In the Old Testament, God tells Moses to tell the Israelites that He will give His chosen people “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper” (Deuteronomy 8:8-9, KJV). From these verses, we learn that there are seven major crops that God would give to His chosen people, along with giving them the Promised Land. These seven major crops are:
- Wheat
- Barley
- Grapes
- Figs
- Pomegranates
- Olives
- Honey
Of these seven major crops, which have been harvested in Israel, three of them specifically symbolize the three categories of people who make up Jesus the Christ’s harvests, and those crops are: barley, wheat and grapes. The three categories of people that relate to Jesus the Christ’s spiritual harvests are believers, unbelievers (doubters, skeptics, agnostics), and nonbelievers (atheists).
Furthermore, the spiritual and figurative significances of the aforesaid three mentioned major crops are most important to believers, because these three crops relate to the anticipated redemptive work of Jesus the Christ, to His resurrected glory, to believers’ eternal life, and to the Lake of Fire eternity that awaits the centuries of devoted unbelieving apostates and the centuries of committed nonbelievers. In essence, the barley, wheat, and grapes (or the fruit of the vine) crops are analogous to the four different kinds of hearts/spirits/soils/grounds that Jesus the Christ mentions in the Parable of the Sower.
The Parable of the Sower deals with believing humans’ productivity within the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. To this end, their productivity will depend on the kind of response they have to the Word of God that has been sown (preached) into their hearts/spirits/soils/grounds. The four human hearts/spirits/soils/grounds are: (1) hard paths—those who hear the Word of God, yet they do not understand it; consequently, because the seed/Word falls on hard soils, the evil one is able to snatch the Word out of their hearts/spirits; (2) rocky soils—those who hear and accept the Word of God with joy, but, because the seed/Word falls on shallow grounds, and, thus, does not take root, when problems arise or these hearers are persecuted, the joy in their hearts/spirits withers; (3) thorny grounds—those who hear and accept the Word of God, but because their hearts/spirits are greedy for money, material possessions, and every-day necessities, the lust for these gains chokes the seed/Word so that the hearts/spirits of these hearers remain unproductive; and (4) good soils—those who hear, accept, and produce huge spiritual harvests that are 30, 60 and/or a 100 times larger than the seed/Word that originally was planted in their hearts/spirits (cf. Matthew 13:3-23).
In due course, every lost soul will be harvested. For people born during the Age of Grace, or the CHURCH Age, beginning from the birth of the CHURCH until end of the Age—end of the world, as humans know it, every born in sin individual will be harvested; it just depends on whether a person will be in the barley, wheat, or fruit of the vine harvest.
Now, the Scriptures declare that the largest harvest will happen during the Fall Harvest, or End Harvest, which also symbolizes the time of the end of the Age. Moreover, since barley, wheat, and grapes are harvested during Israel’s three major harvest seasons, these harvest seasons not only symbolize the spiritual principles rooted in the seven annual Jewish feasts but also represent the fulfillment of God’s prophetic appointed times (mo’edim) for believers—God’s appointed times in which He directly redeems and delivers believers—and the fulfillment of God’s prophetic appointed times for unbelievers and nonbelievers—God’s appointed times in which He directly pours out His wrath upon wicked mankind and upon the Earth. For sure, all of the biblical mo’edim are prophetic, because they each reveal divine truths about the plans and warnings of the LORD God of Israel who also is the Lord God of us all.
Traditionally, the three major harvests in Israel are: SPRING or First Harvest, SUMMER Harvest, and FALL or End Harvest. The SPRING Harvest begins on the 16th of the first month of the Jewish religious calendar (Abib a.k.a. Nisan, which is Gentiles’ March or April). This SPRING Harvest begins with the Feast of Firstfruits (the barley harvest), and it culminates on the 6th of the third month of the Jewish religious calendar (Sivan, which is Gentiles’ May or June). On the 6th of Sivan, the Jewish people celebrate the Feast of Pentecost together with the end of the barley harvest and the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (cf. Deuteronomy 16:1-10 and Exodus 23:a and 34:22a).
The second harvest is the SUMMER Harvest, which begins in the fourth month of the Jewish religious calendar, about mid-Tammuz (Gentiles’ June or July). This harvest ends when the fallen grapes break open to reveal the new seed, an event that happens on or close to the 15th of the fifth month of the Jewish religious calendar, which is Av (Gentiles’ July or August).
The third and last harvest that deals with the three most important crops of Israel’s seven major crops is the FALL Harvest. This harvest begins in the sixth month of the Jewish religious calendar (Elul, which is Gentiles’ August or September) and culminates around the 15th of the seventh month of the Jewish religious calendar (Tishri, which is Gentiles’ September or October). The 15th of Tishri is the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Exodus 23:16b and 34:22b, and Deuteronomy 16:13-15).
Both the SPRING and the FALL harvests depended on the rainfall, and there were two major rainy seasons in Israel: (1) Former Rains, and (2) Latter Rains. The rainy seasons extended from the month of Tishri (September or October) to Iyyar (April or May), with rainfall hitting its highest point in the month of Kislev through the month of Shevat (in Gentiles’ December through February). Additionally, little or no rain fell in Israel from Sivan (May or June) to early Tishri (September or October).
Furthermore, the Former (Early) Rains began in the Fall, at seed planting time, which means that the Former Rains fell at the time when the Earth was being prepared for seedtime. The Latter Rains began in the Spring, near harvest time, which means that the Latter Rain fell at the time when the Earth was being prepared to bring forth its first of many harvests. What’s more, during these rainy seasons, other than the aforesaid seven major crops, some minor crops were planted and harvested. These crops were: peas, chickpeas, lentils, vetch (a climbing bean or pea plant like a legume), oats, sesame, flax, and millet (a small-grained cereal).
SPRING or FIRST HARVEST:
The most important SPRING crops were cereals: barley and wheat. These two cereals were important because newly harvested grain could not be eaten until the firstfruits of grain had been offered on the “day after the Sabbath” of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (cf. Leviticus 23:9-12, 14). Thus, although barley and wheat were both planted in the autumn, barley matured faster and, accordingly, would be harvested sooner. For this reason, during the celebration of the Day of Firstfruits, which also is the second day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the field owners would bring to the priest a sheaf (Omer) of barley, which was the firstfruits of their barley harvest, and the priest would wave that sheaf before the Lord for His acceptance.
Then, forty-nine days later, on the Feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated near the end of the SPRING’s grain Harvest, the field owners brought the firstfruits of their new grain (wheat), which was in the form of two loaves. These loaves symbolized the beginning of the wheat harvest, and these loaves also were the field owners’ required meat (meal or grain) offering that was to be sanctified unto the Lord their God (cf. Leviticus 23:16-17). Besides the firstfruits of wheat, the ripened full crops from the end of the barley and oats harvests also were gathered before and shortly after the Feast of Pentecost. For this reason, the Feast of Pentecost also was/is called “the Feast of Harvest” (cf. Exodus 23:16).
SUMMER HARVEST:
Next, grapes and the rest of the aforesaid minor crops also are harvested. Grapes are the first major crop to ripen after the Feast of Pentecost. New crops of fully-grown grapes are gathered in Sivan, Tammuz, Av, and Elul (or Gentiles’ June, July, August, and September). Then in Elul, the SUMMER Harvest’s figs, olives, and grapes are processed.
According to ancient Jewish tradition, the new wine festival came fifty days, or seven weeks, after the Feast of Pentecost. Fittingly, just as the Temple priest was commanded to offer a sheaf (Omer) of firstfruits to the Lord fifty days before Pentecost, and before anyone ate any of the SPRING Harvest’s first grain, a similar action applied to the SUMMER Harvest’s crop that matured first. Thus, fifty days after Pentecost, before anyone should drink any of the SUMMER Harvest’s new wine, the firstfruits of the vine also have to be offered to God.
FALL HARVEST or END HARVEST:
The last harvest to be considered here is the FALL Harvest, and the crops of this harvest are eaten during the Feast of Ingathering. For Israel, this feast is a very special FALL Harvest festival (cf. Exodus 23:16b; 34:22b). In order to celebrate this feast on Tishri 15, the Israelites are instructed to bring a tenth of their harvest along with the firstborn male animals of their herds and their flocks to the Jerusalem Temple (today, to a central location) where they are to share their prosperity with their family. Not only are they commanded to share their grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of their flocks and herds with their family members, friends, and hired help but also they are commanded to share their end of the harvest provisions with the Levites and other needy people—the widows, orphans, foreigners, and so forth (cf. Deuteronomy 14:22-29).
This annual seven-day celebration also is called the Feast of Tabernacles (cf. Deuteronomy 16:13; Leviticus 23:34), because this feast is kept in remembrance of the temporary dwelling places the Israelites lived in during their journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. For this reason, as a part of their celebration, later generations also are instructed to build temporary shelters (booths or tents) to stay in during the seven days of this feast (cf. Leviticus 23:40-43).
THE RAINS:
Now, for Christians, the Early/Former Rain, which literally prepared the Earth for seedtime, is figuratively the time when the Gospel seed was planted during the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, on the Day of Pentecost. The Latter Rain, which literally prepared the Earth to take the harvest (to receive the ripened fruit), is figuratively the times when the fruits of the Gospel seed would be harvested—the fruits that have been prepared by the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, according to Joel 2:28, there would be at least a second outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or the Latter Rain.
Like the Prophet Joel, the Apostle Peter also prophesies about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:16-17, the Apostle Peter says:
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (KJV)
Please notice here that Apostle Peter is not quoting the Prophet Joel EXACTLY as he prophesied to the nation of Israel in his day. The Prophet Joel says:
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, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28, KJV)
There is one specific and significant difference in the prophecies these two godly men articulate. The Apostle Peter uses the phrase “in the last days,” and the Prophet Joel says “afterward.”
The difference in their wording makes it obvious that the prophesied outpouring of the Holy Spirit that the Apostle Peter says will happen “in the last days” did happen in his “last days,” for “the last days” he means in Acts 2:17 are not the end of the Age last days, nor is he referring to the end times. His “in the last days” generation began with the birth of the CHURCH on the Day of Pentecost and ended in 70 CE. In those 70 CE “last days,” the Apostle Peter and other apostles witness the last days of the nation of Israel, as they knew her; the last days of Jerusalem’s Temple, as they knew it; and the last days of the Jewish people being able to live in their Promised Land (Israel), as they are scattered in 70 CE. This scattering eventually causes God’s chosen Jewish people to end up living in nearly every nation throughout this world.
On the other hand, the Prophet Joel’s “afterward” language makes it obvious that the generation who experiences the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is mentioned in Joel 2:28 will do so at some future time other than when the first century CE apostles witnessed the birth of the CHURCH. At this future time, God’s second outpouring of His Holy Spirit truly will fall upon all flesh—not just on God’s chosen males and females, sons and daughters, but on Jews and Gentiles from every nation and every tongue! This future time, thus, begins after the restoration of Israel, because the second outpouring is connected to the “Shalam” that the Prophet Joel uses in Joel 2:25. In verse 25, “Shalam,” which is the Hebrew word for the English word “restore,” means to amend, to make good again, to finish, and to be safe. Thus, according to the Prophet Joel, the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit will not be completed until “afterward”—after Israel has been restored as a nation, and God, after amending and making everything better, has given back to His chosen people everything the enemy had taken from them.
Since Israel actually was restored as a nation in May 1948, one of the major prophetic events that has happened since 1948, which is of importance to the CHURCH, is that which happened in 1967. In June of 1967, during the Six-Day War (also known as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Third Arab-Israeli War, Six Days’ War, an‑Naksah (The Setback), or the June War), when the Israelis recaptured Jerusalem, they did so by breaking down many of the barriers that caused religious and ethnic divisions between the Arabic and Jewish people who were living in Israel at this time. These demolished partitions allowed the Israelis to gain new territory, which in turn allowed them to extend the borders within their country.
Additionally, in this same year, theological and denominational dividing walls fell, after Christians from historic mainline denominations suddenly became involved with the Charismatic Movement. These historic mainline denominations included Catholic and Protestant denominations that normally not only did not believe that contemporary Christians could experience the same manifestations of the Holy Spirit, like the Holy Spirit manifestations that were demonstrated by the first century apostles, but also did not believe that contemporary Christians could practice these spiritual gifts. Thus, in 1967, some of the major historic mainline denominations that adopted many of the beliefs held by Pentecostal and Full Gospel denominations before 1967 were: Catholics, Methodists, Baptist, Presbyterian, Brethren, and so forth.
THE SIGNIFICANCE:
That having been said, the prophesied Latter Rain (the second Holy Spirit outpouring) began falling in 1967. Since a generation can be 40, 50, 70 years, or longer, then it is evident that the generation that was living around the time and/or shortly after Israel became a nation again in 1948 is the generation that the Scriptures declare would not perish before the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ is fulfilled. That’s right! This prophesied second Holy Spirit outpouring that was to fall upon all flesh after God restored Israel began falling in 1967, when God tore down the ethnic, bigoted, religious, and denominational walls; indeed, He broke down ALL of the barriers that were separating His people. God tore down every partition by bringing ALL people together under the power of the Holy Spirit!
Moreover, the Scriptures found in Amos 4:7-8 and Zechariah 10:1 both point to the spiritual Latter Rain, or the second Holy Spirit outpouring. What the prophets Amos and Zechariah are saying is that this spiritual Latter Rain, this second Holy Spirit outpouring, WILL NOT fall on ALL flesh ALL at once. For sure, it is a biblical and unmistakable truth that during the 20th and 21st centuries, the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit has been falling here and there, and yet most of God’s chosen Jewish people have remained cutoff from the Olive Tree, and will remain cutoff until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Then, God’s people will turn from their wicked ways, trust in Him, and seek Him for His Latter Rain, and He will restore His wayward people to their Household of faith position, He will pour out His Holy Spirit upon them, and He will make them magnificent, mighty, powerful, and prosperous people.
Once again, the Scriptures make it clear that this second outpouring, to some extent, is a selective rain. In essence, this prophesied second outpouring will rain down in one place, but not in another. The Prophet Amos proves this truth in the abovementioned Scriptures. Amos’ Latter Rain predictions also prove that God not only will choose people from one nation/city/church/denomination at a time upon whom He will pour out His Holy Spirit but also Amos’ Latter Rain prophecies prove that God’s harvests will not include every person who will become spiritually mature.
In other words, ALL believers will not ripen at the same time—EVERYONE who will be in the Lord’s harvest will not ripen at the same time that others in their nation/city/church/denomination ripen. Their lack of spiritual maturity, however, will lead to their thirst for spiritual growth. This thirst for spiritual growth is what will lead many believers to run to where the most current portion of the second outpouring is happening, but because of their inability to drink enough of the selective rain—their failure to be receptive to the teachings, leadings, and promptings of the Holy Spirit—this will be the reason why they will come away dissatisfied. As a result, for a while they will remain as carnal babes who are disinclined to surrender their ALL to the Lord.
Once again, there is the generation that experienced the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This generation’s last days started when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Day of Pentecost’s 120 Upper Room followers of Jesus the Christ, and its last days ended in 70 CE, after the Jewish people living in and around Jerusalem were dispersed. Accordingly, since there was a first generation to experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, then, in the last days of the CHURCH Age, as well as during the end times, there will be a last generation who will experience the second prophesied outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Using 70 years as the length of time for the final generation, for 70 years is the length of time Daniel’s generation stayed in Babylonian captivity before the Jewish people were allowed to return to Israel and be a nation again, making both their captivity and their return pivotal events in Jewish history, the readers of this piece, thus, should have an idea about how important Israel’s 1948 rebirth is. Considering that Israel has been blossoming now for 60+ years, for, as mentioned earlier, Israel declared “Her” independence on May 14, 1948, which was during the springtime, during the first harvest season, then these facts should cause today’s believers who were born around 1948, or shortly thereafter, to recognize that they are the generation of the second outpouring. This generation has experienced a supernatural seasonal change, which is why this current generation is now in the FALL of the Second Harvest (End Harvest) season and positioned for the Rapture of the CHURCH.
Without a doubt, the firstfruits of the barley and wheat harvests (SPRING Harvest) symbolize the firstfruits of the Body of Christ/Bride of Christ/CHURCH. Thus, the Day of Pentecost’s Holy Spirit filled Jewish people and the other Jewish and Gentile individuals who were filled with the Holy Spirit after the initial birth of the CHURCH, on up until the Rapture, are the people who will be counted along with Jesus the Christ as the firstfruits of the CHURCH’s harvest. Moreover, like the resurrected Lord, every person who died in Christ before the time of the Rapture will be counted as the firstfruits of the dead who will be resurrected to ascend toward Jesus the Christ, who is on a cloud and waiting to receive His CHURCH (His ripened [spiritually mature] believers or Bride).
These firstfruits’ reasons are why the people reading this article should understand how the three major agricultural crops in Israel relate specifically to Christian believers, to unbelievers (doubters, skeptics, agnostics, apostates), and to nonbelievers (atheists). The three major crops, once more, are barley, wheat, and grapes, and as aforesaid these crops depict four types of hearts/spirits (four types of “soils” into which the Gospel “good seed” has been sown; cf. the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13:3-23).
Now, since the biblical firstfruits’ offerings always pertain to the beginning of a harvest offering, and not the end of a harvest offering, then, at the time of Jesus the Christ’s resurrection, the barley firstfruits that were harvested on the Feast of Firstfruits become a symbolic representation of the beginning of the CHURCH’s harvest. Jesus the Christ, thus, is the firstborn of every “devoted thing” sanctified unto God, and every “devoted thing” includes the Christians down through the centuries who surrender to Jesus the Christ’s Lordship. That’s why Jesus the Christ meets all of God’s requirements for the consecrated firstborn male child (cf. Exodus 13:2), the freewill firstfruits’ requirements (cf. Deuteronomy 16:10), and the firstborn or firstfruits of the brethren, as well as the firstfruits of every creature requirements (cf. Matthew 27:52-53; Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:15, 18). As a result, the barley firstfruits also represent the Old Testament saints, as well as the New Testament saints like John the Baptist and the repentant thief from the cross who were resurrected right after Jesus the Christ arose from the grave (cf. Exodus 13:1-2; Exodus 22:29-30; Leviticus 23:10-11; Psalms 68:18; Matthew 27:52-53; John 11:25; Romans 5:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; and Ephesians 4:8-10).
Furthermore, concerning the firstfruits’ offerings, just like the Temple priest is to wave a firstfruit sheaf (Omer) of barley (early crop) that is holy unto the Lord on the Feast of Firstfruits, likewise, fifty days later during the Feast of Pentecost, the Temple priest is to wave two leavened loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the pulverized wheat (later crop, new grain/flour offering). Like the sheaf (Omer) waving, this bread waving will indicate that these loaves are holy unto the Lord. Additionally, these firstfruits of wheat will indicate that the wheat harvest has begun and that the barley harvest has ended.
Indeed, since both barley and wheat are harvested during the Feast of Pentecost, then both barley and wheat represent the CHURCH’s spiritual firstfruits, or Saints/Overcomers. The barley firstfruits, once again, are symbolic of Jesus the Christ who is the first Saint/Overcomer and the firstborn/firstfruit of the glorified ones who would be resurrected from the dead never to die again; the other barley firstfruits or Saints/Overcomers are the ones resurrected on the same day Jesus the Christ arose from the grave, the ones who arose on the Day of Firstfruits after Jesus the Christ was resurrected (cf. Matthew 27:51-53).
However, the firstfruits of the wheat (later crop) plus the end of the first harvest barley (more Saints/Overcomers), which are harvested right before the Feast of Pentecost, are symbolic of the CHURCH’s resurrected dead who include the 120 Upper Room disciples plus all of the Jewish and Gentile converts from the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s generation down until this present day’s recipients of the second outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The raptured believers who are alive when Jesus the Christ returns for His CHURCH also are included in the number of these firstfruits (cf. Leviticus 23:15-22; Psalm 37:11; Isaiah 11:8 and 65:20a; Acts 2:1-41; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
Then there are the firstfruits of the wheat’s new growth (harvested around mid-Sivan). This new growth represents the martyred Tribulation Saints (more Overcomers), specifically the doubters and skeptics who were not prepared for the Rapture. This new growth of wheat represents those left-behind Christians who finally have been wholly purified, but their purification is by the Tribulation’s threshing and final sifting, which separated the chaff so that the Lord could put them in His granary (cf. Matthew 3:12; Revelation 7:13-14 and Revelation 20:4).
Next, there is the wheat that is harvested during the FALL, End harvest. This final wheat harvest represents the end of the Age’s huge gathering, which is minus the four corners of the fields (the slain remnant; cf. Revelation 19:21a). Therefore, the final wheat harvest only represents the surviving Tribulation believers who will enter into the millennial Kingdom of God without having received glorified bodies. This harvested Wheat also symbolizes the people who will repopulate the Earth during Jesus the Christ’s millennial reign (cf. Isaiah 65:20-25; Zechariah 13:8; Zechariah 14:16; Matthew 13:24-43; Matthew 25:31-33; Revelation 14:14-16; and Revelation 20:3b-4, 7-9a).
Lastly, there are the tares or weeds that are harvested with the final wheat—the end of the Age harvest, or judgment day. The Parable of the Wheat and Tares makes it clear that, until judgment day, it may be difficult to distinguish between real and/or lukewarm and nominal (so-called or in name only) Christians who are presently within the Christian “churches.” This divine truth is why not every person who calls him/herself a Christian will be raptured with the Bride/Body of Christ/CHURCH. Instead, the lukewarm and nominal Christians will be thrown into the Tribulation. Then, at the time of the final wheat harvest, those lukewarm and nominal believers (the apostates and the weeds/tares) will be separated from the surviving true wheat (cf. Matthew 13:24-43; Matthew 25:31-33; Revelation 14:14-16).
Where the grapes are concerned, these FALL or End harvest fruits represent the 144,000 firstfruits sealed by God Jewish believers (cf. Revelation 14:3-5; Revelation 7:3-4) and the end of the harvest people the Prophet Joel speaks about in Joel 3:13, as well as the people the Apostle John metaphorically describes in his second harvest that is found in Revelation 14:17-20. Thus, while the former grapes (the 144,000) are both the literal firstfruits of the Grape Harvest that will be enjoyed during the Feast of Tabernacles, which typifies the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and, spiritually speaking, the figurative firstfruits which are the 144,000 “redeemed” and translated out of the Tribulation Period Jewish evangelists, the latter grapes or end of harvest grapes are the end of the Tribulation’s surviving unbelievers (agnostics) and nonbelievers (atheists) who will be crushed (killed) by Jesus the Christ—the Scriptures’ metaphorical winepress. This crushing is the Lord’s judgment (God’s wrath) that will happen after Jesus the Christ makes His Second Coming, His bodily return to this Earth—after His feet set down on the Mount of Olives and split that mountain in two (cf. Zechariah 14:3-4).
A word to the wise: the persons who are led by the Holy Spirit to understand will know the significance of the three most important crops of Israel’s seven major crops, which are barley, wheat, and grapes. First, the barley harvest, which is connected both to the SPRING’S Latter Rain and the Feast of Firstfruits, is a symbolic representation of the first people to mature spiritually who are also the first ones to bring forth the spiritual fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that God requires of them to produce.
Secondly, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, which also are connected to the SPRING’S Latter Rain, are presented as two leavened loaves of bread on the Feast of Pentecost. The first loaf represents the beginning of wheat harvest’s firstfruits, or Christians who matured early (during the Day of Pentecost’s birth of the CHURCH AGE/Age of Grace up until the time of the Rapture)—those who received the first and second outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second loaf symbolizes those CHURCH AGE/Age of Grace believers who did not mature in time for the Rapture (e.g., the five foolish virgins who are left behind standing outside the door; cf. Matthew 25:11-12).
The reasons why these lukewarm and nominal believers are left behind are because the former were hardhearted and/or carnal believers, and the latter NEVER had experienced the new birth—the spiritual regeneration; the new man nature that leads to salvation! In other words, these unregenerate (not spiritually renewed) believers’ belief in Jesus the Christ is the result of their mental assent (their intellectual agreement with the facts that the Holy Bible is truly the inspired unadulterated Word of God and Jesus the Christ is the only Savior of the world, but their agreement is void of action). As a result of the hardhearted and/or carnal believers never cooperating with or surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s purifying process, and as a result of the unregenerate wheat’s residual soulish sin nature never having been winnowed (removed through the Holy Spirit’s progressive sanctification process) before the Rapture, they both are left behind to experience the time of Jacob’s Trouble.
Thirdly, the harvest of grapes, which is connected to the SPRING’s Latter Rain, the FALL’s End of Harvest, and the FALL’s Feast of the Tabernacles, for the most part is a symbolic representation of the people who will be treaded like grapes processed in the winepress—an image that depicts God’s wrath or judgment on the surviving Tribulation unbelievers and nonbelievers (those who take the mark of the Beast). After Jesus the Christ and His host of saints trample these Tribulation survivors until their blood flows in a stream for 180 miles and rises as high as a horse’s bridle (cf. Revelation 14:20), their flesh becomes the food the vultures feast off (cf. Revelation 19:17-18, 21b). This end of the Battle of Armageddon dinner meal is the complete opposite of the Marriage Supper of Lamb, of which the resurrected and raptured CHURCH partakes. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is a celebration in honor of the true CHURCH—those overcomers whom Jesus the Christ delivers/saves/rescues from the Great Tribulation (the raptured Bride of Christ).
After the seven-year Tribulation Period, there will be the Marriage Feast, the time when the true CHURCH (Overcomers/Saints/Bride) “tabernacles” with the Lord (Bridegroom) in Kingdom of Heaven. This also is the time when the CHURCH and Jesus the Christ drink the “new wine” together. During His last Passover Supper on Earth, Jesus the Christ promised that He would not drink the fruit of the vine again until He could drink it for the first time with His followers in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Unfortunately, for the crushed “grapes” (metaphor for the wicked unbelievers and nonbelievers), they not only will become the vultures’ dinner, instead of being the honored guests at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, but also these “grapes” will be the resurrected wicked who stand before the Great White Throne and receive their final judgment. They are the ones who will spend the future eternity in the Lake of Fire where they will be forever be separated from God (cf. Matthew 26:29; Revelation 19:9, vv. 17-88 and 21; and Revelation 20:11-15).
As one of the old maxims goes: A word to the wise is sufficient! Peace.
For additional information, please read my entries: Jewish Menorah Mirrors 7 Feasts: Reflections Made On 2011’s Feast of Trumpets and The Fall Feast of Trumpets’ Spiritual Realities
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