Jesus Christ Himself said He "did not come to judge the world but to save the world" (John 12:47). He also said that "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). But in a world in which hundreds die every day from violence, starvation, disease and natural disasters, in which injustice, immorality and every godless act abounds, in which thousands die daily without having ever heard the name of Jesus Christ or even seen a Bible—can we truly say that Christ's mission was successful?

Was He mistaken? If Jesus intended to save the world, then has the world truly been saved? Is it logical to conclude, when we observe man's inhumanity to man on an unprecedented scale, that the world is saved?

These questions have always posed an enigma to those willing to face the facts. If the Christian Church had as its mission to take the message of Christ to the world so the world could be saved, why is the world in such religious disarray? Further, if the gospel Jesus Christ brought holds the answers to man's problems, why is the world in such terrible shape?

Did Christ fail to gain the cooperation of His own Church in carrying out this mission? Is He not able to inspire the faith among His professed followers to do greater works than He, as He promised? (See John 14:12.) Or are the opposing forces simply too powerful for faithless mankind?

The answer is none of the above.

However, there are answers to all these questions—and they are illustrated in a festival called the Feast of Firstfruits (Exodus 23:16). This observance, along with the rest of God's annual Holy Days, is commanded by God in Leviticus 23:15-21.

In describing these sacred observances, God said, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts'" (Leviticus 23:2).

Later, we find that the Church Jesus founded also observed this particular festival, known by Jesus' followers as the Feast of Pentecost. As a matter of fact, the New Testament Church began on this very day, accompanied by miraculous events (Acts 2:1-41). The festival has great relevance and importance for Christians today.

God had a reason for Israel to keep His festivals and for His Church to do the same. Through these observances, God reveals the stages of His plan of salvation for humanity. In particular, this feast that celebrated the firstfruits of the wheat harvest in ancient Israel (Exodus 34:22) has a meaning that reveals one of the major phases of God's plan for salvation.

Common, but erroneous, assumptions

Most churches assume that God intended for everyone alive to hear the message of salvation, starting immediately after Jesus Christ's resurrection. Most also believe that every person hearing that message would then have his opportunity for salvation now, in this life. The mission of Christ's followers was thus understood to involve bringing this message to every living person, giving them the opportunity to accept Christ before it would be too late.

Thus many churches believe they must bring as many people as possible to accept Christ as Savior immediately, regardless of the depth of their interest or commitment.

But how many people have never accepted Christ—or never truly accepted Him? And how many millions over the centuries have never even heard of Him?

If salvation is only a matter of accepting Christ during this physical lifetime, what is the fate of the countless people who lived and died before He was born and for whom it was impossible to accept Him as Savior?

Faced with these questions, must we conclude that the power Jesus promised His disciples simply never translated into the saving work He envisioned? No, we should not doubt the saving power of Jesus Christ. Instead, perhaps we should examine our understanding of His intentions. Perhaps God has had something else in mind all along.

How this feast fits in God's plan

What does the Feast of Firstfruits have to do with these all-important questions?

There is great significance in the name Feast of Firstfruits. By its very name, this festival indicates some harvesting occurring before later harvesting. As we will see, this festival foreshadows God's intention to reap first a small harvest of people for salvation (called "firstfruits" in the Scriptures), and to later call a vastly greater number of people to salvation.

One might say that God put into use a systematic procedure to lead the vast majority of mankind to His light and salvation—bringing first the firstfruits, and later the greater harvest of humankind, to salvation.

Let's notice this amazing truth as demonstrated by the divinely revealed festivals of God. God timed His feasts to coincide with the agricultural cycle of the two major harvest periods in the Holy Land—one in spring and the other at the end of summer—to teach His people an important lesson.

The Feast of Firstfruits coincided with the spring wheat harvest in that area (Exodus 34:22). The Greek name for this feast is Pentecost, meaning "fiftieth," in this case implying "fiftieth day," so named because it was celebrated 50 days from the harvest of the first sheaf of grain. This period of seven weeks gives the festival yet another name—the Feast of Weeks (Deuteronomy 16:9-10).

On this day, the Israelites offered two loaves of bread made from flour taken from the new grain of the harvest. These loaves were called "the firstfruits to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:16-17). The people were to "do no customary work" on this day and to gather for a sacred religious assembly (Leviticus 23:21). This was a very significant occasion.

A festival that came later in the year, the Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering (Exodus 34:22), coincided with the conclusion of the later harvest when other types of produce, including cucumbers, melons, lentils, chickpeas, nuts and especially dates, figs, olives and grapes had all been gathered in. This, too, was an event of great significance marked by sacred religious assemblies and cessation from work.

These two feasts both represent major stages in the spiritual harvest of mankind for salvation. The Feast of Firstfruits symbolizes the calling and preparing of the Church in this age. This is the early phase of the spiritual harvest.

The later part of the spiritual harvest will take place in the age to come. God's initial harvest of people occurs in preparation for that coming age when Jesus Christ will bring His Kingdom to the earth.

The physical depicts the spiritual

The spiritual significance of the first harvest period, celebrated by the Feast of Firstfruits, is made clear in the Scriptures. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23: "Now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep . . . 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" (emphasis added throughout).

The wave sheaf offering, which began the barley harvest 50 days prior to Pentecost, pictured Jesus Christ being presented to His Father after His resurrection as the first of the firstfruits. The offering of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest on Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17) was then symbolic of the other firstfruits that would follow in God's harvest of humankind for salvation. And these would be followed later by still other people.

Did you notice that Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 clearly states that God will resurrect the dead in a specific order? First was Jesus Christ, who was resurrected as "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep," to be followed by others at His return.

Paul states that the resurrection of the saints at Christ's coming, when they will receive immortal, spirit bodies (1 Corinthians 15:44, 1 Corinthians 15:53), will take place "at the last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:52)—the mighty, supernatural call that will announce the return of Jesus Christ to rule the earth (Revelation 11:15).

At that time, God will resurrect the dead who had previously been faithful to Christ, and also change to immortal children of God those who are still alive and have likewise been faithful (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

This miraculous event is described as "the first resurrection" in Revelation 20:6: "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years."

The world under Christ's rule

During this reign of Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints on earth (Revelation 5:10), the later harvesting of humanity for salvation will begin. God's knowledge will at last be widely available: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). All people will experience firsthand the wonderful Kingdom of God, which Jesus Christ proclaimed during His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:43).

Isaiah 2:2-3 provides us a picture of the beginning of this latter and great harvest period: "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

Humanity will then have the opportunity to learn and live according to God's ways: "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" (Jeremiah 31:34).

But what about those who have lived and died in the past, having never known anything of God the Father and Jesus Christ? Revelation 20:6, quoted above, shows that God's faithful saints are in "the first resurrection." But, if there is a first resurrection, there must be another!

And indeed there is. The book of Revelation makes it clear that there will be another resurrection of the dead. After the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ and His resurrected followers from this age, "the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5).

This will continue God's great second harvest of humanity for salvation. At that time, all who have ever lived but did not have the opportunity to learn of God's ways or hear of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice will enjoy their opportunity for salvation.

This resurrection of countless millions of people to a physical, perishable life is described in Ezekiel 37:1-11, Matthew 12:41-42, Revelation 20:5 and Revelation 20:13. These people will then be given the opportunity—for the first time—to repent and be converted through God's Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19). Then they, too, will inherit eternal life.

We see in this wonderful plan the fulfillment of God's desire for "all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4).

God is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9), and through His plan all who have never had the real opportunity for salvation in this age can at last be saved!

 

[ Read the corresponding article: Who Are God's "Firstfruits"? ]