Hi Michael,

Good study, I enjoyed it and also the video by Mark Blitz. One thing that it convinced me of is we should not be celebrating any secular holidays. Certainly, as Spiritual Israel we should consider keeping the feasts of the Lord…in commemorating what Christ did for us as the first 4 feasts, and what He will do for us in the next 3.

I also thought about Jesus rising on the Sabbath. That would mean He rose before sunset on Saturday…but Mary did not see the empty tomb until Sunday morning. That seems possible, but still leaves Sunday as First Fruits and Pentecost. In that regard it has more to do with the eighth day, as a sign of a new beginning.

I still believe Jesus is our Sabbath rest that we should rest in all day every day; but, learned much from both your study and Mark’s video…thanks to both you and Steven for sharing that.

Agape!

YSIC

Patti C.

Patti,

It is my understanding of the scriptures, that on Firstfruits, offerings are given for the spring BARLEY harvest. On Rei**** or (firstfruits), people offered the first ripe sheaf of barley to the Lord as an act of dedicating the harvest to him. On Passover, a marked sheaf of grain was bundled and left standing in the field. On the next day, the first day of unleavened bread, the sheaf was cut and prepared for the offering on the third day. On this, the third day, Rei****, the priest waved the sheaf before the Lord. Counting the days (omer) then begins and continues until the day after the seventh Sabbath, the 50th day, which is called Shavuot, or Pentecost (the next feast on the calendar). Jewish people rarely celebrate Rei**** today, but it has great significance for followers of Jesus as the most important day of the year, the day of Jesus' resurrection!

So you see, the implications of which day our Lord and Savior rose from the grave is of immense importance. Rei**** or (firstfruits) I believe, Saturday, as Jewish tradition tells us that Nisan 16 is firstfruits.

Nisan 14---Passover---Pesach---Leviticus 23:4-5---Exodus 12:1-4---Wednesday evening at sunset-Thursday evening at sunset.

The Passover meal was eaten after sunset (our Tuesday evening, but it becomes Wednesday after sunset on the Hebrew calendar) it is complicated by the fact that the days begin and end at sunset.

Nisan 15---Unleavened Bread---Hag HaMatzot---Leviticus 23:6-8---Exodus 12:15-20---Thursday evening at sunset-Friday evening at sunset. A Sabbath Day

Nisan 16---Firstfruits---Rei****---Leviticus 23:23-25---Friday evening at sunset-Saturday evening at sunset. A Sabbath Day

According to the Feast Days of the Lord in Leviticus, Firstfruits officially ends on Saturday evening at sunset. This would mean that Jesus rose from the grave sometime before sunset Saturday evening. Sunset could have been anywhere from 8pm up to 9pm, depending on the time of year and where you are on the earth. I believe this time frame is close to Jerusalems sunset for spring.

I personally believe that Jesus gave us a warning sign to come out of BABYLON in these end times, the SAME as the Jews were to come out of EGYPT! They would NOT except Gods instruction to enter the promised land and that was a shadow of what is happening today. The refusal to put away PAGAN WORSHIP on Pagan days. That warning sign is the very sign of Jonah! That he would be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. If one looks into and follows GODS commandments, then one would easily be able to see the connection between his instructions in the Torah in Leviticus and what Jesus said about the sign of Jonah! There is NO discrepancy in what Jesus said and the Law set down by the LORD in the book of Leviticus.

WE must STUDY very hard to see some of these things, but it is amazing when one grasps the TRUTH! As far as firstfruits goes, I am absolutely convinced of the seventh day as being Saturday and the weekly Sabbath day as stated by our LORD at Leviticus 23:1-3! And to get into Pentecost, I need to refresh my fading memory and study, study, study, before I feel that I can speak to that subject matter.

But Jesus was the first of many firstfruits. Again, it is my personal opinion that the 144,000 of Revelation, are the remaining firstfruits of our Lord, as clearly stated in Revelation 14:4. They are the co-rulers with Christ in the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven in Revelation 21:10. The 144,000 are mentioned here in the explanation of how new Jerusalem is constructed, in symbology as well as the 12 apostles and the 12 tribes that consist of the 144,000 as mentioned in the foundations of spiritual Jerusalem(the bride of Christ) and the gates there of being the names of the 12 tribes.

I am going to stop for now, as this is going into another very deep subject matter.

Please feel free to add anything new to this study along biblical lines as I am always interested in reading your posts....

With brotherly love,

MICHAEL

It all flows. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment in various roles. When He, the Perfect Lamb of God gave Himself for us, it was one role. After His Resurrection on the Lord's Sabbath, he took upon Himself another role, that of High Priest, whom would present Himself, the First-fruit from the Dead never to die again, to the Father.

I believe that is why, later when Mary saw Him in the garden, He told her not to touch Him, because He had not, yet, gone to the Father. That was not talking about His Ascension to Heaven 40 days later but was speaking of the next act that He had to perform, "PRESTING HIMSELF TO THE FATHER". We know that because, just 10 days later...upon his conquering death, he told Thomas to put his hand into His wounds and see for himself if it wasn't Him.

No mere high priest of the Jewish priesthood could ever qualify for that special time called Feast of First Fruits.

I, too, Michael, am so happy to see that others also believe as I, myself, found out some time ago.

Thank you Steven, also for the video.

gerlinda