Seeding, Sowing, Reaping, and then the Harvest

THE CONCEPT OF THE SEED:

A descendant (son) is a seed created after the parents own kind; that which grows in the image of its parent.

The Word of God, the “Good News” is a seed creating children of God.

• Mark 4:3-8 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow (the Word of God). 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside (on the hearts of those on the wayside); and the birds (Satan) of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground (without root, unable to endure tribulation or persecution), where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns (of self desire and enticing riches); and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop (fruit). 8 But other seed fell on good ground (those who heard the Word and accepted it) and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

• 1 Corinthians 15:36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

THE CONCEPT OF RESURRECTION:

• Every individual born since time began will one day be resurrected; good or bad, believer or nonbeliever. But only believers are considered to be part of a harvest.

• Believers have their names written in God’s Book of Life. At the Great White Throne judgment they will be covered by the blood of Christ and found to be blameless. They will also be rewarded for their “good works”. Because of their relationship with God they bore good fruit during their life. This is called the first resurrection which has four parts (or “orders”) to it.

• Non believers do not have their names written in the Book of Life. They are considered to be weeds, or tares, in the wheat field. They do not bear fruit. At the Great White Throne judgment they will be declared guilty and thrown into the fiery furnace. They are not part of a “harvest”, they are invasive, worthless weeds. This is the second resurrection. The resurrection of the weeds, are those who have rejected God’s salvation (Jesus’ name literally means “Salvation”.) Although not specified this event seems to happen once for all unbelievers.

• Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;

THE CONCEPT OF HARVEST:

• “Harvest” in scripture, is the resurrection of God’s saints, the fruit of His work, the “First” Resurrection and the gathering of His children.

• The “Second” Resurrection concerns the “Weeds”, the nonbelievers who are cast into a furnace and burned, they are not considered a “harvest”. Weeds do not bear fruit, they do not meet up to God’s expectation. Weeds lack purpose.
  • Matthew 13:30 Let both (wheat and weeds) grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares (weeds) and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
  • Matthew 13:39 The enemy who sowed them (the weeds) is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

The good news of the gospel is that God can take weeds and turn them into wheat.

• Luke 15:13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.
• But when he returned to the father, they celebrated.

Jewish Feasts foretell the order of the first resurrection, it is divided into four Jewish feasts, two are the spring feasts and two are the autumn feasts. The spring resurrections occurred in the past. The autumn feasts will occur in the future.

The Spring Feasts:

• The spring feast (past): First Fruit, the first head of wheat to “pop” in the field. Jesus was the First to be raised from the dead. Jesus is called the First Fruit. Jesus was the example, being the first to be resurrected never to die again. Jesus was resurrected on the exact same day as the Jewish feast of Firstfruits.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:20 (The Last Enemy Destroyed) But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

• The spring feast (past): the Wave Offering. When several other heads of wheat and “pop” in the field they are bundled together with the first head of wheat to create a sheaf. They are the wave offering to God. Immediately after Jesus’ resurrection some tombs were opened and certain saints were raised from the dead. They were raised from the day on exactly the same day as the Jewish feast of the Wave Offering.
  • Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
  • Leviticus 23:15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
  • Matthew 27:52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

The Autumn Feasts

• The Feast of Trumpets. The Main Harvest which also includes a rapture of the living.
  • Whether symbolic or literal this event matches the Feast of Trumpets which is called Rosh Hashanah. The trump is blown 100 times leading up to the final ten blown on Rosh Hashanah. (The last trump)
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
  • I Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

• The Day of Atonement. The Gleanings of the believers of the seven year Tribulation who are beheaded for their faith. Whether symbolic or literal this event matches the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur which coincides with scripture about Jesus’ return to earth with all the angels and all the saints for the battle of Armageddon.
  • Numbers 29:7 (Offerings on the Day of Atonement) ‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work.
  • Hosea 5:15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
    • To earnestly seek God is to return to God. When they earnestly seek God, God the Son will return to them when His foot touches Mt. Olives.
    • Zechariah 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
    • Jude 1:14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints,
    • Deuteronomy 33:2 And he said: “The Lord came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them.

THE TIMING OF THE FEASTS:

• The Spring Feasts and Previous Resurrections.

Note Chart above:
See: Sunday Nissan 18th to mark the day of both Jesus’ and the Wave Offering resurrections when certain tombs were opened (two of the spring feasts/resurrections) which have already occurred.

• Below: The Autumn Feasts which Represent Events of the Future.

The High Holy Days are ten days beginning with Tishri 1st to Tishri 10th. The two illustrated resurrections is Feast of Trumpets on Tishri 1st-2nd and Tishri 10th. In the middle is illustrated the seven years of tribulation also called Daniel’s 70th “week”. All the believers are gone from the earth in the rapture. Tribulation saints become believers during the tribulation.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is also called the “Day of Return” when the Jews are instructed to return to God after seven days of affliction. This is exactly what will occur in the future. After seven years of affliction the Jews will return to God in their affliction and God (Jesus) will “Return” to them, spiritually and physically.

“Yom” means “Day of” and “Kipper” means “Atonement”. The Hebrew word is kaphar. It means to cover with pitch, a sealant, to be sealed with the Holy Spirit, the same pitch used to seal Noah’s ark. The ark was sealed by the Holy Spirit with Atonement.

RESURRECTIONS: The harvests at the end of the age:

1. The miraculous timing of the harvest:
   Mark 4:29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
2. The immediacy of the first harvest:
   John 4:35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!

^{Gen 6:14 “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch kaphar .}

Note: After seven years of severe tribulation Jesus is speaking in Hosea (as God) and speaks of His second return to earth to set up His kingdom: