When Jesus Harvests the Earth

Did you ever notice how many of Jesus's parables were related to farming and harvests, whether of crops or fish or sheep?  Here's a brief list. I encourage you to look these up for yourself.  Bear with me, I have a point to make.

 

• The Seed and The Sower  (Matthew 13:10-17; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10)
• The Weeds and the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19)
• The Net full of fish (Matthew 13:47-50
  
• The Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44)
• The tenants of a vineyard (Matthew 21:33-41; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 20:9-16)
• The Bad fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9)
• Separating sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
• How the Kingdom of God grows (Mark 4:25-29)
• Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)

 

The word "Harvest" is found 53 times in the Bible (KJV) and 8 times in the New Testament. 7 of those 8 were quotes from Jesus with the last one being an angel in Revelation telling Jesus to reap the Earth.
 

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Matthew 9:37

 

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:38
 

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:30

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.Matthew 13:39

But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.Mark 4:29

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. Luke 10:2

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.John 4:35

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.Revelation 14:15

 

The point I'm trying to make here is that God is a farmer and the harvests the Bible refers to are times when God reaps the Earth of the ripe produce, whether it be grains or fruit, fish or sheep. (All of these represent People!)

Israel's Appointments or Feasts with God. 

In Leviticus 23, God lays out the Special appointments He requires of the people of Israel. I can't go into them in great detail in this post, but suffice it to say, these "appointments" were very very important to God's relationship with His people. In fact, I believe these appointments are also preformed in heaven and are part of God's Menorah, Jesus being the center candle, but that's for another time.

• Passover / Unleavened Bread
• Feast of First Fruits
• Feast of Weeks
• Feast of Trumpets
• Day of Attonment
• Feast of Tabernacles

We learn from Exodus 23 that God required ALL Israelites to travel to Jerusalem for Three of these Feasts---the feasts connected with Harvests. Passover/Feast of Weeks/Feast of Tabernacles. All three coincide with important harvest times in the Land of Israel: Passover with the barley harvest, Feast of Weeks with the harvesting of the wheat, and the eighth day of Tabernacles marks the conclusion of the fruit harvest.

“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field (Feast of Weeks); and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.(Tabernacles) “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God." 

 

Hence the Lord gives us some very good clues as to the times in which HE is going to Harvest the Earth.  He is going to harvest the Earth Three times. We are clearly shown in Scripture the First Harvest that occurred with Jesus's resurrection. 

 

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:52-52 

The Holy City here is not Jerusalem on earth, but Jerusalem in Heaven. Do you really think that nothing else would have been recorded at the time IF hundreds of dead saints were found walking around Earthly Jerusalem? That would have caused a massive stir among the people and tales of it would have spread far and wide.  No, this is a harvest event, a rapture to heaven.

 

We are then told about the Second Harvest

 

 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. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thess 4:15-18

 

And we are shown the third harvest of fruit in Revelation 14. 

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe Revelation 14:14-15

In each of these "Harvests" There are FirstFruits. FirstFruits are a sample of the very first of the ripened crops that are brought to the temple and given as a sacrifice to God. This sample is the Best of the Crop. You can read all about bringing these Firstfruits to God in the Old Testament. Just search on the word "FirstFruit"

 

So what are the FirstFruits of these Three Harvests

 

FirstFruit of the Barley

We are told in 1 Corinthians 15 that Jesus is our FirstFruit. So He was the Firstfruit of the Barley Harvest. (Because He resurrected during the Barley Harvest) The remainder of the OT Saints who were also resurrected were the main Barley Harvest.  It's quite possible that we who are the True church are part of this Barley Harvest as well, as I've mentioned in other posts, but I also think it's possible we could also be part of the Wheat Harvest. 

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20

 

FirstFruit of the Wheat

The Scriptures do not tell us who are the firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest. We are only told that the firstfruit consists of two loaves of wheat waved before the Lord

 

You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord. Leviticus 23:17

 

(I am now starting to believe that the Bride or the True Christians are the firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest. The two loaves could possibly represent Jews and Gentiles)

 

Firstfruit of the Fruit Harvest

We are clearly told that the 144,000 are the firstfruits of this harvest

 

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Revelation 14:4

So, Jesus, Himself reaps the Earth of its fruit in Revelation. The firstfruits and anyone still alive on Earth who is saved go first, then the rest of the fruit is reaped and tossed into the Winepress of the Wrath of God

So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God V. 19

It's clear to me from these Scriptures that there are Three Harvest events and hence, Three Raptures. But I want to focus on the Wheat because I'm leaning toward us being the Firstfruits of the wheat. The wheat that ripens first gets harvested and waved before the Lord. What does it mean to be ripe? In the spiritual sense, it is a person who is truly devoted to Jesus, has no idols in their lives, has a daily walk with Him and a loving relationship.  This is a Christian who has been through testing and trials and who has come out stronger and more devoted to the Lord. I believe these are the firstfruits who are taken first. They have ripened spiritually.

The rest of the wheat harvest needs to ripen!  They are left behind for a short time to undergo further tests and trials that will grow their relationship with Jesus and get them on the right path, fully devoted to Him. When do they get harvested?  That's up to the Lord.  My guess is Mid-Tribulation, along with the Two Witnesses, but I don't know for sure.

I realize that I've posted other articles similar to this about the 3 Harvests and 3 Raptures, so I apologize for the repeat. I just sensed the Lord wanted me to dive deeper and lay out the Scriptures more succinctly, which I hope I've done. We are told in Scripture that many things will be kept hidden until the last days. Perhaps this is one of them?

When is the Wheat Harvest in Israel?  It is now. It started in June and ends sometime in August. Just FYI.  Since Jesus's resurrection occurred during the Barley Harvest, we can expect ours to occur during the Wheat. This is, of course, my opinion, but it is founded on Scriptural evidence. 

There's one last point I want to make about the Rapture. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that everyone who's going in the Rapture all goes up at the same exact moment. It would seem that certain groups go up together, but it doesn't say anything about the order of each person or the timing. 

There's only one verse in the Scripture that I could find that mentioned a certain order to the rapture

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.1 Corinthians 15:22-23

The Greek word for "order" here is tagma

That which has been arranged, thing placed in order
a body of soldiers, a corps
band, troop, class
something orderly in arrangement (a troop), i.e. (figuratively) a series or succession:—order

If everyone goes in the Rapture at the same time, there is no need for an order. To put things in order means some are ahead and some are behind. This would seem to indicate that not all saints are raptured at the same time, just like not all crops are ripe at the same time. Wheat that has received more sun (Jesus) and more water (the Word) ripen first and are taken as firstfruits. The rest remain to ripen further. ALL in their own order.

Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36

What is the takeaway of all this?

• We are close to the Wheat Harvest in Israel, making it a high watch time because there is much evidence that this is the year!
• I want everyone reading this to be part of the first harvest, to be ready when Jesus comes!
• I hope this encourages those of you, like me, who have friends and loved ones who are either not saved or living for this world that they are given another chance after the firstfruits are removed to get right with the Lord. 
  

If you feel yourself drifting from the Lord or if you know you have put things of this world ahead of Him, it's not too late. Repent and resubmit your life to Him. He loves you so much. Then just spend time with Him, in His Word and in His presence!  That's it!