The Appointed Time of Harvest – When is it?

This has come after much study, thought, contemplation and prayer, we eventually reach a conclusion on a subject. For the appointed time of Harvest, it has been the same for me.

Whilst I had come to a decision upon when the months start, when the Sabbaths fall and when all of the other appointed times fall, the appointed time of harvest is one subject that I have left alone.

Let me be clear. It was not because I did not want to know the answer. Far from it. But rather I was seeking the truth from the Father and as I have learnt thus far, truth is revealed one piece at a time, and sometimes not when we want the information, but when He is ready to provide it.

For those who are not aware (as I was for a long time) the appointed time of Harvest is what we see referred to as Pentecost in many scriptures. One thing I have learnt is that these names have significant meanings behind them. When I view the word Pentecost, I see the the words “count to fifty”.

When I was studying this however, I came across another word used to speak of the same appointed time. Much like we see with the appointed time of booths (which we see listed as the appointed time of Tabernacles and also the appointed time of ingathering), the time we see listed as Pentecost is also listed as the appointed time of weeks (or seven) and the appointed time of harvest. It’s important to be able to see this so when you are reading the scriptures, you can understand what event is being spoken of.

Here are the Scriptures where we see Pentecost being listed as the appointed time of harvest.

Exodus 23:14-16
14 “Three times you shall keep an appointed time to Me in the year:
15 You shall keep the Appointed time of Unleavened Bread. You shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty;
16 The Appointed time of Harvest (Pentecost), the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Appointed time of Ingathering (booths) at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

Deuteronomy 16:16-17
16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before Yahuwah Elohim in the place which He chooses: at the appointed time of Unleavened Bread, at the Appointed time of Harvest (Weeks or Pentecost), and at the Appointed time of Tabernacles (Booths or Ingathering); and they shall not appear before Yahuwah empty-handed.
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Yahuwah Elohim which He has given you.

It’s amazing once you see it and understand that this is what is being spoken of.

What is the appointed time of Harvest and what does it represent?

The appointed time of harvest represents the harvest at the end of the age. We see this listed in many scriptures such as Matthew 13 where is is made abundantly clear what the harvest is:

In Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, we read:

Matthew 13:24-29
24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;
25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
…..
36 Then Yahushua sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Very clear isn’t it? The harvest being spoken of is the end of the age. It is the harvest of the righteous. At this harvest, the righteous are placed inside the barn, and the wicked are picked out and burnt. We shall see this spoken of again in Daniel 12:12 which provides us with an exact number of days, and in Daniel 12:13 it shall tell us that this time is the end.

So how can we know when the appointed time of harvest is?

Here is the most common piece of scripture which explains it to us, as found in Leviticus 23:15-16

Leviticus 23:15-16 (NKJV)
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahuwah.

Sounds simple enough doesn’t it?  People interpret this to mean that we should count from the 16th day of the first month, seven Sabbaths complete. The appointed time of harvest, if counted this way would arrive upon the 9th day of the third month which we see referred to as Sivan in the scriptures.

e.g.

Of course, we must recognise that scripture needs to agree with itself. So the question is, are there any other witnesses which testify to this timing?

The first and the seventh months

I wanted to pause for a moment and take a look at the first and seventh months. we find listed in Leviticus 23.  The reason for this will become apparent as we go through this.

In scripture, we are told to build one item upon another.

Isaiah 28:10-12
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.

Interestingly that very same scripture also tells us that the people will not listen. So I pray that all who are reading this will place aside their preconceived ideas and see what the scriptures say.

When I was looking at what we see in the first month, I started to notice a reflection of what we see occurring in the seventh month. For those people who use the moon to know the appointed times of Yahuwah, this is also apparent as the suns light is reflected from the moon in the same manner which the Son reflected the Father and also, in the same manner, He tells in Ecclesiastes 1 the following:

Ecclesiastes 1:9
9 That which has been is what will be.
That which is done is what shall be done.
There is nothing new under the sun.

So from this we should see a reflection in His appointed times – and we do. Have you ever paused to notice?

In the first month we see the day when they were to collect the lamb was the 10th day.

Exodus 12:1-3
Yahuwah spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2 “This new moon shall be your beginning of new moons; it shall be the first new moon of the year to you.
3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

We also see the appointed time of unleavened bread on the 15th day to the 21st day.

Leviticus 23:6-8
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the appointed time of Unleavened Bread to Yahuwah; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.
8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

In the seventh month we see the tenth day as well. It was the day of atonement. The holiest day of the year. It was the day when the price was paid for in full in the temple of Yahuwah.

Leviticus 23:26-32
26 Yahuwah spoke to Moses, saying:
27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah.
28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahuwah Elohim.
29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.
30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

Then upon the 15th day to the 21st day was the appointed time of booths. It is important to note that here the seventh day Sabbath is highlighted as the with day after the appointed time of booths. That is, the feast ends upon the 22nd day of the month after the Sabbath.

Leviticus 23:33-36
33 Yahuwah spoke to Moses, saying,
34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Appointed time of Booths for seven days to Yahuwah.
35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it.
36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

A question I have been thinking about here is in the last sentence of Leviticus 23:8 where it speaks about the appointed time of unleavened bread. ie. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; You shall do no customary work on it.

Why you might ask?

When we read about the appointed time of booths, we see it was a seven day appointed time. i.e. ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Appointed time of Booths for seven days to Yahuwah”.

But the appointed time officially did not end until after the seventh day Sabbath. That is, the 22nd, which was the eighth day after the Sabbath on the 15th. “For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah.”

If things are a reflection then what I have understood written in Leviticus 23:8 is not correct, for this day is speaking of the seventh day Sabbath, not the seventh day of the appointed time.

That is the appointed time of unleavened bread starts upon the 15th day – a Sabbath – and ends upon the 21st day, and the next day is the seventh day Sabbath – which is exactly what the scripture says:

Leviticus 23:8
8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahuwah for seven days. The seventh day  (speaking of the week) shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

So what is the point of this?

The point is to raise the question if we have been counting from the wrong Sabbath. Instead of the Sabbath of the 22nd being the first, the Sabbath of the 29th should be the first.

You see the Sabbath on the 29th is one which is in darkness and He tells us the following:

Psalm 107:13-14
13 Then they cried out to Yahuwah in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.

And again He tells us in 1 Peter 2

1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of Elohim, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

So what does this mean? How does this affect the appointed time of harvest? 

Scripture speaks many times of the harvest. The harvest is the last thing which is done at the end of this age.

Firstly we are told that it is the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon, when the Father shall have gathered in the fruit of the land. That is the fruit has been gathered into one spot.  This is seen in Leviticus 23:39

Leviticus 23:39
39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the appointed time to Yahuwah for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.

In Amos 8 we see the fruit ready for the harvest. That is, it is ripe – ready to be placed into the barn. The tares are ready to be burnt.

Amos 8:1-5
1 Thus Yahuwah showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit.
2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”
So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then Yahuwah said to me:

“The end has come upon My people Israel;
I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says Yahuwah Elohim—
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
They shall be thrown out in silence.”

4 Hear this, you who swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,

5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
That we may trade wheat?
Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by deceit”

These scriptures are marking two appointed times (Leviticus 23:39 and Amos 8:1-5).
The appointed time of booths (also called Ingathering or tabernacles), when the people are gathered into one place (Leviticus 23:39),  and the appointed time of harvest when the reaping occurs (Amos 8:1-5).

Here are some more scriptures which speak about the harvest.

Jeremiah 5:24
24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Yahuwah Elohim that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

Jeremiah 51:33
33 For thus says Yahuwah of hosts, the Elohim of Israel:
“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor
When it is time to thresh her;
Yet a little while
And the time of her harvest will come.”

Joel 3:13
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow— For their wickedness is great.”

Hosea 6:11
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people.

Matthew 24:40-41
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

Mark 4:26-29
26 And He said, “The kingdom of Yahuwah is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,
27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.
28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.
29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Revelation 14:14-16
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.”
19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of Elohim.
20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Where should we count from?

There is only a single method which works. There is only a single method which agrees with all scripture.

If you count from the 23rd day of the month, that is, the day after the Sabbath of the appointed time of unleavened bread,  the appointed time of harvest (pentecost or weeks) will land upon the 16th day of the third month. That is 7 days from the first month, 28 days from the second month and 15 days from the third month.

The appointed time of harvest would then fall:
1. When we see the most light, not in partial darkness.
2. Upon the same day the appointed time of first fruits is in the first month.
3. Midway between the first day of first month and the first day of the seventh month.

In the same way as the Son rose upon the 16th day of the month, so shall His people.
e.g.

Now I am sure there are many who are throwing their arms up in disagreement. But remember, Yah told us that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established.

2 Corinthians 13:1
1 This is the third time that I am visiting you. Every fact shall be sustained and confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Matthew 18:16
16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Even Yahushua himself said this:

John 8:17-18
17 Even in your own law it is written that the testimony of two persons is true [valid and admissible]. 18 I am One [of the Two] who testifies about Myself, and My Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”

So if this were the case we would expect to find two or more witnesses to testify that this is the truth.

Ask yourself. How many witnesses are you currently using to know the appointed time of harvest? Most would answer one alone. Leviticus 23. If this has been translated incorrectly, however, how would you know? There are no other witnesses…

Scripture, however, does indeed provide us with more than just one witness. We are going to look at the witnesses we find in Daniel, and also in Jubilees and then take another look at Leviticus 23.

Witness 1:

In Daniel 12:11-12 we read the following:

Daniel 12:11-12
11 And from the time the continual shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up. A thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

What day in the year is spoken about here? What day is the 1335th day?

In a scriptural year we have 360 days. The appointed time of trumpets starts upon the 1st day of the seventh new moon.  Six months later we arrive at the 1st day of the year. There are 6 months from the appointed time of trumpets and the start of the year. That is 180 days.

i.e.
Month 7 – 30 days (Starting at the time of Trumpets)
Month 8 – 30 days
Month 9 – 30 days
Month 10 – 30 days
Month 11 – 30 days
Month 12 – 30 days
Total        = 180 days

Month 1 -> Month 12 = 360 days
Month 1 -> Month 12 = 360 days
Month 1 -> Month 12 = 360 days

In three and a half years, therefore, there are:
3 x 360 + 180 = 1260 days.

But the scripture in Daniel 12:12 tells us to count to the 1335th day. Have you ever counted two and a half months more to see where you end up?

Month 1 – 30 days
Month 2 – 30 days
Month 3 – 15 days.

Here you shall arrive at the Sabbath before the day of Harvest. The next day is the day we see scripture call the appointed time of Harvest (we are about to see this in Jubilees).

That is what is being spoken of here in Daniel 12. It is providing a timeline of the events to the very end.

Daniel 12:4
4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

….

⁷ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

At the time of 1260 days the prophecy shall be complete, then the end – the harvest – shall come.

Daniel 12:12
12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

Here is an image of this laid out from the appointed time of trumpets to the 1335th day. (Click upon the image to view it larger)

Witness 2:

The book of Jubilees actually references these things as well in the same manner which we have just seen.

Jubilees 14:1, 9-11, 19-20
1 After these things, in the fourth year of this week, on the new moon of the third month, the word of Yahuah came to Abram in a dream, saying: ‘Fear not, Abram; I am thy defender, and thy reward will be exceeding great.’

9 And He said unto him: ‘Take Me an heifer of three years, and a goat of three years, and a sheep of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a pigeon.’ …
10 And he took all these in the middle of the month and he dwelt at the oak of Mamre, which is near Hebron.
11 And he built there an altar, and sacrificed all these; and he poured their blood upon the altar, and divided them in the midst, and laid them over against each other; but the birds divided he not.

…

19 And the day passed, and Abram offered the pieces, and the birds, and their fruit offerings, and their drink offerings, and the fire devoured them.
20 And on that day we made a covenant with Abram, according as  we had covenanted with Noah in this month; and Abram renewed the festival and ordinance for himself
for ever.

Witness 3:

What festival or appointed time is this being spoken of?

Jubilees 15:1
1 And in the fifth year of the fourth week of this jubilee, in the third month, in the middle of the month, Abram celebrated the appointed time of the first-fruits of the wheat harvest.

Witness 4:

It was the appointed time of harvest. We see this again in the next chapter also:

Jubilees 16:13
13 And she (Sarah) bare a son in the third month, and in the middle of the month, at the time of which Yahuwah had spoken to Abraham, on the festival of the first fruits of the harvest, Isaac was born.

Jubilees 1:1

1 And it came to pass in the first year of the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt, in the third month, on the sixteenth day of the month, that Yahuwah spake to Moses, saying: ‘Come up to Me on the Mount, and I will give thee two tables of stone of the law and of the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayst teach them.’

 

I would submit, that unknowingly we have misunderstood what Leviticus 23:15 is saying. I spent some time looking at each of the words found in Leviticus 23 and looking at their meaning. This is how I see Leviticus 23:15 when I interpreted it.

Witness 5:

Leviticus 23:15
15 Count, so it happens, from the day after the Sabbaths of the wave sheath (unleavened bread), seven Sabbaths complete.
16 Count fifty days, to the day which is after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall offer a new grain offering to Yahuwah.

When it is read this way, I can now see that the Sabbath we were to count from was the one after the Sabbaths where the appointed time of unleavened bread falls (the wave sheath). That is, the Sabbath on the 29th day is the first in the count as the Sabbath of the 22nd is joined as a part of the appointed time of unleavened bread.

Am I saying that this is correct and without error? No. I am not. Everything man says has some error in it. We need to remain humble and pray upon the subject so we can understand the things He provides us with.

I would ask that each, who have read this through, consider the full building and not just look at a single brick. If we sow a bad seed, should we expect good?

Yahuwah bless.

Written this day – the 16th day of the third month.