case in 2020 and 2023, when the Biblical and Jewish calendars fell on the same days of the week. Here you can see in any free online Jewish calendar when the Feast of Firstfruits was, namely on the 16th of Nisan, the day after the High Sabbath. And you can also see how the 50 days to Pentecost are calculated in both calendars.

You are probably afraid to deal with the day of the week of the crucifixion, because then you would find too many contradictions in the Bible if you were to prove your Sunday theory biblically. Apart from the KJV, you have nothing to go on, but we are very happy to deal with the subject of the day of the week on which our Lord died.

It is exactly the opposite of what you say, because the fact that Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday and then rose again after „3 days and 3 nights“ (Mt 12:38-40) „early on the first Sabbath“ (Mk 16:9) does not devalue the Lord's resurrection, but actually enhances it. Through His resurrection on a Sabbath, Jesus also fulfilled the law perfectly in this respect and became our Sabbath rest. Simply perfect, it couldn't be better:

We have written to Mr. Amir Tsarfati several times to make him aware of the errors. We do not know whether he was informed about the content. His staff did not respond to our arguments at all, but simply replied that we should read the King James Bible (KJV) because it says that Jesus was resurrected „on the first day of the week“. Unbelievable. It would be helpful if Mr. Tsarfati and his associates would inform themselves better, because they apparently only know the KJV from 1611 and after; but we know the basic Greek text and have published a large collection on new and historical Bibles (with facsimiles). It says in very many manuscripts and prints that Jesus was resurrected “on a Sabbath morning and appeared to the disciples „on the evening of the same Sabbath“ (not „on the same Sunday“; Jn 20:19), as it says in the Luther Bible. Mr. Tsarfati also speaks German, so he can see that not only the Luther Bible, but many other German translations also speak of the Sabbath or even Saturday. The same applies to many Czech, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish and English Bibles. There cannot be two days of resurrection, where every Christian can choose whichever one he likes, depending on which Bible translation he has. Biblically, there is only one day of resurrection and it is called "Sabbath" 7 times in the Bible, in the singular and plural, it couldn't be clearer. Instead of the „first Sunday“ after Passover, the Bible actually teaches the „first Sabbath“ after Passover.

We have placed the following comment under Tsratfi's Easter 2024 video in the hope that more Christians will move towards the biblical foundation and calendar:

„It is sad that even Christians from Israel do not know God's biblical calendar from Leviticus 23. The day after the High Sabbath (Nisan 15) was a normal working day (Nisan 16, First Fruits), on which the priests went out into the fields to cut the first fruits of the barley harvest and offer them as a wave offering in the temple. This took place at the time of the morning sacrifice at 9 o'clock in the morning. After this, the people began to work (not to rest) and the harvest could begin. But some Christians turn a working day into a holiday.

The Saducees brought firstfruits on the day after the small weekly Sabbath, i.e. on Sunday, but Jesus warned against their teachings and poor knowledge of the Bible (Mt 22:29), they also did not believe in angels, spirits or the resurrection and you really want to follow their traditions and the catholic church? Really?

Jesus was not resurrected on a Sunday, this is an extra-biblical theory of the Romans and the Catholic Church, so that Christians also rest on the holidays of the Gentiles.

The Bible says in the basic Greek text that Jesus was resurrected „early on the first Sabbath“ (Mk 16:9). This is also the statement of many correct Bible translations worldwide. What is the „first Sabbath“ or the „the first of the Sabbaths“ (Mark 16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1)? It is easy, this is the first of the 7 Sabbaths that must be counted each year between Passover (Nisan 15) and Pentecost and are found in every biblical calendar and Jewish calendar. Every child understands this statement, It's not about Sunday, it's always about the Sabbath.

The Catholic Bibles from the Middle Ages even speak of Jesus' resurrection on a SATURDAY morning (or some of a Sabbath morning) but NOT Sunday morning. And the Luther Bible was also well translated, „on the evening of the same Sabbath, when the disciples were gathered together...“ (John 20:19).

The resurrection Sabbath is also the statement of many Spanish, German, Czech, Swedish, Polish Bibles and also some old and new English Bibles. If you only read the King James Bible, which even use the word "EASTER" (an absolute NO GO), then you will never know the truth and will never be able to explain many contradictions.

Jesus was resurrected after „3 days and 3 nights“, that was the sign of the Messiah for the whole world, not a turbo resurrection after half the time.

It is so sad that Amir Tsarfati has also fallen into this Roman and Catholic trap and rejects God's calendar and instead follows the Pope's calendar with its annual Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday, always just Sunday. This is something that has never existed and will never exist in God's calendar. This is disobedience.

God has appointed the assembly days (modim) and he who comes at the wrong time is celebrating with himself or with another god, but not with the God of the Bible.“

„Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil“

(1Thess 5:21-22; KJV)

„Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them“

(Eph 5:11, ESV)