Three Festivals and the Salvation of ALL
There is a beautiful "type" in the Old Testament that demonstrates when and in what manner all these unsaved masses will be saved.
The Old Testament type is illustrated all throughout the New Testament.
The American Heritage College Dictionary: "type n 6. A figure, representation, or symbol of something to come, such as an event in the Old Testament that foreshadows another in the New Testament," p. 1485.
There are many such types beginning back in the the first chapter of Genesis.
Here are just two examples:
[1] The Passover in ancient Israel was a type of its true fulfillment to come in our Lord's crucifixion:
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover [Lamb] is sacrificed for us:
[2] And James demonstrates the foreshadowing of the firstfruits harvest by saying:
Jas 1:18 Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits [of the spring harvest] of his creatures.
It's important to note that whenever the word "first" is used, it always suggests more to follow - there is never a Spring harvest without a following Fall harvest.
We will now take a look at three of the Old Testament types that center on the harvest seasons.
In ancient Israel there were three times in the year when all men were to appear before God:
[1] THE WAVE SHEAF (Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover)
Lev 23:10-12 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 ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the FIRST year for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
This wave sheaf of the very first of the firstfruits is a type of our Lord Who was the perfect Lamb without blemish offered in the Spring on Passover.
NASB 1Co 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
Jesus is not the entire firstfruits but rather "the firstfruit OF them that sleep."
He is the firstfruit OF the firstfruit or more precisely the "wave sheaf OF the firstfruits."
Firstfruit is a term that pertains to agriculture and harvesting. It was never a theological term until introduced into the New Testament with regards to a small number who would be saved prior to a much larger number to be saved later.
[2] THE FIRSTFRUITS (Feast of Weeks)
Num. 18:12 & Num 18:13 All the best of the oil , and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the FIRSTFRUITS of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee ... And whatsoever is FIRST RIPE in the land which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine...
Deut. 26:10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, has given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God.
The New Testment type of this Old Testament symbol is the Believer.
Notice what James tells us:
Jas 1:18 Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits [of the spring harvest] of his creatures.
Now a very important point: How far down the road in prophecy can we go until we reach the end of the firstfruits?
In Rev 7:4-8 we read of the sealing of the 144,000. These are a different group from the great innumerable multitude, which no man could number, from every nation and tongue spoken of beginning in verse 9.
In Chapter 14:1 & 4 we are told specifically who these 144,000 are:
Rev 14:1 & Rev 14:4 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand [notice that the innumerable multitudes from all nations is not mentioned here] ... These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins [as in the Bride of Christ]. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, BEING THE FIRSTFRUITS unto God and to the Lamb.
So every believer from the Apostles to the 144,000 just prior to the return of Jesus Christ to establish His reign on the earth, is called and likened to FIRSTFRUITS!
So what does this have to do with The Lake of Fire?
EVERYTHING! Everyone saved before the Day of Judging is likened to firstfruits, so there will be no more firstfruits after The Great White Throne Judgment.
Paul tells us in:
Rom. 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the FIRSTFRUITS of the Spirit...
Nowhere do we read of the "LAST-fruits", or "ONLY-fruits" but whenever something is FIRST we also know there is something to follow.
The firstfruits are clearly not the ONLY fruits!
Follow this very closely now, for you are in for a big shock when you understand the type in the fall festival of Tabernacles-the great fall harvest.
[3] THE END-OF-THE-YEAR FEAST OF INGATHERING (Feast of Tabernacles)
Ex 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou has sown in the field and the FEAST OF INGATHERING, which is in the END OF THE YEAR, when you have gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Deut 16:13-15 Thou shall observe the FEAST OF TABERNACLES seven [number of perfection] days, after that you have gathered in your corn and your wine: And you shall REJOICE IN YOUR FEAST, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the widow, that are within your gates [that's just about EVERYONE, wouldn't you say?]. Seven days [here's that perfect number again] shall you keep A SOLEMN FEAST [a very important feast to God] unto the LORD your God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shalt surely REJOICE.
Here truly was a festival in which EVERYONE, every single person in all Israel, and also did you notice, "the STRANGER" who was NOT an Israelite could really REJOICE!
This festival was the happiest time of the year for everyone!
Do we think it will have no fulfillment in God's grand plan of salvation?
Lev 23:34-36 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the FEAST OF TABERNACLES for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the EIGHTH DAY shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by FIRE unto the LORD: it is a SOLEMN assembly; and you shall do no servile work therein.
Why is the profound and marvelous truth of this festival not taught in its proper chronological order by the teachers of Christendom?
How is it even possible to avoid seeing the powerful and glorious consummation of God's salvation in this Fall Harvest Festival?
Jesus Taught the purpose of the Fall Harvest.
The eighth day of this Feast of Tabernacles was called "The Last Great Day of the Feast."
Jesus Christ Himself came to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem and spoke on the Last Great Day:
John 7:37-38 In the last day, that GREAT DAY OF THE FEAST, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If ANY MAN thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of LIVING WATER.
At what point in future prophecy, will Jesus Christ CUT OFF the invitation to all and any who are thirsty to drink of His LIVING WATERS?
Our Lord NEVER cuts off the invitation to drink of the living waters.
These waters (a symbol for God's Spirit) will be available until every creature in heaven and earth is saved:
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.
Rev 22:7 And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the WATER OF LIFE FREELY.
Don't be deceived, Jesus Christ IS the "tree of life" in the Garden, and NO ONE can partake of that tree of life except he first pass the through the "FLAMING SWORD" that points in all directions and guards the tree of life. Remember, "Our God is a CONSUMING FIRE" (Heb. 12:29).
So Tabernacles celebrated the great Fall harvest, the largest harvest of the whole year. It was this great Fall harvest that would sustain Israel through the winter months.
There were far more products to be harvested in the END of the year than in the Spring of the year. Therefore this same type must carry over into the New Testament.
So here is where we are. There were THREE great festivals in the yearly calendar of Israel:
Deut 16:16 THREE TIMES in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread [which included Passover], and in the feast of weeks [firstfruits], and in the feast of tabernacles [the time of the great fall harvest]: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.
First comes the wave sheaf, the very first of the firstfruits, on Passover, during the feast of unleavened bread. This represents CHRIST, the very first (wave sheaf) OF the firstfruit, our Passover sacrificed for us.
Second was the Feast of Weeks when the firstfruit of the land was harvested. This represents US, the FIRSTFRUIT to enter God's Kingdom. James says WE are the firstfruit of God (James 1:18).
Third came the great Fall harvest, the Feast of Tabernacles, a much much larger gathering, where ALL THE FALL HARVEST was gathered in!
What does this Feast picture? This was the time of true REJOICING FOR EVERYONE. Absolutely EVERYONE. No one was left out of this great and final festival of the year:
Deut 16:14 And thou shalt rejoice IN THY FEAST [of Tabernacles, the fall harvest], YOU, and your SON, and your DAUGHTER, and your MANSERVANT, and your MAIDSERVANT, and the LEVITE, the STRANGER [Gentiles], and the FATHERLESS, and the WIDOW, that are within your gates.
NO ONE was EXCLUDED! EVERYONE was INCLUDED!
And so we see in the New Testament that these three festivals of ancient Israel are really types in God's master plan of salvation.
Christ the FIRST of the firstfruit. Then believers, the FIRSTFRUITS. And then the great FALL HARVEST.
But wait a minute. We know that Christ was the First of the firstfruit to be resurrected to life.
We also know that all the believing saints who are to reign with Christ at His coming are the rest of the firstfruits.
So where then does the great fall harvest of souls come into God's family? When have you ever been taught about the great fall harvest, which excludes no one but includes everyone? There is a reason why you haven't heard the truth of these Scriptures in Christendom.
According to Christendom THERE IS NO GREAT FALL HARVEST OF SOULS at the end of the ages!
That's right, they say there will be NO Fall Harvest in God's Kingdom. Just how do they account for such a thing? Is God such an inept and unskilled Farmer that He has a total crop failure when Fall harvest time comes, or will He just BURN THE ENTIRE HARVEST in the eternal fires of some fabled hell?
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More later...
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