The events in Joshua 5 concerning Wavesheaf Day are significant in understanding the timeline and adherence to God's commands. In Joshua 5:11, it is stated that the children of Israel ate the produce of the land on the day after Passover, which aligns with the beginning of the 15th of Abib during the Night To Be Much Observed. This timing indicates they were eating unleavened bread as the 15th began, in observance of a memorial of their exodus from Egypt exactly 40 years prior and the ratification of God's covenant with Abraham. There is no mention in Joshua 5 of a Wavesheaf offering occurring during the daylight of the 15th, which is the First Day of Unleavened Bread and an annual Sabbath. Such an offering is not recorded because it could not legally be made on a Sabbath, as Leviticus 23:11 specifies that the Wavesheaf must be waved on the day after a Sabbath. Additionally, the Israelites could not meet the requirements for the Wavesheaf offering since the grain had to be from seed they had planted, offered by a circumcised person under the covenant with God, and accompanied by an animal sacrifice, which Deuteronomy 12 forbids until peace was established in the land and the Tabernacle was in place. The Wavesheaf offering is not a part of the Days of Unleavened Bread but is associated with Pentecost, symbolizing a harvest, whereas the Days of Unleavened Bread focus on God's faithfulness and coming out of sin. The insistence on placing the Wavesheaf offering within the Days of Unleavened Bread is unsupported by the events in Joshua 5, as Joshua strictly followed God's law, and no scriptural basis exists for a Sabbath Passover or a Wavesheaf offering on the First Day of Unleavened Bread.

When the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert Armstrong changed the observance of Pentecost to Sunday in 1974, a new practice emerged concerning Wavesheaf Day. This practice insisted that Wavesheaf Day, rather than the Sabbath, had to fall within Unleavened Bread, even if it coincided with a holy day. Historically, during the time of Christ, Wavesheaf Day marked the beginning of the harvest, a critical workday for the Israelites, and was not observed on a holy day when no customary work was to be done, as instructed by God. The significance of Wavesheaf Day as the start of the harvest meant it involved labor, such as putting the sickle to the grain, which was the day to begin counting the seven weeks as commanded in Deuteronomy 16:9. This labor-intensive nature of the day contrasts with the sanctity of holy days, leading to the understanding that Wavesheaf Day should not fall on such a day. Examining the phrase "when you come into the land" from Leviticus 23:10, often associated with the Wavesheaf offering, reveals it as a general instruction for when Israel was settled in the land, not necessarily immediately upon crossing the Jordan. Other requirements modified this instruction, indicating that the Wavesheaf offering was not required in Joshua 5 on the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Additional instructions, such as those in Deuteronomy 26, show that possessing and dwelling in the land, and having a designated place for God's name, were conditions to be met over time. Further, in Numbers 15, a similar "when you come into the land" instruction for a heave offering involves significant labor like reaping, threshing, winnowing, and grinding. Assuming such work was done on a holy day for the Wavesheaf in Joshua 5 would imply a disregard for the sanctity of God's holy days. God's requirement that offerings must come from the Israelites' own labors, not from foreign hands, as seen in Exodus 23:16 and Leviticus 22:25, also suggests that the Wavesheaf could not have been offered in Joshua 5 with grain not sown by them. Thus, Joshua 5 does not support the idea that Wavesheaf Day and the beginning of the harvest could fall on a holy day. The holiness of God's annual Sabbaths remains paramount, affecting how offerings are made and ensuring they align with His sanctity and instructions.

Wavesheaf Day holds a crucial role in determining the observance of Pentecost, as the fifty-day count to Pentecost begins with this day. The Church of the Great God maintains that the count should always start on the day following the weekly Sabbath that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ensuring that Wavesheaf Day is consistently a Sunday. This rule is supported by the example of Jesus, the First of the Firstfruits, who was waved before the Father by ascending to heaven on the morning of the first day of the week after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In years when Passover falls on a weekly Sabbath, causing the first day of Unleavened Bread to be a Sunday, the count begins the next day, potentially outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to maintain a fixed and consistent rule. Scripture does not mandate that Wavesheaf Day must occur within the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and historical records show that various Jewish groups never observed Wavesheaf Day on any type of Sabbath, always placing it on a common workday following a Sabbath. The connection between Wavesheaf Day and Pentecost is further emphasized by their shared harvest symbolism, with Wavesheaf Day marking the beginning of the harvest and Pentecost its conclusion.

There has been a subtle doctrinal shift in how the Church of God counts to Pentecost, like the cultural rebranding which switched the political colors of the two major political parties during the 2000 U.S. election. Leviticus 23 commands God's people to count to Pentecost "from the morrow after the Sabbath" culminating on the day after the after the seventh Sabbath. Historically, God's Church followed the Sadducean practice anchoring the count to the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, with the Days of Unleavened Bread, even if the offering occurred on a holy day or a high Sabbath. In 1974, the church surreptitiously aligned itself with the Karaite practice of always putting Wavesheaf day within Unleavened Bread. Proponents tried to link Christ's resurrection with Unleavened Bread, at the cost of overriding clear, well-established, biblical commands. Unlike the change of observing Pentecost from Monday to Sunday, this additional subtle change was never explained publicly. Herbert W. Armstrong never publicly spoke or wrote about this second change. God's called-out saints must return to the original method for 1.) Scriptural integrity-the Sabbath refers to a weekly Sabbath rather than a high day. 2.) Historical and Theological Consistency-The Sadducees, who controlled the Temple at this time, used this method. 3.) Practical Faithfulness-the Wave Sheaf signals a task reserved for a workday rather than a Holy Sabbath. 4.) Guarding against doctrinal drift—just as slight changes in tradition can obscure core truths, such as Sunday worship replacing God's Sabbath, and adding requirements not found in Scripture, risks the danger of making the commands of Almighty God "of no effect." The count to Pentecost in 2025 and every year thereafter, must begin on the Sunday after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread.

Previously, we may have seemed to fixate on prophecy and timelines for God's masterplan rather than Christ as the central focus. The dominating significance of Pentecost is the celebration of Christ as the Firstfruit of God's spiritual harvest, providing a model for all those who follow Him. Consequently, from the Wave Sheaf offering to the two loaves presented to Almighty God at Pentecost, the firstfruits imagery points directly to Jesus Christ, "first in time and preeminence"—and then to His disciples, then and now, who emulate Him. We do not just receive the Holy Spirit, but we are to walk as He walked, abiding in Him as branches cling to the vine, relying on His strength and example to live godly lives, using the gift of the Holy Spirit to grow into the image of Christ. Consequently, Pentecost is far more than a religious ritual or prophetic speculation, but rather it is about Jesus as the Firstfruit, the Way, and the Vine-celebrating the Feast of Weeks as accepting His leadership, His life, and His ongoing work molding us into His image.