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The Feast of First
Fruits can be found in Leviticus (Vayikra) 23:9-14, as it is written:
The theme of the festival of First Fruits is resurrection and salvation. There are several important events that happened on this day in the Bible.
Yeshua is indeed the Most
Holy One of G-d and is sanctified by the Father. Yeshua is the first,
the choicest, the preeminent One. He is both the firstborn of G-d and the first
fruits unto G-d. Yeshua is the sheaf of the first fruits.
The festival of the sheaf of the first fruits is prophetic of the resurrection of Yeshua. Yeshua prophesied that He would rise three days and nights after He was slain on the tree (Matthew [Mattityahu 12:38-40; 16:21; Luke 24:44-46). This was foreshadowed to happen in the Tanach (Old Testament) by type and shadow (Genesis [Bereishit] 22:1-6; Exodus [Shemot] 3:18; 5:3; 8:27; Esther 4:15-17; Jonah 1:7; 2:1-2).
Since Yeshua was slain on the tree on the day of Passover (Pesach), the fourteenth of Nisan, and He arose from the grave three days and nights after He was slain, Yeshua arose from the grave on the seventeenth of Nisan, the day of the festival of First Fruits. In fact, Yeshua is called the first fruits of those who rise from the dead.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits, after that those who are Christs' at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NAS).
It was prophesied that Yeshua, the Messiah, would be buried in the tomb of the rich (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 53:9; Matthew [Mattityahu] 27:57; Luke 23:51). Why was Yeshua placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea? Arimathea was another name for Ramah, where Samuel dwelt. It is five miles north of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). In fact, this place is still called Ramah today. In ancient times, it was customary for Jews to be buried in Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). In fact, this practice is still done today because it is a traditional belief in Judaism that the resurrection of the dead will take place in Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) first.
In the Book of Genesis (Bereishit), Yosef (Yosef) the son of Jacob (Ya'akov), made the children of Israel take a vow that when they went to the Promised Land, they would carry his bones with them (Genesis [Bereishit] 50:24-26). Ramah was a term that represented idolatry. Two countries were called the seat of idolatry in the ancient world: Babylon and Egypt. Joseph (Yosef), the son of Jacob (Ya'akov), was also known as Joseph of Ramah. Moses (Moshe) took the bones of Joseph (Yosef) with him when he and the children of Israel journeyed to Succoth (Exodus [Shemot] 13:19-20). Therefore, Joseph's (Yosef) tomb in Egypt was empty. The empty tomb of Joseph (Yosef) of Arimathea (Ramah), which stood for wickedness, was a fulfillment of Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 53:9.
Joseph (Yosef) was a type of the role of Yeshua during His first coming when He came to fulfill the role of the suffering Messiah known as Messiah ben Joseph. The
bones of Joseph (Yosef) were carried to Succoth. Succoth is a type of
the Messianic age also known as the Millennium. This is also a picture of
Yeshua being both Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David
-- as Yeshua who suffered during His first coming to earth will be King
during His second coming to earth.
Spiritual Application (Halacha). A sheaf in the Bible is used to typify a person or persons (Genesis [Bereishit] 37:5-11). Yeshua will return to earth (Zechariah 14:4) during His second coming as King over all the earth. He also will bring the sheaves (the believers in Yeshua as the Messiah) with Him (Psalm (Tehillim) 126; Jeremiah (Yermiyahu) 31:9-14; Joel 3:11-13; Zechariah 14:3-5; Matthew [Mattityahu] 13:37-39; Mark 4:26-29; Hebrews 12:1; Jude 14; Revelation 1:7).
The 144,000 Jewish witnesses who witness of Yeshua during the Chevlai shel Mashiach, the birthpangs of the Messiah (also known as the tribulation) are first fruits to G-d during the tribulation (Revelation 14:1-4).
Let's look at some Scriptures in the Bible concerning first fruits.