In response to http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2011/dfhat69.htm

 

Dear dfhat,

 

The prophecy mentions wheat, new wine and oil. It does’t say or necessarily imply “new oil”.

 

New wine refers to the latest harvest of grapes and cannot apply to grapes harvest in the previous year. I think we are all OK with that understanding. Otherwise the word “new” would not have been used.

 

The word “wheat” is mentioned without the adjective “new” because this understanding is implicit since all offerings (in the procedure of the Feasts) had to be made using the seeds that were planted in the beginning of the Spring of that same religious year (which begin in the month of Abib or Nisan). On Firstfruits, the seeds of barley that had already begun to mature  were presented in a wave sheaf to the Father (Heaven), lifted UP by the High Priest. Prophetically, this gesture prefigured the ascension of the first group (sheaf of barley) to be taken to the Father after Jesus’s resurrection.

 

Accordingly, the grains used to bake Pentecost loaves of bread must also proceed from the seeds planted in the beginning of Spring (wheat that only matures in the summer), not from the seeds planted in winter or autumn (which mature in the spring). There are many passages in the Old Testament confirming this.

 

So we have seen that the wine mentioned in the Prophecy must be new wine, and there’s no new wine in Spring. We have also seen that all grains lifted UP to the Father (either in the form of wave sheaf on Firstfruits or in the form of a loaf of bread on Pentecost) must come from the seed planted in the beginning of the Spring season – they must be new grain.

 

By the way, many people say that the Feast of Pentecost has already been 100% fulfilled, which I think is not correct. Partial fulfillments have taken place, of course. But I think that the final fulfillment will have to do with something being lifted UP to the Father, by the High Priest. Both Firstfruits and Pentecost had offerings lifted UP and waved to the Father.

 

Now I ask: if after His death and resurrection, Jesus went to Heaven (taking the other saints He resurrected and took with Him) exactly on Firstfruits, wouldn’t it be reasonable to suppose that the Rapture of the Church would be a perfect fulfillment the lifting of loaves of bread UP to the Father? Don’t ask me why there are two loaves of bread (note that they must be leavened) because I don’t know. What I know is that they represent a pair of something. But I don’t know if they are a figure of “believing Jews + believing Gentiles” or “dead in Christ after being risen + those who are alive in Christ” who are raptured together, or simply a figure of a couple going to a wedding (a pair). We will certainly find out about that later. But Pentecost is certainly a day to expect the Rapture of the Church, because SOMETHING must be lifted UP to the Father on that Feast, and that hasn’t been fulfilled yet.

 

One could mention that the ascension of the Two Witnesses (in Revelation) would also be a reasonable fulfillment of that type and shadow (because they are two), and I could not argue against that understanding. But I think that what will be LIFTED UP on Pentecost will be the Church.

 

Concerning the oil, as far as I know, there’s no place in the scriptures that says that oil stored in the vats must only be “new oil”. So if the oil from the pressed olives from the previous harvest is stored in the same place as the new wine and the just harvested grains of wheat (both of which are not mature in the Spring), that doesn’t seem to be any contradiction to me. In the case of oil, what I see there is a picture of abundance of the Holy Spirit and not necessarily the need of the olive harvest at the same time. By the way, olive trees are not planted every year. The tree is there from long before. I learned that there is an olive tree in Portugal which is 2.000 years old, in a Algarve. So the issue of olive is different from the issue of wheat and grapes.

 

Thanks for your comment.

 

YSIC,

 

Eliane, in Brazil