The Resurrection of the Dead.
Numbers 9 is the only record of the Passover observed being in the wilderness, that is once in 40 years.
I want to start our examination of the Resurrection today by having a brief look at other aspects that we did not visit that are of great importance to the new consecrated life of abundance that the Lord has planned for every “Child of God”
The Passover and what it symbolised.
Exodus 13:3-4.
Then Moses said to the people, Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.
Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving.
The Passover and what it symbolised.
Exodus 13:5.
Exodus 13:5.
When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to observe this ceremony in this month:
The Passover and what it symbolised.
Exodus 13:6-8.
The Passover and what it symbolized.
Exodus 13:6-8.
For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh
day hold a festival to the Lord.
Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.
On that day tell your son, I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.
Exodus 13:9-10.
Exodus 13:9-10.
This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
A sign on your hand.
The Passover observance is a reminder that
Salvation changes the things you do.
A reminder on your forehead. Salvation changes the way you think.
This law of the Lord is to be on your lips. Salvation changes the way you talk.
The Passover and what it symbolised.
How important is the Resurrection?
We were reminded last week of how vital the first two Feasts were that Israel celebrated because they celebrated things that were crucial in the life of every child of God.
Our position
Our condition
The Feast of unleavened bread
Sanctification
The Passover
Justification
Hebrews 10:14.
For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect
forever those who are being made holy.
The Feast of First Fruits Consecration
Romans 12:1.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice
The
Feast of First Fruits
17
Has to do with “Peace with God”
The Feast of Passover:
Has to do with the “Peace of God”
The Feast of Unleavened bread and
The Feast of First Fruits:
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
The Resurrection of the Dead.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
John 15:5.
If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
The Resurrection
of the Dead.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
How important is this doctrine?
The Resurrection
of the Dead.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
The Resurrection
of the Dead.
1 Corinthians 15:17-19.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
The Resurrection
of the Dead.
1 Corinthians 15:19-23.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the Firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in turn: Christ, the Firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him
The doctrine of resurrection from the dead is vital.
Hebrews 6:1-3.
Therefore, let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Colossians 2:11-12.
Colossians 2:11-12.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,
having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Death; Burial and resurrection is symbolised in “Water Baptism”.
Death is portrayed in Baptism.
Colossians 3:1-10.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Death is portrayed in Baptism.
Colossians 3:5-7
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
You won’t kill something you like or even love, perhaps the problem is that we have become accustomed to our sin and don’t hate it.
Putting off “The Old man”.
Colossians 3:8-10.
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things
as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language
from your lips.
Do not lie to each other,
since you have taken off
your old self with its
practices and have put on
the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Putting on “The New man”.
Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience. Bear with each
other and forgive one another
if any of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave
you. And over all these virtues
put on love, which binds them
all together in perfect unity.
Baptism is symbolic of the death of our old life.
Baptism is symbolic of the death of our old life.
Die to self.
Romans 6:1-3.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Baptism symbolises a funeral service.
burial.
Romans 6:4-5. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Baptism symbolises Resurrection.
Baptism symbolises Resurrection.
Resurrection.
Romans 6:1-8. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
New life in Christ
The resurrected life.
Galatians 3:27.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
Galatians 5:14,15.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.
The Passover/Feast of unleavened bread.
This dealt with crucifying the “old man”
(getting rid of the leaven)
Personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
The Feast of First fruits.
This deals with putting on the “new man”
(the resurrected life”)
2 Corinthians 5:17.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.
The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
Although there is an ongoing process of sanctification that starts
at conversion, there should be first fruits in our lives which indicate the inward regeneration that has taken place and pointing towards the future change that will be produced in our lives by the indwelling Spirit of God.
The New creation.
We must first die to bear Fruit.
John 12:23-25.
Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls
to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
One of the purposes of the Feast of First fruits was to remind the Israelites that God had given them the land and that the harvest rightfully belonged to him.
They were just stewards as is made clear in the parable of the husbandman.
This Feast reminds us that we are stewards and not owners.
Stewardship and the Feast of First Fruits.
Matthew 21:33-34.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug
a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.
When the harvest time approached,
he sent his servants to the tenants to
collect his fruit.
Matthew 21:35-36. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.
The personal aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
Matthew 21:37-41.
Last of all, he sent his son to them. They will respect my son, he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance. So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, they replied, and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.
Salvation:
It is not just a bringing out,
It is also a bringing in.
It is not just a giving up,
It is also receiving.
It is not just a losing,
It is also a gaining.
It is not just a putting off,
It is also a putting on.
Their testimony is not one of gain, but of loss, their spiritual life is fore shadowed in the Old Testament wanderings of the Israelites, wandering around in the desert grumbling and complaining about every new challenge. They reflect longingly on their previous life of slavery and the Lord has to provide for them or they would starve.
Their testimony is not one of gain, but of loss, their spiritual life is fore shadowed in the Old Testament wanderings of the Israelites, wandering around in the desert grumbling and complaining about every new challenge. They reflect longingly on their previous life of slavery and the Lord has to provide for them or they would starve.
They never cross over the Jordan into the abundant life of fulfilment that is on offer to the Spirit led child of God but languish and die in the wilderness, brought out of Egypt but never brought into the promised land.
Many professing Christians have not entered the abundant life that Jesus Christ promised to His followers.
Proverbs 3:9&10.
Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Personal aspects of the Feast of First Fruits.
The Feast of The “Feast of First Fruits” is the 3rd step that the believer must take towards the “Rest of God” which is typified by the Feast of Tabernacles.
Giving God our best and not our left overs.
The prophetic aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
The first fruits.
Matthew 27:51-53.
The main harvest.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.
The gleanings.
Revelation 20:4-6.
The Jewish harvest has 3 phases.
The prophetic aspect of the Feast of First Fruits.
Matthew 27:51-53.
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave
up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth shook, the rocks split
and the tombs broke open.
The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went
into the holy city and appeared
to many people.
The First Phase of the Jewish Harvest.
Jesus is referred to as First Fruits.
Jesus is referred to as First Fruits.
But He is also our High Priest and the High Priest waved a First Fruit offering before God, likewise Jesus presented the First Fruits of the 1st Resurrection to God.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Jesus to Mary at the Garden Tomb.
John 20:17.
(DRA)
Jesus saith to her: Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father.
(KJV)
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father:
John 20:24-27.
Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore
said to him, We have seen the Lord.
So he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.
And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace to you!
Then He said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.
Jesus appears to Thomas.
The main harvest.
1 Thessalonians 4:14-15.
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
The second Phase of the Jewish Harvest.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
The main harvest.
Gleanings at harvest time were to be left for the poor.
Leviticus 19:9-10.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
The Third Phase of the Jewish Harvest.
The Gleanings.
Revelation 20:4.
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God.
They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The Gleanings.
Revelation 20:5-6.
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.
The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
New Heavens and New Earth
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
The First Resurrection
The Second Resurrection
Firstfruits
Harvest
Gleanings
Resurrection of the Unrighteous & Great White Throne Judgement
The Passover:
Delivered from the penalty of sin.
The Feast of unleavened bread:
Delivered from the power of sin.
The Feast of First Fruits:
Delivered from the presence of sin.
The resurrected life.
1 John 3:14.
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Luke 19:8-9.
Luke 19:8-9.
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
Salvation changes you.
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