BARLEY WHEAT AND GRAPES

BARLEY, WHEAT AND GRAPES

                Back in 2014 and 2015 there was a tetrad of blood moons all four of which fell on Jewish Feast Days, Passover and Tabernacles, Passover and Tabernacles during those two years. I studied the book that Mark Biltz had put out explaining the feasts of Israel and then to learn more, Bonnie and I began attending a Messianic congregation to understand the significance of the feasts first hand.

                We had a wonderful time there and gained many friends for eternity, brothers and sisters in Christ whom we will cherish and love forever. We did not leave that congregation until the Lord told us to move to Tennessee and we still maintain contact with some of our friends there. It was a rich cultural experience attending the feasts and fellowshipping with our friends in Christ.

                Interestingly when Bonnie and I came to Tennessee we sensed no direction from the Lord in continuing to physically, mechanically observe the feasts, but that doesn’t lessen their importance. All of these feasts point forward to greater realities that are very relevant to the church today and very relevant to the fulfilling of last day events as well.

                The first Passover took place at the time of the barley harvest, for it says in Ex. 9:31: Now the flax and the barley were ruined for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined for they ripen late.”

                But then a few days later as Israel stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, it was at the feast of Pentecost and in fact Pentecost is the celebration of the day that the Law was given on Mt. Sinai. So when Jesus sent His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, He then wrote the Law on our hearts and it is that Law written on our hearts that we live by today. In other words, grace is not license to sin for God’s Law is written in our hearts and when we break the Law it should smite our conscience until we confess and repent and return to obedience… not of the letter for the letter kills… but the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.

                It is in trusting and walking in Christ’s righteousness that we enter the true rest of which the Sabbath is a symbol and indeed, if the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, none of the Laws will be broken. Some Christians have made this love into something flimsy…situation ethics…a do my own thing and God will understand kind of love… an unprincipled love that is born of the flesh and not of the Spirit. But that kind of love does not fulfill the Law and such a person is not living by the Spirit and the power of Christ. They are still living according to the flesh.

                Barley represents those who overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Israel came out of Egypt by the blood of the lamb on their door posts and also by the eating of the whole lamb. Likewise Jesus told us that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood or we will not have life in ourselves. (John 6:53-57)

                The entire yearly schedule of Israel was determined by the ripening of the Barley. If it came time for Passover and the Barley had not matured and broken from its husk, a month was added to the year so that the feasts could go on in their time and order. It was barley that was waved before the Lord at the waving of the first fruits and Jesus presented Himself to the father after His resurrection at the precise timing of the wave sheaf offering in the temple on earth.

                Passover was observed with unleavened bread; for unleavened bread represents the sinless Lamb of God by whose righteousness we are saved and delivered from Egypt. Wheat however was the grain that ripened at Pentecost and it was celebrated by two loaves of leavened bread. We are intended to live by the Holy Spirit so that the leaven can be baked out of us as we grow in Christ.

                John the Baptist told us in Mt. 3:11 that while he baptized the people with water for repentance, Jesus was going to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. So it should be no surprise to find Paul in Acts 19:1-6, asking the people if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed. They replied that they had not even heard whether there was a Holy Spirit, so Paul asked them what they had been baptized and they replied the baptism of John.

                So Paul told them that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. So Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus and then laid hands on them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. Isn’t it interesting some of the things that we will ignore in the Bible because of our traditions? How many churches to this day baptize with the baptism of John, but ignore the Holy Spirit and fire part of it even preaching against it?

                Likewise it is with the deeper meanings of the feasts of the Lord, for the Barley, the wheat and the grapes represent three harvests. Barley represents the first resurrection that is only for those in Christ, for those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

                The wheat harvest represents the general church, full of leaven, never having allowed the Holy Spirit and fire to burn the leaven out of them, they will come up in the general resurrection at the end of the millennial reign of Christ when the books will be opened, both the book of life and the book of judgment. Rev. 20:5,12-15.

`1 Thess. 4:16 tells us that the dead in Christ will arise first. The first resurrection includes only those who belong to Christ at His coming. But Jesus talks about another resurrection, a general resurrection in John 5:29. It is a general resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. At this resurrection, those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life and those who did evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

                Corresponding to this Revelation 20:12 says: And I saw the dead, the great and the small standing before the throne and the books were opened; and another book was opened which is he book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds.” Then verse 15 says: And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

                These statements can have many different interpretations depending on context and understanding, so I am not seeking to make doctrine here, but only to say that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12) for the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ and if we are not on His program and growing in grace, then we may not be included in the first resurrection. (These are things of course that nobody wants to talk about… but I believe that these things should be discussed. The road to heaven is not a careless cake walk

                We must also take into consideration that all of Jesus’ promises to the churches were to those that overcome. Others may be saved yet as through fire, but those who overcome are promised to reign with Christ and to be filled up with all the fullness of God. The bible definitely paints a picture of different rewards in heaven and there will be those who reign with Christ on His throne and those who are just in paradise… happy… saved, yes, but not reigning. They have never entered into God’s training program.

                Paul says something interesting in Phil. 3:8- After talking about his former life in the Law and counting it all as rubbish in order that he may gain Christ he says: “ (That I) may be found in Him not having a righteousness not of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death in order that I may attain to the resurrection FROM the dead. This word “From” in Greek is preceded by the word “ek” meaning out of or the out resurrection from the dead.”

                In other words the general resurrection OF the dead is a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. But the first resurrection, a resurrection out of the dead is a resurrection for overcomers only. But how do we know this? Well, Paul says: “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.: Phil. 3:12-14.

                Here Paul is not talking about his salvation. If he is then he is going against everything else he has said concerning grace… namely that we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves lest any should boast. So what is Paul striving for here? It is to be an overcomer and to be a part of the first resurrection… not the general resurrection OF the dead but that special resurrection OUT OF OR FROM the dead for those who have overcome and who now reflect the image of Christ.

                I have presented these things as food for thought, not doctrine:  but we need to know that many Christians are much too casual about their salvation presuming to be caught up in the first resurrection simply because at some point in their life they prayed the sinner’s prayer. But everywhere in Scripture we are told that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. Being born again is not a casual affair. In fact we enter into Christ’s death. We die to self and to the world and we rise up to live by His Spirit, His power and not our own. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

                “For though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

                 It may be just conjecture on my part, but I think that many casual Christians who have never engaged, never allowed the Holy Spirit to bake the leaven out of them, who live by the flesh and not by the Spirit, will be shocked and surprised at the first resurrection that we call the rapture. They will be left to go through the tribulation to have the leaven baked out of them, to be refined and purified just as Daniel says in chapter 12:10. Well, does this apply only to the Jews or does it apply to half-baked Christians as well? Only time will tell, but God has a plan for His people.  It is that… “We all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:13.

                As a parting thought, think of this thing that Jesus said: “Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name cast out demons and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice Lawlessness.” Mt. 7:22, 23

                What does this mean? Was Jesus calling them to legalism? No, I believe what He was saying here is that many in the last days will do away with the Ten Commandments on stone, but they will not live by the Law written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit. They will have become lawless… living in sin and calling evil good and good evil. Such attitudes represent false grace and not the grace that Jesus bought  for us with His own blood, for the grace that He brought to us is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

                We need to set our sights on being a part of the Barley company, those who overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the  word of their testimony, who love not their own lives unto death if need be. Rev. 12:11

                We have very little comprehension of the rewards that wait those who overcome. We will discuss this later, but for now it says that Christ is the first-born among many brethren. This gives us a clue as to our destiny in Christ and it is well worth laying aside everything that would stand in the way of that which the Lord has prepared for His own. We often think of things like mansions, but Jesus Himself is our reward. So smile… we are nearing home.