Bringing it all Together!
Last Minute Alert!
                                                                                             By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                             June 1, 2017
     "Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?  behold, I say unto you,  Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest," John 4:35.  
Introduction
     The Scripture above, used as a text for this study, has been mostly ignored or overlooked by those of God's people who study Bible prophecy.  Yet if one is seriously interested in the time periods related to the return of Christ, this Scripture is vitally imporant.  It contains  great truth for those of God's people who are truly "searching the Scriptures" for the timing  of our Lord's  coming.
The Jewish Harvest Seasons
     The "religious" Jews were quite familiar with the Jewish Holy Days assigned to them by the God of Israel, as set forth in Leviticus 23, and sought to carefully observe them .  They knew exactly when each of the harvests took place.
      Their harvest season began at Passover with the barley harvest, referred to in Exodus 16, during which the Jews gathered the omers of barley.  This harvesting of the barley extended from Passover to the Day of Pentecost.  
     Following Pentecost the wheat harvest began, and extended four months until Rosh HaShanah, the first day of the 7th month on the Jewish calendar.   
      In the month of Elul, the sixth month of the year on the Jewish calendar, the grape harvest occurred.
The Symbolism of the Two Grains
     The Apostle Paul, in speaking of the resurrection of the Lord's church and New Testament believers in 1 Corinthians 15, clearly referred to the resurrection of a believer's body as a harvest, 15:35-38.
     A careful study of the grains in the Bible will reveal that the barley typifies the Gentiles.  Significantly, in studying these Jewish holy days in Leviticus 23, the barley harvest occurs in the period of days between the Jewish holy days of  Passover and Pentecost.
      The Lord Jesus Christ Himself clearly stated that the wheat typifies "the children of the kingdom," Matthew 13:38; that is, the Jewish people.  
The Symbolism of Rosh HaShanah  
     On Rosh HaShanah, the first day of the seventh month of Tishri, the trumpets were blown to summon all of the Jewish people to assemble before the Lord to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, and to pray for the Lord's blessings upon their crops for the coming year.  This day was strictly Jewish, for the Jews and them alone.  There was nothing about the day that was connected with the Gentiles in any way.  Because Rosh HaShanah was a celebration of the harvest season, it became synonomous in the minds of the Jewish people with the time of harvest, and also with the beginning of a New Year on their calendar.   
     This is why the Lord, in John 4:35, asked the Jews why they were saying that the harvest was yet four months in the future.  Have our readers noticed the question mark on the Lord's statement in this Scripture?  
     Because the Scriptures explicitly state that the Lord's coming will be signaled by the sound of a Trumpet, some believers today insist that the coming of the Lord just has to occur on Rosh HaShanah, and cannot occur at any other time.   Pardon me!  But I choose to differ!  
     The Sounding of the Trumpets
     If our readers will carefully study Numbers 10, it is explicitly stated in 10:10, that the Trumpets were blown on every Jewish Holy Day, or even on days of special significance to the Jewish people.  The blowing of the Trumpets was not limited only to Rosh HaShanah [the Feast of Trumpets].  
     Then for some believers today to make the claim that the Lord cannot return on any day except Rosh HaShanah, on the Festival of Trumpets, is not only wrong, it is plain unscriptural fiction.
The Symbolism of Pentecost
     The Day of Pentecost was determined by counting the weekly Sabbath Days, beginning with "the morrow after the Sabbath" which followed Passover, Leviticus 23:15-16.  The Jews were to count seven of these weekly Sabbath Days, for a total of 49 days.  Then again on "the morrow after the Sabbath" which would be the 50th day in the count, would be the Day of Pentecost.  Notice carefully that it would also be Sunday, the first day of the week.  The Jewish weekly Sabbath Day was always Saturday.  Therefore, it is glaringly obvious that "the morrow after the Sabbath" was always Sunday.  Therefore again, the Day of Pentecost, when correctly counted, always  falls on a Sunday, the first day of the week.  No exceptions!  
The Symbolism of the Loaves
     On the Day of Pentecost, the Jewish priests were to offer up before  God two loaves of bread.  These loaves were baked from the barley that had been harvested during the four months between Passover and Pentecost.  And these two loaves were to be lifted up by the priest, and waved in the air before the Lord.  This waving in the air typifies "the resurrection."   
     We believers should know this to be true, because on Passover 50 days previously the priest was to "wave" a sheaf of wheat in the air before the Lord.  That sheaf of wheat typified the resurrection of the Lord, and of the saints which also came out of their graves after His resurrection, Matthew 27:52-53.   
     There were two loaves of barley bread waved before the Lord on the Day of Pentecost.  These two loaves, I believe, typify the two groups of believers who are to take part in the first resurrection when the Lord comes; "the dead in Christ," and the living in Christ; "we that are alive and remain," 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.   
      I am emphasizing this truth, because this Scripture in John 4:35 verifies that there was indeed four months between the end of the barley harvest at Pentecost, and the observance of Rosh HaShanah.  It was during these four months that the wheat harvest and the grape harvest was taking place.
The Spiritual Significance
     When the Lord Jesus spoke to the Torah observant Jews in John 4, He obviously had in mind a spiritual harvest, while the Jews were thinking only of a literal harvest of their crops.  
     What has been on the mind of the Lord God throughout human history is the salvation of the souls of mankind, both Jew and Gentile.  When God made a covenant with the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, He was choosing them as His own people, but for a specific purpose.  The purpose for which He chose them is clearly stated in Exodus 19:5-6; to be "a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation."  In other words, the Lord's desire in choosing Israel to be His special people, was to reveal the Lord God of Heaven to all of mankind upon the earth.   This is the work of a true priest; to reveal the Lord God to mankind, and bring God and man together in a saving relationship.  Sadly, the Jews, as a people, refused to be the "kingdom of priests" that the Lord chose them to be.  Therefore the Lord temporarily set Israel aside, and gave spiritual authority to His Church [His Gentile bride] to serve as His representative to mankind on the earth during this present dispensation, Acts 1:1-11; 2:1-11; Matthew 28:18-20.   
     The harvest of the barley then typifies the spiritual harvesting of the Gentiles.  Don't fail to notice that this harvest occurred between Passover and Pentecost.  
     Following Pentecost the harvest of the wheat began.  The wheat typifies the spiritual harvest of the Jews.  The Lord Himself clearly stated in Matthew 13:38 that "the good seed are the children of the kingdom." In other words, the Jewish people.  Compare 13:44 where, when Israel was temporarily set aside, the Lord hid them in the field [the world; 13:38].  
    And between these two harvests there is a four month period of time.
A Glaring Distinction
     The Jewish Holy Day of Rosh HaShanah then has nothing whatsoever to do with the Lord's Gentile Church and believers.  That day is Jewish through and through. ,
     On the other hand, the Day of Pentecost has practically nothing to do with the Jews, other than that it is one of their designated holy days in Leviticus 23.   But it has everything to do with the Gentiles.  Why?  Because the barley typifies the Gentiles, and the two loaves of barley bread waved by the priest on that day represent the resurrection of the Lord's Gentile Church [the bride of Christ; 2 Corinthians 11:1-2].  Glory!  Glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Thank you Lord Jesus!   
The Symbolism of Revelation 12
     It ought to then be obvious that the prophecy given in Revelation 12, regarding the "great wonder in heaven," the woman in travail giving birth to a man child, has to do with the nation and people of Israel finally coming to a spiritual awakening that the Lord Jesus Christ is their son, born of their own nation and people, their Messiah, and their Savior.  Study carefully Isaiah 54:1, Jeremiah 4:31, 6:24, and 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4.  Some four months into the Tribulation period, on or in connection with the Jewish holy day of Rosh HaShanah, the nation and people of Israel will finally give birth to the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts and lives.  Glory to God!  Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  
     Do we have any proof that such is going to happen, or is this just my theory?  I'm so glad you asked!   
     Folks, professional astronomers have already informed us of the  movement of the stars in the constellations, and of the planets in the solar system,  so that the "great wonder" of Revelation 12 will literally be visible to mankind on the earth, in the night sky during Rosh HaShanah, September 23, 2017.  
     Oh, Glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Thank you Lord Jesus!  
What This Means To Us Today
     I speak here to all true believers, and to the unsaved lost who truly want to be saved.    
     The Day of Pentecost, in this present  year of 2017, will now occur in just three more days, on this coming Sunday, June 4th.  This is all the time you have left to prepare to meet the Lord Jesus Christ, whether you are saved or whether you are lost in sin and unsaved.  
     This is it folks!  We have arrived!  The time is up for God's people to be raptured to glory, "to meet the Lord in the air," 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Only three more days!  
Conclusion
     Will you use these next three days to make everything right between you and the Lord?  If you have the assurance of being truly saved, born again of the Holy Spirit of God, will you devote these next three days to earnest prayer, confessing unconfessed sin in your life, and making  everything right between you and the Lord?   And will you seek to share this great truth of the Lord's coming with others of your loved ones, friends, and neighbors who are still lost in sin?   Will you?  
      And for anyone who reads this, who is still lost in sin, unsaved, or even anyone who lacks the assurance of salvation, will you use these next three days to earnestly seek the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior, and receive the assurance of salvation into your own heart and soul?  Will you?   
     Read and STUDY Ephesian 1:7, 2:8-10, John 3:16; 3:18, 5:24, 5:28-29, 14:1-3, 14:6, Acts 4:12, 16:30-31, and Romans 10:8-13.   And as you study PRAY and asked the Lord God to reveal Himself to you.
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     The inspired Word of God explicitly instructs those who are true believers to "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins," Isaiah 58:1.  
     Dear readers, that is exactly what I have done in obedience to my Lord and Savior.  I have now been in the Lord's ministry for 63 years, preaching the Word, and trying to reach the lost for Christ and trying to build up God's people in the truth of the Holy Word.  
      Now YOU have received my FINAL WARNING!  May God grant every reader the GRACE to act upon this warning is my prayer.  
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