April 23-24, 2016
Scripture references: Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
The Feast of First Fruits is held on the Sunday following the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of the First Fruits are referred to as one feast.
The original Feast of First Fruits was celebrated in Spring to acknowledge the early crops. It was a thanksgiving offering to God. The Israelites brought the first sheaf of the harvest – the first fruits – to His Temple as a wave offering.
Photo credit (janediffenderfer.wordpress.com)
Since the Temple is not available today, the Feast of First Fruits is no longer celebrated the same way. Feast of First Fruits is now celebrated by counting of the Sheaves (Omer) to Shavuot (Pentecost), fifty days later.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23, NKJV
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 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.”
