The Feasts of the Seventh Month

The Surprise of the Seventh Month

The Relationship of The Kingdom to the Seventh Month

The Transition of Elul 29 to Tishri 1

 

February 2, 2015

In Leviticus 23, the God of Israel gave a system, set in seemingly arbitrary times during the year, for the Seven Divine Feasts to be held anually by the freed people. This provides us with a marvelous and profound prophetic system to understand and define the end times. This whole system of Feasts was by vision and revelation shown to Moses at Mount Sinai by God. This Whole System was established by Divine Revelation and was revealed to Israel by Moses! It originated in God’s Absolute Sovereignty. From that moment on, the Tabernacle was constructed, the exact order and location of how Israel camped, the priesthood was established, the sacrifices prepared and the feasts were ordained. A whole system of laws was established by divine fiat. My theory is that this established a Prophetic Viewpoint by which we can discern many end time Truths. Why? That is because Jesus said the Harvest is the end of the age.

Mat 13:37 And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 "Therefore just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

To me, what Jesus shared about the sowing, the reaping and the harvest in the whole chapter of Matthew 13 removes all doubt that HARVEST is the end time message. The fact that we always connect MATURITY WITH HARVEST seems to offend some people! We always connect the First Fruits with maturity and the very first and best of the crop. We also connect the snatching away of the Perfected Church with the presenting of the First Fruits to God.

The fact that we use the whole scenario, the complete development of events, that took place at Mount Sinai as the basis of these and most other studies is obviously confusing to many people. Nevertheless, let us proceed.

After all this STRUCTURE was set in place a “partial Passover” was kept at Mount Sinai one year after they left Egypt. Why a partial Passover? That is because no First Fruits existed in the wilderness. In fact NO OTHER FEAST could be kept for forty years either while they wandered in the wilderness. The reason is quite simple. These Feasts were ordained to be kept in CANAAN when a HARVEST could be brought in. That means ONLY after they crossed over Jordan River to camp in Canaan.

Joshua 5:10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. 11 And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

The timing for entering the land of Canaan, eating its produce and the ceasing of the Manna was obviously predestined by God to be at the exact time of Passover at the same time they entered Canaan.

First, before looking at the Feasts, we should be aware of the OTHER PREPARATION necessary for Israel to conquer Canaan, This “preparation” could be easily overlooked but Israel could NOT move forward without it. Since all these things were written down for us we should pay close attention.

Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time." 3 So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD, to whom the LORD had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way. 8 Now it came about when they had finished circumcising all the nation, that they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day.

The “reproach of Egypt” was obviously manifested at Kadesh-Barnes when the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD! NONE of these events are irrelevant because all these things (this history) are recorded as part of this ONE Event of crossing Jordan into the Land of Canaan where God was going to establish His Name and rule over Israel. It is for that reason that we relate these things to the Kingdom of God. This CIRCUMCISION is mandatory for participating in the Kingdom, however not physical circumcision, which would eliminate women, but the Spiritual Circumcision of the Heart. Why? That is because the New Covenant promised a cutting away of the heart of stone to be replaced with a new heart ( NEW INNER MAN).

Romans 2:25 For indeed circumcision is of value, if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 If therefore the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And will not he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Becoming a Christian Jew apparently is very important! This Circumcision is not outward in the flesh but is STILL rooted in obedience to the Law. However, now in the New Covenant, it is not the old laws, given to Israel, but obedience to the Laws of the Kingdom given to Christians. How do we know that?

Hebrews 8:10 "FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM UPON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

Ezekiel 36:26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

It is obvious that this prophesy from the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Covenant experience. It is in the New Covenant that we discover how this “exchange of hearts” is realized through Spiritual Circumcision. What took place after they crossed Jordan is a shadow or picture of what must take place in our lives to participate in the Kingdom Government of God. This Spiritual Circumcision enables us to understand and practice the Laws of the Kingdom. How? It is through being filled with the Holy Spirit that I will cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Numbers 15:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, 3 then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock.

Exodus 12:23 "For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 24 "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 "And it will come about when you enter the land which the LORD will give you, as He has promised, that you shall observe this rite.

My point is this; “The Old Covenant Appointed Times of the Lord” are specifically associated with the Land of Canaan and CANNOT be kept in any fulness in ANY OTHER PLACE. This means that all the Messianic attempts to keep the feasts after the Old Covenant pattern is foolish and may be offensive. However, if we related the Feasts (our Appointments with God) to the New Covenant / Kingdom Realms we may experience the blessings of Spiritual Circumcision today and within the New Covenant reality. The question is this; Is Spiritual Circumcision necessary for a full New Covenant and Kingdom Salvation? The circumcision at Jordan along with keeping Passover, for the first time in forty years, is certainly related to Canaan. The next question we must answer is this; Was Israel’s deliverance from Egypt its full salvation or was their full salvation related to Canaan?

It is for that reason that we spend time trying to understand the Seven Feasts which are The Appointed Times of the LORD. Why? That is because these Feasts were directly related to Canaan. These Feasts could ONLY be kept in fulness in Canaan! In this study we will focus upon the Feasts of the Seventh Month which focus upon the final harvest. Our focus will be redirected from escape to the Harvest. This Harvest of the Seventh Month is directly related to the end time.

Lev 23:37 'These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD --burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and libations, each day's matter on its own day-- 38 besides those of the Sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts, and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD. 39 'On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40 'Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 'You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

The last day of Elul 29 ended the Harvest Season and Tishre 1, the Blowing of Trumpets, happened AFTER the final harvest had been gathered in. The Day of Atonement followed on the tenth day of Tishre and then on the fifteenth of Tishre the Feast of Tabernacles began.

Lev 23:26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD. 28 "Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God.

Deu 16:13 "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns. 15 "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you shall be altogether joyful. 16 "Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and at the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) , and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 17 "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.

This was also the time for bringing in the tithe and offerings to the Lord and to the Priests. These offerings were to be in accord with how the Lord had blessed you during the harvest year.

Let us review quickly these first feasts and how they relate to the Gathering in of the Final Harvest of the harvest year which was seven months.

My first point is this: Harvest is NOT counted as planting seed or cultivating but BEGINS as the mature crops are being brought in. THIS month is counted as the first month of the Harvest Year and on the Tenth day of this month was the beginning of Passover when they selected a “perfect” lamb from the flock or the heard. It was on the fourteenth day when the Lamb was killed and it was on the fifteenth day when the Feast of Unleavened Bread began.

It is the third feast of Passover, First Fruits, with which we are concerned in this document. The church continues to celebrate First Fruits, in its New Testament essence, as Resurrection Sunday, or Easter, but we may not realize its full impact nor its glorious promise for the future, unless we understand its original form directly from God’s instruction. Since you are focusing upon the Feast of the Seventh month, why are you now sharing about the First Month? That is because we must see all these Feasts, together, as God’s Appointed Times.

It has been assumed that the Feast of First Fruits was the day they crossed the Red Sea as the “first fruits” to God. That may fit well into the time table but is not indicated by scripture. Why? That is because Firsts Fruits could not be kept until AFER they had entered the Land. Still, first fruits was to be held the day AFTER the Sabbath during Passover. They left Egypt before daylight on Passover which was also the first day of Unleavened Bread.

John 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Jesus therefore lifting up His eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to Him, *said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?" 6 And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.

Why BREAD? That is because this Feast required UNLEAVENED BREAD to be eaten for SEVEN DAYS! That requires a LOT of bread for the thousands of people who came to Jerusalem for the Feast!

The church should fully appreciate the Feast of Passover because the Lord Jesus cited this feast Himself as a “holy convocation” in John 6. Jesus was Crucified on Passover or on the fourteenth day, He was put into the ground on the First day of Unleavened Bread and He was resurrected on First Fruits. How could the validity of the Feasts be any more clear than what took place at Calvary.

We take the bread and the wine of Passover as communion, according to what happened on that LAST physical Passover, the day of the crucifixion, in the New Testament account. We correctly keep the “communion” and “do this in remembrance of Me,” remembering our deliverance from our bondage to sin and death! He shed His Blood as the fulfillment and reality of Israel being delivered from Egypt in the Exodus. The second feast, Unleavened Bread, demonstrates a righteous walk with God by putting all things out of our life of which leaven was a type.

Lev 23:6 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation(Sabbath); you shall not do any laborious work. 8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'"

Leaven, in the Bible, is sin, malice, wickedness, hypocrisy, false teaching! The God of Israel “demanded” a week (seven days- one complete time period) of eating “sinless” bread or putting various bad things and phony things (pretending) out of our lives. To separate “Unleavened Bread” from our deliverance from Egypt and our Passover Experience is rather naive because it is part of the full Feast of Passover.

Exodus 13:6 "For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. 8 "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' 9 "And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. 10 "Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.

Both the first day of Unleavened Bread and the last day (the Seventh) was a Sabbath day! There were three Sabbath days in the seven day period. This implies that all hypocrisy, sin and corrupt things must be put out of our lives to really keep Passover or the fulness of CALVARY. My point is this; When these seven days of no sin, no malice, no wickedness and no hypocrisy (Unleavened Bread) was ignored or was considered as irrelevant – in its New Covenant fulfillment– true Christianity ceased and the problems in the visible church began. Instead of putting all offensive things out of our lives, experientially, they introduced an “abnormal, unacceptable and unscriptural excuse called grace” instead. This “grace” implies that becoming “unleavened” is not important to the Christian because “grace” covers all our fallen characteristics.

Our instruction from the Apostle Paul is this: “Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Cor. 5:8).

1Cor_5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

Gal_5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough.

To suggest that a little sin, hypocrisy, wickedness and malice is OK under grace is just as fatal as permitting a cancer to go untreated until it spreads to the whole person.

The Bible records show us that Jesus was Resurrected on Sunday following the Crucifixion which was on Wednesday. Why? That is because He had to be in the ground three full days and three full nights! The Weakly Sabbath was on Saturday but the Feast Sabbath ( the first day of Unleavened Bread) was on Thursday. Seven days later, on the next Wednesday, was another Feast Sabbath. There were THREE Sabbaths in that week and that is where this error of “good Friday” originated.

To understand the significance of this we should look carefully at the scriptures and the instructions given to Moses for the third feast of the Passover Season! That is the Feast of First Fruits. Why? Even though that Feast was not kept during the forty years of wandering, none of the other Feasts could be held either. Why? There could be NO HARVEST in the wilderness. However, we still need to understand God’s purpose in this third Feast.

“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.

The significance of this is that there could be NO FIRST FRUITS during the forty years of wandering because there was NO HARVEST in the wilderness. “Harvest in Israel” must wait for entrance into Canaan! IF the end time harvest is ONLY out of the Kingdom dimension, then most of us are in deep trouble. The reason we are concerned about this “sheaf of the First Fruits” is because we are relating this “sheaf” to the rapture of the perfected church BEFORE the great tribulation.

Lev 23:10 "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 'And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 'Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD.

This indicates that God was revealing to Moses that, “I am taking My people into a land flowing with milk and honey, a very fertile land, and because of that I am commanding them to keep these feasts to acknowledge the fact that I own the land. Each spring, when the first harvest of the year is available, the people should bring some of their initial crops to the Temple so that the high priest can acknowledge them before Me. This must be done on Sunday (“the day after the Sabbath”) (Saturday) during the (seven days) week of Unleavened Bread.”

Our interpretation is that even at Mount Sinai the “prophetic reality of resurrection” was being announced. Why? Jesus is the Very First of the First Fruits Harvest. Some think the Sunday after Passover, Jesus’ resurrection, was related to the natural harvest of things that had risen up out of the ground miraculously after the long winter. Some ignorantly relate the resurrection to some heathen feasts of productivity of new life.

In Christianity we recognize, in these Feasts, the “SIGNS” of the Creator springing forth in new life and harvest each year but not in any way as the heathen practice.

Sometimes we hear the question; “How come there are no signs of God in the World today?” Our answer is that we never see a day when we cannot see the signs of the Creator among us.

We learn many things from the Feasts about appreciating the tremendous gifts that has been given to mankind and how we can acknowledge our Creator / Provider during these times. None of us should claim our “right” to harvest these NATURAL first fruits. They are the gift of God, and are part of Creation. Even if we must care for and harvest the fruit none of this is an entitlement. It is from this natural realm that we learn about the Spiritual Realm and make our application to the Eternal Harvest of the earth.

The original context of the third feast, Tabernacles, contains a great truth. Why? That is because there is the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles but within this final Feast of the Harvest Year there is also the First Fruits.

If there is the FIRST of the harvest, we may also expect a second and probably the third part of Harvest! There is! This understanding of harvest could be the hidden part and the fuller meaning of this Resurrection Sunday. We do not merely celebrate the resurrection of the Lord on the Feasts of First Fruits, but more directly, the resurrection of all the saints at the end of the age.

That the Lord rose from the dead was and still is a mystery but. Jesus’ Resurrection also provides a cause for great expectation during the church age because of the hope it provides. The fact that there are three resurrections in the end time harvest is part of this revelation. The Harvest of the First Fruits refers to the first resurrection or the rapture.

1Cor 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every person in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” I, of course, added the comma after “Christ” because that is the way we see it recorded in the Spanish Translation and the Greek provides no indication if this is three groups or two. It is because of the Feasts that I am confident to use (1) Christ, the First of the First Fruits (2) then the First Fruits (the perfected saints) and then (3) those that are Christ’s at His coming. We use the Harvest to show the end of the church age as (1) the First Fruits, before the great Tribulation (2) the Main Harvest in the middle of the Tribulation and (3) the gleanings at the end of the Great Tribulation.

Those “in Adam” ALL die! But in Christ, ALL these are made alive again. Of course this is not speaking about “someday” but as part of the Christian experience. Resurrection is part of our foundations. Still, it is by “resurrection” that this end time conclusion will happen in a specified and defined order. Our interpretation is that each resurrection is decided according to our development and maturity and Christ likeness. For the First Fruits that means those without spot or wrinkle, holy and blameless who have grown up in all things into Christ! Or until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.

Christ is the very First of the firstfruits! His “number” is one. Apparently, “Each in his own order” establishes that there are ORDERS of the resurrection. For example; “The dead in Christ shall rise first.” These are the ones we have labeled as First Fruits.

1Thess 4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Jesus fulfilled First Fruits in the exact order of the Feast of Passover. He was raised from the dead on that exact day of the Feast of First Fruits . He also brought with Him the Old Testament saints and those who had reached the Old Covenant “perfection” when the graves were opened!

Mat 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Our Lord, just like in the shadow, brought the best of that early harvest to God as the First Fruits of the Old Covenant. This is NOT the perfection required of the Bride or the First Fruits of the New Covenant which we are relating to the waving of the Sheaf of the First Fruits. We are referring to the perfected saints from the whole church age which will be part of the First Fruit Harvest. It is amazing to note that Jesus was not the only person to rise on that miraculous day of First Fruits. Those He brought forth from their graves represent the Saints from the Old Testament. We are including all those who are of the Bride Company of the New Covenant saints who shall be brought forth in resurrection as that final First Fruit Harvest of the earth begins.

This is what we refer to as the Rapture which we assume will follow the Blowing of Trumpets on the first day of the Feast of The Seventh Month. It was not only Jesus’ resurrection that demonstrates this tremendous promise, but also the resurrection of those “perfected saints” from the Old Testament. Each in their own order. This “resurrection” is the goal of our own perseverance and overcoming whatever obstacles confront us. His Resurrection is NOT the Final resurrection in the New Testament Account.

Therefore, it is clear that at Calvary, the Lord Jesus fulfilled the first three feasts precisely in the exact order prescribed in the Feasts. He was crucified on Passover, fulfilling the slaying of the Lamb and was predicted by the blood of the lamb on the door posts in Egypt. This blood is what saved the first born and released the Jewish people from their slavery to the Egyptians. Then He was buried on the First Day of Unleavened Bread following His death on Calvary. He died just before a “high Day” that was a Feast Day Sabbath (Thursday– Unleavened bread), This was NOT just before the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) as is erroneously taught. This error of “good Friday” came about because of an ignorance of the Feasts Sabbaths.

John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

This is how we know that Jesus was crucified on Passover because the next day was a Feast Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread. Of course His legs were NOT broken because He was already dead. Nevertheless, He was raised on Day of First Fruits, the day after the weekly Sabbath, fulfilling that first harvest Feast. This also gives us assurance of our future resurrection, but each in his own order.

The point is this; That wasn’t the end of the Lord’s ministry on earth, even though many assume He stopped his ministry after that. As a matter of fact, AFTER His ascension to the Father He returned to finish His ministry. He continued his ministry for another forty days preaching about the Kingdom of God and promised to fulfill the next Feast (Pentecost) by sending the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.

The fourth feast, which is Pentecost, occurs 50 days after First Fruits as is recorded in Lev. 23:15–16. It was on that very day that the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples like a mighty rushing wind! This perfectly fulfilled what happened at Mount Sinai when the exact same thing happened when God came down on Mount Sinai on that exact same FIFTIETH DAY after they left Egypt. The Holy Spirit fulfilled the reality of that Feast of Pentecost at the Temple in Jerusalem when He came “like a rushing, mighty wind.” This was exactly How God came down on Mount Sinai when the mountain shook and the wind blew. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2 perfectly fulfilled that Feast.

Pentecost celebrated the summer harvest of barley, fifty days after the Passover, which was the wheat harvest. The First Fruits of the Wheat Harvest was a Sheaf of the First Fruits. This “First Fruits” was NOT a Sheaf but was the very best of the FIRST GRAIN of the Barley Harvest. These First Fruits were first “threshed” to remove the grain and it was the GRAIN, finely ground and baked into two loaves that was presented to God.

Lev 23:15 'You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. 16 'You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 'You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the LORD. 18 'Along with the bread, you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd, and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their libations, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.

Even though it should be noted that this Feast began with a First Fruits of the best Harvested GRAIN this was not yet the First Fruit Offering. The Grain was then ground VERY FINE and made into bread. This bread ,then, was baked in an oven and presented to God as Two Loaves of Bread. NOW, we must be aware that this First Fruit Offering was baked with LEAVEN. Up until after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, NO LEAVEN could even be found in all the boarders of Israel. Now, in the Feast of Pentecost the addition of Leaven is required to be part of the Bread of the First Fruits. If sin, malice, wickedness and hypocrisy is the only meaning of leaven, none of this makes any sense. Therefore, there must be another meaning. There is!

Mat 13:33 He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened."

Leaven is expressly forbidden in the Feast of Passover, which should be clearly noted by the Evangelical Church. However, Leaven is expressly commanded in the Feast of Pentecost. This should be noted by every Pentecostal group. However, now the OTHER interpretation of LEAVEN must be used. That is the ADDITION of the Kingdom and all its Governmental Qualities that is added to the Bread BEFORE it goes through the FIRE. Why?

That is because the Kingdom must totally LEAVEN the complete person / church or group. The Kingdom Leaven MUST work until ALL IS LEAVENED and it incorporates every aspect of the Kingdom Government into the Christian Life! Even a little Kingdom Leaven will leaven a whole lump.

Why is that necessary? That is because this “bread” must be the very BEST of the Harvest

of the First Fruits of Pentecost. Is the Kingdom Leaven lacking in the Pentecostal groups today? It certainly is! And THAT is the reason the restoration of the understanding of the New Covenant experience of the Seven Feasts is essential at this time.

The Two Grain Harvests represent one crop for each harvest but as we pointed out each harvest is in three parts. (1) the First Fruits (2) the Main Harvest (3) the Gleanings.

In the Seventh month there was a much larger harvest of all the fall crops because ALL the remaining harvest of the earth was gathered in at that time. Why? That was the end of the Harvest Year when all the roots and fruits were brought in!

It is interesting to note that the Holy Spirit “harvested” 3,000 people on Pentecost and Israel LOST 3,000 souls when Israel had made a golden calf at the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai. It was by God’s direction that 3,000 were killed at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:38). And now, at God’s direction, on Pentecost, the same number were returned to the Chosen People, “The letter kills, the Spirit gives life.”

Exo 32:28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

Act 2:41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

That 40 days of sharing on the Kingdom of God was NOT the last of the Lord’s activities that we have seen on earth! Of course, that was the last of His visible activities on earth but HE continued to work WITH His disciples!

Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.

There is still the various personal miracles many of us have experienced in our Christian walk with Him. We are anticipating the fulfilling of all the feasts, but each in their appropriate order! If the Lord continues to fulfill these Feasts, as we have seen in the past, we may be able to predict some End Time events.

If we are correct about the ongoing fulfillment of the feasts in their proper order, we should

expect the snatching away of the Perfected Church, probably on the Feast of Trumpets (I Thess. 4:16–17; I Cor. 15:51–52). We cannot be sure about this point since the Lord is to come the first time secretly, like a thief in the night! The next time He comes every eye shall see Him. It is for this reason that He will certainly surprise us in His first coming in the final Harvest. After that, the second time, “every eye shall see Him” because His next coming is visible and will be announced.

There will always be some controversy about whether He will continue to fulfill the feasts as we expect. I am leaning toward the idea of the Day of Trumpets as the expected announcement of His return! Nevertheless, we are trying to “blow the trumpet” now but we relate that to the blowing of the Shofar rather than blowing the Silver Trumpets. At least we are not supposed to just be asleep but alert and watching and waiting for the approaching time. (I Thess. 5:1–10).

If my theory is correct from past history, we could expect the Lord to also fulfill the last two feasts and the final harvest of the Earth! The Day of Atonement is related to Salvation and is continuing today as new souls are brought in but will not be fulfilled until the Second Coming.

Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."

These scriptures indicate that “all Israel will be saved” sometime but as we have shown probably in the second half of the great tribulation.

Zachariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.

This appears to be AFTER the Secret Coming but be when “Every eye shall see Him.” It is at that time when the Jews that survive to the end who will be saved. Of course any Jew can be saved during the church age. If they come to perfection and overcome they can be included in the Rapture of the church. Otherwise, they along with the casual church will participate the great tribulation like saved Christians that missed the “snatching away” at the secret coming. Still, most of the Jews will perish in the Tribulation and never live to see the final harvest of the gleanings. Thus, they will be lost along with any of the unbelievers who do not qualify for any part of the acceptable harvest but who are included in the harvest of the tares.

Finally, the Lord will celebrate the Seventh Feast, the Feast of Tabernacles, when He, Himself, will “Tabernacle among us!”

While we have never investigated this concept, it does seem like those living during the Millennium will come up from year to year to worship Him. It indicates that this will continue for 1000 years.

Zechariah 14:16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

The Future

Clearly, then, Christians have a very bright future. First Fruits, in essence, means that our Savior will return for us but each in his own order!

Buddha and Mohammed or all the other gods have died and not resurrected. This indicates that they will NOT return for their believers. The temporary nature of these worldly religions indicates that what you see is the extent of what you get.

However, our High Priest and King is coming again! For me, the First Fruit Harvest represents the whole goal of Christianity and this life is just the beginning and our preparation for eternity. Even if the outer man is dead, yet the inner man is alive. Resurrection, while current when we receive His Resurrection Life, there may also be a final resurrection of the First Fruits.

According to 2 Corinthians 5 our final dwelling place will descend from Heaven. This means that these dirt bodies will not be caught up to heaven.

2Cor 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; 3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

If our final dwelling place is a Spiritual House that comes down FROM HEAVEN and this Dwelling Place is LIFE, then our understanding of “RESURRECTION” must be adjusted to correspond to that realm. Does everyone have “resurrected bodies” like these as is widely assumed? Not according to this!

In our next study we will pursue the TIME of the Last Feast, the Feast of the Seventh

Month. This will encompass the final Gathering in of the last harvest on Elul 29 and the Last Feast (in the Seventh Month) which begins on Tishri 1. Tishri 1 also BEGINS the Governmental Year. The Celebration of the Final Harvest and the Beginning of the Kingdom Reign are in the same month.

The End Time, the Final Harvest, is NOT the final end but the end of the church age. This is the BEGINNING of the Kingdom Age. The Kingdom Age continues for one thousand years. Then the FINAL JUDGEMENT comes, the present visible system is burnt up with unquenchable fire and a WHOLE NEW CREATION, THE TABERNACLE OF GOD, BEGINS!

The GOVERNMENT of the New Creation is what is being prepared and selected today. This will be determined by the Final Harvest of the earth. Even if this sounds confusing IT IS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM! How do I know? Because of Matthew 13.