THE RAPTURE DAY

Leviticus 23:34 - 36, “For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation and you shall present an offering made by fire to the Lord. it is a solemn assembly; you shall do no laborious work on that day”.

     In my book ‘The Rapture of the Church’, I have revealed the Seven [7] Feasts or Festivals of the Hebrews and how all except one have been fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. You will have to read the book to understand how Jesus fulfilled every Old Testament prophecy including the seven festivals He set aside for the Israelites in order for them to be able to take rest… Leviticus 23. Except one, He is yet to fulfill the seventh Festival which is the Festival of Shelters [also known as Booths, Ingathering, Final Harvest, Tabernacles]. It is celebrated today as Sukkot or Succoth …Leviticus 23:34-43. For seven days the Israelites celebrated God’s protection and guidance in the wilderness. At this time, they lived in tents kindof shelters and renewed their commitment to God and trust in His guidance and protection. Jesus fulfilled all accept this feast of which, He will fulfill at Rapture. This festival will be to celebrate the harvest of human souls as the Firstfruit to the Lord. Jesus alluded to it in John 4:35, 36.

     The day of Rapture is imporant to Jesus in several ways. When the Lord Jesus resurrected, He fulfilled the third Festival of First Harvest or Firstfruit. In the Bible, the Hebrew term Bikkurim and related terms for the ‘firstfruits’ derive from the same root as Bekhor, ‘firstborn’. On the same general principle that the firstborn of man and beast belonged to the God of Israel and were to be devoted to Him, the firstfruits, including the first grains to ripen each season, were to be brought as an offering to God. Every Israelite who possessed the means of agricultural productivity was under this obligation… Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Numbers 15:17–21; 18:12–13; Deuteronomy 26:1–11. 

     A frequent synonym for Bikkurim is Reshit, ‘the first [fruits]’. A declaration also known as the Avowal was recited upon presenting the firstfruits to the priest… Deuteronomy 26:3–10. In Exodus 23:16, the holiday of Shavuot is called the "feast/festival of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours [Hebrew Bikkurei Maasecha], testifying to the link between Bikkurim and this holiday, at which time summer fruit was beginning to ripen and Bikkurim were brought.

     The Hebrew word for firstfruit Bikkurim literally translates to ‘the promise to come’. So, when we give our firstfruits, we faithfully place our hope in the Lord for the promises to come! It is a way of saying, “God, You can trust me with the increase". Therefore, what is the difference between tithe and firstfruit? A firstfruit is different from a tithe. Although both are offerings to God, the firstfruit is giving the best in the beginning. A tithe is a small percent or portion of the total. A large difference between the two is that the firstfruit has to be given at the start and from the best. 

    A firstfruit is given once but a tithe is continues with every harvest. For example, when you get a new job you give a firstfruit by giving once the best part of your first salary, not the whole salary. Then after every month, you give a tenth of your nett. If you are a farmer of maize, you choose the best of the fruit for your minister. Then after you harvest ten sacks of threshed maize, you give one sack of maize to your man of God or Church.  

     Jesus is called the Firstfruit because He is the ‘Firstfruit of Them That Slept’. Since the firstfruit is a sign that the harvest has begun and many more crops are yet to come, the Apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ was the first from among the dead [‘them that slept’] to rise again and that many more will yet be resurrected. And on the Rapture Day that will occure in Revelation 7:1-8 [the 144,000], Jesus will receive the first of the fruit… Revelation 14:4, “They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been purchased from among the people of the earth as a special offering [firstfruit] to God and to the Lamb”. The number 144,000 is 12 x 12 x 1000, symbolizing completeness – all God’s followers will be brought safely to Him; not one will be overlooked or forgotten. These being the firstfruit, it means that even after Rapture, there will be some who will accept Jesus even after they have been left behind. 

     The Rapture saints will be a firstfruit unto the Lord. What makes this first of the fruit special is that Jesus will receive it on His Birth Day, on a 22nd September on an year to be revealed. If you have been reading my blogs, I have narrated how I was given an experience of rapture on the 8th day of May 2009. Exactly 11 years after on the 8th day of May 2020, the Lord by His grace, revealed the day, month and year of Rapture. 

     Today, the 8th day of May 2024, four years after, the Lord revealed to me the year of His Birth and that 22nd September was the day and month.- Jesus was born on the last [8th] day of the Feast of Final Harvest [22nd September]. Although I knew about the day of Rapture, I did not know it was Jesus’ Birthday. The year of Jesus return totals to the number of years since Jesus was born in the world as Baby Jesus. There you have it! But since the year of Jesus birth is not known in Scriptures, not even the gospels gives us a hint, the year of Rapture will remain sealed until the day I’m allowed to remove the seal.

    Have you ever wondered why Jesus’ Birthday is so mystical? Many Bible scholars and us can only guess and estimate according to the gospel writtings. Jesus’ Birthday is so related to His return for the saints at Rapture. I would not have known apart from His Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding. This Spirit is the combination of the Revelational gifts [a Word of Wisdom, a Word of Knowledge and gift of Discernment] of the Holy Spirit. The Vocal gifts or the Spirit of Knowledge and the Reverential Fear of the Lord [gifts of Tongues, Interpratation and Prophecy] sharpen these gifts. The year of Jesus’ birth was B. C. [Before Christ] and if you total all those unknown years from the day He was born to the day of Rapture, it totals to the year of Rapture - in much less than 2000 days.

     Although we celebrate Christmas, Jesus’ Birth on the 25th day of December each year, Jesus was actually born on the 22nd day of September according to His exposé today. And on His Birthday, at Rapture, He will receive a firstfruit – the Rapture saints.

     Maranatha!