To portray His plan of salvation for the whole of mankind, God used the material harvest seasons in ancient Israel to picture His spiritual harvest of souls.  In that part of the world there are two harvest seasons.  The first harvest is small, especially tasteful, very expensive and takes place in the spring at the beginning of the Biblical year.  This harvest is symbolized by the Holy Day called “Pentecost.”  That which is harvested is called “firstfruits.”

In the fall comes the second, much larger harvest symbolized by the “Feast of Tabernacles,” also called the “Feast of Ingathering.”  This celebration represents the great harvest of souls that will take place during the 1000 year time period, called the “millennium,” which follows Christ’s return to earth to resurrect His human “firstfruits”–those who obeyed Him in their physical lifetimes.  To the Lord they are extremely rare (Mat. 7:13,14), very important (Mal. 3:17) and are worth the cost He paid for them (I Cor. 6:20).

We must understand that what we have all been taught about God’s plan of salvation relative to what people must do in order to be saved and when they can be saved IS TOTALLY WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS.  In my former years I not only believed Satan’s lies concerning those two egregious deceptions, I preached them.  Contrary to universal church opinion, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY DAY OF SALVATION.  There will be two other such “days” in which salvation will be offered to two different groups of people.  One of which is the millennium, the other comes immediately following it, called the Last Great Day.  It is true that in II Corinthians 6:2 it is written that this is “the” day of salvation.  However, this was a quote of Isaiah 49:8 where the correct word–“a”–is used.  The King James translators replaced the Greek word “a” with the English word “the” in order to make the statement fit Catholic theology.  Satan used King James’ translators to change a number of Biblical statements to make them align with Catholic teachings.  This is why God commands His people to study His Word according to Isaiah 28:9,10.  God’s Very Elect saints obey His commands.  The other 99.99% of professing Christendom obey the commands of the god of this world (II Cor. 4:4).

Those who are involved in the millennium will be the billions who have been brought back to life during the second resurrection.  Resurrected as flesh and blood beings, these people will be allowed to live a normal lifespan during which they will be taught God’s ways by His firstfruits–spirit (born again) saints who were raised up in the first resurrection which is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:52.  In 1 Corinthians 15:46-54 the born again phenomenon is explained in detail.  These passages refer to the first resurrection–the bodily transformation of the firstfruits from physical to spiritual, just as had their Savior upon rising from the dead.  In 1 John 3:2 we are told that the firstfruits will, upon their rebirth, look like the born again Christ.  To know what the firstfruits will look like upon being born again, read Revelation 1:13-16 where John describes Jesus in His born again body and heavenly vesture.

Those raised during the second resurrection will be people who had not been converted in their previous life, though billions of them will believe that they had been.  These resurrected people will be taught the ways of God over a 120 year period, then die, whether converted or not.  As had been the case in their previous lives, the decision will be theirs to make.  Throughout the thousand year millennium there will be Gentiles (heathen) on earth.  This is born out in Zechariah 14:16-19 where the prophet states that those who will not come up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles God each year will punish by withholding rain.  Those who still refuse will be afflicted with sickness.  Sound familiar?  Also, Isaiah 66:23 tells us that all who are alive during the millennium will be forced to observe the Lord’s weekly Sabbath.  Question: If every soul living on earth during the millennium will be required to observe God’s 7th day Sabbath and the annual Feast of Tabernacles during the millennium, are not all living on earth today required to observe them?  God’s Very Elect observe both, along with all other Holy Days of the Lord.  Why? Because we are required to do so.  Proof of this Truth will be explained in the final posting of this series.

All of those alive during the millennium will die at the end of their appointed lifespan.  In this way, all of those who have not heard the truth, including Catholic and Protestant church members, will hear it from the firstfruits and be given the opportunity to be converted before dying.  This gives us hope for our relatives and friends who died unforgiven and unconverted.  Though they had lived and died believing that they were saved and born again, they were no different from other heathen people in the eyes of God.  Church people have been deceived by Satan and his false prophets into believing that they are something they are not–saved and born again children of God.  At present, some 2.5 billion church goers have been deceived into believing that they are God’s people.  They are not alone; the rest of the world has also been deceived (Rev. 12:9).  Some 7.5 billion people today are deceived by the “angel of light” into following him.  One third of them have followed his “ministers of righteousness” into his waiting arms (II Cor. 11:13-15.  The second resurrection and the millennial ministry of God’s firstfruits will give billions of deceived people the opportunity to hear His Truth and to accept it or reject it during their allotted lifetimes.  Upon coming back to life following the millennium, those who accepted and obeyed the Lord will be born again–changed from physical to spirit bodily composition.  Then and only then can they enter the Kingdom of God, for “… flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50).  As Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again” in order to enter God’s kingdom.

Upon His return to earth’s atmosphere, Christ will resurrect His firstfruits who will rise to meet Him in the air.  First be born again (changed from flesh to spirit) will be the dead, which will include such luminaries as Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, the apostles and others who obeyed Him during their earthly lives.  Then those still living upon Christ’s arrival will die (“It is appointed unto man once to die”) and be instantly changed from flesh to spirit as they ascend up to where Christ and the others await their arrival.  Accompanied by His born again (saved) Very Elect and His mighty angels, Christ will descend to the Mt. of Olives.  From there they will enter Jerusalem where He will establish the Kingdom of God.  Soon afterward the millennium will begin.  Following His bringing of World War III to an end and the millennium beginning, the second resurrection will take place and the millennial ministry of His fristfruits will begin.

Following the first resurrection, “the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years (millennium) were finished (Rev. 20:5). This (referring to verse 4–the resurrection of the firstfruits) is (“was”–another mistranslation) the first resurrection.”  Which brings us to the Last Great Day which this year (2021) will fall on September 28.  L.J.