Do you realize that the Day of Early First Fruits is the true day that we should be celebrating Christ’s Resurrection?
HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!
After sunset on the third day of Passover Week begins the celebration of Early First Fruits!
Passover counts as one day.
The first Day of Unleavened Bread counts as two days.
The second Day of Unleavened Bread counts as three days. Jesus was crucified on Passover and spent 3 days and 3 nights inside the tomb. On the third day – He rose!
Early First Fruits arrives on THE THIRD DAY of Passover Week.
It is the day during the Passover Week that marks the actual Resurrection of Christ for those who have come to know Him as Messiah! Rarely does it fall on a Sunday.
THE THIRD DAY
Since Passover, we have counted two days of the omer. (If you are unfamiliar with counting the omer you may wish to read this link: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/seasons-coming-into-the-spring-holy-days-counting-the-omer-part-one/.) At sunset two days after the Passover we are coming into the exciting time of The Third Day. It was on the third day after the Passover that Christ arose from the grave.
Let us rejoice in our LORD’s Resurrection and celebrate on this day of Early First Fruits.
Please don’t confuse EARLY First Fruits with First Fruits.
First Fruits comes 50 days after Passover and it is called Pentecost.
Early First Fruits happens during Passover Week. Early First Fruits is symbolic of The Resurrection of Christ.
Most of today’s churches are not aware of Early First Fruits; and most of them will not be celebrating the Resurrection of Christ on this day. They will celebrate on what they call Easter Sunday.
How do we explain this?
EXPLAINING FIRST FRUITS
It should be pretty obvious to us by now that the world has kept the calendar the way they wanted to instead of keeping God’s Holy Calendar.
Rulers and leaders of this earth have changed dates and times.
This article (written in 2019) has to take into account that most all Christian churches had already celebrated the day of the Resurrection before we were celebrating Early First Fruits during the week of Passover. Most churches celebrated the Sunday BEFORE Passover in 2019 and they called the day Easter.
You will not find that word (Easter) anywhere in the scriptures.
For most people the day of Early First Fruits (in 2019) was simply another ordinary workday. Possibly on days such as this, the devil smiles as we carry on with our eyes and ears closed to the truth. (Take the “D” (for details) out of “devil” and you still have “evil”! For a lot of churches, the details don’t matter. They leave them out, and they are left with things that are not always truthful. Here we love truth, and we do our best to abide in it. That certainly isn’t to say that we are perfect; it simply means that we truly care about what is correct and what is not correct in our worship.
It is a typical custom today to use the common calendar of our culture, which many men have changed over time. This form of the calendar does not line up with the ancient calendar that God first set into motion when He began the process of time for mankind at the very foundation of the world.
If you want to be accurate in keeping God’s appointed times (and why would you NOT want to do so); you will continue to celebrate on God’s calendar which the Jewish people have unknowingly preserved for us; along with the rest of the Gospel that is hidden in plain sight within the Torah.
TRUTH AND IRONY
How ironic is that?
The Jewish people do not yet see that Christ is Messiah; but the Christian culture determines the most accurate memory of His actual Resurrection Day by their most accurate calendar.
At our house we have chosen to follow God’s original calendar and to celebrate The Resurrection on the day of Early First Fruits.
There is much biblical evidence to support keeping this day as the day of the Resurrection of Christ. That is what we celebrate often on a day that is NOT a Sunday.
For the Jewish people early first fruits will only symbolize the harvest of the barley crop for the year. In this harvest though, God was giving us a prophetic foretelling of the Messiah, His birth, life, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection.
THE MIRACLE OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
After sunset of the second day of Unleavened Bread; at the beginning of the day of Early First Fruits, we recite the prayer for the counting of the omer. By the recitation of this prayer, we declare the third day from Passover. This is a day when we will offer up our thanks to God for bringing us a Resurrected Savior.
We will also thank God for giving us the hope of a sure resurrection for ourselves in the future. Jesus was the “First Fruit” of God’s Kingdom Harvest. We will be resurrected AFTER Him; in the latter harvest of souls. Those who died during the time of His Resurrection came back to life immediately after Him though. They got to be just behind Christ in His first Resurrection from the dead.
Can you imagine?
What miracle could be greater than this?
Our hearts are full of joy!
LIVING IN RESURRECTION POWER
So, what do we do on the Sunday called “Easter” when the rest of the world celebrates Resurrection? We know that isn’t the true time; so how do we respond on that day?
Well; that day will always be on a day after our weekly Sabbath. We don’t have to be finger pointing hypocrites who put more emphasis on what we say as opposed to how we love others. We are not their judge; God is! Plus, to be completely honest; we actually believe it is fine to continue celebrating The Resurrection of Christ all year long!
The power of Resurrection isn’t just for a day; it is to be celebrated with every breath that we take.
It is all about The Resurrected Christ who gives us abundant and everlasting life. That is something we celebrate every moment we live! Let us never turn it into a day of arguing and contention. God gave us the truth and we are happy to be living within it (as well as we know.) Just spend that day being thankful, both for God’s truth and for The Resurrection. Hold hands with your brothers and sisters and continue to LOVE them into the Kingdom. Choose your battles when it comes to theological discussions that put people on the defensive. A lifetime of tradition is very hard to overcome. If it happens; it will come by God’s love; not our human judgment.
REJOICING EVERY DAY
So, we just take another day to rejoice! Just remember that most of the time that Sunday occurs during Unleavened Bread for us. Don’t let down your guard and accidentally eat those hot cross buns! (It is almost comical; do you think God looks down from heaven and observes our humanity with laughter and a twinkle in his eye on some of these days?)
We DO choose to stay true to the knowledge we have been given and we will continue to be accurate in our annual celebration of Early First Fruits. We will continue to commemorate the annual celebration of The Resurrection of Christ on THE THIRD DAY of Passover week. For us that is the proper day to remember.
Resurrection is proof that Christ was the Messiah! The Good News of the Gospel is that it is perfectly fine to celebrate that fact 365 days of the year!
Proof must show and be accurate though; and we feel it is good to be able to give account of and acknowledge the true annual dates that tie in with the whole picture of the holy scriptures. If you haven’t heard of Early First Fruits before; that is why we (as Christian believers of Messiah) have chosen to celebrate during this time of the Passover Week, which takes place during The Feast of Unleavened Bread annually.
GOOD FRIDAY
We do not participate in Good Friday services though. There are many reasons for that. I will give the ones that come to mind.
This year (2019) Good Friday actually falls on the day that we will be having our Passover Seder.
In the ancient way of keeping time the annual date of the crucifixion does not necessarily occur on a Friday, nor does the annual day of the Resurrection necessarily occur on a Sunday. God’s calendar moves by the phases of the moon; not the sun. Often the days on the secular calendar do not line up with the days of the lunar calendar.
Remember that Holy Days are also called “Sabbaths.” Three of them are called “High Sabbaths.” High Sabbaths are Passover, Pentecost and Sukkot (Tabernacles.)
A Sabbath CAN occur during other days of the week besides Saturday; if that Sabbath is a Holy Day.
Though we can appreciate and do remember (in a different way) much of the same symbolism as those who are observing Good Friday; we will be covering the same things (and SO MUCH MORE) in our celebration at the Passover Seder. Therefore, there is simply no need to put the facts forth again, but usually during a wrong date.
Why would we be looking at the crucifixion if we had already proclaimed the Resurrection?
That would be silly!
SEEING THE CRUCIFIXION IN THE PASSOVER
Yet, on many years following the calendar used by the world; the days will occur this way if you take Passover to be the actual time to begin the counting.
The crucifixion DID occur on Passover. All of this symbolism is observed in our Christian Seder. That is why we call Jesus The Lamb of God.
On some years Passover DOES come before the world’s dating of Christ’s Resurrection Day. I’m sure you have heard it stated in bible studies; that from sunset on Friday till Sunrise on Sunday was the Resurrection of Christ. However, if you choose to use this counting it is not actually three days and three nights that Jesus would have been in the tomb. Our whole salvation depends on The Resurrection of Christ. It matters if the facts are accurate!
A day is 24 hours; and a Jewish calendar counts a day from sunset to sunset; not sunset to sunrise. When you do the math; it isn’t hard to see this Friday evening to Sunday sunrise thing isn’t very accurate.
Passover is determined by the phases of the moon; and there are high Sabbaths that are proclaimed holy days (such as Passover) that occur on days different from the weekly Sabbath. These particular High Sabbaths do not always occur on a Saturday or (as the world sees things) on a Sunday.
SATAN BRINGS CONFUSION; GOD BRINGS ORDER
With all of this information, you can see how confusing the keeping of time can be! I’m sure the devil loves this; and I’m positive he probably created the confusion to start with. God makes things simple for us; the devil and our own human nature always come to complicate God’s simplicity.
Once you add in men’s erroneous calculations by keeping the days of the sun instead of the times of the moon, which God used; you have even more calendar confusion.
Let’s just stay with what we know for certain.
There are two days that we know of which have been kept accurately. They can be traced back in time through ancient records.
One day that has been kept from ancient times until now by certain people (The Hebrews) is called The Day of Early First Fruits. This day traditionally occurs 3 days after Passover. This date is always determined (in Hebraic traditions) by the counting of the omer after Passover. It was the day the ancients brought the first portion of their barley crop to the priest as an offering to God. They needed to know the day accurately; so they could be on time with their offerings.
WHY NOT BE AS ACCURATE AS POSSIBLE?
Passover has been accurately kept by the ancients since the days of Christ. It was even observed many, many years before Christ walked the earth. We simply count three days from The Passover (the time of the crucifixion) in order to determine the day of The Resurrection of Christ. The day we call Early First Fruits was the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The third day after Passover occurs on the second day of the Seven Days of Unleavened Bread.
In 2019 the time for proclaiming Early First Fruits occurred at some point on Monday, April 22nd by the dates on the secular calendars.
This would be on the 3rd day of the 7 days of Unleavened Bread which occur right after Passover.
The Passover Day is included in the counting.
Since God’s days begin at sunset; it would be appropriate to begin to celebrate this third day after sunset on April 22nd on our secular calendars; and the celebration day continues until sunset on April 23rd. We believe that Christ rose from the grave somewhere in the time of this day; two centuries ago.
COUNTING OUR DAYS
The simple practice of counting the omer makes finding this day on God’s calendar easy. You always start on the 2nd Day of Unleavened Bread; which happens to be the Third Day after Passover.
This way of counting eliminates the ugly and confusing argument that Satan has thrown into the process of determining certain days on God’s calendar. That is probably one reason why God gave this system of counting to the ancient people. If you read the biblical passages very carefully; God was always giving us the ways to be accurate. Men tend to overlook this though.
If you know the correct date for Passover; and you count the days of the offering of the omer; you can find your way around the calendar to determine all of the other Holy Days of the sacred year.
Counting the omer is a key component to understanding God’s calendar.
KEEPING PASSOVER PUTS ORDER INTO THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES
Don’t think, simply because we do not observe the day that men have come to call “Good Friday” that we leave out the facts of the life and times of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion.
Absolutely not!
We ARE Christians, and we delight in remembering everything about the life and times of Jesus as He came to live among us. The days and experiences Jesus had leading up to the times of the crucifixion and Resurrection are very significant to us.
During the time of the Passover Seder, we observe these very important facts around the times leading up to the death and burial of Christ. It all ties together beautifully. There is every opportunity to make every point that must be made in this annual observance. If you wish to know more about the Passover Seder click here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/seasons-passover/.
Passover just seems to be a very natural and appropriate time to discuss such events. We also talk about the types and shadows, of how Moses and slavery were symbolic of Jesus and the bondage of sin. Clearly during the Passover observance, we explore so many of the details of the times of Jesus. It was during Passover that The Lamb of God was sacrificed. The blood of the lamb was applied to the door posts of the doors of the homes of the people of God, just as the blood of Christ covers our sins. Because the blood was applied at Passover the Angel of Death “passed over” their houses. Because of the blood of Christ over the doorposts of our hearts; we are saved from eternal death and have received eternal life from God.
REMEMBERING THE LAMB OF GOD
It is always noted during the Christian Passover Seder that it was Christ who became our holy sacrifice. He was the only acceptable sacrifice. He became our Passover Lamb. We rejoice in the fact that His perfect blood now covers the spiritual doorposts of our hearts.
During the Passover Seder, which by the time of the second day of Unleavened Bread we would have observed three nights ago; we noted all of the aspects that most churches like to teach on Good Friday.
We covered the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, and the fact that God separated them out and began the early formation of what would eventually become the Church of today.
Our discussions included the fact that God began at that time to form His Church by delivering those who believed in Christ as Messiah from the penalty of sin.
On Passover we noted how Moses (in the story of the Exodus) depicted a symbolic picture of Christ coming to deliver His people from evil, death, bondage and destruction.
We used the beautiful elements of the Passover, which portrayed in their symbolic way the death and burial of Christ. All of the story is brought out during the Passover service.
THE TELLING OF THE STORY
The participants of the Seder observed the matzoh which hid within the white linen napkins. Then we noted it was stripped and pierced, the same as Jesus.
It was noted that the matzoh was leaven-free, which symbolized that Christ was perfect in every way. He lived a completely sinless life; and that is what qualified him to be a perfect offering to God.
We do not want to crucify and bury Christ again on the day that many have labeled Good Friday. (It is not so complicated to think through when these two dates occur on the same day of the calendar as they do on many years.) At any rate, we don’t want to be celebrating Good Friday when we should be keeping Passover as God commanded us to do.
That would be out-of-order!
He was crucified at the same time of the Passover lambs.
His Resurrection occurred three days after the Passover.
Do you realize that the word “Seder” means “order?”
I really don’t consider that meaning to be a coincidence.
It is by keeping a Seder meal, similar to the one which Jesus observed every year in His time on this earth and even with His disciples on the night before He was crucified; that we are able to come to this time that we believe to be the correct ordering of how we can remember and commemorate our days.
The Passover gives our lives the order of God’s timing for everything.
It points to and helps us to focus on God’s calendar instead of using the one made by men.
By focusing on the correct date for Passover, we can come to our other days in a correct order too. Not only does the Passover bring us salvation from death; it also gives us a positive reference point for the correct order of life!
THE BREAD OF LIFE AND THE RESURRECTION
At Early First Fruits (and all the rest of the year) we begin the joyful focus on the fact that Christ, The Bread of Life; was Resurrected from the grave; proving the resurrection power of God the Father and proving that Christ was Our Messiah; the Savior of The World.
This should be the most joyous day of our year!
It is ironic, yet very profound; that this feast day first came into play as an ancient harvest festival held on the day that the people had always set aside to bring the first of their barley crop (the first harvest of the year) to the priest to waive before God as an offering of thanks for the beginning of an abundant harvest season.
That first wave of bread by the priest is so symbolic of Christ rising from the grave; the first of many more.
Without even realizing it; they were proclaiming the coming of a Messiah who would begin a great harvest for God’s Kingdom.
Jesus was and still IS our Early First Fruit offering!
The people of old did not even begin to enjoy any of the year’s harvest at their tables until this act of worship to honor God as provider had been performed. Our lives are set in the proper order whenever we put Christ first; then tend to the other things of daily life.
PROCLAIMING CHRIST BEFORE HE CAME
Without knowing what they were doing with their barley harvest; the ancients proclaimed Christ; the Risen Bread of Life.
They brought to God of their first and their best crops.
This ritual was kept annually, even all the way back to the days of Adam and Eve. I believe that is when it was ordained by our God who never changes.
We know this from the story of Cain and Abel. In that old, old story we hear of how Abel brought his first and his best before God as an offering of first fruits.
Noah also observed this day.
Abraham also observed this day.
The people of Israel all observed this day; and now we have come to observe this day ourselves. Our generations know the FULFILLING of the promises of God. Those ancients just had to have faith to believe it would happen. We, on this side of the cross, have proof. The proof is in the Resurrection of Christ who is the Living Bread of Heaven.
The Resurrection of Christ was hidden into every story of the Torah. Looking back, we can see it now fulfilled.
THE FULLNESS AND JOY OF RESURRECTION
Now we have come to know the fullness of this day in a greater way; in that on this same day, the very Son of God arose from the grave giving each of us the opportunity of eternal life with God the Father.
He was our Redemption.
Jesus died in our place.
He paid our price for sin.
Jesus became our Passover Lamb.
Our LORD Jesus Christ, in Resurrection power, proves to be the early first fruits of the harvest of God.
With the sacrifice of Christ, all of the requirements of God’s Law have been fulfilled!
Nothing else is required.
Anything offered up to God from this point forward would not be from the keeping of the law; but it would be from the overflow of a joyful heart full of the pure offering that comes only from true love.
This is the type of love that The Father has given to us; a precious and chesed love; a love that expects nothing in return.
From this point on, after the Resurrection of Christ; all offerings are love offerings and there is no more need for sacrificial offerings.
The original physical harvest celebration has now become much richer and full of deeper meaning.
We now have an even more spiritual meaning than before. God has provided a Lamb! The Resurrection of Christ is positive proof that The Lamb is Worthy! The penalty and ransom for our sinful souls has been paid. All honor and power and glory belong to Him, as The Son of God. He arose on this day as the first of many who would become the harvest of souls for The Kingdom of God.
Christ was the first fruits of the harvest of mankind.
He was the very first to obtain God’s resurrection power.
Jesus created the pathway and opened up the door for all of us to attain resurrection.
Now, on this third day of the counting, we give our thanks to God for such a holy miracle. We remember the stories that brought Him forth to us. We honor Him by remembering what He did and remembering His stories.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NUMBERING OUR DAYS
We will continue with the counting of the days since the offering of the omer of barley was given, until we reach the 50th Day which is the Day of Pentecost.
It will be on that day that we will focus on the miracle of the blessings of the later first fruits; the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest before God. This will be the time that we have come to call “Latter First Fruits,” or “Pentecost.”
Symbolically this is a time of the harvest of the souls of mankind who have Christ and The Holy Spirit living within their hearts. This second harvest of souls is the largest harvest, and the latest harvest ever for The Kingdom of God.
On that 50th day we will follow in the footsteps of our Master, and we too will obtain Resurrection power!
It is the gift that He told us to wait for.
This is the fulfilling of the promise He made to us.
Today we joyfully celebrate that hope of the Resurrection power of God’s Holy Spirit!
Today we honor our Bridegroom whom we call Messiah, for He is the One who has risen from the grave and has now ascended into heaven in order to prepare a place for us!
This day is to be a day of great celebration and joy!
HE IS RISEN!