Jesus Christ really puzzled the disciples—often. Yes, He was a brilliant teacher. His command of the scriptures, which He spelled out with authority, amazed not only the disciples but also the crowds of people who followed Him. Even the brightest temple scholars were impressed by His instruction. Yet the disciples were continually confused.
Finally, they came to a unanimous decision. It was time to ask Christ why He taught the people the way He did. They looked for an opportunity to get Him alone for their question.
One day, the disciples followed Christ out of His house to the seashore. The group hoped this was their chance. Yet as they approached the waterfront, they saw a huge crowd waiting for Jesus. To be able speak to them all with enough volume, Christ got on a ship and sat down facing the multitude standing on the shore: “Behold, a sower went forth to sow,” He began (Matthew 13:3).
Jesus Christ taught the people many things in the same manner He always did. The 12 grew frustrated as they listened. When Jesus stopped His instructions and the people returned to their villages, “the disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” (verse 10). Jesus looked intently at the men He had grown to love so much, and “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (verse 11). Read that verse again and let it sink in deep.
I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic Church. We were not Bible readers, or studiers. At age 23, I had been married for over a year and was just months away from becoming a father to my first child. Unfortunately, I was thoroughly confused about religion.
I saw real problems in a large segment of the leadership of not only my own church, but also the leadership of most all organized Christianity. I had spent time in several different denominations. I had questions but couldn’t get the same answer from the different ministers I met. I desperately wanted to know the truth. At one point I became discouraged—I lost hope of ever finding the truth.
Then, I turned to the Bible to look for answers. While reading the Bible one day, this passage in Matthew 13 exploded off the page. I was in a state of shock reading what Matthew had written. Do you get the meaning?
No Soul-Saving Campaign
Jesus Christ came to this Earth with a message from God—His Father’s gospel (John 3:34; 7:16; 8:28; 15:15). He taught thousands of people—huge crowds followed after Christ. Yet He concealed the deep meaning behind what He taught from all but a very few. During his 3½-year ministry, Jesus unlocked the full meaning of the gospel for His disciples only.
During my find-the-right-church excursion, I attended several Evangelical meetings. I saw many people give their heart to the Lord, speak in tongues and get saved. However, when I read through the four gospels, I realized that Jesus Christ didn’t conduct any meetings like I had witnessed.
It became clear to me that Jesus Christ made no attempt to save the world at the time of His first coming. And I learned, from the Bible, that Christ is not trying to save the world today. But when He does start saving the world, the vast majority of human beings will be saved.
If Christ did not, and is not, making an attempt to save the world, can any human being be saved at this time? The tremendous meaning behind the feast of firstfruits, or Pentecost, gives us the answer.
The Feast of Firstfruits
The day of Pentecost is the third annual festival given to ancient Israel. In previous articles, we discussed the first two festivals: Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. It would be good to review those articles.
All of God’s festivals are discussed in Leviticus 23. God set apart these days to instruct His people about His master plan for the salvation of mankind. Any person not keeping these days does not understand how Christ plans to save the world.
The Old Testament name for Pentecost was the feast of firstfruits, since it came at the end of the first harvest of the year, the spring harvest (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Numbers 28:26). It was also called the feast of weeks, since it came seven weeks after the first Sunday after Passover (Deuteronomy 16:9-10, 16). It is the name firstfruits that gives this holy day its transcendent meaning.
The New Testament Church was founded on the day of Pentecost, 31 a.d. God’s one true Church has continued to keep this annual Sabbath year after year. The feast of firstfruits this year is Sunday, May 19. God’s people around the globe will be celebrating this day that reminds us of our exalted purpose now and in the near future.
Only a Few Called Now
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day,” Jesus emphatically told a crowd of people surrounding Him (John 6:44). Multitudes had followed Him throughout Galilee (verses 1-2, 15, 24). The people, though drawn to Christ, continually asked Him for a sign (verse 30). They couldn’t figure Him out.
On one occasion, Christ miraculously fed 5,000 of them (verses 9-13). Yet, they could not recognize Who performed the miracle. Christ cut to the heart of the matter: The people followed Him merely because He fed them well (verse 26).
Even though they witnessed what should have been a life-changing miracle, they could not understand who Christ was. He even told them by analogy, “I am the bread of life … I am the bread which came down from heaven” (verse 35, 41).
“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?” the crowd murmured among themselves (verse 42). They could not understand because God did not open their minds to understand (verse 64-65).
The truth is, during the time of Christ, God only called a few people. At the end of His ministry, there were only 120 people who actually believed Christ! (Acts 1:15).
In like manner, God has called only a few individuals today (Acts 2:38-39, 47; Acts 13:48). Is God being unfair to those He does not call at this time? Absolutely not! God is masterfully working out a plan to ensure that the majority of mankind is saved.
Why Not the Whole World
Did you know that God freely offered mankind salvation, but mankind rejected it? This is a truth very few understand. The majority of religious people do not believe the truth of what happened with our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden. Many embrace the faith-destroying theory of evolution as the explanation of origins. No wonder our world is heading for disaster.
You must study Genesis 1 through 3 to fully understand the meaning of Pentecost. These chapters are chock-full of revealed history and prophecy. They explain God’s supreme purpose for creating man, why our world is the way it is, and why man cannot solve his spiritual problems. Unless you believe what God reveals in Genesis, you cannot advance far in spiritual understanding.
Prior to man’s creation, God created the entire universe including the Earth. It was a perfect creation (Genesis 1:1). God had previously created billions of individual angels to assist Him with creative projects throughout the universe. He considered the angels to be His created sons (Job 38:4-7).
God appointed the super archangel Lucifer as king of the Earth, and gave him millions of angels to finish Earth’s beautification. However, Lucifer and his angels rebelled and tried to kick God off the throne of the universe. In the process, they destroyed the Earth and severely damaged the universe (Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-18; Jude 6). The government of God—the means that God uses to rule, beautify and sustain what He creates—was removed from Earth.
Satan’s rebellion did not stop God. He moved to “Plan B.” In seven days, the Eternal God who would later become Jesus Christ, renewed Earth and then created man to restore the government of God to the Earth (Genesis 1:3 through Genesis 2:1-3). Man was created in God’s likeness—the form and shape of God. Man was made out of the dust of the ground, not out of spirit (Genesis 2:7). God created man mortal flesh because God is a being of supreme love (1 John 4:8, 16). If man decided to reject God and His government, he would simply live out his life and then die forever. Satan must bear the punishment of his sin forever since he was created as a spiritual and therefore eternal being.
Although God initially created man physical, He also planned to make man into a spirit being by creating His holy, righteous character—His image—within man (Genesis 1:26-27; Hebrews 1:3), thus qualifying man to be born again at Christ’s return (John 3:3).
To build this character in man, God would test Adam and Eve by giving them the opportunity to work through the process of subduing and beautifying the Earth by administering God’s government (Genesis 1:28). They would have to confront, resist and overcome Satan’s rebellion against God’s government to qualify to replace him on the throne of the Earth.
To accomplish this momentous task, God offered Adam and Eve His Holy Spirit through the tree of life (Genesis 2:9). Had they taken of this tree, symbolic of obedience to God’s law and truth, God would have imparted the earnest of eternal life to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:22, last part). However, they chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—representing the way of Satan’s rebellion. Rejecting God’s revealed knowledge and authority, they disqualified themselves from rulership over the Earth. Because Adam had the right to choose for his entire family, God cut mankind (as a whole) off from His Holy Spirit until after Jesus Christ’s return as King of the Kingdom of God (Genesis 3:22-24; John 7:38-39).
This is the amazing and only truthful explanation for why Christ is not trying to save the world today. The Earth is drowning in evil because this is still Satan’s world (Galatians 1:4). Adam and Eve did not qualify to take that rule away from him. Satan remains on his throne as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He has the entire world following his deceitful ways and worshiping him (Revelation 12:9). Thankfully, Jesus Christ has qualified to replace him and will soon remove him from rule (Revelation 3:21; 20:1-3). Once Satan is removed, Christ will set about to save the world (Revelation 12:10).
Yet, Christ will need help. Who will help Christ re-establish the government of God on Earth?
Enter the firstfruits.
The Wonder of Firstfruits
The Herbert W. Armstrong College Bible Correspondence Course states: “We are now in the age of the Church. God is not working through isolated prophets, nor through independent Christians. Rather, He is working through a small group of thousands of Spirit-begotten humans, organized and unified by His laws, His government and His truth” (Lesson 31). This is vital information.
At this time, before Christ begins to rule over the entire Earth, God the Father is specially choosing individual people to prepare to rule with Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4). God is choosing these individuals for a special mission necessary for the successful establishment of God’s Kingdom on Earth (Daniel 7:14).
To help them complete their mission, through the process of conversion, God gives them His Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). It is interesting to note that God began to fulfill His promise to give mankind His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost just 10 days after Jesus Christ ascended to God’s throne in heaven (Acts 2:1-2).
God looks upon His Church today as only the firstfruits of His spiritual harvest of mankind (James 1:18). The Feast of Tabernacles, held in the fall of the year, pictures the greater harvest of mankind.
It is important to recognize that God has not called the firstfruits merely to “get saved.” God is not showing special favor to His favorites. The firstfruits are called first to prepare for the fantastic job of bringing salvation to the whole world during Christ’s millennial rule. As Christ’s Bride (Revelation 19:7), the firstfruits will be the spiritual mother of the billions of people to be born into God’s Family.
The firstfruits have a tough go of it in this age. They must learn and obey God’s government, laws and truth under Satan’s severe and high-pressured opposition. But Jesus Christ, the very first of the firstfruits, has set them a perfect example (1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Peter 2:21). Although the firstfruits must be tested under far more difficult conditions, their reward carries tremendous honor that will not be offered to those who do not have to battle under today’s spiritually hard conditions.
God’s Church is the means by which God is now preparing this world for Christ’s return! Our mission is to get God’s truth out as a witness to the entire world (Matthew 24:14). Then, when Christ returns, banishes Satan and makes the Holy Spirit available to all mankind, the firstfruits will have the experience and the knowledge to help people overcome their problems and sins and attain the Kingdom of God. The feast of firstfruits reveals this awesomely wonderful knowledge. For more information on God’s holy days, request our free book, Pagan Holidays—or God’s Holy Days—Which?
Do you see what a blessing it is to keep God’s festivals? We would have no idea what God is doing on this Earth without them. Thankfully, God wants us to know how He is planning to help all humanity.( Learn more about that plan by enrolling in our free Bible study course: Herbert W. Armstrong Bible Correspondence Course.)
Have a joyous feast of firstfruits!