The Winnowing Fork is In His Hand!

Dear Saints, this is a long post but I urge you to take your time with it, check out the Scriptures, and ask the Holy Spirit for discernment. All this information has a grand point at the end, so if you make it through, I hope it will encourage you.  

His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12 

No one can deny that God is a farmer. Throughout Scripture there are many mentions of harvests. The timeline of ancient Israel revolves around seed planting and harvest times. Multiple times in the Gospels, Jesus, Himself, connected the harvest with salvation in many of his parables. Not only was this something the people at the time could understand, but there was something far deeper meant for all who believe. 

Here are some Passages that describe God as a Gardner 

The First Gardener (Genesis 2): God is described as planting the Garden of Eden. He "made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground" and personally tended the initial creation before delegating the task to Adam.
The Vinedresser (John 15): Jesus explicitly identifies His Father as the "vinedresser" (or "husbandman" in older translations like the KJV). In this metaphor, God is the one who prunes branches to ensure they become more fruitful.
The Owner of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5): Known as the "Song of the Vineyard," this passage describes God as a diligent farmer who clears stones, digs the soil, and plants "choice vines" on a fertile hill. It highlights His care for Israel as His "pleasant planting".
The Planter of the Field (1 Corinthians 3): Paul refers to the church as "God’s field" (or "God's husbandry"). While human leaders may plant or water, it is ultimately God who "makes the seed grow".
The Caretaker of Nature (Psalm 104): God is pictured as a gardener who "waters the mountains" and plants the great "cedars of Lebanon".
The Lord of the Harvest (Matthew 9): Jesus refers to God as the "Lord of the harvest," the one who has ultimate authority over the spiritual crop and sends workers into the field.  

Several of the Jewish Feast days are connected to a Harvest. But God singles out Three of those feast days as being so special that He required every Israeli male to assemble in Jerusalem

 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 (Shavuot or Pentecost), the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering (Sukkot or Tabernacles) at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. Exodus 23: 14-17

Each of these three harvests are associated with a specific crop

• Feast of Unleavened Bread:  Barley harvest  Season: Spring
• Feast of Harvest (Shavuot) Wheat harvest  Season: Spring/Summer
• Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) Fruit or Grape harvest  / Fall

Jesus described the Rapture as a Harvest in His parable of the Wheat and tares in Matthew 12-13

The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Matthew 13:38-39

In the first Scripture listed on this post, we see that Jesus gathers the wheat (believers) into the barn while the tares (lost) are burned. 

 The Earth is God's Garden and He is going to harvest out of it a people who have chosen Him, believed in Him, and followed Jesus. So why am I going into so much detail and proof? Because I want you to see that the rapture(s) are harvests. And these harvests are connected to the three Harvest Festivals of the Jews in which they were summoned to "assemble" at Jerusalem. 

There are Three Harvests and hence there will be Three "raptures" or Three harvest times for the Earth. Why do I believe this? Because the First one has already occurred, and the last one is mentioned in Scripture as occurring at the end of the Tribulation. 

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 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 27:51-53 

This occurred right after Jesus's resurrection, which occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the First of three in which there is a harvest of souls and all Jewish men were to assemble in Jerusalem. 

The LAST Harvest is mentioned 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.”  So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. Revelation 14:14-16

This occurs right before the Bowls of God's Wrath are poured out because the very next chapter talks about those bowls. Notice how the tabernacle fills with smoke here. That gives us a clue as to the timing. 

After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.  And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.  Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed Revelation 15:5-9 

 How do we know when this occurred in relation to the Feast Days? 

In ancient Israel, the tabernacle (and later the Temple) filled with smoke primarily during the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, as detailed in Leviticus 16:13. He was required to burn incense, creating a cloud of smoke to cover the mercy seat and protect him from death.

So we have the first rapture harvest occurring during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the last one occurring around the time of the Day of Attonement and Tabernacles. Hmm. Seems there a pattern there.

One more small detail before we continue. First Fruits. With every harvest, there are first fruits. First fruits is a portion of the harvest that is the BEST portion of the early harvest. It always precedes the main harvest. 

So who is the first fruits of the first rapture/harvest? It's Jesus himself!  

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

If Jesus was the first fruit of that harvest, who, then, is the main harvest, which comes afterward? I believe it was the Old Testament saints who were raised from the dead right after Jesus did. (See Scripture above from Matthew 27)

Then who is the first fruit of the last rapture/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. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:4-5

This clearly states that the 144,000 are the first fruits of the last rapture. Later in that same chapter it describes this last rapture/harvest as seen above. 

So we have the first fruits and main harvest listed for both the first rapture/harvest and the last rapture/harvest. So what about the rapture/harvest in the middle, the wheat harvest--the one that occurs around Pentecost or Shavuot?  

I am not a prophet, but based on all this Scriptural evidence it seems to me that the middle rapture/harvest must occur around Pentecost and/or the Spring/Summer Wheat harvest. 

Remember the Raptures are harvests as described in Scripture.

Hence it is reasonable to infer that if this is the year we leave, then we are now entering the season of the Wheat Harvest and Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Resurrection Day. That is a big IF regarding the year. But if this is the year, I truly believe that our departure will occur during this season. Nothing else makes sense to me. That's why every year I get excited during the Spring and Early Summer.

(P.S. I also believe it's possible that we are part of the main Barley Harvest. The reason is that Barley is a grain that doesn't require pressure in order to harvest it. Whereas wheat must be pressed in order to remove it from its hard shell. Hence, I really don't know whether we are wheat or barley.) 

Let's say we are wheat. Then who are the first fruits? This is where things start to drift a bit from what we know from Scripture. If you follow me here, you know I believe in 3 raptures: One before the Tribulation, One in the middle, and one at the end. We know from Scripture there are at least Two, right?  We also know that in the middle of the Tribulation the two witnesses rise from the dead

But after three and a half days, by God’s gift the breath of life again entered into them, and they rose up on their feet, and great dread and terror fell on those who watched them. Then [the two witnesses] heard a strong voice from heaven calling to them, Come up here! And before the very eyes of their enemies they ascended into heaven in a cloud. And at that  hour there was a tremendous earthquake and one tenth of the city was destroyed (fell); seven thousand people perished in the earthquake, and those who remained were filled with dread and terror and were awe-struck, and they glorified the God of heaven. Revelation 11:11-13

So, obviously there is a 2nd rapture in the middle of the Tribulation for at  least the 2 witnesses after their ministry for 3.5 years (as Scripture says). Notice the massive Earthquake. There was also an Earthquake when Jesus resurrected. Earthquakes and resurrections go hand in hand.

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it. Matthew 28:2

We are not told if other people were harvested or raptured at that same time when the witnesses leave. So it's quite possible that on or around Pentecost in the middle of the Tribulation, there is a wheat harvest/rapture of more people than just the two witnesses.

But who are these people? Certainly they are people who got saved during the first half of the Tribulation. Yet what if they are also  "believers" who got left behind when the bride was harvested pre-trib? 

It is my belief and Scripture confirms that not everyone who believes in Jesus will be taken in the first rapture/harvest, which is the First Fruits Bride rapture. Only those who have made themselves ready, who love Jesus more than anything, and who are longing for his appearing. I've posted about this here multiple times, but I'm happy to provide Scriptures if asked. 

The Bride is the first fruits of the wheat harvest. The remaining wheat have to go through the first half of the Tribulation in order to purify themselves to also be ready to be taken at the midway point. Then the main wheat harvest will be taken. 

Jewish Feast Day    Harvest   Firstfruits   Main Harvest  
Unleavened Bread     Barley       Jesus           Old Testament Saints 

Shavuot/Pentecost     Wheat      Bride           Purified Believers

Sukkot/Tabernacles    Fruit        144,000       True believers left

                                                                 Wicked crushed in winepress

 

In summary, these are the three feasts/appointments in which Israel was to gather in Jerusalem.  Each of these feasts are set around a harvest time, each for a different crop. Each harvest has a first fruits taken out before the main harvest. Since Jesus resurrected on Unleavened Bread and the Bible clearly states another "harvest" resurrection occurs in the Fall around Tabernacles, then we have to assume the middle harvest will also occur. 

 

  

Here are some important Scriptures that allude to the rapture being in Spring/Summer

 

Woe is me! For I am as when the summer fruits have been gathered, as when the vintage grapes have been gleaned and there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig for which my appetite craves. The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net. Micah 7:1-2

 

The story of Ruth and Boaz is the perfect foreshadowing of Jesus and His Gentile Bride. Notice that Ruth didn't marry Boaz until the end of the wheat harvest. 

 

So she kept close to the maidens of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth 2:23

 

The wheat harvest in Israel historically concludes in late spring to early summer, specifically between late April and late May, culminating around the festival of Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks), which usually falls in May or early June. It marks the end of the seven-week grain harvest season, which begins with the barley harvest during Passover. 

 

Notice the Season in these verses from Song of Solomon! 

My beloved speaks and says to me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing [of birds] has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13

 I went down into the nut orchard to look at the green plants of the valley, to see whether the grapevine had budded and the pomegranates were in flower. Before I was aware of what was happening, my desire had brought me into the area of the princes of my people [the king’s retinue]. Song of Solomon 6:11-12

In Summary, If we are in the year the Tribulation starts, I believe the Bride leaves very soon... during the Barley/Wheat harvest. And based on all the signs going on in the world right now, I think it's highly likely.

However, I'm not setting any dates. I'm just studying Scripture and making inferences hopefully by the Holy Spirit's leading. 

So, I hope this encourages you. I know many of us are going through some rough times, but the Lord wants you to know that He knows, understands, and is with you. He's on His way and He will come in the nick of time. Trust Him. Spend the remainder of your time here in this age, growing more in Love with Him. He will never fail you!