Seven Steps of Salvation God had a plan for all of mankind. God's plan was complete "before the world began, and it included "all [who are] in Adam". 1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; The scriptures teach that "[God] has devised means that his banished be not expelled from Him". What that statement means is that God's plan for mankind is to bring salvation to all who are in Adam. He reveals to us that He is going to do so by means of three separate resurrections, which are typified in scripture as three separate harvests. Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: Here is verse 10 in the Concordant Literal Version: Eph 1:10 to have an administration of the complement of the eras, to head up all in the Christ - both that in the heavens and that on the earth" "In the dispensation of the fulness of times [God will] gather together [harvest] in one all things in the Christ". God's plan for all mankind is not a plan which includes only His firstfruit harvest. "Before the world began" God planned for Christ, who God created to be the Creator of all things, and to be the first of His firstfruits harvest. Col 1:17 And he [Christ] is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; So Christ is not preeminent only in the resurrection from the dead, "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist". He is in the process of saving "all things" by means of these three harvests we will be studying today. But Christ is not the only firstfruits in God's plan. After Christ was gathered to His Father by being the very first person to be resurrected from the dead to life eonian, God will also gather to Himself "they that are Christ's" firstfruts. That will be the second harvest in God's three harvests, but it is called the "first resurrection" of those who are "in Christ". This is what we are told of those who are the first to be resurrected in Christ. As we will see, the barley harvest during the days of unleavened bread, which typifies Christ, and the wheat harvest at the day of Pentecost, are both called a harvest of firstfruits.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. So those in this "first resurrection" are the firstfruits of Christ, even though they are resurrected after He is resurrected. But there is one more harvest after the thousand years, and that harvest is the largest harvest of all, because it is the harvest of all men of all time who have ever been "in Adam". God has devised the means that His banished be not expelled from Him", and that "means" is this final, third harvest, "the feast of ingathering which is at the end of the year". In that resurrection, death and the grave will be destroyed, and death will be robbed of ever single person it has ever claimed. Here are all three of these harvests: 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: 1) Christ the firstfruits; 2) afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 1Co 15:24 3) Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. And this is the fate of death: 1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. "The end", mentioned in 1Co 15: 24, means the end harvest. It means the "harvest at the end of the year", as is revealed in the three harvests seasons in which are revealed the seven steps to the salvation of "all in Adam". So there are actually three separate harvests of God's 'field' which 'field', according to our Lord, is the whole world. Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; Christ has purchased the whole field, and by means of his three separate harvests and the seven steps which must be fulfilled within those three harvests, he will not lose one single soul who is "in Adam". Here are the words of what the scriptures call "a wise woman..." 2Sa 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. That "means" which God has "devised" is revealed to us in seven separate feasts which are all types of the seven steps which all men must take in order to come to Christ and His Father. Here are those three seasons in which the seven festivals of Israel took place. Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep 1) the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) Exo 23:16 2) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and 3) the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. Now here are the seven holy days within these three seasons. It is these seven annual holy days which reveal to us the seven steps to the salvation of each and every man whom God will drag to Himself, as well as the seven steps which are being taken by all men in coming to the completion of God's plan for all men: Lev 23:4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. Lev 23:5 1) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. Lev 23:6 2) And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. Lev 23:7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev 23:8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev 23:9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Lev 23:12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. Lev 23:13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. Lev 23:14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Lev 23:15 3) And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. Lev 23:18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Lev 23:19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. Lev 23:20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. Lev 23:21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. Lev 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. Lev 23:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:24 4) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Lev 23:25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Lev 23:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:27 5) Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. Lev 23:33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:34 6) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev 23:36 7) Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. Now let's consider how these feasts of ancient Israel reveal to us God's plan for the redemption of "all in Adam [including] His banished". The first holy day is the passover, which signifies the death of our Lord, "the spotless... lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world". The passover took place in the spring of the year. Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially [But "not for ours only" 1Joh 2:2] of those that believe. 1Ti 4:11 These things command and teach. 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. So God is in the process of bringing "all [who are] in Adam" to himself, and this first feast in the first month in the spring of the year gives us the first step that must be taken to bring about the "means that his banished be not expelled from him". Christ is our passover who has been offered for our sins, and the very next day begins the feast of unleavened bread, signifying the very next step all who are in Christ must take. We are crucified with Christ, and if indeed we are dying daily with Him we begin immediately to purge out the sins which have leavened our lives. 1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Indeed Christ was offered upon the day of the passover. Rest assured the priest and the Pharisees did not plan it that way. They were as blind to what they were doing as you and I were to the fact that it was
through our sins that our Lord was crucified. Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [Greek, dia - through] our offences, and was raised again for [Greek, dia - through] our justification. 1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; It is "on the morrow after the sabbath [that] the priest shall wave" a sheaf of the firstfruits of the barley harvest to be accepted of the Lord. Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. The fifteenth of Nissan being a holy day is called "a high day", and it can be any day of the week, but it just happened to be on the weekly sabbath the year that Christ, our passover, was crucified: Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So when Christ was raised up "early on the first day of the week", that just happened to be "the morrow after the sabbath" and He was received of His Father as the wave sheaf of the first fruits of the early barley harvest. Luk 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week ["the morrow after the sabbath"], very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. Luk 24:2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. Luk 24:3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. But while Christ's own apostles went out and wept bitterly for denying Him when He most needed them, they and we still have to wait for the day of Pentecost, which in Greek means 'count fifty' before the holy spirit will come to us and enter into our hearts and form and found the church of Christ and the kingdom of God within us. Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. This is the day in which we are finally willing to die with Christ because the spirit of God has changed our hearts, and we now become Christ's firstfruits. Lev 23:15 3) And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Lev 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty
days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. If we are Christ's, then we are "a kind of firstfruits" because this feast typifies those who are in that blessed and holy first resurrection, as Christ's firstfruits. So the feast of Pentecost is also called "the feast of your firstfruits". Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. While our Lord was a sin offering "who knew no sin", the same cannot be said for His firstfruits, who, in Him, become a trespass offering which Christ fulfills only through "them that are Christ's". That is how we can be "chief of sinners" and also "fill up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ". Because Christ fulfills the trespass offering only through us, the Pentecost offering is the only offering offered to God with leaven: Lev 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. 2Co 5:21 For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (ACV) We become the righteousness of God in him, and we offer our lives as the scapegoat (Lev 16: 8-26) and the second bird (Lev 14), as a living sacrifice, "for His body's sake, which is the church". Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church; 1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Pentecost is the second season and the third festival which reveals the process of our salvation. Pentecost is the summer wheat harvest, which comes in fifty days after the Spring barley harvest. Pentecost is the only holy day in the second Summer season. The last four steps in the process of our salvation are all in the third season of the process of our salvation. These last four steps are all in "the seventh month", and they begin with the festival of trumpets on the first day of the seventh month: Lev 23:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Lev 23:25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. This is the festival that portrays the judgments of the seven trumpets in the book of Revelation. Here is what happens at the seven trumpet: Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and
he shall reign for ever and ever. Rev 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. "There were lightnings, and voices, and thundering, and an earthquake, and great hail", are all Biblical words which are associated with the judgment of the old, first man Adam within us. The ark of His [new] testament is seen within the temple. It is the temple of God which must be cleansed by the fiery judgments of the seven trumpets and the seven plagues of the seventh trumpet. Here is what we are told of God's temple and that seventh trumpet, which is the seven plagues of the seven angels: Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. The passover typifies our first coming out of Egypt, followed by the purging out of the leaven of the sins of the giants within our lives, which at this stage are typified by the land which is filled with great giants. This is the days of unleavened bread in the Spring of our walk. This part of the process of our salvation is followed by the Summer feast of Pentecost, when and where we are given God's spirit and the kingdom of God begins to grow within us, and we begin to be changed inwardly. But the judgment of our flesh is a lifelong process which begins in earnest only after Pentecost and after the holy spirit comes into our hearts and begins to cleanse the temple of God within our heavens. Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Heb 9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Christ has entered into the holy places in His temple, "which temple ye are". 1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. The last of these seven trumpets is the seven last plagues. This is the significance of the feast of trumpets. This is when our souls are most afflicted as our heavenly Father is dragging us to Himself. Judgment must begin at the house of God. It is a fiery purging of anything that can be burned up. Anything that can be burned will be burned up and will be burned out of our lives and out of the temple of God in the heavens of our minds and hearts. It is in this day of fasting that we are denying ourselves, dying to our old man, and coming out of Babylon. We return to the temple of God, and begin rebuilding that temple. But Babylon comes out with us, and the seven plagues of the seven angels has yet to do its work within us. So we are being judged in this life, and we are "dying daily". Christ comes to us at Pentecost, but Pentecost continues within us as Christ increases within us. Trumpets continues within as "the house of
God" is being judged within us. The day of atonement also continues within us as we endure the fiery trials of a life of "dying daily". 1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? So it is only after we have been judged that we are able to enter into the temple of God, and come to be at one with our Lord by the covering of our sins. And that is the meaning of the Hebrew word 'kawfar' which is translated as 'atonement', the day of fasting which is on the tenth day of the seventh month. It is not fifty days from the last feast, nor is it a matter of going from the Summer months to the Fall, as from Pentecost to Trumpets. The day of atonement is but nine days after the the feast of trumpets, which is on the first day of the seventh month. We cannot be given salvation, without first suffering with our Lord. Neither can we be given salvation while still believing salvation can be acquired by virtue of our own works. Those are the lessons of the fifth step towards our salvation. It is a day of fasting and affliction our our souls known as the "day of atonement". Lev 23:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:27 5) Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. Lev 23:29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. Lev 23:30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Lev 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. It is only the few chosen whose souls are being afflicted for the sins being committed within the church. Most people who claim the name of Christ are certainly neither resting from their own works, nor afflicting their souls, or being afflicted because of the abominations which are being committed within Jerusalem: Eze 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Here is the meaning of the Hebrew word 'kawfar', which is translated as 'atonement'. H3722 kaw-far' A primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: - appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation). The "fiery trials" and of 1Pe 4:12, and the sighing and crying for all the abominations that be done in the midst of Jerusalem, are one and the same. These are those who are ceasing from their own works and are afflicting their souls on the day of atonement.
Atonement is only five days prior to the feast of tabernacles which begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Like the passover and the days of unleavened bread, these last two feasts are not separated by a single day. Lev 23:33 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:34 6) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. Lev 23:35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Lev 23:36 7) Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. This "feast of tabernacles" is the third and the last of the three harvests of the Lord's work to bring salvation to all who are in Adam. The "last great day of the feast" is the immediate consequence of living through the feast of tabernacles, which is called the feast of ingathering in the end of the year. Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Exo 23:15 1) Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and 3) the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Exo 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. This feast is called the "feast of tabernacles" because Israel dwelt in temporary tabernacles when coming out of Egypt. This is how all who are now being harvested into the kingdom of God view this entire physical life: Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; The great purpose of this "last great day" is signified by this event: Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) This feast of tabernacles is the last great harvest of our Lord's field. It culminates in the last great day when all men who have ever lived "in Adam" will be given "the spirit which they that believe on Him should receive". It will truly be a "great day" for all of mankind. It will be the consummation of the ages, and will effect the salvation of all of God's banished. So many supposedly 'great men of God' have quoted Acts 16:31, at the exclusion of Acts 16:32, that most Christians actually believe that all one has to do to be saved is to confess the name of Jesus with your
mouth and you are a shoe in for the first resurrection. Act 16:31 And they [Paul and Silas] said [to the Philippians jailer] Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Believing that lie is the strong delusion which will place the masses of humanity in that second resurrection. The Bible is much more than this one lone sentence, and we must never forget that the Lord has informed us that "the sum of [His] word is Truth" (Psa 119:160). "Believ[ing] on the Lord Jesus Christ" is not something that comes only out of your mouth. It must also come out of your hands, in what you do. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, must also be demonstrated through your spiritual feet, in the way you walk through this life. So we are also given the very next verse: Act 16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. The truth is known only when we consider "the sum" of the word of God. And our salvation, and the salvation of all of mankind, is known only when we have lived by all seven seals, all of the seven trumpets, all seven vials, and all of the appointed days which are written in God's book of our life. This is how salvation comes to each of us individually, and this is how salvation will come to all mankind corporately. When God's plan for mankind is completed, He will be "all in all". Here is how Paul sums up these seven steps to salvation within God's three seasonal harvests: 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: 1) Christ the firstfruits; 2) afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 1Co 15:24 3) Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. [The Father cannot relinquish "the power of throne" Gen 41:40] 1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.