Does the Ceremonial Harvest of Lev. 23 Significant at Present?
When God Reaps
Understanding the Divine Plan in Leviticus 23
Prayer Thought:
"Israel: God's Chosen Vessel for Revealing His Salvation"
God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God's will. In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because "they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, . . . their foolish heart was darkened." Romans 1:21. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption. {AA 14.1}
PURPOSE - To understand the divine plan of the ceremonial harvest as revealed in Leviticus 23.
INTRODUCTION:
The Purpose of the Feasts in Leviticus 23
Overview of the Feasts: Leviticus 23 details God's appointed festivals, which were to be observed by Israel as both a reminder of His provision and a prophecy pointing forward to the work of redemption.
Ellen G. White's Insight: "These feasts were not merely ceremonial rites; they were prophetic. They pointed forward to the work of salvation and to the great harvest of souls at the end of time." (The Desire of Ages, p. 33)
Key Point: The three feasts under consideration are prophetic symbols of the gospel and the final harvest.
LEV. 23:9 –16
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
“….And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; [they are] the first fruits unto the LORD. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits [for] a wave offering before the LORD with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.”
Lev. 23:27-39
“Also on the tenth [day] of this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls …The fifteenth day of this seventh month [shall be] the feast of tabernacles [for] seven days unto the LORD.”
The Wave Sheaf (Leviticus 23:9-14)
Description of the Wave Sheaf Offering:
Timing: Celebrated on the 16th of Nisan, the day after the Sabbath following Passover.
Symbolism: A sheaf of the firstfruits of the barley harvest was waved before the Lord, signifying the acceptance of the first fruits.
Prophetic Significance:
Christ as the Firstfruit: The Wave Sheaf offering points to Christ's resurrection, as He is the "firstfruit" of the resurrection, ensuring the resurrection of all believers.
Ellen G. White's Insight: "Christ's resurrection is the foundation of our hope. The sheaf waved before the Lord represented Christ as the firstfruit of the harvest of souls, to be gathered in the last days." (The Desire of Ages, p. 786)
Application for Today: The resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of all who are His. The Wave Sheaf represents the victory of Christ over sin and death, as well as the beginning of the final harvest.
Three Harvest Rites Observed
Ceremony of the Wave-sheaf
At the beginning of the First Harvest
Ceremony of the Wave-loaf
At the close of the First Harvest
Feast of Tabernacles
At the close of the Second Harvest
Thank Offerings
Wave-sheaf - Thank offering for the 1st Fruits Dedicated at the beginning of the harvest
Wave-loaves - Thank offering for the 1st Fruits Dedicated at the completion of the harvest
Key Spiritual Insight:
Christ's Resurrection – A pivotal moment in the plan of salvation.
Resurrection Hope for Believers – Christ’s victory secures our eternal life.
The Wave Loaves (Leviticus 23:15-21)
Description of the Wave Loaves Offering:
Timing: Celebrated fifty days after the Wave Sheaf, marking the Feast of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks.
Symbolism: Two loaves of leavened bread were waved before the Lord, representing the fullness of the harvest.
Prophetic Significance:
The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit: The Wave Loaves symbolize the full harvest of souls brought about by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
Ellen G. White's Insight: "The two loaves represent the two groups of believers—the Jews (first fruits) and the Gentiles (second fruits) —who would become one in Christ. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost began the gathering of souls into the kingdom." (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 38)
Application for Today: The Wave Loaves point to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the church, bringing in a harvest from both first fruits and second fruits as the gospel is preached to all nations.
Key Spiritual Insight:
DA 786-787 “Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. For more than a thousand years this symbolic ceremony had been performed.
Unity of Believers in Christ – Both Jews and Gentiles are made one in Him.
Power of the Holy Spirit – Equips believers to participate in the final gospel harvest.
"Trophies of Christ's Victory: The Resurrection of the Saints"
As Christ arose, He brought from the grave a multitude of captives. The earthquake at His death had rent open their graves, and when He arose, they came forth with Him.
They were those who had been co-laborers with God, and who at the cost of their lives had borne testimony to the truth. Now they were to be witnesses for Him who had raised them from the dead…..
those who came forth from the grave at Christ's resurrection were raised to everlasting life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave…”
Double application of the Wave-Sheaf and the Wave-loaves
“The Pentecost after the resurrection was for the ingathering of those who were to die, there must, correspondingly, be a Pentecost for the ingathering of those who are to be translated. And by the same token of logic, the wave-sheaf and the wave-loaves must have a double application, each to the dead and to the living, together comprising the total fruits of the antitypical harvest.” 3Tr. 82, 83
Wave-Sheaf applicable to the Dead and the Living
“Those whom Christ took with Him were the living wave-sheaf and the only one that has been offered in the heavenly sanctuary.
As ones raised from the dead, they are the wave-sheaf of the first fruits of the dead, the 120 disciples
As ones ever-living before the Father, they are the living wave-sheaf of the first fruits of the living, the 144,000 servants of God.”
What was projected by the Wave-Loaves Ritual?
The Apostolic Pentecost
The Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 disciples (Acts 2: 1-4) on the very day the wave-loaves were to be presented before the Lord.
Hence the wave-loaves were a figure of the 120 Spirit-filled disciples who were the full complement of first fruits of the dead, and who were gathered in after the resurrection.
Wave-Loaves applicable to the Dead and the Living
The 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost being the gospel's first fruits of the dead, it follows that the great multitude added to the church daily thereafter (Acts 2: 40-47), naturally were the gospel's second fruits of the dead.
As the Pentecost after the resurrection was for the ingathering of those who were to die, there must, correspondingly, be a Pentecost for the ingathering of those who are to be translated -- the 144,000 and the "great multitude," -- all the saints who are to be translated. 3Tr.80, 82, 83.
"The Throne of God and the Lamb: The Divine Revelation of Christ's Sovereignty"
PP 36 – “The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng-”
Rev. 22:1 - “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
Rev. 12:5 – “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and [to] his throne.”
"The Throne of God and the Lamb: The Transition to the Heavenly Ministry"
EW 55 - “I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son. I gazed on Jesus' countenance and admired His lovely person. The Father's person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered Him. I asked Jesus if His Father had a form like Himself…”
NOTE: After His resurrection and the 40 days, Jesus went into heaven to His Father’s Throne. That Throne is in Paradise, not in the holy place. It is the Administrative Throne. It is from this Throne where they both had to rise from in 1844 to the Holy of Holies chamber. There was no need for Jesus to go daily into the Holy Place chamber because He did that ONCE when He died on the cross: Hebrews 9:25, 28 – “Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others…So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many…”
"The Ascension to the Holy of Holies: Christ as Our High Priest"
EW 55 – “I saw the Father rise from the throne, [SEE PAGE 92.] and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne …
Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father.”
"The Judgment and the Books of Record"
GC 483 “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God's remembrance. The Lord declared to Moses: "Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.”
9MR 7:1 “The book with seven seals contains the history of the world – ‘And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon’ (Rev. 5:1-3).”
The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43)
Description of the Feast of Tabernacles:
Timing: Celebrated in the 7th month, marking the end of the harvest season.
Symbolism: A time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for God's provision, while living in temporary shelters (booths) as a reminder of the wilderness experience.
Prophetic Significance:
The Coming Kingdom of God: The Feast of Tabernacles points forward to the final gathering of God’s people in the kingdom of glory. It foreshadows the "ingathering" at the end of time.
Ellen G. White's Insight: "The Feast of Tabernacles was a symbol of the great harvest to come when Christ shall gather His people to Himself. It points forward to the end of time, when God's people will dwell with Him in the new heaven and new earth." (The Great Controversy, p. 664)
Application for Today: The Feast of Tabernacles encourages us to look forward to the second coming of Christ, when the final harvest of souls will be reaped, and God's people will dwell with Him forever.
Key Spiritual Insight:
The Establishment of the Kingdom – The ultimate ingathering of God's people.
The Everlasting Kingdom of Christ – A time of eternal peace and communion with God. (Isaiah 11).
Key Takeaways:
Christ and 144,000 as the Firstfruits of the Living - The Wave Sheaf points to His resurrection.
The Holy Spirit and the Apostolic/Triumphant Church - The Wave Loaves represent the church's mission to bring in the harvest through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Christ’s Kingdom on Earth - The Feast of Tabernacles looks forward to the time when God's people will dwell with Him forever.
Conclusion: The Three Feasts and the Last Great Harvest
The Prophetic Fulfillment: These feasts provide a beautiful and prophetic picture of God's redemptive work through Christ. The Wave Sheaf represents the resurrection of Christ and the guarantee of our own resurrection. The Wave Loaves represent the work of the Holy Spirit in gathering believers from all nations. The Feast of Tabernacles points to the final harvest and the eternal fellowship with God.
Ellen G. White's Final Insight: "The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. As we observe these feasts, let us be reminded that our calling is to labor for the ingathering of souls, pointing them to the great final harvest when Christ will come to claim His own." (The Desire of Ages, p. 832)
Application for Today: The feasts are not only reminders of past events but also present and future realities that call us to be active participants in God’s great harvest work.