There is a
harvest
in the natural world around us, that we can see, and are familiar
with. There is likewise a harvest in the spiritual realm that
is not seen with the natural eyesight.
Each year, a farmer has a certain crop in mind, so he plants
the
appropriate seeds. Later, the seeds spring up, and a crop comes
forth. The farmer then harvests the crop when it is ready. So it is
in the spiritual realm.
I am the true vine, and my
Father
is the husbandman (farmer). (John
15:1)
Yahuweh
the Creator is the farmer, and with a certain crop in mind, He
plants the appropriate seeds. Without going into much detail
in this writing, let us simply say that the earth or garden is
mankind, the seed is the incorruptible seed of the Living Word -
the Seed of Righteousness poured down from the skies, as seen in Isaiah
45:8, and as we discussed in Righteousness As The Light.
The plants that spring up from the earth are trees of
Righteousness, the planting of Yahuweh. The fruit or crop is the
Fruit of Righteousness, the outward expression of the inward
reality. After a time the crop becomes ready, and is harvested, and
put into His barn.
So when does the harvest take place? There are many in past
centuries that have gone to sleep, and are awaiting their
resurrection. In this writing we will not deal with those that have
already gone to sleep, but with those that remain alive at the time
of the harvest.
... the harvest is the end of
the world... (Mt 13:39)
The
traditional view of the Harvest at the end of the age is that there
is one harvest, and then comes the end. However, Scripture gives
abundant witness to show that the one harvest mentioned in the
above passage actually consists of three separate phases that
differ in timing, as well as in the crop harvested.
These three phases of the harvest - first the Barley crop,
next
the wheat crop, and finally the crop of grapes and other items -
are a prophetic picture of the harvest of souls at the end of the
age. We have simply not understood that there are three
separate phases of the one harvest.
The Feasts of Israel
Scripture reveals that the three major harvest Feasts
("moedim") of Israel - Pesach, known as Passover; Shavuot, also
called Pentecost; and Sukkot, called Tabernacles - are shadows of
things to come.
That is, they are prophetic, and tell us of many "things to come." One
thing the Feasts reveal is that the Feasts themselves speak
of the three
separate phases of the one harvest, each occurring in its own
order. As we examine the following passages, we get the
understanding that there is more than one resurrection, and that
the harvest occurs in several phases over a span of time.
The First Resurrection Feast
The Spring Feasts of Israel are within the season of
Passover, and consist of three distinct Feasts: Passover,
Unleavened Bread, and Early Firstfruits. It is this Early
Firstfruit harvest that is mentioned in Scripture as the First
Resurrection:
4 And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them:
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand
years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand
years. (Rev 20:4-6)
The First
Resurrection gets its name from being the first in order of
occurrence. Also known as the Feast of Early Firstfruits
("yom ha Bikkurim"), this resurrection occurs at the end of the
Passover season, and represents the first crop to ripen: the
Barley. For this Feast, ripe Barley sheaves are to be waved before
Yahuweh:
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: 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. (Leviticus 23:10-11) As the firstfruit crop of the Harvest, Barley speaks loudly
throughout Scripture as prophetic of not only Yahushua, but of the Bride. In many of
the prophetic pictures of the Bride, Barley is either present or is
associated in some way. Many of the Bride examples, as well
as Bride characteristics, include mention of the word Barley in
some way.
Significant to this Feast also is that it is the season of
Unleavened bread. Both Passover and Early Firstfruits speak
of an unleavened life, one characteristic of the Bride.
For many in the Jewish world today, the significance of this
feast
is unknown. This significance of this day is that it gives testimony to the Resurrection of the Jewish
Messiah. It was on this very day of Early Firstfruits that Yahushua
was resurrected, confirming the Scriptures referring to Yahushua
Messiah as the "firstfruit" of the resurrection:
But now is Christ
risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is
also holy: and if
the
root be holy, so are the branches. (Romans 11:16)
But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits;
afterward
they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians
15:23)
Not only
is Yahushua mentioned in Scripture as the resurrection firstfruit
("risen from the dead"), but others are also:
Of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures. (James 1:18)
These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they
are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits
unto God and to the Lamb. (Rev
14:4)
These
Scriptures confirm that as part of the final harvest of men, there will be
a "firstfruit" harvest.
The Second Resurrection Feast
The second major Feast of Israel is called Shavuot, or the
Feast of Latter Firstfruits. Having the Greek name Pentecost,
it occurs exactly fifty days after the Feast of Early
Firstfruits. This feast occurs as a "memorial" of the much larger
wheat harvest, and includes waving of two loaves of leavened wheat
bread before Yahuweh.
Indeed, Pentecost portrays the Second harvest of souls,
those that
were not yet ready to be harvested at the First Resurrection. Just as wheat bread is baked with leaven, these souls were
still leavened at the time of the Firstfruit Harvest, and were not
yet ready. Since they are "Leavened," they are thus made to be baked in the "oven"-- to go through the furnace of
affliction-- in order to bring the crop to a state of readiness.
The following passages describe this large part of the
Pentecost
harvest:
...the words are
closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10
Many shall
be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do
wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise
shall understand. (Daniel 12:9b-10)
9 After this I
beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before
the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and
palms in their hands; (Rev 7: 9)
13 And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed
in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him,
Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out
of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev
7:13-14)
So we see
in the above passages this wheat harvest will be a very great
harvest, of those that had robes by virtue of their Faith in
Messiah, but were not yet ready when the Bridegroom came for the
Bride at the First Resurrection Harvest.
The Third Harvest Feast
The third stage of the harvest to be made is the grape harvest. This is the harvest that comes at a time after the wheat
harvest. It will not be discussed at length here. We
will make brief note of the grape harvest later as we discuss the
Three Harvest phases of Revelation 14.
The 3-Fold Rapture
It is interesting to note that many men have already seen
in Scripture some of the various pieces of the Harvest puzzle
described above. Some have adopted use of the word "Rapture"
to denote the particular resurrection scenario they have seen and
understood.
Some have seen a "pre" tribulation rapture in Scripture; some
have
seen a "mid" trib, and others have seen a "post" trib
rapture. Still others have devised a "pre-wrath" view as more
logical. Apart from using the non-Biblical term "rapture" in
place of "resurrection," I would suggest there is some truth in
each one of these ideas. Scripture speaks about each one,
each in its own time. What men have not understood is that
the entire harvest will not occur in only one phase, but in
three.
So
we must conclude from all of Scripture, that there will be no single
"Rapture" of the saints as widely understood today, but instead a
3-fold Resurrection- consisting of three separate phases of
the
One Harvest.
The Remnant Harvest of Romans
There are two well-known Scripture passages in Romans, that
on
first glance, appear to be contradictory:
...a remnant
shall be saved.... (Romans 9:27b)
...all Israel
shall be saved.... (Romans 11:26a)
Here we
see the apostle Paul first tells us a "remnant" - a small part of
the Harvest - shall be saved. Then he tells us "all
Israel" - the entire Harvest - will be saved. These verses
are not written in order to prove a certain point of view. Both of these passages are true, and reveal to us that the Harvest
occurs in phases, first a "remnant" or small part, and then the
whole Harvest.
Now look at the final explanation Paul gives for the
"remnant"
Harvest phase:
For he will finish
the work, and cut it short <4932> in righteousness:
because a
short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
(Romans
9:28)
The Greek
word <4932> cut short means to "cut in
pieces." Here Paul tells us that "He will finish the work,
and literally cut it in pieces by righteousness." That is,
each piece, or harvest phase, is determined by its "righteousness"
(See Righteousness Sown, Righteousness Harvested).
The Three-Phase Harvest of Revelation 14
The three-fold Harvest can be seen through many examples in
Scripture. Perhaps one of the clearest pictures may be seen
in Revelation Chapter 14:
3 And they sung as
it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts,
and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred
and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the
earth.
4 These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they
are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits
unto God and to the Lamb. (Rev 14:3-4)
In the
above passages, and in those we saw above in Rev 20, it appears to be implied that both the first and second Harvest phases
are portrayed as the
"firstfruits unto God." The Greek word for redeemed <59>
means "to buy or purchase," and is from a Greek
base
word meaning "gather", which in turn is related to the Greek
word egeiro
<1453> meaning
"to arise," which in the New
Testament often refers to “resurrection.” It seems to be that
the early and latter "Firstfruits" become as one "Firstfruits,"
even though they occur at different times.
We now come to Rev. 14:14, where we next
see
the second Harvest phase portrayed: 14
And I
looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like
unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his
hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the
temple, crying
with a
loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and
reap<2325>: for the time is come for thee to
reap<2325>; for the harvest<2326> of
the earth is
ripe.
16 And he that sat on the cloud
thrust in his
sickle on the
earth; and the earth was reaped<2325>. (Rev
14:14-16)
In the
passages above we see the word translated reap
is the
same word for harvest, but used as a
verb. This is
the second Harvest phase. This second
phase of the Harvest
speaks of those virgins in Matt 25:11, after missing the Bridegroom
at the first Resurrection Harvest:
11 Afterward came
also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to
us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto
you, I know
you
not. (Matthew 25:11-12)
What do
we know about their state of readiness? Notice the
following:
...I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work "iniquity"
(<458>=Literally,without
Torah ) . (Matt 7:23b)
We see in Scripture that the Greek word
for Harvest - therismos - appears 13 times in the new
Testament. Since the number 13 speaks of Love, we
understand that the Harvest is simply a three-phase reaping of love
- Yahushua's harvest of those who love Him. Yahushua has
already told us "if you love me, keep my commandments."
So again we see another characteristic of the Second phase
of the
Harvest- that it consists of those that were lacking love (of
keeping "My Commandments") at the time the Bridegroom came for the
Bride. This lack of love is somehow related to
the phrase, "I never knew you."
Indeed, many today call Yahushua Saviour, and
Messiah. Yet
they do not truly know who He really is - that it was He that gave
the Commandments to Moses. Yet they refuse to keep His
Commandments. Many today do not know of the perpetual
("eternal") sign of the Everlasting Covenant - the sign of
those that truly know Him (See Ex 31:13, 16; Eze
20:20). This sign seen in Exodus and Ezekiel is likewise a
sign to the Bridegroom - of those that know Him, and love
Him. This is the sign of those that keep his Commandments -
and thereby love Him.
So we conclude that the Second phase of the Harvest in
Revelation
is made up of the great teeming multitudes, who claim to honour
Messiah, and call Him "Lord." However, their love for Him is
questionable, so they must go through a time of "testing" before
they are harvested. These are those multitudes seen in Rev 7 and Rev 20, who passed the second Love-Test:
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
"...the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands..." (Rev 20:4b)
"...these are they which came out
of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev
7:14b) These
were, in timing, part of the Second Harvest phase, but appear to be
named in Scripture as among the "First Resurrection," and are likewise
named among the "Firstfruits" of the Harvest!
Now we will notice now what must take place during the Third
Harvest
phase:
17 And another
angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a
sharp sickle.
18 And another
angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried
with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in
thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth;
for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel
thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the
earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of
God.
20 And the
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand
and six hundred furlongs. (Rev 14:17-20)
For this
third phase of the Harvest, the harvest-word used
is gather. This third phase of the harvest speaks
of those who had heard the Truth of the Gospel, but had not made it
a part of their lives. Thus they were among the grape
harvest.
Notice that for each of the three harvest phases, there was a
detailed warning that had been given to all - Chapters 1-14 of the
Book of Revelation. This warning described for them in great
detail, the characteristics of each phase of the harvest. With foreknowledge and fore warning, each could choose to amend his
ways accordingly. Yahuweh is not willing, that any should
perish.
Conclusion
We have seen how Scripture gives abundant testimony of the
Harvest as being three separate harvests of men, each group in its
own order. First, the Early Firstfruit Barley Bride will be
harvested; then after a time, the Latter
Firstfruit-Pentecost-Christianity Wheat will be harvested; and
lastly, the grapes. Each harvest phase brings further separation
from within the harvest, and bears testimony of the true nature of
each crop.
There are many more "Treasures" to be found in Scripture -
Treasures that reveal the King, and His Kingdom. There are
many more prophetic pictures revealing the true nature of the
Harvest, and details of each Harvest phase. May you, dear
Reader, seek and find much more of the King's Treasure.
It is the
glory of
God to conceal a thing:
but the honour of
kings is to search out a matter.
(Proverbs
25:2)
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