I
could not let the Jewish festival season go on without
mentioning the minor festival of Tu B’Av and pointing
out some Rapture-like symbolism in it. Although I
am not trying to set a date, there are some interesting
components to this holiday that should be noted. Please
remember, however, that Tu B’Av is not one of the major
festivals listed in Leviticus 23. It is a minor
rabbinical holiday that has evolved into a sort of
Valentine’s Day in Israel.
A
Great Day for a Wedding
Tu
B’Av follows the solemn observance of Tisha B’Av, a time
when weddings are prohibited. So, it has become a
popular time for weddings in Israel. It is also
connected to the passage in Judges 21 where unmarried
Jewish women danced in a vineyard and men from the tribe
of Benjamin snatched out wives from among them. Even
today women in Israel will dress up in white dresses and
dance in vineyards in commemoration of this holiday.
Which
should remind us of the prophecy where we too will be
clothed in white garments before our wedding to
Christ. Revelation 19:7-8:
“Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honour to
him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is
come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. And to
her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the righteousness of
saints.”
The
Unidentified Festival
While
the passage in Judges 21: 18-23 alludes to an annual
festival, it does not identify it:
“Howbeit we may not
give them wives of our daughters: for
the children of Israel have
sworn, saying, Cursed be he
that giveth a wife to Benjamin. Then
they said, Behold, there is a
feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in
a place which is on the
north side of Bethel, on the east
side of the highway that goeth up from
Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of
Lebonah. Therefore they commanded the
children of
Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in
wait in the vineyards; And see, and,
behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come
out to dance in dances, then come ye
out of the vineyards, and
catch you every man his
wife of the daughters of
Shiloh, and go to the land of
Benjamin. And it shall be, when their
fathers or their brethren come unto us
to complain, that we will say unto them, Be
favourable unto them for our sakes: because we
reserved not to each man his wife in
the war: for ye did not give unto them at
this time, that ye should be
guilty. And the children of
Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according
to their number, of them that danced, whom
they caught: and they
went and returned unto their
inheritance, and repaired the
cities, and dwelt in them.”
Of
course, for us Rapture watchers (and date speculators)
it would be nice to know the identity of this annual
festival, but we may have at least been given a clue as
to its season.
Grapes
and a hidden firstfruits fruit harvest?
Tu
B’Av celebrates the start of the grape harvest in
Israel. Remember that the maidens in Judges
were to dance in the vineyards? Well, grapes are a
summer fruit.
Is
there a biblical festival that commemorates the
firstfruits of the fruit harvest? There does not
appear to be one designated as such in the Bible.
The
Feast of Firstfruits celebrates the firstfruits of the
barley harvest; the Feast of Pentecost celebrates the
firstfruits of the wheat harvest and the Feast of
Tabernacles celebrates the final harvest of the
year. So, why isn’t there a firstfruits harvest
for fruit? Perhaps it is a hidden festival?
The
Bible compares His people to both to fruit and fruit
trees. Hosea 9:10:
“I found Israel like
grapes in the wilderness; I
saw your fathers as the firstripe in
the fig tree at her first time: but they
went to Baalpeor, and
separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were
according as they loved.” Psalm 1:3: “And he shall be like a
tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his
fruit in his season; his
leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper.”
Tu
B’Av is also tied to the story of the twelve spies who
were sent to explore the land of Canaan. The spies
were sent out at the time of the firstripe grapes.
Numbers 13:20:
“And what the land is,
whether it be fat or
lean, whether there be wood therein, or
not. And be ye of good courage, and
bring of the fruit of the land. Now
the time was the time of the
firstripe grapes.”
According to Numbers 13:23 the spies even brought
back a harvest of summer fruit. Numbers: “And they came unto the
brook of Eshcol, and cut down from
thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and
they bare it between two upon a
staff; and they brought of the
pomegranates, and of the figs.”
Ten
of the twelve spies brought back a bad report, however,
and convince the people to rebel against God’s mandate
to conquer the Promised Land. As punishment for
their unbelief, the people are told that they will never
enter the Promised Land. They will wander in the
wilderness for 40 years until they all die. Only
their children (those who did not know right from
wrong), and Caleb and Joshua (who expressed faith), were
permitted to enter the land.
According
to Jewish tradition, the people believed the bad report
of the ten spies (of how intimidating the inhabitants of
Canaan were) on the 9th of Av.
Tradition further holds that, on each subsequent 9th
of Av, the people would dig graves for themselves and
sleep in them. And some would die in their graves
in accordance with the curse. This practice
supposedly continued until the fortieth year when the
mass deaths stopped. It was not until a few days
later, on the 15th of Av that they finally
realized that the curse had been lifted.
In
a way, the dead rose from their graves on Tu B’Av.
Although
there is probably more folklore than fact to this
rabbinical version of the story, we do know that the
spies made their trek during the summer season.
So, it is possible that the curse was lifted during the
anniversary of the time that it was imposed.
Thus,
the season of Summer may be significant if the Rapture
is tied to a firstfruits harvest of fruit
(grapes?). Since there is no express Biblical
celebration for it (except perhaps in the unidentified
festival of Judges 21:18) it could be a hidden
festival. So, we may not know the day, but we
might know the season.
Song
of Songs 2:13: “The fig
tree putteth forth her green figs, and
the vines with the
tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my
love, my fair one, and come away.”
The
Lord of the Vineyard Comes
In
the Bible, the vineyard is either Israel or likened to
the kingdom of heaven.
Isaiah
5:7: “For the vineyard of the LORD of
hosts is the house of
Israel, and the men of Judah his
pleasant plant: and he looked for
judgment, but behold oppression; for
righteousness, but behold a cry.”
Matthew
20:1 “For the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the
morning to
hire labourers into his vineyard.
The
vineyard is used in several parables and even in one
that foretells the death of Jesus. Matthew
21:33-43:
“Hear another parable: There
was a
certain householder, which planted a
vineyard, and hedged it round
about, and digged a
winepress in it, and built a
tower, and let it out to
husbandmen, and went into a far country:
And when the time of the
fruit drew near, he
sent his servants to the
husbandmen, that they might receive the
fruits of it. And the
husbandmen took his servants, and
beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
Again, he
sent other servants more than the
first: and they did unto
them likewise. But last of all he
sent unto them his son, saying, They
will reverence my son. But when
the husbandmen saw the son, they
said among themselves, This is the
heir; come, let us
kill him, and let us seize on
his inheritance. And they
caught him, and cast him out
of the vineyard, and slew him.
When the lord therefore of the
vineyard cometh, what will he
do unto those husbandmen? They
say unto him, He will
miserably destroy those wicked
men, and will let out his vineyard unto
other husbandmen, which shall
render him the
fruits in their seasons.
Jesus saith unto them, Did
ye never read in the
scriptures, The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the
corner: this is the
Lord's doing, and it
is marvelous in our eyes?
Therefore say I unto you, The
kingdom of God shall be
taken from you, and given to
a nation bringing forth the
fruits thereof.”
We
are the workers of God’s vineyard, helping to bring in a
harvest of souls for Christ.
Harpazo
Old Testament Style
Remember
that the men in Judges 21 were directed to catch a wife
from the group of dancing maidens at the time of an
annual festival? Significantly, the word “catch”
is the word “harpazo” in the Septuagint (the Greek
version of the Old Testament) translation of this
verse. Harpazo is the word we currently use to
describe the Rapture as found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17
(“Then we which are alive and remain shall
be
caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall
we ever be with the Lord.”).
So,
we may actually have an Old Testament pattern/picture of
the Harpazo, and a pattern where a bridegroom snatches
up his bride, or a picture where multiple brides are
caught up at the same celebration (like in the Great
Bride Snatch/ the Harpazo of the Church).
Son
of the right hand
The
grooms in Judges 21 were also from the tribe of
Benjamin. The name Benjamin means “son of the
right hand.” If you think about it, the name can
also apply to Jesus since He is literally seated at the
right hand of God. Matthew 22:44:
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, till I
make thine enemies thy footstool?”
Matthew 26:64: “Jesus saith unto
him, Thou hast
said: nevertheless I say unto
you, Hereafter shall ye see the
Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the
clouds of heaven.” Acts 7:55: “But he,
being full of the
Holy Ghost, looked up
stedfastly into heaven, and
saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of
God …”
Hebrews 1:3: “Who being the
brightness of his glory, and the
express image of
his person, and upholding all
things by the word of
his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of
the Majesty on high.”
So,
it may be possible that the grooms of Judges 21 (from
the tribe of Benjamin, the sons of the right hand) point
to Jesus Christ (the Son of the right hand of
God).
Are
you washed in the Blood of the Lamb?
So,
how do we get clean, white wedding garments? White
represents righteousness. Revelation 19:7-8: “Let us be
glad and rejoice, and give honour to
him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is
come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. And to
her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the
righteousness of saints.” Unfortunately,
there is nothing we can do on our own to make ourselves
righteous. Isaiah 64:6:
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and
we all do fade as a leaf; and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away.” Our sins make us filthy. Only God
can wash our sins away. Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.”
For us righteousness is now a matter of faith in
Christ. Romans 1:17:
“For therein is the
righteousness of
God revealed from faith to faith: as it
is written, The just shall
live by faith.”
Romans 10:10
“For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with
the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.”
Galatians 5:5: “For we through
the Spirit wait for the hope of
righteousness by faith.” Christ shed
His blood for the forgiveness of sin. It is
through our faith in His sacrifice for our sins that
we receive that forgiveness.
Romans 10:9: “That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.”
1
Corinthians 15:1-4:
“Moreover, brethren, I
declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are
saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have
believed in vain. For I
delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to
the scriptures; And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the
scriptures….”
We
can be clothed in righteousness (our wedding garments)
right now – we have only to repent of our sins and
believe in Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.
We
can be dressed for the Wedding right now. Isaiah 61:10:
“I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD, my
soul shall be joyful in my
God; for he hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation, he hath
covered me with the robe of righteousness, as
a bridegroom decketh himself with
ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with
her jewels.”
We
can wear white garments – garments washed in the blood
of the Lamb of God. Revelation 7:14:
“And I said unto
him, Sir, thou knowest. And he
said to me, These are they which
came out
of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb.”
I
don’t know if Tu B’Av is the unidentified festival for
the Rapture. But it is wonderful to imagine that
split-second moment when Jesus will snatch us off the
earth to be with Him forever. Until then, we
eagerly look for all the clues He may have left us.
Summer
Judgment
It
appears that Israel will miss the Summer harvest and
that a time of judgment will follow.
Jeremiah
8:20: “The harvest is
past, the summer is ended, and we are
not saved.”
Amos
8:1-2:
“Thus hath the
Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a
basket of summer fruit. And he
said, Amos, what seest thou? And I
said, A basket of summer fruit. Then
said the LORD unto me, The end is
come upon my people of Israel; I will
not again pass by them any more.”
Micah
7:1-2:
“Woe is me! for I am as when
they have gathered the summer fruits, as
the grapegleanings of the vintage: there
is no cluster to eat: my
soul desired the
firstripe fruit. The good man is
perished out of the earth: and there
is none upright among men: they
all lie in wait for blood; they
hunt every man his brother with a net.”
In
this verse it is interesting to note that the good man
is no longer on the earth at the time of the summer
fruit harvest. Is this prophetic of the
Rapture? Will we also be gone from the earth at
the time of the summer fruit harvest “as the
grapegleanings of the vintage”?
For
those of us who believe that the Tribulation will follow
the Rapture, we can well imagine the regret that will be
experienced by those who are left behind. They
will wonder why some were taken.
Final
Thoughts
I
think that most of us are more than ready to go
home. I know that I am. I am looking forward
to fellowshipping with you all. Maybe there will
be a Five Doves table at the Wedding Feast. I
think that we are going to be surprised by the number of
clues that God has given us concerning His coming and
the Rapture. It will be nice when it is no longer
a mystery. Take care and keep looking up.
Maranatha.
–
Lisa Taylor