“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
Do
you have a favorite season? I somehow
manage to enjoy all of them for one reason or another, but if I had to pick one
for my favorite, it would be the spring.
Just now, I can see a little bit of snow left on the mountain tops, my
tulips are blooming, and quail, songbirds, robins and doves are eating out of
my feeder. I like to call spring the time of new beginnings, because so much
happens in so short of a time. I can watch buds appearing on my apple tree, the
robins have returned from wherever it is they go in the winter, the ground is
turning green, and of course, it’s about time to start mowing the lawn again.
As
I have studied over the years, I have found that God ordained many events to
occur in the spring as well. It is 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.
“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, they must have disappeared in the spring.
Today
we find ourselves in the spring season, and many are looking at the condition
of the world around us 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?
Keep
watching.
