“Is anything too hard for the LORD?
At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have
a son." Genesis 18:14 RSV
If the news the past few weeks seems
devoid of anything positive, my hope today is to share something many may find
encouraging considering our current situation.
As I have studied over the years, a fact that I discovered is that God
ordained many events to occur in the springl. I found it especially interesting
to see how many of those events could be identified with the idea of a new
beginning. In the passage above, God has visited Abraham and Sarah and told
them that Sarah was to have a son. He also tells them that He will return to
see them when that happens, and even tells them that it will be in the spring!
If you look closely at the Hebrew you will find that in this particular case,
the RSV translates it best, because if you take the two words “’’mowed and
“chay” together in the same phrase, you understand spring is identified as
the season this event will occur.
mow`ed : 1) appointed place,
appointed time, meeting
chay : 1) living, alive, a) green
(of vegetation), b) flowing, fresh (of water), c) lively, active (of man), d)
reviving (of the springtime)
Since Abraham is told he would
become the father of the nation of Israel, the birth of Isaac began the
fulfillment of that prophecy and as we see, it began in the spring. We also
find in the book of Exodus that the deliverance of the nation of Israel from
bondage in Egypt occurred in the spring. The first three feasts of Israel,
Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits all occur in the first month on the
Jewish calendar which normally begins around the end of March or the beginning
of April on our calendar, and is called Nisan or Abib.
“And Moses said to the people:
"Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No
leavened bread shall be eaten. "On this day you are going out, in the
month Abib.” Exodus 13:3-4 NKJV
Of course, of greater interest to us
as believers is the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
occurred at the time of these three feasts as well. If you recall, Jesus
celebrated Passover with His disciples, was then arrested, crucified and rose
again on the third day which was the Feast of Firstfruits.
“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had
finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that
after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be
crucified." Matthew 26:1-2 NKJV
“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.” Matthew 28:1-2 NKJV
Now you talk about the idea of
spring being a time of new beginnings, how important could the fact be that our
deliverance occurred in the spring? Do you really think so many events
happening in this particular season are just coincidence? Do you begin to see
what I mean about the spring being the most interesting season? The Bible is
full of “new beginning” type events which occur in the spring. Is it possible
then that the rapture of the church could occur in the spring season? If it
did, it would certainly fit in with the idea of a new beginning type event
happening the same time as so many others have. Throw into this thought the
events we have been experiencing since the start of the year and you can easily
imagine the possibility of our deliverance being at hand.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,
afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” 1
Corinthians 15:22-23 NKJV
What is the possibility that Jesus
could rapture the Church and present it to God on the Feast of Firstfruits?
I think it’s very plausible, but again, there are other days to consider
as well. Let’s return to the story of the Exodus for a moment. The
thought occurred to me that we are told of deliverance along with a new
beginning in the story of the children of Israel and their escape from Egypt.
Not only were they delivered out of bondage in the spring, notice if you will
when they entered the Promised Land.
“And it came to pass, when the
priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of
the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the
waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as
before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first
month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.”
Joshua 4:18-19 NKJV
Here we are again, back to the first
month, the spring, the time of new beginnings. God delivered the children of
Israel into the Promised Land on the tenth day of the first month. Is it
possible this is also a picture of when the Church will enter her “promised
land”? Could spring be the season of the rapture? Although I believe our
deliverance could occur at any time, considering the fact that so many events
have happened in the spring certainly makes me wonder if we as believers should
be especially watchful in the spring. All of which brings us to this next
passage which might be the most compelling argument of all.
“Woe is me! For I am like
those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is
no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. The faithful
man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They
all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a
net.” Micah 7:1-2 NKJV
This passage from the prophet Micah
describes the period of time we call the Tribulation. Notice he tells us
that all the faithful have disappeared from the earth, every man is against
each other, and looking for upright faithful people is like looking for the first
grapes of the harvest and finding none. So when does the grape harvest
begin in Israel? The first ripe fruit is gathered at the beginning of
summer. My thought is that if all the faithful are gone at the beginning
of summer, it follows they must have disappeared in the spring.
Today we find ourselves in a
situation that the majority might call unprecedented, and many are looking at
the events of the past three months and asking the question why are we still
here? My question to you today is this. Just how close do you believe the
rapture of the Church is on God’s calendar? If you believe like many
others, it could be right around the corner. That nearness, however, also
prompts me to ask you this question. If you have come to this point in your
life and not made a decision to accept the free gift of salvation offered to
you by our Savior Jesus Christ, don't you think it would be a good idea to do
it now?
“But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name:” John
1:12 NKJV
Keep watching.
