Newsletter: 2011-03e On the 1st Sunday after Passover – Day of Firstfruits / Resurrection Sunday

Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest,
then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.
He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf;
on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
- Leviticus 23:9-11

On the first Sunday after Passover, is the Biblical Holy Day called Firstfruits, the Christians call it Resurrection Sunday, or Easter. The Temple symbolism is of a farmer giving a thanksgiving offering from the small early harvest (Lev.23:9-14). (April 24, begins on the eve of the 23^rd),

“GOD so loved the world
that HE gave HIS only begotten Son,
that whoever believe in Him might be saved.”
- John 3:16

Let’s recap, we all know eradicating sin and demons from our bodies, our communities, and our world is not an easy process; it can cause great pain, and sometimes-terrible death and destruction. The above quote states that GOD “gave” HIS Son, Yahshsua/Jesus, to cancel the curse of sin. The “giving” part was not an easy thing for YAHWEH to do, because HE knew the cost, and after-the-fact so did the world. The Prophet Isaiah foretold the cost about 700 years before Yahshuas’ birth.

“...He is despised and rejected by men...,
He was wounded...., He was bruised . ., He opened not His mouth...,
He was led as a lamb to slaughter…,
He was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgressions of My people He was stricken …,
His grave with the wicked ...,”
- Isaiah ch.53

Yahshua was well aware of what was before Him, and the evening before He was killed His prayer reveals His moment of doubt, “O FATHER, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me…” Matthew 26:38. YHWH is not a dictator and lives by HIS own laws the Messiah must fulfill his mission. Yahshua fulfilled His mission because He loved His Bride (His followers), and the world. To keep this newsletter short, the classic movie “King of Kings” or the more current “Passion of Christ” fills in the details. The closing scene showing Christ being crucified misses an important detail. While Christ was slowly dying from His crucifixion, a few hundred yards away the Jews were killing their lambs for their Passover meal. As usual, the religionists had their eyes wide shut, but for those who can see, the spiritual symmetry could not have been more perfect or more heart breaking.

~ The Curtin Rises, Act 3 ~

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake;
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women,
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here; for He is risen,
as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead,
and indeed He is going before you into Galilee;
there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy,
and ran to bring His disciples word.”
- Matthew 28: 5-8

Three days later, as we all know, Yahshua was resurrected, on Saturday after dusk, not Sunday morning (think Hebrew calendar, not Roman calendar), and made an appearance in YHWH’s Great White Throne Room. There was a great parade of triumph for Yahshua. The arrival of the long awaited Messiah was truly one of those magic moments in the Kingdom. All the angels of Heaven, all the living creatures, and all the elders came out to see Him (Rev.5:11-12).

I love it when a plan comes together.
– YHWH

They were cheering Yahshua as He entered the Throne Room, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom. And strength and honor and glory and blessing,” Revelation 5:12. He was making His way through all the well-wishers when suddenly a hush fell over the Throne Room, as all eyes turned to the Throne. YHWH the FATHER was standing up to make a pronouncement, HIS voice thunders through the Kingdom, as HE announces to all in the Universe, that HE now gives Yahshua His reward for faithful service, a highly exalted position in the Kingdom.

"To stand before men on behalf of God is one thing.
To stand before God on behalf of men
is something entirely different."
- Leonard Ravenhill

Yahshua kneels, and YHWH bestows a triple anointing: He is a Prophet (Deu.18:18), He is the High Priest of Melchizedek (Heb.ch.7-8), and He is King (Ps.45:6-8). YHWH now gives Him a Name above any other, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. YHWH hath put all things under His feet, and made it known that every knee should bend, of those in Heaven, and those of the Earth, and of those under the Earth, and that every tongue should confess that Yahshua is the Messiah, to the glory of YHWH the FATHER (Phi.2:9-11; Eph.1:22-23).

Yahshua rises, and YHWH hands Him the keys to death and Hades (Rev.1:18). Yahshua then takes His seat, at the right hand of YHWH (Mat.26:64). As the trumpets mark the event, praise and cheer erupts from the Throne Room, on this day of Firstfruits, it was one of those most-excellent moments in the Kingdom. All is well in the Universe!!!

The Immortal Spirit Body is how the Jerusalem Church will be outfitted for eternal life. After the ceremonies in the Great White Throne Room, Yahshua returned to Earth and made His first resurrected public appearance. Here the immortal spirit body was shown to the Believers while Yahshua stayed on Earth for about forty days counseling His Disciples (Mat.28:1-10; Mar.16:1-18; Luk.24:1-43; Jon.20:1-10). The Disciples gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb, and He took it and ate in their presence (Luk.24:42-43). In John 21:9-13, He fixed breakfast for His Disciples, yet He could walk through a door (Luk.20:26). He is able to subdue all things to Himself (Phi.3:20-21).

An immortal body is real, and occupies time and space, yet the body can pass through an object or pick up the object. Although transformed, people retain the unique characteristics and features they had in their early human life, but without any of the birth defects or deformities.

From the Believers follow great signs and wonders category, there is also another odd story that goes with the resurrection. Writings collected in the Ante-Nicene Library (a large volume of books containing the writing of the first and second century church), describe that more then twelve thousand of the Old Testament Assembly walked through Galilee for forty days (Mat.27:52-54). Just think of it, these are dead people resurrected to life that the living people recognized. Most Bible teachers skip over this passage because the account of this amazing supernatural event seems so bizarre.

In the opening quote, the Temple priest waving the Firstfruits sheaf before the Lord, is symbolic of the spiritual reality of the Holy Day that pictures the Messiah as a harvester of souls. In the Great White Heavenly Throne Room, YHWH was presented a major victory in the Spiritual war, as Yahshua presented HIM the first righteous souls of the ancient Jerusalem Church (meaning true Believers); or souls of the true Believers of the Old Testament Church, as the Firstfruits harvest of the righteous souls of the Earth (1Cor.15:22-23). The verse says, “Each in his own time...,” and that means if these are the Firstfruits, then it stands to reason that there will be a second and a third, etc.

After the forty days they were taken to a holding place in YHWH’s Third Heaven, and are now asleep with the righteous dead that have died since that event (2Cor.5:8). They are awaiting their immortal bodies, given when Yahshua calls them near the end of the Age of Grace.

. . . and the universe awaits
for the revealing of the Children of YHWH
from New Earth . . .

~ The Curtain Closes ~

Closing comment: Isn’t that a wonderful spiritual story? In this Age of Grace we are blessed to understand the Holy Day mysteries. In the theater of the Temple, for 1400 plus years the High Priest waved the sheaf, they did not fully understand, but doing the task by “faith” does not require full understanding. The people watched the Temple ceremony but really seeing or understanding the BIG picture they thought of it as only a religious obligation. Today in our age we are blessed to see the BIG picture and understand all of the spiritual mysteries of these past Holy Days – it armors our faith.

Many religionists miss the point that on this day Yahshua fulfilled one of YHWH’s Holy Days called the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:9-14). It is a very appropriate name because through Yahshuas’ resurrection and defeat over evil, Yahshua was able to present YHWH with the Old Testament saints who were officially the Firstfruit harvest of the faithful human population of ancient times. And if there is a first, then there must be a second, and a third, etc.

Here is another point often missed by the religionists is what YHWH thinks is the status of women. Women were the first at the birth, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. It is ironic that in a culture where a woman could not be a legal witness, they were good enough to be witnesses for the Kingdom as they were the first to see that the Messiah had risen.

The New Testament - as well as the Hebrew Testament - has much to say regarding strong women of faith working on YHWH’S behalf. Yahshua even shocked His Disciples with His revolutionary concepts that women were equal to men in the sight of our CREATOR, and could equally receive forgiveness and grace in the future Kingdom. Yahshua was respectful to all women and early on a woman helped support His ministry. He faced the wrath of the rabbis when He healed a woman on the Sabbath, and showed His regard for her by calling her the “daughter of Abraham.” Using this very controversial term meant He was raising her from a mere woman to a status equal with men who were called the sons of Abraham (Luk.13:10-16). He also taught that they have the same responsibility to learn, and grow in grace and knowledge, as men do.

It may surprise many to know that Satan is also a Bible scholar and he knows it from the original tongue. He also watched the Temple priest wave the first offering but he didn’t see this coming. Needless to say, he hates Yahshua’s resurrection; remember he has been trying to avoid this since he used the Romans to kill all the Jewish first-born sons when Yahshua was born. In the wars between good and evil Satan knows he lost a big one. He is angry and as we all know he hates Yahshua’s followers, and he hates the symbolism of the Holy Days, and does his best to suppress them. Once the information gets out to the general public then he works hard on changing the message to divert attention from the true meaning of the Holy Day. This Holy Day is a good example, the first Protestants called this day Resurrection Sunday. Satan really hates any talk of a resurrection so over time this day has become know as Easter.

Today, most of the religious world once again has their eyes wide shut. To call this resurrection event, which is one of the most excellent moments in the Kingdom, a moment that has been waited for since the fall of Adam & Eve, “Easter”, and then sit down to feast on an “Easter Ham” is an insult to the Higher Powers, and it angers YHWH (Jer.7:17-20). The word Easter stems from pagan goddess Ishtar of Babylon. In ancient time, Ishtar was called the Queen of Heaven, the pagans, and ancient Israel, would hold celebrations in her honor during the springtime. It so angered YHWH that HE sent the Prophet Jeremiah to issue stern warnings to the people (Jer.44:16-23), sadly the people would not listen, and we all know what happened to Ancient Israel. The Protestant founders of America never called this day Easter, because that name comes from the Roman Catholic Church, they originally called it Resurrection Sunday. Beware, and be aware, the warning from the Prophet Jeremiah still stands; eventually all pagan roads will lead you to the Anti-Christ, great pain, and horrible death. Remember, those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
- 3 John 4

Enjoy the journey of learning…
Ø Holy Day Dates: http://www.homeworship101.com/holy_days_calendar.htm
Ø Spring Holy Days: http://www.homeworship101.com/holy_days_spring.htm
Ø Spring Holy Days How To: http://www.homeworship101.com/holy_days_spring_observance.htm

Please remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for all those who stand with Israel (Ps.122).

Take care. Peace and blessings, Errol.
**********************************************
Errol Mueller, chronicler extraordinaire
e-mail: errol@homeworship101.com
website: www.homeworship101.com
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WSC Newsletter 2011-03e, posted 04/22/11.

Copyright © 2011 Errol Mueller. All rights reserved. Short quotations, page copying, or redistribution for personal or non-commercial group study is permitted and encouraged, provided they are copied in total with no alterations or deletions. Author’s name, website address, and copyright notice must be included. If any other use is desired, written permission is required.
For information, email or call (334) 678-0913. White Stone Communications (Rev.2:17), Dothan, AL.
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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

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On the 1st Sunday after Passover - Day of Firstfruits / Resurrection Sunday