God provided His Holy Days, which coincided with the Middle Eastern harvest seasons, to reveal to His saints the process by which He will gather them, culminating with the third resurrection at which time those who have refused to submit to Him will be cast into the Lake of Fire and burned to ash. See The Resurrections.

In the Holy Land there are two annual harvests. First is the spring harvest. Then, seven months later, comes the final, main harvest. God intended His Holy Days to picture the formation of His church throughout this final age which began on Passover, 31 A.D. Those answering His call now–His church, the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16)–are called His “firstfruits” who, during the Millennium, will work for Him to bring multiplied millions to Him. These are the masses of humanity who, during their lifetimes, had never heard “the Name by which we must be saved”–the majority of all humans who have ever lived on earth. Then there are the hundreds of millions who had spent their lives in the Institutional Church who had heard His name but had been deceived about His message. They, having never heard the Truth, will be involved in the second resurrection. Then they will hear His Word and be given the opportunity to receive and obey Him. The “firstfruits,” (along with those few Old Testament people who believed and obeyed Him) comprise the church that came into being on Passover, 31 A.D. Let us study this important event to learn of its importance then and now.

Pentecost, which takes place 50 days after Passover, marks the preliminary round of the Lord’s harvest of souls that will culminate following the second resurrection. We who are part of His church comprise that small firstfruits group (Mat. 7:13,14), Jesus being the first of the firstfruits–the first born again human being.

Passover symbolizes Christ’s sacrifice for the remission of our past sins. The Days of Unleavened Bread symbolize the putting away of sin totally and permanently. And IF a saint happens to sin, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father to intercede on his behalf (1 Jn. 2:1). Pentecost symbolizes the initial– firstfruit–harvest of souls in this age. These will be those, both living and dead, who will rise to meet the Lord upon His second advent (1 Thess. 4:16,17). From there they will accompany Him back down to earth where they will congregate on the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:11/Zech. 14:3,4). From there they will enter Jerusalem where they will assist Him in establishing the Kingdom of God. As kings and priests they will reign with Him forever (Rev. 5:10).

Just as Scripture proves that the early church observed Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, so the early saints continued to observe Pentecost as noted in 1 Corinthians 16:8 and Acts 20:16. As the seventh day (Saturday) Sabbath is to be observed with a holy convocation, saints are commanded to gather under the authority of God on the other Holy Days. Regardless of the number, even if there is only one (I have been the only one for many years), the saint must observe each of the Holy Days with Bible study, prayer, and when there is more than one saint, a Biblical message.