The Final Harvest
From mid-September to mid-October is harvest time in Israel. We have an approximate harvest time here in America, depending on geographical location. Our God is a God of order. His plans for this planet as well as all who have ever lived upon it have a Devine order. In Genesis 8:22, the Word tells us that as long as earth remains, “seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease”. (So much for those who tout global warming and misquote the Bible by saying “In the last days, the seasons will be so mixed up, we won’t know summer from winter”)!
It is not just the planet that has perfect order, but God’s design for His people also has a Devine order. In the book of Leviticus, we find that God specifically directed Moses concerning three major feasts that correspond to the agricultural seasons: the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. As we read the New Testament, we discover that all these feasts must be fulfilled before Jesus Christ finishes His work on earth.
The first festival, the Passover, was fulfilled when our Lord was crucified. He was the Passover Lamb. The Apostle Paul told us that “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). It is, therefore, by His shed blood that we are covered, and our sins are remembered no more. Even as the angel of death passed over the homes of the Israelites who had applied the blood, when God sees the blood of Jesus applied to us, He “passes over” our transgressions and our sins.
Fifty days after the Passover was the Feast of Weeks. In Greek, the festival was named Pentecost since pente speaks of the 50th. It was on the celebration of this day that the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 in an upper room, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. In Christ, those followers, the firstfruits, became God’s instruments to begin to bring in the final harvest (1 Corinthians 15:23).
But what of the Feast of Tabernacles? We are now in that time of year when our Jewish friends celebrate the end of the agricultural season, and the transition to the new year. It begins with Rosh Hashanah, which means “head of the year”. It speaks of the end of one agricultural year, the fulfillment of the last harvest, and the beginning of the new. Then comes Yom Kippur, Day of Covering, or Day of Atonement. This is when the High Priest would go into the holy of holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat, which covered the Ark of the Covenant, for the covering of sins. The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christ was our covering for sin. He is our “lid of covering, our mercy seat”.
Five days after this Day of Atonement comes the Feast of Tabernacles. What is God telling us in this? After the Day of Atonement, there were 5 days to gather in the final harvest. In the Bible, the number 5 stands for “grace”. Many of us believe we are now in this period of grace- the final harvest-before the last prophetic feast is fulfilled.
The Feast of Tabernacles is wonderfully symbolic. The Jews call it Succoth. Everywhere you go in Israel during this feast time, you see the booths or tabernacles that people have built outside their homes. It gives a poignant picture of transition, of being ready to leave where we’ve been and begin something new. The harvest is finished and a new era is begun. Most of the Church emphasizes the Feast of Tabernacles because it is the only feast that has not been fulfilled in the New Testament, but we are still living in the New Testament times! Passover was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus. The Feast of Weeks had fulfillment in Pentecost. But there has been no fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. Why not? Because it speaks of the Second coming of Jesus. He is going to set up a magnificent kingdom where there will be no sorrow, no death, no crying and no pain and we will reign and rule with the Lord forever and ever. This is the Second Coming, for which the Jewish people are awaiting, because they did not receive Jesus as their Messiah when He came the first time.
When does the Catching Away (Rapture) of the Church occur? About 2 weeks prior to the Feast of Tabernacles, is the Feast of Trumpets, which is held on the 1st day of the 7th month. This is the time I believe that the Bride of Christ, including Jewish believers, will be caught up in the twinkling of an eye, to meet our Lord in the air and enter marriage with our Beloved Jesus. The activities between the Bride and Groom, including rewards, the marriage supper, assignments of positions, greeting loved ones, and just hanging out with our precious Jesus, will take 7 years. We will be celebrating at the same time the antichrist reigns on the earth.
It is sad to think that those who do not live for Christ now, will have to die for Him then.
We have touched on several Feasts of Israel, and even though the names may vary, there are 7 main feasts. Jesus has fulfilled the first 4 and the Feast of Trumpets (“The day of the awakening blast”) is soon to be fulfilled by Him as well. The last 2 have to do with the nation of Israel. The first 3 feasts occurred in the 1st month which is our April. Pentecost occurred in the early part of summer in late May or early June, (the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, based on the new moon of each month). We then, skip over to the 7th month which occurs in the fall, in September. This jump in time seems to represent the Church Age in God’s planning, since the trumpet unquestionably represents the Rapture of the Church. The high priest actually stood on the southwestern parapet of the Temple and blew the trumpet so that it could be heard in the surrounding fields. At that moment the faithful would stop harvesting even if there were more crops to bring in, and leave immediately for the worship service. The Lord used that image. The Jew and the non-Jew would be working side by side in the fields, as even today. When the trumpet would sound, the Jew would leave instantly, and the other of a different belief would continue working. The Lord thus stated, “Where there are 2 working in the field. I’ll take one and leave the other”.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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, (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
God Bless You All,
Pastor Moser
October, 2009
W.O.W.
“Look up, stand up, pack up…you’re going up”! Pastor John Hagee
AMEN!!!
In : 2009.10 "The Final Harvest"
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