The End of the Church Age...and After

    We have learned that in God’s program of the Gospel, there are three seasons that God has planned. We should now look with some detail at the first season. It is the season identified with the early righteous rain. It is the season of the rain that produced a most significant harvest. That harvest was the Lord Jesus Himself as the Lamb that was to be offered.

    The beginning of this season of rain in one sense can go all the way back to the beginning of time. From the moment Adam and Eve fell into sin, the Gospel was available to save. Remember that in the Gospel context, God’s use of the word “rain” was to describe the Gospel like rain from heaven to provide spiritual life in the lives of those whom Christ came to save.

    In the situation of the early righteous rain, we learned that the focus of the spiritual harvest was not on those who would have become saved. Instead, it was on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the first early harvest. He was the first of the firstfruits. He was identified with the Passover that was kept by Israel at the time they first came into the land of Canaan, immediately after they crossed the Jordan River. Remember we read in Leviticus 23:10-11:

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

    The harvest that was gathered at that time was called the first of the firstfruits. The first of the firstfruits was the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember we learned that in the New Testament, Christ is called the firstfruits in I Corinthians 15:23 and in Romans 8:23. This harvest also identified with the land of Canaan, which is a representation of the kingdom of God. Because Jesus came as the Passover Lamb, the kingdom of God, typified by Canaan,

    became a reality. Before Jesus was announced, John the Baptist was preaching that the kingdom of God was at hand (Matthew 3:2). It was at hand because Jesus, the very essence of the kingdom of God, was about to be announced at the Messiah.

The Old Testament - The Season of Early Righteous Rain

    The season of the early righteous rain, which ended when Jesus was announced, identifies very closely with the Old Testament. As was already indicated, in one sense this early righteous rain of the Gospel goes to the very beginning of time. All that is reported in the first eleven chapters of Genesis are important events that were already preparing this world for the great and wonderful harvest of the first of the firstfruits, the Lord Jesus.

    The creation of the world, the fall of mankind into sin, the multiplication of sin in the world, the saving of Noah and his family from the waters that destroyed the entire world of Noah’s day, the confusion of tongues, and the division of the continent in Peleg’s day all had their place as God was preparing for the Messiah to come. Even the information giving the life spans of so many individuals was part of the necessary preparations from the bringing forth of Jesus as the harvest. This would help us to understand that Jesus came into the fullness of time.

    However, in another sense, the beginning of the early righteous rain began with the circumcision of Abraham in the year 2068 B.C. This marked the official beginning of the nation of Israel form whom Christ came. The occupying of the land of Canaan, the birth of Isaac in Sarah’s old age, and the sacrifice of Isaac were all historical events that particularly focused on God’s plan of salvation.

    These historical events that served as marvelous pictures of God’s salvation program multiplied throughout the history of the nation of Israel. Coming out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, crossing the Red Sea, obtaining the manna from heaven and water from the rocks were great and wonderful events that served as indicators pointing to the harvest that was to come. Remember the harvest was the Lord Jesus as the sacrificial lamb.

    Moreover, God gave a host of laws that helped to focus the eyes of Israel on the character and work of the coming Messiah. Laws concerning feast days, sabbaths, burnt offerings, blood sacrifices, and all the other ceremonial laws pointed to the coming of the Lord Jesus as the Savior.

    Indeed, throughout the season from Abraham to the announcement of Christ by John the Baptist, God not only illustrated the nature of the coming harvest, which was the Lord Jesus, but He also provided by means of Israel

a spoken Word concerning this harvest. It was in the setting of Israel’s history and by the use of Israelites that the whole Old Testament was given to us. It was from Israel that holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In fact, all the things that are recorded in the Old Testament were necessary ingredients to provide the super wonderful harvest of our Messiah who is the first of the firstfruits.

Some Were Saved throughout Old Testament History

    True, there were people who did become saved throughout the first 11,000 years of history and especially during the 2100 year season of the history of Israel beginning with Abraham. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Enoch the seventh from Adam was saved. Even before him, Abel the second son of Adam was saved.

    The Bible gives names of some who were saved during Israel’s history. Men like Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, David, Ebedmelech, and the family of the Rechabites are some of those named by God. Some of the women who were saved included Ruth the Moabitess, Rahab, Sarah, Huldah, and the queen of Sheba.

    However, there is no evidence of many becoming saved. Fact is, we have the information given to us in Hebrew 3 that Israel perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. The largest number we can find in the Old Testament was the report by God to Elijah that at the time, there were 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal. If we estimate that Israel may have numbered as many as two million people at that time, 7,000 would be only about one-third of one percent of the nation. Surely there may have been other times when even a larger percentage of the nation of Israel was saved, but God does not give us clear language concerning this matter.

The Coming Messiah, the First of the Firstfruits Harvest

    Instead, the constant focus of the Old Testament must be understood to be on the coming Messiah. Until He came as the first of the firstfruits, as the very first harvest, there would not be salvation for the world. We must remember that the primary focus of the Gospel is not on the nation of Israel. The primary focus of the Gospel is on the Lord Jesus Christ who would provide salvation for all the elect who are spread throughout the world.

    It is also true that substantial portions of the Old Testament focus on the early and latter rain of the New Testament. This can be understood if we remember that Jesus is both Savior and Judge of all the earth. He is the

Judge of all the earth who emptied Himself of His glory to become the suffering servant who would be the first of the firstfruits, the very earliest harvest. But He never ceased being eternal God who is Judge and King of all the earth.

    Therefore, the Old Testament provides a great amount of information concerning the nature and impact of God’s salvation plan. But it also provides a great amount of information concerning God’s judgments to come. Since the final judgment begins with God’s judgment on the churches and congregations, we can expect and do find much information in the Old Testament concerning the Great Tribulation of our day. As we proceed in this study, we will see this.

    This early righteous rain season that produced Christ as the first of the firstfruits harvest was followed by a time of great spiritual famine. That time was the three and a half years during which Jesus ministered in the land of Israel. We will look very carefully at that three and a half year period in the next chapter.