Another name in the Hebrew and English Languages for the Feast of FIRST FRUITS is:

Chag HaKatzir/Festival of Harvest

SHALOM!

This teaching is related to the Teaching on the Holy Rapture event! Click here for more information.

In Ancient Israel, First Fruits was a type of offering that was akin to, but distinct from, Terumah Gedolah. While Terumah Gedolah was an agricultural tithe, the First–fruits were a sacrificial gift brought up to the altar.

First Fruits is a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. First Fruits were often a primary source of income to maintain the religious leaders and the facility.

The BARLEY HARVEST has begun! This commences 7 weeks of COUNTING THE OMER up until The WHEAT HARVEST which is The Feast of SHAVUOT/WEEK/PENTECOST.

An OMER is a BARLEY SHEAF! This was to be given unto YAH as an offering!

Shemot 23:16 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

¹⁶ And the Chag HaKatzir, Bikkurim (Firstfruits [see Ac chp 2]) of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the sadeh; and the Chag HaAsif (Feast of Ingathering [see Yn chp 7]), which is in the end of the shanah, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the sadeh.

FIRST FRUITS is all about giving unto YAH your very best!!!

You give YAH “La creme de la creme before even giving to others!!!”

Your First Fruit Offering is to be perfect before YAH just like YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH was unto YAHUVEH GOD Almighty.

Interestingly, every month, FIRST FRUITS is celebrated at the beginning of the month. During every new month, we are to bring unto YAH our SPECIAL OFFERINGS which are then our very first offerings given in the new month. These blessings are meant to precede all offerings given in that month therefore speaking forth blessings into one’s life throughout the course of the month.

Just as we give FIRST FRUIT OFFERINGS unto YAHUVEH ELOHIM at the start of every new Hebrew Month, YAHUSHUA was the FIRST FRUITS OFFERING unto YAH from the dead on HIS resurrection day. It means that every one who has died over the years, is still sleeping and waiting to be awoken or called forth from the grave at YAH’S appointed time.

The offering of the Firstfruits of the harvest occurs in the week of the Passover/Unleavened Bread festival and is a ceremony performed which commences the marking off of time to the Feast of Firstfruits, which is called Shavuot or Pentecost.

YOM HA BIKKURIM/First Fruits Declaration…

Deuteronomy 6:20-25 Names of God Bible (NOG)

²⁰ In the future your children will ask you, “What do these regulations, laws, and rules which Yahweh our Elohim commanded you mean to you?” ²¹ Tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but Yahwehused his mighty hand to bring us out of there. ²² Right before our eyes Yahweh did miraculous signs and amazing things that were spectacular but terrible for Egypt, Pharaoh, and his whole family. ²³ Yahweh led us out of there to bring us here and give us this land he promised to our ancestors with an oath. ²⁴ Yahweh our Elohim commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear Yahweh. These laws are for our own good as long as we live so that he will preserve our lives. It’s still true today. ²⁵ This is how we’ll have the Lord’s approval: If we faithfully obey all these laws in the presence of Yahweh our Elohim, as he has commanded us.”

James 1:17-19 Tree of Life Version (TLV)

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸ By His will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.^[a]

Quick to Listen, Slow to Anger

¹⁹ Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger^[b]—

HOW WAS FIRST FRUITS CELEBRATED? 

Deuteronomy 26:1-10

¹ And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, ² that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. ³ And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us. ⁴ Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. ⁵ And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. ⁷ Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. ⁸ So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey; ¹⁰ and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me. Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 

The people were to take a sheaf of their crops and bring it to the priest at the Temple who would then wave it before the LORD YAHUVEH for acceptance. The people were acknowledging the LORD YAHUVEH’S blessing with this action. They were also to bring a lamb of the first year, without blemish, a grain offering with oil and a drink offering of wine. The people were forbidden to eat of the crops until the “First Fruits” were celebrated. They were to eat of their stores from the previous years.

THE PRESENTATION OF FIRSTFRUITS 

The three baskets of Barley were then taken to the Temple to be threshed with rods, as opposed to ox powered sledges, to preserve the barley heads. The barley was then parched in a flame and winnowed in the wind to remove the chaff. The barley was then milled and sifted until it was very fine. According to some Jewish literature, the inspectors should be able to stick their hands into the barley flour without any flour sticking to the hands when they were removed.

On the morning of Nisan 16 the work of the barley harvest firstfruits were presented to the LORD YAHUVEH in the Temple. One “Omer” (5 pints) or barley was mixed with ¾ pint of olive oil, along with some frankincense. This was the firstfruits offering. The priest would wave this before the LORD YAHUVEH, burning some and giving the rest to the Levites.

FOR THE FAMILY 

The priest would celebrate the feast of first fruits for the whole nation; and each individual family would also celebrate since Israel was a farming community dependent on the land to produce its wealth. Israel’s farming families would prepare for the yearly Firstfruits celebration at the same time they were preparing for Passover. When families came to Jerusalem they were prepared to celebrate three festival days, Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits; since they were celebrated in the one week period, 14^ththrough 21^st of Nisan. First the family would set aside a portion of the crop to be marked for firstfruits by tying a cord around the area to be harvested for the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When the crop was harvested the family would take it along, with their lambs, to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts.

On the 16^th of Nisan people in Jerusalem would have just finished celebrating Passover and would now begin to celebrate Firstfruits. The Israelite male was called to Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts. He would have come to the Temple with his lamb, a second lamb after the Passover lamb, and the “first fruits” of his field. As he approached the Temple he would have heard the Levitical choirs lead worship with

Psalm 30: “I will extol You, O’ Lord, for you have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me…”

As the masses poured into Jerusalem the Temple the scene would have continued throughout the day.

The lamb would have been brought into the Temple by the Israelite and the priest would slay the lamb as the Israelite watched the preparation of his sacrifice. If he was poor he could offer two turtledoves. (Lev. 5:7; 12:8, 14:22)

Leviticus 1:10-17

¹⁰ If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect. ¹¹ He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. ¹² He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. ¹³ He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ¹⁴ If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon. ¹⁵ The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. ¹⁷ He shall tear it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 

After the priest returned from the sacrifice of the man’s lamb the man would have presented to the priest his offering of barley, the measure of an omer (5 pints). He would then say,

‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us. 

As the priest received the basket of grain he would then begin to wave it before the Lord, and the Israelite would now say

‘My father was a Syrian about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. ⁷ Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. ⁸ So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; ¹⁰and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.

The priest would then set the basket down in front of the altar and cast a handful of grain into the fire. The Israelite would then worship the Lord as prescribed in Deuteronomy 26. The Israelite would then have left courts and returned to his waiting family.

THE MODERN OBSERVANCE 

Today, since there is no Temple, the feast of Firstfruits is no longer celebrated. What is celebrated now is only the counting of the omer. From the Firstfruits Israel was commanded to count off seven weeks until the feast of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks).

APPLICATION 

The purpose of Firstfruits is to demonstrate to man that YAH is owner of all our wealth. HEe gives us the ability to attain success by returning to the LORD YAHUVEH the “first” of our produce. We are acknowledging the source. YAH declared that the firstfruits on the land was HIS, including the firstborn of livestock. Even the Donkey was required to be redeemed. (Ex. 22:29, 23:19, 34:26, Dt. 18:4, 26:2)

The firstborn son was also to be redeemed according to the law.

Numbers 18:14-19

¹⁴ Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD is yours. ¹⁵ The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. ¹⁶ When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. ¹⁷ But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ¹⁸ Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours. ¹⁹ Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring. 

YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH was also presented in the Temple to fulfill this verse.

Luke 2:21-23

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. ²² When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

FIRSTFRUITS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 

Romans 8:23
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Galatians 5:22-23: The fruits of the Spirit are defined by Paul:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Romans 11:16
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. 

1 Corinthians 15:20
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:19-21 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 15 (Whole Chapter) 

1 Corinthians 15:23
But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 

James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Revelation 14:4
These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

On Sunday 1st April 2018, the sun is going down in Scotland. I know it has already gone down in some parts of the world.

As Easter is coming to an end, The Feast of FIRST FRUITS is about to start here and has already started in other parts of the world.

YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH rose again from the dead as the FIRST FRUIT!

YAHUSHUA’S Resurrection was a FIRST FRUIT OFFERING unto HIS ABBA, YAHUVEH (a.k.a YAHWEH)!!! You too can be YAH’S First Fruit in the not so distant future. All those Wise Bride/Virgins who will be raptured/harvested at the beginning of the Great Tribulation are considered to be the First Fruits after YAHUSHUA (Revelation 14; Matthew 25:1-14.

Praise YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH who is the RESURECTION AND THE LIFE!!! Through HIM, we receive life and new birth. We are no longer spiritually dead!