The strongest possibility for me as to when we may experience the rescue event is the anniversary of Jesus' resurrection.

If Nisan begins during the next month of March, then the Feast of First fruits would be on March 26/27.

The main reason I lean towards this possibility (regardless of the year) is what better "type" of the resurrection of the dead in Christ than on the anniversary of when Jesus' body was resurrected?

On that very day, He ascended to heaven to present His blood in the heavenly temple before the Father, and also presented, as a First Fruits offering, the small number of Jewish folks who were resurrected along with Him.

This first ascension can be seen in Jesus'response to Mary in the garden in John 20:17.  That others were resurrected along with Him can be seen in Matthew 27:52.

Jesus then came back down for a period of 40 days, teaching and revealing himself to the disciples, pointing them to wait for power from on high (Pentecost).

He then ascended back to heaven in front of the followers.

I wonder if the above will be a picture of what the body of Christ might experience.  The dead in Christ will rise, we will all have new bodies, and we will ascend.

Then, some of us will return to teach and reveal Jesus to the 144,000 Jews scattered throughout the world, pointing them to get to Israel to wait for the sealing that will take place by the two witnesses on Pentecost.  I believe that the witnesses may start their proclamation time of three and a half years in the middle of the feast of tabernacles in the fall (which I will touch on in a subsequent post).

This part of the body of Christ will then go back up to heaven on the anniversary of when Jesus' second ascension.

The feast of first fruits and also Pentecost may both point to our rescue event, in particular, because of the wave offering God told the high priest to perform during each of these two feasts.  A portion of first fruit grain was to be lifted up above the priest's head and presented directly to God.  Barley during first fruits and two loaves of wheat bread during pentecost.  I believe these both point to an ascension time of specific groups of believing people.

I believe the feasts can have multiple fulfillments.  One will be focused on Israel, another on the body of Christ.  I think students of prophecy error in their interpretations by assuming that the spring feasts are each already completely fulfilled.  Granted, that is true for Passover, but it is not necessarily so for the feast of first fruits.

Keep in mind that God is bringing about His Kingdom throughout all of creation.  This takes place on the earth and also in the heavenly places (other planets in the universe).

God will bring about his kingdom on earth through remnant Israel.  His promises to Abraham and David will be fulfilled.

However, we have been blessed with spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph 1:3).  A clue of our sphere of Kingdom proclamation is seen in Revelation 12:7-8, which is a future view at the middle of the Tribulation years.  Satan and his minions are defeated in battle and cast down to earth.  Notice that it says that there was no more room for them.  Why?  I believe because we have taken their place at that time.  I speculate that the number of people in the body of Christ matches the number of the fallen angels.

Also, in the same way that Jesus sent the disciples out by twos, and the 144,000 witnesses might be sent out to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel under the direction of the two witnesses, so too we might be sent out in small groups to proclaim Jesus to folks on other planets at some point in the future.  That is not to say that some of us won't be involved in what God is doing on the earth through Israel.

In other words, God has a plan for all of creation that has started with the earth.  He is/will be accomplishing His grand plan through two groups.  Remnant Israel and the Body of Christ.

Therefore, I believe some of the Feasts have dual fulfillments, taking into account the roles of each group.

In other words, there was a firstfruits wave offering of Jews by Jesus, and there might also be a first fruits wave offering of the nations (the body of Christ) at the same feast.

In Romans 15:16, Paul, who was the apostle to the nations and also presented the mystery of the body of Christ hidden prior in the plan of God, shows that he saw his role as a priest preparing/gathering an offering of the gentiles to the Father.  Might he have foresaw it as a wave offering?  to be lifted up on first fruits or on pentecost?

Another hint possibly is found in Romans 6:8.  Paul is laying out what is true of us because of our union into Christ Himself (1 Cor 6:17).  Because of this we are already and truely included in Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and even now seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph 2:5-6).

However, he says something in verse 8 that had been confusing for me prior.  "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."  He references our resurrection, not in already accomplished terms like elsewhere, but as a hope-based future.  He changes the verb tense.  Is it perhaps to point to the resurrection of our bodies?  His context is Jesus' death and resurrection.  Might this be a timing clue?

As a thought provoking aside, in light of God's method of getting some Jews' attention by provoking them to jealousy in terms of what He accomplishes with the Gentiles (Romans10:19-20), if our rescue happens on first fruits, and if it takes place this March verses April, then it will end up taking place on Easter, the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of God's true Messiah.  This scenario would definitely provoke some Jews to a type of jealousy.  This is pure speculation on my part.

I hope to do a part three soon.

Douglas Henney.