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Post by mary on Oct 27, 2021 0:18:03 GMT
The Feasts Fulfilled, Harvests
from 18 Feb 1991 I have made some changes. See end for notes.
Passover
Jews in ancient Israel were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate three feasts, Passover, Pentecost, and in the autumn, Tabernacles which falls on the full moon after Tishri 1, which is the beginning of the Civil Year. Passover is the beginning of the sacred year.
Jesus fulfilled Passover which occurred on a full moon, the 14th day of the month Nisan, first month of the ecclesiastical year.
Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, which bespeaks salvation, escape, deliverance.
Nisan 1 commences at the New Moon, as do all months on the Jewish calendar.
Ex. 12:1-3: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.... In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb .... a lamb for an house."
Jesus, the slain Lamb, is the only acceptable sacrifice, and believers trust in the Blood of the Lamb and are thereby saved.
Unleavened Bread
Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commenced on the 15th day of Nisan, a seven day period of eating bread made without leavening, which represents sin. This feast was fulfilled before God, as Jesus, the sinless one was lifted up.
Firstfruits
Jesus fulfilled Firstfruits by arising from the grave on the third day after His death. The term Firstfruits refers to the first sheaves of barley which were ready to cut, and Jesus's resurrection is the fulfillment. Many saved people were also resurrected from their graves and walked about the Jerusalem area. (Matthew 27:52.)
Lev. 23: 10, 11, 14 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: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.... 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God.
I believe the season of the Rapture of the Church is shown in the Scriptures. Jesus the grain, died, brought forth much fruit, and His Church is likened to a harvest of grain. Jesus often likened Himself to a husbandman also, and He is waiting for the precious fruit, the gathering of the harvest of souls. Jesus spoke much about the crops and fruit.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The barley harvest is completed in April in Israel, and the wheat harvest is completed in May, about two weeks later. I believe the spring points to the season of the Rapture of saints, and many details about the Bride, and about the grain harvest are revealed in the love story in the Book of Ruth.
Another crop of wheat is planted in spring and harvested in late July or early August, about the time of the fast of Tish B'Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the temple. Both temples were destroyed on that date, and on that date the Jews were expelled from England in 1290, and also from Spain, in 1492.
Here is another love story and it mentions the fig tree. Song of Solomon 2:10-13 10My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 13The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
In March in Israel, the fig has tiny green figs.
This year of 2018, Passover commences Friday evening, March 30, and the counting of the days, Lag b'Omer, with Omer 1 starts on March 31. Jesus arose on First Fruits, "the morrow after the Sabbath," Sunday, and in 2018, Firstfruits is Sunday, April 1. Unleavened bread is April 1 through Saturday, April 7. The Lag b'Omer ends on the 50th day, the morrow after the Sabbath, which is Pentecost. (Lev. 23.) Centuries ago, the Jewish calendar was changed, and Pentecost was shifted from always being on a Sunday 'the morrow after the Sabbath,' to Sivan 6 (if I understand correctly). This year of 2018, Sivan 6 happens to fall on Pentecost Sunday, May 20.
The people were not to eat of the grain until the first sheaves (of barley) had been waved before the Lord.
The Book of Ruth tells us about Naomi, who is Jewish, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, a gentile Moabitess, coming out of famine, and how they returned to Bethlehem Ephrata. Ruth follows Naomi's instructions, gleans in fields through the barley and wheat, goes to Boaz when he has been winnowing barley (which tells us the time was in the month of Nisan). Ruth was married and taken into Boaz's house after her time of gleaning in the field. The son of Boaz, Obed, is born, and given to Naomi to nurse. Naomi is restored and finds joy in having a little boy to care for in her old age.
There are parallels to Israel, Christ, and the Church revealed in Ruth's story, that Jesus is like Boaz, and when He and the Church are wed in heaven, a son will be born, the "sealed servants" in Israel. The name Obed means "serving."
Pentecost
I believe the harvest of grain (April, May all grain in by first of August) points to the season of the coming of the Lord for His believers. The increase of the grain, the harvest, reveals the way He has multiplied His believers like a sower who cultivates His field.
In studying the Book of Ruth, I noted that Ruth worked to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest. (Ruth 2:23)
I wanted to know the month for the wheat harvest, and ran into the fact that there are two wheat harvests, months apart. The spring crop of wheat is planted in the autumn, and is harvested in spring, and is soft, best used for crackers and cookies.
The hard wheat is planted in spring and is harvested about four months later, about the first of August, and is best for breads, pastas.
"Four months and then the harvest" Jesus said, in the Gospel of John 4:35.
I grew up in a Plains state and saw the immense fields of bright green winter wheat, harvested in spring, and then the big crop, the summer crop in about August, the hard wheat, which is higher in protein.
I'm considering that typology in the story of Boaz and Ruth tells us much about when Jesus will come for His Bride, about their marriage, and that their offspring, like Obed, reveals the 144,000 Tribulation saints and their converts. Obed was named by Naomi's friends and he was given to Naomi to nurse, and the story portrays how Boaz has raised up an heir for those who died, as the Scripture required a kinsman to do, so that the dead would be remembered. Ruth 4:10 ".... to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren."
The time of the rapture may be hinted at in the story: Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. Verse 18, Naomi tells Ruth to sit still until you know know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. [So this reveals that Boaz is winnowing barley, the earliest spring grain crop, "firstfruits," when Ruth comes to lie at his feet, and Boaz promises to marry her, and next day goes and publicly makes the arrangements.]
Ruth 4:1, 2 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by.... 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
In Ruth 4:13, we read, "So Boaz took Ruth.... and she bore a son." The elders bless Boaz and say, "make the woman like Leah and Rachel" -- expressing the hope that she will have 12 sons. If my understanding of the typology of Boaz, his bride and his son, is correct, then Obed points to the 144,000. Ruth 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. (Tamar, widow of Judah's son, seduced Judah and bore a son, after Judah refused to let her marry another of his sons to fulfill the Scripture about raising up an heir as the inheritance to the dead.)
Naomi will be brought back to joys, lost with the deaths of her sons, as she cares for this boy. Just as Obed means "serving," so the end time, 144,000 believing Jewish men will be excellent servants of God as we are told in Revelation. Naomi means "pleasantness," but she said she had become bitterness. Naomi's joy will return. Other types of these evangelizing, believing Jews are seen in the three young men in the fiery furnace; in Elisha; and in Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph; and in Benjamin.
I think this is revealing: Ruth 3:15, 16, 17 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all.... 17 .... he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Before the betrothal, Boaz had placed 6 seahs of grain in Ruth's vail, a very heavy load. This may reveal how the Church makes provision for Israel during the Time of Jacob's Trouble, (spiritual bread of the New Testament). I found that 6 seahs of 7.7 quarts comes to 44.62 quarts, which is 89.24 pounds. Source Biblehub, citing II Kings 7.1. Jamison Faucett Brown seems to indicate that the load was even larger.
Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah's words about 'milk' understood to be interpreted 'Scripture' are revealing and seem to confirm that the Church makes provision for Israel:
Two wave loaves were to be lifted by the High Priest before the Lord at Pentecost, and I believe that these represent both Jewish and Gentile believers, the Church, lifted before the Lord.
A complex topic was uncovered once I tried to see which of the wheat crops was used in the festival, and it appears that it is the old grain, Yoshon, due to the requirement that the Jews must not eat of the new crop until it has been offered up before the Lord.
Five grains in Israel are wheat, oats, spelt, rye and barley, and some or all of these have a spring crop and also another later crop, planted in spring, with the harvest about August, called Chodosh, literally "new grain."
This causes me to consider that the season of grain harvests in Israel continues from April to first of August, and that the firstfruit of barley in May is the season of the Rapture of the Church, and the second grain harvest in August points to the resurrection of the Tribulation saints.
Pentecost celebrates the giving of the law, and occurs after seven sabbaths, a 50 day count, to be celebrated on a Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") according to Scripture.
Some researchers have pointed out problems regarding how the seven sabbaths and a count of the fifty days is to be done, saying that it was done differently in earlier times. Last year's grain is offered up at Firstfruits, in spring, to fulfill certain other requirements.
The fulfillment of Pentecost occurred when the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 waiting believers. The Holy Spirit came with a noise of a mighty wind. The believers saw the flames of fire on one another's heads. Believers spoke in tongues, telling about Jesus to people of other nations. This fulfills Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
Just as fire came on Sinai as the law was given, so fire came on the Church in Jerusalem.
Tradition says that Enoch was born on Pentecost and was also taken up by God on Pentecost.
I will be adding to my Typology of Joel study, verses from Joel 1:11, "the wheat and for the barley.... the harvest of the field is perished." Jeremiah 8:20, "The summer is past, the harvest is over and we are not saved." Amos 9:9, "I will sift the house of Israe3l among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
Feast of Trumpets
The Civil Year begins with a convocation of trumpets, and all Jews are to gather in Jerusalem. Some think this feast will be fulfilled by the Rapture with believers going up to heaven, being gathered to Him, and that Jesus, as High Priest, will blow the trumpet, which they think must be the last trumpet, just as occurred at this feast in Israel near sundown on the evening before the new moon of the seventh month, Tishri 1, in about September. So the focus is entirely on a trumpet sound, with no Bride, no harvest spoken of at all.
The Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement was a solemn fast day when the Jews were not to work. For thousands of years, annually on this day the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of a sacrifice and interceded for the people. A rope was tied around his ankle in order to pull him out if he died in there and the sacrifice was not accepted. Jesus went into the Holy of Holies before the Lord and made an atonement for us by the sprinkling of His own Blood, when He was crucified at Passover, the Lamb of God.
After the Rapture of the believers, there will be, I believe, an awed multitude of Jews who see that something has happened, and many will seek the Lord. Many Messianic Jews are witnessing fervently now. I think that time of shock may be referred to in the first chapter of the Book of Joel, and that following chapters describe the tribulation and their comfort as they realize that God has not forsaken them. Jesus has made our atonement and we won't ever experience that dreadful dark period.
I believe that during the Tribulation, the 'time of Jacob's trouble,' the Jews will experience great revival and miracles, and will believe and evangelize. The tremendous outpouring of God's Spirit, as related in Joel, will fall upon them. I believe "Ephraim" was born in 1948, as Israel became a nation on May 14. During the terrible time of God's wrath outpoured upon the sinful earth, Israel will experience great things. I believe this is borne out in books of the Old Testament and in the Book of Revelation. Far from the Jews staying behind to experience only curses, I believe many will believe and please the Lord. They will become a true witness, just as the three young men in the fiery furnace in Daniel, and the Lord will be manifested among them! They will live through terrible times as they wait to see Him. No wonder that He said blessed are those who believe without having to see.
Believers have received the Blood of the slain Passover Lamb, His offering of Unleavened Bread, and we have taken the symbols of His Blood in the wine and His body in the broken bread. On Firstfruits, Jesus was raised from the dead, like a grain of wheat buried, seemingly dead, and then sprouted in new life. Pentecost is a time of two wave loaves of wheat held up before the Lord, and may be the time of Rapture of the Church of Jewish and Gentile believers. Perhaps He will come for us at the time the spring grain is ripe for harvest. Many believers are waiting and watching for Jesus to come, full of hope.
Tabernacles, Booths, Succot
At this feast, all Jews were to go up to Jerusalem for the great gathering of the people. They were told by the Lord to live out of doors for a week in booths made of tree limbs and branches, to remind them of the way God had protected them in their sojourn from Egypt. Tabernacles commences on the full moon. Most of the crops are in, with the grape harvest is ending in September.
The olives will be harvested during September, October, November.
Revelation mentions the pressing of grapes as the time of the outpouring of His wrath.
Are the 144,000 believing Jews like olive trees, pressed, yielding precious oil? The two witnesses of the Book of Revelation are likened to two olive trees. The olive harvest and pressing reminds us of the oil being used for the Menorah lamp. We know that the grapes of wrath reveal the wicked.
Tabernacles will be fulfilled by the Lord setting His Throne in Jerusalem so all the saved would come up to it.
Jews experiencing the time of Jacob's trouble may consider the fulfillments of some of the feasts, and realize what the Lord has done. The periods of time spoken of by the prophet Daniel will commence to be fulfilled.
The Lord has a marvelous plan for the Jews. He will mightily undertake for them. Just as Joseph dealt with his brothers and restored them to himself in a time of great famine, so the Lord will undertake for them in the dark days prophesied in the Scriptures, and they will be restored to Him with tears of joy.
We are soon coming to the sunset, it seems to me. In the twilight after we believers are gone, the Day of the Lord will commence.
The sun was darkened when Jesus died, and the Jewish day commences at sunset, and with it begins the dark Day of the Lord. The Day of Atonement will come and stretch on as the Jews seek God's salvation in that awful time.
The seven years start with the covenant of the evil one and Israel, but there could be some intervening time between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation. The time of Jacob's trouble will commence, the time of Daniel's seventieth "week." Greater things than the Exodus will occur. Afterward, Tabernacles, and then the light of the new day will come, the thousand year earthly reign of Christ here on earth. And He shall reign forever and ever.
Some say the Church will go through the tribulation, that God fulfilled the spring feasts in a mighty way on the earth, but that both believers and unbelievers will move together into the tribulation.
Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth, and sit upon the throne of David, and rule the earth from Jerusalem. Every year, all people of the earth will come to worship Him there, or they will have no rain, according to Zechariah. Jesus will reign one thousand years, and turn all over to His Father for eternity.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
*****
Notes, 26 March 2018, 19 Oct 2020
I want to say a bit more about groups referred to by various names: NAR New Apostolic Revolution, Latter Day Rain, MSOG or Manifest Sons of God, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Identity. They and others teach against pre-tribulation Rapture and that Jesus will not come until believers take over, have dominion over the world. I believe most of these groups teach the replacement of Israel by the Church.
I've read that the Replacement Theology teaches that the Church has replaced Israel, and that this teaching is spreading widely in Mainstream Churches. This has led to recent years of boycotting and worsening anti-Semitism.
In 2018, Paul Smith of Calvary Chapel stated that the "New Evangelical" outlook, is that Jesus is gradually coming into hearts, that this fulfills the Second Coming. I think the "New Evangelical" is spreading among some churches, [So many are being taught to not take the Scripture literally as to Jesus's return.]
I visited a Manifest Sons type of group with an acquaintance, in 1980s, for their large Feast of Tabernacles meetings and celebration, and it took me awhile, but I realized, 'What about the blessed hope?' Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. I Thess. 4:17, 18 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I take the Scriptures literally and decided that the blessed hope is the hope of His coming for believers -- not death, not tribulation, not being hidden in Petra in the mountains southeast of Jerusalem.
I'm surprised, but these post-tribulation ideas are still growing and are found among many. The Manifest Sons group has their main weekly meeting on Saturday, is allied with "CCC" Christ Community Churches. Dominion Theology people preach that the Church must bring the earth under their dominion before Jesus can come again.
We will benefit from comparing Scriptures about 1) the grain harvest 2) the coming for the Bride 3) the householder on a journey who exhorts his servants to watch.
All unbelieving people left behind at the Rapture will live during the Time of Jacob's trouble. God's plan will be fulfilled and many will be saved, but many will die, many will be executed, and suffering will be great. One hundred forty four thousand Jewish men from the tribes will evangelize and many will believe, "a great multitude." After the departing of the Church, the Scripture will be fulfilled, Jeremiah 8:20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
The book of Joel chapter 1 speaks of an event that has occurred. The word of the LORD that came to Joel. Joel 1:2 "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:7 "He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white." Does this event point to the Rapture of missing believers?
Specifics for events in the time of tribulation can be found in Daniel and in the Book of Revelation.
The evil man will arise and set up world government and eventually enter the Temple in Jerusalem, saying he is God, and the most awful times will occur. Great numbers of believers, who will refuse to take his mark, will be beheaded. Eventually, as Jesus warned, some will flee Jerusalem and hide in the mountains to the southeast, and be sustained by the Lord.
Evil unbelieving people of the tribulation are compared to a harvest gathering of grapes, to be crushed.
Believers during the Time of Jacob's trouble might be compared to the olive harvest, the last harvest of the agricultural year, and the pressing of the olives.
After a specific number of days will be the Second Coming, and Jesus will come with all His saints, on white horses and clothed in white linen. He will split Mount Olivet in Jerusalem, east to west. He will slay all His enemies upon the earth by the word from His mouth. Some people will live through the tribulation and have children, in a time of peace, blessing, abundance. Satan will be bound, then at the end of 1,000 years, cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
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Post by mary on Oct 27, 2021 0:19:48 GMT
I go over these ideas from time to time.
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Post by mary on Jul 11, 2022 17:47:58 GMT
Some changes are being made 11 July 2022 The Feasts Fulfilled, Harvests
from 18 Feb 1991 I have made some changes. See end for notes.
Passover
Jews in ancient Israel were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate three feasts, Passover, Pentecost, and in the autumn, Tabernacles which falls on the full moon after Tishri 1, which is the beginning of the Civil Year. Passover is the beginning of the sacred year.
Jesus fulfilled Passover which occurred on a full moon, the 14th day of the month Nisan, first month of the ecclesiastical year.
Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, which bespeaks salvation, escape, deliverance.
Nisan 1 commences at the New Moon, as do all months on the Jewish calendar.
Ex. 12:1-3: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.... In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb .... a lamb for an house."
Jesus, the slain Lamb, is the only acceptable sacrifice, and believers trust in the Blood of the Lamb and are thereby saved.
Unleavened Bread
Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commenced on the 15th day of Nisan, a seven day period of eating bread made without leavening, which represents sin. This feast was fulfilled before God, as Jesus, the sinless one was lifted up.
Firstfruits
Jesus fulfilled Firstfruits by arising from the grave on the third day after His death. The term Firstfruits refers to the first sheaves of barley which were ready to cut, and Jesus's resurrection is the fulfillment. Many saved people were also resurrected from their graves and walked about the Jerusalem area. (Matthew 27:52.)
Lev. 23: 10, 11, 14 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: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.... 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God.
I believe the season of the Rapture of the Church is shown in the Scriptures. Jesus the grain, died, brought forth much fruit, and His Church is likened to a harvest of grain. Jesus often likened Himself to a husbandman also, and He is waiting for the precious fruit, the gathering of the harvest of souls. Jesus spoke much about the crops and fruit.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The barley harvest is completed in April in Israel, and the wheat harvest is completed in May, about two weeks later. Many details about the Bride, and about the grain harvest are revealed in the love story in the Book of Ruth.
Another crop of wheat is planted in spring and harvested in late July or early August, about the time of the fast of Tish B'Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the temple. Both temples were destroyed on that date, and on that date the Jews were expelled from England in 1290, and also from Spain, in 1492.
Here is another love story and it mentions the fig tree. Song of Solomon 2:10-13 10My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 13The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
In March in Israel, the fig has tiny green figs.
This year of 2018, Passover commences Friday evening, March 30, and the counting of the days, Lag b'Omer, with Omer 1 starts on March 31. Jesus arose on First Fruits, "the morrow after the Sabbath," Sunday, and in 2018, Firstfruits is Sunday, April 1. Unleavened bread is April 1 through Saturday, April 7. The Lag b'Omer ends on the 50th day, the morrow after the Sabbath, which is Pentecost. (Lev. 23.) Centuries ago, the Jewish calendar was changed, and Pentecost was shifted from always being on a Sunday 'the morrow after the Sabbath,' to Sivan 6 (if I understand correctly). This year of 2018, Sivan 6 happens to fall on Pentecost Sunday, May 20.
The people were not to eat of the grain until the first sheaves (of barley) had been waved before the Lord.
The Book of Ruth tells us about Naomi, who is Jewish, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, a gentile Moabitess, coming out of famine, and how they returned to Bethlehem Ephrata. Ruth follows Naomi's instructions, gleans in fields through the barley and wheat, goes to Boaz when he has been winnowing barley (which tells us the time was in the month of Nisan). Ruth was married and taken into Boaz's house after her time of gleaning in the field. The son of Boaz, Obed, is born, and given to Naomi to nurse. Naomi is restored and finds joy in having a little boy to care for in her old age.
There are parallels to Israel, Christ, and the Church revealed in Ruth's story, that Jesus is like Boaz, and when He and the Church are wed in heaven, a son will be born, the "sealed servants" in Israel. The name Obed means "serving."
Pentecost
I believe the harvest of grain (April, May, and again the first of August) points to the season of the coming of the Lord for His believers. The increase of the grain, the harvest, reveals the way He has multiplied His believers like a sower who cultivates His field.
In studying the Book of Ruth, I noted that Ruth worked to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest. (Ruth 2:23)
I wanted to know the month for the wheat harvest, and ran into the fact that there are two wheat harvests, months apart.
The summer wheat crop is planted in spring about Passover, and is harvested about four months later, about the first of August, and is best for breads, pastas. "Four months and then the harvest" Jesus said, in the Gospel of John 4:35.
Another crop of wheat is planted in the late autumn, winters over, receives the former rain and the latter rain, and this crop is harvested in spring, and is soft, best used for crackers and cookies.
I grew up in a Plains state and saw the immense fields of bright green winter wheat, harvested in spring, and then the big crop, the summer crop in about August, the hard wheat, which is higher in protein.
I'm considering that typology in the story of Boaz and Ruth tells us much about when Jesus will come for His Bride, about their marriage, and that their offspring, like Obed, reveals the 144,000 Tribulation saints and their converts. Obed was named by Naomi's friends and he was given to Naomi to nurse, and the story portrays how Boaz has raised up an heir for those who died, as the Scripture required a kinsman to do, so that the dead would be remembered. Ruth 4:10 ".... to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren."
The time of the rapture may be hinted at in the story: Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. Verse 18, Naomi tells Ruth to sit still until you know know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. [So this reveals that Boaz is winnowing barley, the earliest spring grain crop, "firstfruits," when Ruth comes to lie at his feet, and Boaz promises to marry her, and next day goes and publicly makes the arrangements.]
Ruth 4:1, 2 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by.... 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
In Ruth 4:13, we read, "So Boaz took Ruth.... and she bore a son." The elders bless Boaz and say, "make the woman like Leah and Rachel" -- expressing the hope that she will have 12 sons. If my understanding of the typology of Boaz, his bride and his son, is correct, then Obed points to the 144,000. Ruth 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. (Tamar, widow of Judah's son, seduced Judah and bore a son, after Judah refused to let her marry another of his sons to fulfill the Scripture about raising up an heir as the inheritance to the dead.)
Naomi will be brought back to joys which were lost with the deaths of her sons and husband, as she cares for this boy. Just as Obed means "serving," so the end time, 144,000 believing Jewish men will be excellent servants of God as we are told in Revelation. Naomi means "pleasantness," but she said she had become bitterness. Naomi's joy will return. Other types of these evangelizing, believing Jews are seen in the three young men in the fiery furnace; in Elisha; and in Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph; and in Benjamin.
I think this is revealing: Ruth 3:15, 16, 17 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all.... 17 .... he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Before the betrothal, Boaz had placed 6 seahs of grain in Ruth's vail, a very heavy load. This may reveal how the Church makes provision for Israel during the Time of Jacob's Trouble, (spiritual bread of the New Testament). I found that 6 seahs of 7.7 quarts comes to 44.62 quarts, which is 89.24 pounds. Source Biblehub, citing II Kings 7.1. Jamison Faucett Brown seems to indicate that the load was even larger. That gathering seems to be from the wheat planted in the fall and gathered in the spring, by about late May.
It is not made clear whether Ruth worked on through the time of the wheat harvest taken up in about late July, early August, planted about Passover.
Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah's words about 'milk' understood to be interpreted 'Scripture' are revealing and seem to confirm that the Church makes provision for Israel:
Two wave loaves were to be lifted by the High Priest before the Lord at Pentecost, and I believe that these represent both Jewish and Gentile believers, the Church, lifted before the Lord. I believe the two wave loaves represent al of the grain harvests of spring and summer.
A complex topic was uncovered once I tried to see which of the wheat crops was used in the festival, and it appears that it is the old grain, Yoshon, due to the requirement that the Jews must not eat of the new crop until it has been offered up before the Lord.
Five grains in Israel are wheat, oats, spelt, rye and barley, and some or all of these have a spring crop and also another later crop, planted in spring, with the harvest about August, called Chodosh, literally "new grain."
Pentecost celebrates the giving of the law, and occurs after seven sabbaths, a 50 day count, to be celebrated on a Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") according to Scripture. The count to Pentecost also is required to start on a "morrow after the Sabbath."
Some researchers have pointed out problems regarding how the seven sabbaths and a count of the fifty days is to be done, saying that it was done differently in earlier times. Last year's grain is offered up at Firstfruits, in spring, to fulfill certain other requirements.
The fulfillment of Pentecost occurred when the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 waiting believers. The Holy Spirit came with a noise of a mighty wind. The believers saw the flames of fire on one another's heads. Believers spoke in tongues, telling about Jesus to people of other nations. This fulfills Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
Just as fire came on Sinai as the law was given, so fire came on the Church in Jerusalem.
Tradition says that Enoch was born on Pentecost and was also taken up by God on Pentecost.
I will be adding to my Typology of Joel study, verses from Joel 1:11, "the wheat and for the barley.... the harvest of the field is perished." Jeremiah 8:20, "The summer is past, the harvest is over and we are not saved." Amos 9:9, "I will sift the house of Israe3l among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
Feast of Trumpets
The Civil Year begins with a convocation of trumpets, and all Jews are to gather in Jerusalem. Some think this feast will be fulfilled by the Rapture with believers going up to heaven, being gathered to Him, and that Jesus, as High Priest, will blow the trumpet, which they think must be the last trumpet, just as occurred at this feast in Israel near sundown on the evening before the new moon of the seventh month, Tishri 1, in about September. So the focus is entirely on a trumpet sound, with no Bride, no grain harvest spoken of at all.
The Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement was a solemn fast day when the Jews were not to work. For thousands of years, annually on this day the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of a sacrifice and interceded for the people. A rope was tied around his ankle in order to pull him out if he died in there and the sacrifice was not accepted. Jesus went into the Holy of Holies before the Lord and made an atonement for us by the sprinkling of His own Blood, when He was crucified at Passover, the Lamb of God.
After the Rapture of the believers, there will be, I believe, an awed multitude of Jews who see that something has happened, and many will seek the Lord. Many Messianic Jews are witnessing fervently now. I think that time of shock may be referred to in the first chapter of the Book of Joel, and that following chapters describe the "Time of Jacob's Trouble," and their comfort as they realize that God has not forsaken them. Jesus has made our atonement and we won't ever experience that dreadful dark period.
I believe that during the Time of Jacob's Trouble that the Jews will experience great revival and miracles, and will believe and evangelize. The tremendous outpouring of God's Spirit, as related in Joel, will fall upon them. I believe "Ephraim" was born in 1948, as Israel became a nation on May 14. During the terrible time of God's wrath outpoured upon the sinful earth, Israel will experience great things. I believe this is borne out in books of the Old Testament and in the Book of Revelation. Far from the Jews staying behind to experience only curses, I believe many will believe and please the Lord. They will become a true witness, just as the three young men in the fiery furnace in Daniel, and the Lord will be manifested among them! They will live through terrible times as they wait to see Him. No wonder that He said blessed are those who believe without having to see.
Believers have received the Blood of the slain Passover Lamb, His offering of Unleavened Bread, and we have taken the symbols of His Blood in the wine and His body in the broken bread. On Firstfruits, Jesus was raised from the dead, like a grain of wheat buried, seemingly dead, and then sprouted in new life. Pentecost is a time of two wave loaves of wheat held up before the Lord, Jewish and Gentile believers. The two loaves may point to the grain harvests in general.
Tabernacles, Booths, Succot
At this feast, all Jews were to go up to Jerusalem for the great gathering of the people. They were told by the Lord to live out of doors for a week in booths made of tree limbs and branches, to remind them of the way God had protected them in their sojourn from Egypt. Tabernacles commences on the full moon. Most of the crops are in, with the grape harvest is ending in September.
The olives will be harvested during September, October, November.
Revelation mentions the pressing of grapes as the time of the outpouring of His wrath.
Are the 144,000 believing Jews like olive trees, pressed, yielding precious oil? The two witnesses of the Book of Revelation are likened to two olive trees. The olive harvest and pressing reminds us of the oil being used for the Menorah lamp. We know that the grapes of wrath reveal the wicked.
Tabernacles will be fulfilled by the Lord setting His Throne in Jerusalem so all the saved would come up to it.
Jews experiencing the time of Jacob's trouble may consider the fulfillments of some of the feasts, and realize what the Lord has done. The periods of time spoken of by the prophet Daniel will commence to be fulfilled.
The Lord has a marvelous plan for the Jews. He will mightily undertake for them. Just as Joseph dealt with his brothers and restored them to himself in a time of great famine, so the Lord will undertake for them in the dark days prophesied in the Scriptures, and they will be restored to Him with tears of joy.
We are soon coming to the sunset, it seems to me. In the twilight after we believers are gone, the Day of the Lord will commence.
The sun was darkened when Jesus died, and the Jewish day commences at sunset, and with it begins the dark Day of the Lord. The Day of Atonement will come and stretch on as the Jews seek God's salvation in that awful time.
The seven years start with the covenant of the evil one and Israel, but there could be some intervening time between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation.
The time of Jacob's trouble will commence, the time of Daniel's seventieth "week." Greater things than the Exodus will occur. Afterward, Tabernacles, and then the light of the new day will come, the thousand year earthly reign of Christ here on earth. And He shall reign forever and ever.
Some say the Church will go through the tribulation, that God fulfilled the spring feasts in a mighty way on the earth, but that both believers and unbelievers will move together into the tribulation.
Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth, and sit upon the throne of David, and rule the earth from Jerusalem. Every year, all people of the earth will come to worship Him there, or they will have no rain, according to Zechariah. Jesus will reign one thousand years, and turn all over to His Father for eternity.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
*****
Notes, 26 March 2018, 19 Oct 2020
I want to say a bit more about groups referred to by various names: NAR New Apostolic Revolution, Latter Day Rain, MSOG or Manifest Sons of God, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Identity. They and others teach against pre-tribulation Rapture and that Jesus will not come until believers take over, have dominion over the world. I believe most of these groups teach the replacement of Israel by the Church.
I've read that the Replacement Theology teaches that the Church has replaced Israel, and that this teaching is spreading widely in Mainstream Churches. This has led to recent years of boycotting and worsening anti-Semitism.
In 2018, Paul Smith of Calvary Chapel stated that the "New Evangelical" outlook, is that Jesus is gradually coming into hearts, that this fulfills the Second Coming. I think the "New Evangelical" is spreading among some churches, [So many are being taught to not take the Scripture literally as to Jesus's return.]
I visited a Manifest Sons type of group with an acquaintance, in 1980s, for their large Feast of Tabernacles meetings and celebration, and it took me awhile, but I realized, 'What about the blessed hope?' Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. I Thess. 4:17, 18 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I take the Scriptures literally and decided that the blessed hope is the hope of His coming for believers -- not death, not tribulation, not being hidden in Petra in the mountains southeast of Jerusalem.
I'm surprised, but these post-tribulation ideas are still growing and are found among many. The Manifest Sons group has their main weekly meeting on Saturday, is allied with "CCC" Christ Community Churches. Dominion Theology people preach that the Church must bring the earth under their dominion before Jesus can come again.
We will benefit from comparing Scriptures about 1) the grain harvest 2) the coming for the Bride 3) the householder on a journey who exhorts his servants to watch.
All unbelieving people left behind at the Rapture will live during the Time of Jacob's trouble. God's plan will be fulfilled and many will be saved, but many will die, many will be executed, and suffering will be great. One hundred forty four thousand Jewish men from the tribes will evangelize and many will believe, "a great multitude." After the departing of the Church, the Scripture will be fulfilled, Jeremiah 8:20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
The book of Joel chapter 1 speaks of an event that has occurred. The word of the LORD that came to Joel. Joel 1:2 "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:7 "He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white." Does this event point to the Rapture of missing believers?
Specifics for events in the time of tribulation can be found in Daniel and in the Book of Revelation.
The evil man will arise and set up world government and eventually enter the Temple in Jerusalem, saying he is God, and the most awful times will occur. Great numbers of believers, who will refuse to take his mark, will be beheaded. Eventually, as Jesus warned, some will flee Jerusalem and hide in the mountains to the southeast, and be sustained by the Lord.
Evil unbelieving people of the tribulation are compared to a harvest gathering of grapes, to be crushed.
Believers during the Time of Jacob's trouble might be compared to the olive harvest, the last harvest of the agricultural year, and the pressing of the olives.
After a specific number of days will be the Second Coming, and Jesus will come with all His saints, on white horses and clothed in white linen. He will split Mount Olivet in Jerusalem, east to west. He will slay all His enemies upon the earth by the word from His mouth. Some people will live through the tribulation and have children, in a time of peace, blessing, abundance. Satan will be bound, then at the end of 1,000 years, cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
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Post by mary on Aug 9, 2022 19:52:13 GMT
The Feasts Fulfilled, Harvests
from 18 Feb 1991 I have made some changes. See end for notes.
Passover
Jews in ancient Israel were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate three feasts, Passover, Pentecost, and in the autumn, Tabernacles which falls on the full moon after Tishri 1, which is the beginning of the Civil Year. Passover is the beginning of the sacred year.
Jesus fulfilled Passover which occurred on a full moon, the 14th day of the month Nisan, first month of the ecclesiastical year.
Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, which bespeaks salvation, escape, deliverance.
Nisan 1 commences at the New Moon, as do all months on the Jewish calendar.
Ex. 12:1-3: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.... In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb .... a lamb for an house."
Jesus, the slain Lamb, is the only acceptable sacrifice, and believers trust in the Blood of the Lamb and are thereby saved.
Unleavened Bread
Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commenced on the 15th day of Nisan, a seven day period of eating bread made without leavening, which represents sin. This feast was fulfilled before God, as Jesus, the sinless one was lifted up.
Firstfruits
Jesus fulfilled Firstfruits by arising from the grave on the third day after His death. The term Firstfruits refers to the first sheaves of barley which were ready to cut, and Jesus's resurrection is the fulfillment. Many saved people were also resurrected from their graves and walked about the Jerusalem area. (Matthew 27:52.)
Lev. 23: 10, 11, 14 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: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.... 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God.
I believe the season of the Rapture of the Church is shown in the Scriptures. Jesus the grain, died, brought forth much fruit, and His Church is likened to a harvest of grain. Jesus often likened Himself to a husbandman also, and He is waiting for the precious fruit, the gathering of the harvest of souls. Jesus spoke much about the crops and fruit.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The barley harvest is completed in April in Israel, and the wheat harvest is completed in May, about two weeks later. I believe the spring points to the season of the Rapture of saints, and many details about the Bride, and about the grain harvest are revealed in the love story in the Book of Ruth.
Another crop of wheat is planted in spring and harvested in late July or early August, about the time of the fast of Tish B'Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the temple. Both temples were destroyed on that date, and on that date the Jews were expelled from England in 1290, and also from Spain, in 1492.
Here is another love story and it mentions the fig tree. Song of Solomon 2:10-13 10My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 13The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
In March in Israel, the fig has tiny green figs.
This year of 2018, Passover commences Friday evening, March 30, and the counting of the days, Lag b'Omer, with Omer 1 starts on March 31. Jesus arose on First Fruits, "the morrow after the Sabbath," Sunday, and in 2018, Firstfruits is Sunday, April 1. Unleavened bread is April 1 through Saturday, April 7. The Lag b'Omer ends on the 50th day, the morrow after the Sabbath, which is Pentecost. (Lev. 23.) Centuries ago, the Jewish calendar was changed, and Pentecost was shifted from always being on a Sunday 'the morrow after the Sabbath,' to Sivan 6 (if I understand correctly). This year of 2018, Sivan 6 happens to fall on Pentecost Sunday, May 20.
The people were not to eat of the grain until the first sheaves (of barley) had been waved before the Lord.
The Book of Ruth tells us about Naomi, who is Jewish, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, a gentile Moabitess, coming out of famine, and how they returned to Bethlehem Ephrata. Ruth follows Naomi's instructions, gleans in fields through the barley and wheat, goes to Boaz when he has been winnowing barley (which tells us the time was in the month of Nisan). Ruth was married and taken into Boaz's house after her time of gleaning in the field. The son of Boaz, Obed, is born, and given to Naomi to nurse. Naomi is restored and finds joy in having a little boy to care for in her old age.
There are parallels to Israel, Christ, and the Church revealed in Ruth's story, that Jesus is like Boaz, and when He and the Church are wed in heaven, a son will be born, the "sealed servants" in Israel. The name Obed means "serving."
Pentecost
I believe the harvest of grain (April, May all grain in by first of August) points to the season of the coming of the Lord for His believers. The increase of the grain, the harvest, reveals the way He has multiplied His believers like a sower who cultivates His field.
In studying the Book of Ruth, I noted that Ruth worked to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest. (Ruth 2:23)
I wanted to know the month for the wheat harvest, and ran into the fact that there are two wheat harvests, months apart. The spring crop of wheat is planted in the autumn, and is harvested in spring, and is soft, best used for crackers and cookies.
The hard wheat is planted in spring and is harvested about four months later, about the first of August, and is best for breads, pastas.
"Four months and then the harvest" Jesus said, in the Gospel of John 4:35.
I grew up in a Plains state and saw the immense fields of bright green winter wheat, harvested in spring, and then the big crop, the summer crop in about August, the hard wheat, which is higher in protein.
I'm considering that typology in the story of Boaz and Ruth tells us much about when Jesus will come for His Bride, about their marriage, and that their offspring, like Obed, reveals the 144,000 Tribulation saints and their converts. Obed was named by Naomi's friends and he was given to Naomi to nurse, and the story portrays how Boaz has raised up an heir for those who died, as the Scripture required a kinsman to do, so that the dead would be remembered. Ruth 4:10 ".... to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren."
The time of the rapture may be hinted at in the story: Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. Verse 18, Naomi tells Ruth to sit still until you know know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. [So this reveals that Boaz is winnowing barley, the earliest spring grain crop, "firstfruits," when Ruth comes to lie at his feet, and Boaz promises to marry her, and next day goes and publicly makes the arrangements.]
Ruth 4:1, 2 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by.... 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
In Ruth 4:13, we read, "So Boaz took Ruth.... and she bore a son." The elders bless Boaz and say, "make the woman like Leah and Rachel" -- expressing the hope that she will have 12 sons. If my understanding of the typology of Boaz, his bride and his son, is correct, then Obed points to the 144,000. Ruth 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. (Tamar, widow of Judah's son, seduced Judah and bore a son, after Judah refused to let her marry another of his sons to fulfill the Scripture about raising up an heir as the inheritance to the dead.)
Naomi will be brought back to joys, lost with the deaths of her sons, as she cares for this boy. Just as Obed means "serving," so the end time, 144,000 believing Jewish men will be excellent servants of God as we are told in Revelation. Naomi means "pleasantness," but she said she had become bitterness. Naomi's joy will return. Other types of these evangelizing, believing Jews are seen in the three young men in the fiery furnace; in Elisha; and in Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph; and in Benjamin.
I think this is revealing: Ruth 3:15, 16, 17 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all.... 17 .... he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Before the betrothal, Boaz had placed 6 seahs of grain in Ruth's vail, a very heavy load. This may reveal how the Church makes provision for Israel during the Time of Jacob's Trouble, (spiritual bread of the New Testament). I found that 6 seahs of 7.7 quarts comes to 44.62 quarts, which is 89.24 pounds. Source Biblehub, citing II Kings 7.1. Jamison Faucett Brown seems to indicate that the load was even larger.
Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah's words about 'milk' understood to be interpreted 'Scripture' are revealing and seem to confirm that the Church makes provision for Israel:
Two wave loaves were to be lifted by the High Priest before the Lord at Pentecost, and I believe that these represent both Jewish and Gentile believers, the Church, lifted before the Lord.
A complex topic was uncovered once I tried to see which of the wheat crops was used in the festival, and it appears that it is the old grain, Yoshon, due to the requirement that the Jews must not eat of the new crop until it has been offered up before the Lord.
Five grains in Israel are wheat, oats, spelt, rye and barley, and some or all of these have a spring crop and also another later crop, planted in spring, with the harvest about August, called Chodosh, literally "new grain."
This causes me to consider that the season of grain harvests in Israel continues from April to first of August, and that the firstfruit of barley in May is the season of the Rapture of the Church, and the second grain harvest in August points to the resurrection of the Tribulation saints.
Pentecost celebrates the giving of the law, and occurs after seven sabbaths, a 50 day count, to be celebrated on a Sunday ("the morrow after the sabbath") according to Scripture.
Some researchers have pointed out problems regarding how the seven sabbaths and a count of the fifty days is to be done, saying that it was done differently in earlier times. Last year's grain is offered up at Firstfruits, in spring, to fulfill certain other requirements.
The fulfillment of Pentecost occurred when the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 waiting believers. The Holy Spirit came with a noise of a mighty wind. The believers saw the flames of fire on one another's heads. Believers spoke in tongues, telling about Jesus to people of other nations. This fulfills Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
Just as fire came on Sinai as the law was given, so fire came on the Church in Jerusalem.
Tradition says that Enoch was born on Pentecost and was also taken up by God on Pentecost.
I will be adding to my Typology of Joel study, verses from Joel 1:11, "the wheat and for the barley.... the harvest of the field is perished." Jeremiah 8:20, "The summer is past, the harvest is over and we are not saved." Amos 9:9, "I will sift the house of Israe3l among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."
Feast of Trumpets
The Civil Year begins with a convocation of trumpets, and all Jews are to gather in Jerusalem. Some think this feast will be fulfilled by the Rapture with believers going up to heaven, being gathered to Him, and that Jesus, as High Priest, will blow the trumpet, which they think must be the last trumpet, just as occurred at this feast in Israel near sundown on the evening before the new moon of the seventh month, Tishri 1, in about September. So the focus is entirely on a trumpet sound, with no Bride, no harvest spoken of at all.
The Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement was a solemn fast day when the Jews were not to work. For thousands of years, annually on this day the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of a sacrifice and interceded for the people. A rope was tied around his ankle in order to pull him out if he died in there and the sacrifice was not accepted. Jesus went into the Holy of Holies before the Lord and made an atonement for us by the sprinkling of His own Blood, when He was crucified at Passover, the Lamb of God.
After the Rapture of the believers, there will be, I believe, an awed multitude of Jews who see that something has happened, and many will seek the Lord. Many Messianic Jews are witnessing fervently now. I think that time of shock may be referred to in the first chapter of the Book of Joel, and that following chapters describe the tribulation and their comfort as they realize that God has not forsaken them. Jesus has made our atonement and we won't ever experience that dreadful dark period.
I believe that during the Tribulation, the 'time of Jacob's trouble,' the Jews will experience great revival and miracles, and will believe and evangelize. The tremendous outpouring of God's Spirit, as related in Joel, will fall upon them. I believe "Ephraim" was born in 1948, as Israel became a nation on May 14. During the terrible time of God's wrath outpoured upon the sinful earth, Israel will experience great things. I believe this is borne out in books of the Old Testament and in the Book of Revelation. Far from the Jews staying behind to experience only curses, I believe many will believe and please the Lord. They will become a true witness, just as the three young men in the fiery furnace in Daniel, and the Lord will be manifested among them! They will live through terrible times as they wait to see Him. No wonder that He said blessed are those who believe without having to see.
Believers have received the Blood of the slain Passover Lamb, His offering of Unleavened Bread, and we have taken the symbols of His Blood in the wine and His body in the broken bread. On Firstfruits, Jesus was raised from the dead, like a grain of wheat buried, seemingly dead, and then sprouted in new life. Pentecost is a time of two wave loaves of wheat held up before the Lord, and may be the time of Rapture of the Church of Jewish and Gentile believers. Perhaps He will come for us at the time the spring grain is ripe for harvest. Many believers are waiting and watching for Jesus to come, full of hope.
Tabernacles, Booths, Succot
At this feast, all Jews were to go up to Jerusalem for the great gathering of the people. They were told by the Lord to live out of doors for a week in booths made of tree limbs and branches, to remind them of the way God had protected them in their sojourn from Egypt. Tabernacles commences on the full moon. Most of the crops are in, with the grape harvest is ending in September.
The olives will be harvested during September, October, November.
Revelation mentions the pressing of grapes as the time of the outpouring of His wrath.
Are the 144,000 believing Jews like olive trees, pressed, yielding precious oil? The two witnesses of the Book of Revelation are likened to two olive trees. The olive harvest and pressing reminds us of the oil being used for the Menorah lamp. We know that the grapes of wrath reveal the wicked.
Tabernacles will be fulfilled by the Lord setting His Throne in Jerusalem so all the saved would come up to it.
Jews experiencing the time of Jacob's trouble may consider the fulfillments of some of the feasts, and realize what the Lord has done. The periods of time spoken of by the prophet Daniel will commence to be fulfilled.
The Lord has a marvelous plan for the Jews. He will mightily undertake for them. Just as Joseph dealt with his brothers and restored them to himself in a time of great famine, so the Lord will undertake for them in the dark days prophesied in the Scriptures, and they will be restored to Him with tears of joy.
We are soon coming to the sunset, it seems to me. In the twilight after we believers are gone, the Day of the Lord will commence.
The sun was darkened when Jesus died, and the Jewish day commences at sunset, and with it begins the dark Day of the Lord. The Day of Atonement will come and stretch on as the Jews seek God's salvation in that awful time.
The seven years start with the covenant of the evil one and Israel, but there could be some intervening time between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation. The time of Jacob's trouble will commence, the time of Daniel's seventieth "week." Greater things than the Exodus will occur. Afterward, Tabernacles, and then the light of the new day will come, the thousand year earthly reign of Christ here on earth. And He shall reign forever and ever.
Some say the Church will go through the tribulation, that God fulfilled the spring feasts in a mighty way on the earth, but that both believers and unbelievers will move together into the tribulation.
Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth, and sit upon the throne of David, and rule the earth from Jerusalem. Every year, all people of the earth will come to worship Him there, or they will have no rain, according to Zechariah. Jesus will reign one thousand years, and turn all over to His Father for eternity.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
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Notes, 26 March 2018, 19 Oct 2020
I want to say a bit more about groups referred to by various names: NAR New Apostolic Revolution, Latter Day Rain, MSOG or Manifest Sons of God, Kingdom Now, Dominion Theology, Identity. They and others teach against pre-tribulation Rapture and that Jesus will not come until believers take over, have dominion over the world. I believe most of these groups teach the replacement of Israel by the Church.
I've read that the Replacement Theology teaches that the Church has replaced Israel, and that this teaching is spreading widely in Mainstream Churches. This has led to recent years of boycotting and worsening anti-Semitism.
In 2018, Paul Smith of Calvary Chapel stated that the "New Evangelical" outlook, is that Jesus is gradually coming into hearts, that this fulfills the Second Coming. I think the "New Evangelical" is spreading among some churches, [So many are being taught to not take the Scripture literally as to Jesus's return.]
I visited a Manifest Sons type of group with an acquaintance, in 1980s, for their large Feast of Tabernacles meetings and celebration, and it took me awhile, but I realized, 'What about the blessed hope?' Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. I Thess. 4:17, 18 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
I take the Scriptures literally and decided that the blessed hope is the hope of His coming for believers -- not death, not tribulation, not being hidden in Petra in the mountains southeast of Jerusalem.
I'm surprised, but these post-tribulation ideas are still growing and are found among many. The Manifest Sons group has their main weekly meeting on Saturday, is allied with "CCC" Christ Community Churches. Dominion Theology people preach that the Church must bring the earth under their dominion before Jesus can come again.
We will benefit from comparing Scriptures about 1) the grain harvest 2) the coming for the Bride 3) the householder on a journey who exhorts his servants to watch.
All unbelieving people left behind at the Rapture will live during the Time of Jacob's trouble. God's plan will be fulfilled and many will be saved, but many will die, many will be executed, and suffering will be great. One hundred forty four thousand Jewish men from the tribes will evangelize and many will believe, "a great multitude." After the departing of the Church, the Scripture will be fulfilled, Jeremiah 8:20 "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
The book of Joel chapter 1 speaks of an event that has occurred. The word of the LORD that came to Joel. Joel 1:2 "Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:7 "He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white." Does this event point to the Rapture of missing believers?
Specifics for events in the time of tribulation can be found in Daniel and in the Book of Revelation.
The evil man will arise and set up world government and eventually enter the Temple in Jerusalem, saying he is God, and the most awful times will occur. Great numbers of believers, who will refuse to take his mark, will be beheaded. Eventually, as Jesus warned, some will flee Jerusalem and hide in the mountains to the southeast, and be sustained by the Lord.
Evil unbelieving people of the tribulation are compared to a harvest gathering of grapes, to be crushed.
Believers during the Time of Jacob's trouble might be compared to the olive harvest, the last harvest of the agricultural year, and the pressing of the olives.
After a specific number of days will be the Second Coming, and Jesus will come with all His saints, on white horses and clothed in white linen. He will split Mount Olivet in Jerusalem, east to west. He will slay all His enemies upon the earth by the word from His mouth. Some people will live through the tribulation and have children, in a time of peace, blessing, abundance. Satan will be bound, then at the end of 1,000 years, cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
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