Resurrection to First-fruits

Shalom!

Last night we celebrated “Havdallah”, or “Making Distinction”, to mark the end of the weekly Sabbath, called “Motzei Shabbat”, the departure of the Sabbath. But, last night was also the very Sabbath after our Passover, so it was also time to mark the First Omer [barley sheaf wave offering] of Bikkurim [Firstfruits].

Each week, we celebrate the Sabbath with the bread and the wine. This is a ‘mini Passover’, and for us who trust in Yeshua, we remember and declare His death when we partake of those elements. When we celebrate Havdallah each week, as they are seen doing in Acts chapter 20:7, where a resurrection occurs, we also commemorate the resurrection of Yeshua, AND the beginning of the week. This is a small, weekly picture of what happened at Yeshua’s last Passover season. This year, however, Passover was celebrated on a Saturday night, at the very BEGINNING of the week. So, The First Omer is marked after the next Sabbath, yesterday, starting the counting of SEVEN SABBATHS before we get to celebrate “WEEKS”, the seven Sabbaths counted after the First Omer. That day is called “Shavu’ot”. It is the fiftieth day after those seven Sabbaths are counted, which is seven weeks.

So, last night, we closed out our seven DAYS of eating Matzot, or ‘unleavened bread,’ AND, we marked the yearly anniversary of the First Omer, His Resurrection, He being our ‘Firstfruits from among the dead”, AND, we began counting up to ‘Shavu’ot,’ the feast of weeks, were we will celebrate His giving the Ru’akh HaKodesh, the very Breath of God, His Power, His Divine Presence, to ordinary people for the first time, because of their Trust in Yeshua. That day is called “The First Shofar,” which is a prelude to “The Last Shofar”, the day His Faithful Ones will rise from the dead as FIRSTFRUITS. Not everyone who knows Him will do so.

There is so much fulness and richness of the faith in these observances. It is no wonder the enemy has striven so hard to distort, obliterate, demolish HIS WAY of showing us The Gospel. These God-given customs are SO ACCURATE and DETAILED about our walk with Him, about prophetic events, about our daily lives and the cycles of time we go through, yet most believers dismiss them as relics of antiquity, or worse, a “Jewish burden”.

These customs are indeed shared with our Jewish people; but, they do not belong to them. They are HIS “Appointed Times”. Just like our Christian brothers have distorted and changed them, so have our Jewish brothers. They do not count the Pesakh/Passover as 14 days from the new moon; they do not count the First Omer as the first day after the regular Sabbath after Passover; they do not count SEVEN SABBATHS, but rather seven ‘sevens’, even though the Hebrew reads שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת , SEVEN SABBATHS, NOT weeks. If we start on SATURDAY NIGHT, as instructed, when we count up to seven, we have reached the first SABBATH. And when we count up to 49 days, we are ON the SEVENTH SABBATH after our counting began, and the next day is the first DAY of the week, the FIFTIETH DAY after seven Sabbaths. Each year, then, we are marking the counting of the Omer from the resurrection, and celebrating Shavu’ot annually on the SAME DAY that they received “Power from On High”.

It matters.

Yeshua rose from the dead as THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD during THE NIGHT! SATURDAY NIGHT! It was DARK. Yeshua’s resurrection commemorates the very first moment of CREATION. It was the moment that God declared 4,000 years before, 6,000 years ago last night, !יְהִי אוֹר , “THERE WILL BE LIGHT/LET THERE BE LIGHT”. The BEGINNING of the very FIRST DAY! In the Bible, days begin AT NIGHT. “And there was an evening [night time], and [THEN] there was a morning: A DAY! EACH WEEK we depict the Seven Days of Creation in our crazy rites: We mark the BEGINNING of the week at the end of the Sabbath, by lighting lapidot on Saturday night; we immediately go about congregational business, and in the morning begin our earthly toils again. We count to the SEVENTH DAY that begins on Friday Night and celebrate our mini Passover to commemorate Yeshua’s death, and at the end of our day of rest, on Saturday night mark and remember His Resurrection, with LIGHT, starting the cycle of creation all over again.

Last night was extra special; we just finished eating Matzot for Seven Days; we marked the end of that; we marked the end of the regular Weekly Sabbath; AND, we marked the beginning of counting the Seven Sabbaths of the Khag “Shavu’ot”, the Feast of Weeks, while at the same time remembering the resurrection AND the beginning of Creation.

We hope to share the POWER of these observances with the WHOLE WORLD. But, the world is too busy trying to perpetuate the errors of our fathers, clinging to man’s ways rather than seeking out HIS TRUTH. There are other ‘layers’ to this season we are now in. It is also a mini “Yovel” cycle, or “Jubilee”; we are told to count six years to a SABBATH YEAR, for SEVEN SABBATH YEARS, to reach a FIFTIETH YEAR. And then to declare a Yovel, a JUBILEE, where people are set free. Israel did NOT do this for the 2000 years they were in the land before Yeshua showed up. HE therefore declared the Yovel, probably in 27 AD, from His hometown synagogue when He started His ministry: “And He came to Natzrat, where he had been brought up; and He entered the Beit K’nesset on Yom HaShabbat, as was His custom, and stood up to read.  And the book of Yesha-Yahu HaNavi was given to Him. And Yeshua opened the book and found the place where it is written, “The Ru’akh of Adonai  יהוה  is upon me; because of this He has anointed me to declare good news to the poor; and He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the  captives and sight to the blind;  to strengthen with forgiveness those who are oppressed, and to declare the year of the favor of  יהוה .”  [Luk 4:16-19, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2a] Is it a coincidence that in a 6,000 year period, there are 120 cycles of the yovel? And in 2,000 years, there are FORTY yovel cycles? We are in the last seven year cycle of the 40th yovel cycle from when Yeshua began to declare the Good News.

We who trust in Yeshua and who deign to declare His Truth should be WARNING PEOPLE to get their houses in order, get their lives in order, TURN TO HIS TORAH so we can be GIVEN HIS SPIRIT in POWER [that is the biblical definition of REPENTANCE and NEW BIRTH! Ezekiel 36:26-27], and be PREPARED as a Bride for her Groom. Just as Israel was committing harlotry waiting for Moses to COME DOWN, mocking his delay after 40 DAYS, SO is the congregation of Messiah committing harlotry and mocking the ‘delay’ of His Return after 40 yovel cycles. The day Moshe came down was the FIRST SHOFAR. That was repeated when the SPIRIT of Messiah came down on Shavu’ot 2000 years ago. Yeshua will come down at the LAST SHOFAR, in the fall. They weren’t ready for Moshe’s return; they dressed up a calf and called it יהוה, saying THIS CALF is יהוה, perverting their faith, blending it with that of Egypt’s, ‘sanctifying’ false worship. The same is true today.

As we begin this counting of the Omer, today being the day-portion of the first day of the First Sabbath week of the Omer, I am praying that those who trust in Yeshua, who yet worship Him in Egyptian/Greek garb, begin to see the TRUTH and PURITY of HIS WHOLE WORD. We are NOT supposed to abrogate Torah, but to learn from it. To learn HOW not to sin. Obliterating/abrogating/abolishing Torah has been the ruin of righteousness, and the cause of disparity and division in HIS BODY. There is only ONE Body; and those who AWAIT and ANTICIPATE His Return will be the ones who are “CAUGHT AWAY”, and who rule WITH Him. His Torah is the bridal contract we are to study before He fetches us, His Bride. Be found spotless and blameless, by REPENTANCE and OBEDIENCE.

TODAY is the Day of Salvation: NOW is the time to REPENT. [return to His Instructions/Ways]