There Are Three Harvests

[Choose Wisely]

Enow,

You are very close to what will happen. You are however confusing first fruits. First fruits is not a harvest but a declaration of an acceptable harvest to come.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Enow,

You are very close to what will happen. You are however confusing first fruits. First fruits is not a harvest but a declaration of an acceptable harvest to come.

Huh?

Leviticus 23:10 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:
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I've searched multiple verses and haven't seen your definition supported. What am I missing?


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[Choose Wisely]

Huh?

Leviticus 23:10 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:
​

I've searched multiple verses and haven't seen your definition supported. What am I missing?


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The First Fruits is not a harvest. It is bringing the first ripe sheaf to the priest for a wave offering. If the wave offering is acceptable it is a promise or guarantee of the harvest to come. Nothing was to be eaten from the fields until the wave offering was made and accepted.

Jesus was the first fruits of them who slept. He was perfect and acceptable unto God. His acceptance is a guarantee of a future harvest.

 

[NightHawkeye]

The First Fruits is not a harvest.

I absolutely agree with that statement.

Leviticus indicates the firstfruits is the first portion of the harvest though.

It is bringing the first ripe sheaf to the priest for a wave offering. If the wave offering is acceptable it is a promise or guarantee of the harvest to come. Nothing was to be eaten from the fields until the wave offering was made and accepted.

OK.

Jesus was the first fruits of them who slept. He was perfect and acceptable unto God. His acceptance is a guarantee of a future harvest.

OK. Sounds good.

Thanks for the clarification.


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[Enow]

You are however confusing first fruits. First fruits is not a harvest but a declaration of an acceptable harvest to come.

The First Fruits is not a harvest. It is bringing the first ripe sheaf to the priest for a wave offering. If the wave offering is acceptable it is a promise or guarantee of the harvest to come. Nothing was to be eaten from the fields until the wave offering was made and accepted.

Jesus was the first fruits of them who slept. He was perfect and acceptable unto God. His acceptance is a guarantee of a future harvest.

I understand your use of the first fruits: but in application: it is in question, especially when Jesus is the firstfruits of them who slept.

Matthew 27:52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Was that the first harvest? Not really.

Seeing how Jesus referred to false prophets and how many shall be led astray in Matthew 7:13-27 & Luke 13:24-30: those that were shut out were not gathered with the OT saints in being made to sit down to a meal. Jesus was speaking of a yet future gathering of saints in the latter days that His disciples would participate in as in sitting with the OT saints.

The thing I have come across in regards to the Jewish traditional honeymoon is that the bridegroom goes away to prepare the place where they will live for the bride. When He receives the bride into the home: the honeymoon traditionally lasts seven weeks. This is the time when the couple gets to know one another intimately to function as a unit.

Would not the Marriage Supper of the Lamb follow after the pattern?

John 14: 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

So where is the risen Saviour now? In Heaven at the right hand of God the Father. That is the place Jesus said He was going to and will come again to receive us to that place.

Can one say that the seven year great tribulation for those that were not watching and were not ready and thus were of the foolish virgins is the seven weeks of this Marriage Supper of the Lamb for those that were watching and were ready?

It would explain how Christ can return with the saints to confront Satan and his armies and yet after Satan's defeat and gets thrown in the pit: then the "first resurrection" will occur of the slain saints coming out of the great tribulation. So what saints did Christ come back with?

Revelation 20: 1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4And 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. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed 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.

I submit that the "first" of the "first resurrection" was alluding to the resurrection in respect of those coming out of the great tribulation to differentiate from the rest of the dead that shall be resurrected later, thus being the "first" in regards to the rest of the dead to be resurrected later since it will be obvious that it was not THE actual first resurrection.

Indeed: Matthew 27:52-53 would be contrary to that notion.

So the firstfruits: the blessedness of participating in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb would show Christ presentation of Himself with the bride as the first ripe sheaf.

Remember as you read this below: it is also in with the promise of being recieved to His Father's mansion. John 14:1-4

John 14: 19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 20At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you..... 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

So there is a hidden promise coming that is beyond the promise of the Holy Spirit for all those that believe as it pertains to following His voice: loving Him and His words in order to be received for this abode.

John 17: 6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are

So I submit that Christ being the firstfruits is alot more than just first ripe sheaf because the presentation of Him and the bride being one with Him declares the acceptableness of what Christ has done being the firstfruits.

 

[NightHawkeye]

...
Jesus was speaking of a yet future gathering of saints in the latter days that His disciples would participate in as in sitting with the OT saints.

The thing I have come across in regards to the Jewish traditional honeymoon is that the bridegroom goes away to prepare the place where they will live for the bride. When He receives the bride into the home: the honeymoon traditionally lasts seven weeks. This is the time when the couple gets to know one another intimately to function as a unit.

Consummation of the marriage in the traditional Jewish wedding is quite different from modern customs. From: Judaism 101: Marriage

1) "Marriage", per se, occurs at the time of engagement. The initial agreement is much stronger than "engagement" in modern day society. "Kiddushin occurs when the woman accepts the money, contract or sexual relations offered by the prospective husband." In other words, at this time, the woman is the "Bride".
2) Historically, the couple lived separately until their house was ready.
"The nisuin (from a word meaning "elevation") completes the process of marriage. "The husband brings the wife into his home and they begin their married life together." The new wife was most likely a Bride for some period of time prior.
3) No rabbi is needed for the ceremony.
"Because marriage under Jewish law is essentially a private contractual agreement between a man and a woman, it does not require the presence of a rabbi or other religious official."

There is no requirement for a wedding feast, much less specific timing for the feast, whether pre-consummation or post-consummation of the marriage. That feast can apparently be whenever ...

Here's a little more detail from the website: Judaism 101: Judaism 101: Marriage

"The process of marriage occurs in two distinct stages: kiddushin (commonly translated as betrothal) and nisuin (full-fledged marriage). Kiddushin occurs when the woman accepts the money, contract or sexual relations offered by the prospective husband. The word "kiddushin" comes from the root Qof-Dalet-Shin, meaning "sanctified." It reflects the sanctity of the marital relation. However, the root word also connotes something that is set aside for a specific (sacred) purpose, and the ritual of kiddushin sets aside the woman to be the wife of a particular man and no other.

Kiddushin is far more binding than an engagement as we understand the term in modern English; in fact, Rambam speaks of a period of engagement before the kiddushin. Once kiddushin is complete, the woman is legally the wife of the man. The relationship created by kiddushin can only be dissolved by death or divorce. However, the spouses do not live together at the time of the kiddushin, and the mutual obligations created by the marital relationship do not take effect until the nisuin is complete.

The nisuin (from a word meaning "elevation") completes the process of marriage. The husband brings the wife into his home and they begin their married life together.

In the past, the kiddushin and nisuin would routinely occur as much as a year apart. During that time, the husband would prepare a home for the new family. There was always a risk that during this long period of separation, the woman would discover that she wanted to marry another man, or the man would disappear, leaving the woman in the awkward state of being married but without a husband. Today, the two ceremonies are normally performed together.

Because marriage under Jewish law is essentially a private contractual agreement between a man and a woman, it does not require the presence of a rabbi or any other religious official. It is common, however, for rabbis to officiate, partly in imitation of the Christian practice and partly because the presence of a religious or civil official is required under United States civil law.

As you can see, it is very easy to make a marriage, so the rabbis instituted severe punishments (usually flogging and compelled divorce) where marriage was undertaken without proper planning and solemnity."
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The reason I bring all of this up is because it begins to explain the prevalent use of the term Bride throughout Revelation from chapters 18 through 22.

Other traditional Jewish marriage customs which some may find enlightening are:

Marriage is not solely, or even primarily, for the purpose of procreation. Traditional sources recognize that companionship, love and intimacy are the primary purposes of marriage, noting that woman was created in Gen. 2:18 because "it is not good for man to be alone," rather than because she was necessary for procreation.

According to the Torah and the Talmud, a man was permitted to marry more than one wife, but a woman could not marry more than one man. Although polygyny was permitted, it was never common. The Talmud never mentions any rabbi with more than one wife. Around 1000 C.E., Ashkenazic Jewry banned polygyny because of pressure from the predominant Christian culture. It continued to be permitted for Sephardic Jews in Islamic lands for many years. To the present day, Yemenite and Ethiopian Jews continue to practice polygyny; however, the modern state of Israel allows only one wife. Those who move to Israel with more than one wife are permitted to remain married to all of the existing wives, but cannot marry additional ones.

A husband is responsible for providing his wife with food, clothing and sexual relations (Ex. 21:10), as well as anything else specified in the ketubah. Marital sexual relations are the woman's right, not the man's. A man cannot force his wife to engage in sexual relations with him, nor is he permitted to abuse his wife in any way.
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Would not the Marriage Supper of the Lamb follow after the pattern?

John 14: 1Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Spoken as a Bridegroom to his Bride ...


One of the most revealing verses in the Bible for me is Revelation 22:18

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. ...
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We know where the Spirit is, but where is the bride? If in heaven, then why still called the bride? And if with the Spirit, then why the differentiation. The only good answer I have is that the bride remains among the living, at least for a while ...


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[Copperhead]

Problem is, leaven is always seen in scripture as representing sin. A principle of sound Biblical hermeneutics is the "law of first mention" as establishing what a term or word means throughout scripture. For example, to introduce leaven into the Fellowship Offering (which was 3 measures of meal) was punishable by death in ancient Israel. When Abraham was entertaining the Lord and 2 angels at Mamre, he had Sarai go and make 3 measures of meal.... unleavened. He was insistent upon that. Leaven is never seen as a positive thing in scripture.

The kingdom parable of the leaven is a clear reference that sin is still in the Messianic kingdom and will eventually permeate the entire kingdom. For those with a millennial reign bent, that explains why after the 1000 years and Satan is released, he is able to influence and lead most of the subjects to rebel. For those that don't hold to a millennial thing, take a look at the world around you, even the church. Evil has grown in the world and permeated even the church to create severe false doctrine and practice. To the point where many denominational churches virtually deny most of scripture and allow and endorse practices that are clearly sinful in scripture.

The parable of the mustard tree is the exact same thing. Previously, the birds in the parable of the sower clearly are representative of evil. In the mustard tree, the birds nest in its branches. Evil is present in the kingdom in this parable also, in the same way that leaven is present in the kingdom. They are two representations of the same thing.