FEAST SEASON 1 – FEAST 3: FIRST FRUITS 2026 – including Tabernacle imagery & Gifts

April 2026

THE FIRST SEASON FEASTS OF YHVH

FEAST 3: FIRST FRUITS

The Feast of FIRST FRUITS called HaBikkurim in Hebrew, takes place on the first SUNDAY after the crucifixion.  YHVH the Father called the first month of the year Abib (Aviv), but it was later changed in some Bible translations to Nisan. The corresponding date this year on the Gregorian calendar, is sundown on 4 April to sundown on 5 April 2026 (you will remember a day on the Biblical calendar starts at sundown and not at midnight as we are used to).

We find the instruction of Abba Father for the FEAST of FIRST FRUITS in:

Leviticus 23:10-11 “Tell the people of Israel, after you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He is to wave the sheaf before YHVH, so that you will be accepted; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat (therefore, the Sunday).”

THE PURPOSE OF THE FEAST OF FIRST FRUITS

The Feast of FIRST FRUITS serves to remind us:

The resurrection of Yeshua our Messiah as the First Fruit serves as a promise for the resurrection of believers in Him (Acts 26:23, Romans 8:23-29 & 11:16, 1st Corinthians 15:12-58, Colossians 1:15-18, James 1:18 and Revelation 8:23 & 14:4).

And while still living on the earth, we are SPIRITUALLY resurrected with Him – therefore Phase 1 of UNLEAVENED BREAD is now completed! We have now been BAPTISED IN THE WATER OF REPENTANCE and we RISE AS A NEW CREATION/ A NEW PERSON IN YESHUA OUR MESSIAH. And as a NEW PERSON we will now embark on a life long JOURNEY of SANCTIFICATION with our HEARTS and MINDS being RENEWED day-by-day and step-by-step.

Counting the omer (a sheaf/ bundle of cut grain) starts on the DAY of FIRST FRUITS for 50 days to the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost. We read the instructions in Leviticus 23:15-16 “From the day after the day of rest – that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving – you are to count seven full weeks, until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering to YHVH.”

BIBLICAL HISTORY AND MEANING

God first gave instructions on the celebration of the Feast of First Fruits in Leviticus 23:9-14. It was to be celebrated on the day AFTER the Sabbath. This means that the Feast of First Fruits was on the first day of the week, a Sunday. The Hebrews were to bring the first sheaves (that is one bundle of cut grain, called an omer) of the barley harvest and wave them before YHVH. An omer (that is about 2.3 liters) of barley had to be brought to the temple as an offering to YHVH, before any barley produce of the new crop could be eaten, or even touched. The period of time between the Feast of First Fruits and the Feast of Pentecost is a time of “Counting of the Omer”. The counting always started at day one (that is the Sunday following the Sabbath/ Saturday/ the seventh day) and continued until day fifty.

By its very nature, physical work in the fields can cause us to forget our SPIRITUAL NATURE. Therefore, God gave the farmer these instructions so that he would remain conscious of his true purpose in life, which was to LOVE, SERVE and OBEY God while depending on Him for everything. By offering the first fruits of his harvest to YHVH, the farmer was acknowledging his TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD.

The barley sheafs were harvested and then taken with great joy in celebration of the goodness of God to the Temple where it was thrashed out with canes or stalks, then parched on a pan perforated with holes so that each grain might be touched by the fire. The omer was mixed with three-fourths of a pint (approximately 350 ml) of olive oil and a handful of frankincense was put on it, then waved before the Lord. Thereafter a handful was taken out and burned on the altar.

The purpose of this special service was to CONSECRATE the harvest to God. The first fruits REPERESENTED the whole harvest. This reminded the Hebrews that God had GIVEN them the land and that ALL of the harvest RIGHTFULLY BELONGED TO HIM. The people were just stewards of the land. Offering the first fruits actually consecrated the ENTIRE harvest to God. IF God accepted the first fruits of the harvest, it meant the ENTIRE harvest would be accepted by God.

FULFILLED BY YESHUA THE MESSIAH

Yeshua fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits when He was RESURECTED as the FIRST FRUIT from the dead. His resurrection marked the beginning of the HARVEST OF SOULS who have been SET APART FOR GOD THROUGH YESHUA the MESSIAH.

Paul spoke of Yeshua as the fulfilment of the feast of FIRSTFRUITS in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But The Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in the Messiah all will be made alive. But each in turn: The Messiah, the first fruit; then, when He comes, those who belongs to Him.”

Yeshua was that HUMAN SHEAF that God set apart for the purpose of conquering death and providing eternal life for all who would acknowledge Him as Messiah, Master and Savior. As such He was the FIRST to rise from the dead never to die again.

In fulfilling the FEAST OF PASSOVER, Yeshua was crucified on Wednesday 14 Abib (Nisan). To fulfil the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, He was buried at the close of Wednesday and the beginning of Thursday, 15 Abib (Nisan) on the Hebrew Calendar. And He was resurrected at the beginning of the first day of the week (Sunday), the FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS. See Matthew 28:1-6.

We read in John 20:17 “Yeshua said: Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father…” Yeshua was resurrected at the same time the first fruit offering was cut and waved before God. As the barley sheaf could not be touched until it was offered to God, Yeshua, the HUMAN SHEAF, could not be touched until He offered Himself in the heavenly Temple as the FIRST FRUIT from the dead. Yeshua was going to ascend to the Father for the purpose of presenting Himself as the FIRST FRUIT from the dead. He is our great HIGH PRIEST who offered Himself in fulfilment of the FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS on the exact day the barley sheaves were being waved before YHVH.

The barley sheaf wave offering consisted of a number of individual barley stalks that had been bundled together. Likewise, when Yeshua offered Himself as the FIRST FRUITS from the dead, many individual believers were raised with Him. We read in Matt 27:52-53 “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Yeshua’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”

When the time came to harvest the crop, the farmer would go into his field and inspect the first fruits of the crop. If he accepted the first fruits, then the rest of the harvest would also be acceptable to him. Since our heavenly Father has accepted Yeshua as the first fruits from the dead, believers are also acceptable to God through Yeshua. He will also raise us from the dead and give us a new resurrected body fitted for eternity. Paul says in Romans 8:11 “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Yeshua from the dead is living in you, He who raised the Messiah from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.”

Yeshua, as the FIRST FRUITS, is our representative. By presenting Himself, He consecrated the rest of us to the Father. As Paul says in Ephesians 1:6 “…to the praise of His glorious grace which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” Believers are the human stalks that have been bundled together with the Messiah; therefore, “If the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” (Romans 11:16)

Paul further says in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 “…We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in a twinkling of the eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead in the Messiah will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory.” (Also see Isaiah 25:8).

Paul also says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 “Brothers and sisters we don’t want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Yeshua those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in the Messiah will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

And in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 Paul says: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

When Lazarus died his sister came to Yeshua for comfort. John says in John 11:20-26 “When Martha heard that Yeshua was coming, she went out to meet Him…and said to Yeshua: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…Yeshua said to her: Your brother will rise again. Martha answered: I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Yeshua said to her: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die…” Job also expressed his hope for all believers of all ages when he said: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God…” (Job 19:25-26).

May we know Yeshua our Messiah at PASSOVER, the fellowship of His suffering at UNLEAVENED BREAD and the power of His resurrection at FIRST FRUITS.

PERSONAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR US/ APPLICATION

The FEASTS of UNLEAVENED BREAD and FIRSTFRUITS represent two important phases necessary to change our spiritual condition. The Feast of Unleavened bread teaches about our BURIAL with Yeshua. This indicates we should live a life separated from the attitudes and ways of the world. This involves putting off the old man of sin, characterized by the works of the flesh. The Feast of First fruits teaches us about our RESURRECTION with Yeshua in our spirit as well as future bodily resurrection. We are saved from our old life to live in the resurrected life of our Messiah Yeshua today.

Putting off the old man is not enough. We must also put on the new man. Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” This new nature is the very nature of God coming within us through the person of the Holy Spirit. We therefore put on this new man by allowing the Holy Spirit to live the RESURECTED LIFE OF YESHUA through us. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in the Messiah, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” And in Galatians 2:20 he says: “I have been crucified with the Messiah and I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

In Romans 6:11-14 he further emphasizes it: “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in the Messiah Yeshua. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” And in Galatians 5:16 we read: “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

When we walk in the Spirit, the character of our Messiah Yeshua will be the dominant force in our lives and Paul refers to this character as the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT in Galatians 5:22-23 “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” When we life in the character of our Messiah Yeshua we have PEACE WITH GOD THE FATHER and we also enjoy the PEACE OF GOD (Colossians 3:15). Many believers do not experience this divine blessing because they never separated themselves from the things of the world and consecrated themselves to Yeshua as Master of their lives.

We read in James 1:18 “He choose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all He created.” James here explains that true believers, that is FOLLOWERS OF YESHUA THE MESSIAH IN THE HOLY SPIRIT experience new life through the redeeming work of Yeshua our Messiah. We therefore present ourselves as a LIVING wave offering to God to show that we BELONG TO HIM.

THE PROPHETIC ASPECT

The spiritual significance of both the Feasts of Unleavened bread and First fruits were restored to the church during the 1700s through the ministry of two brothers, John and Charles Wesley. John was a powerful preacher who travelled over 250,000 miles (402,336 km) on horseback preaching the Gospel and Charles penned over 6000 Messianic songs and poems. In this way people not only heard the Word of God, but they also learned to memorize and sing it.

Their ministry was however not received by the church and the Wesley’s took their message to the working-class people who were ignored by the Church of England. God used the Wesley brothers to radically change the society and social ills of their day. By emphasizing PERSONAL HOLINESS and a change in one’s condition as well as one’s position, the Wesley’s initiated a lasting SPIRITUAL RENEWAL that restored the Messianic SALT and LIGHT (read Matthew 5:13-16), to a decaying and darkened world.

THE TABERNACLE PICTURE

The pictures/ imagery of the TABERNACLE and its furniture in the TORAH (Genesis tot Deuteronomy) improve our understanding and help us in taking practical steps in our journey to YHVH the Father through Yeshua our Messiah who is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE (according to John 14:6);

The TABERNACLE is YHVH THE FATHER’S PLAN and BLUEPRINT for SALVATION, PORTRAYING YESHUA THE MESSIAH from the beginning to the end.

The TABERNACLE on earth was just a copy and shadow of the heavenly original (Hebrews 8:3-8).

• The TABERNACLE is a picture of Yeshua our Messiah who is indeed IMMANUEL, “God with us” and He Himself is God the everlasting Father according to Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6, living with us. Also read John 1:14 & 2:21, Hebrews 10:19-22, Revelation 21:3.
• Entering the gate of the TABERNACLE was only the beginning of the journey of forgiveness and only the high priest had the privilege to enter into the presence of YHVH with fear and trembling on behalf of the people of Israel. But today we know, Yeshua our Messiah is the way (the gate) leading to ABBA FATHER. “Yeshua said, ‘I AM the WAY – and the TRUTH and the LIFE; no one comes to the FATHER except through Me.’” (John 14:6)

He says in John 10:9 “I am the gate; if someone enters through Me, he will be safe and will go in and out and find pasture.”

And in John 5:37 & 39 He says: “…the Father who sent Me has Himself testified on My behalf…You keep examining the Tanakh (the Old Testament) because you think that in it you have eternal life. Those very Scriptures bear witness to Me, but you won’t come to Me in order to have life!”

• Yeshua the Messiah is the GATE standing between the things of YHVH the Father in the OUTER COURT and the WORLD – His desire is to LET us IN not to hold us out. He is the gate, the way to ABBA Father.
• And just as in the picture of the TABERNACLE, entering the gate is just the beginning of our journey in relationship with ABBA Father.

AFTER ENTERING THE GATE (through YESHUA OUR MESSIAH) WE HAVE TO FOLLOW SEVEN STEPS AS PART OF EVERY BELIEVER’S SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION PROCESS

STEP 1: Made PEACE with YHVH the Father through the sacrifice of our Messiah Yeshua.

PICTURES:

• Feast 1: Passover/ Pesach
• Tabernacle Furniture: The Bronze Altar in the Outer Court, a picture of the Cross
• Redemptive Gift: The Prophet

STEP 2: To die to the old nature and being buried with Yeshua our Messiah in the water of baptism – with other words being baptized with water for repentance/ dying with the sinless Lamb of YHVH the Father, Yeshua our Messiah, to our slavery to sin/ the old self/ the flesh.

PICTURES:

• Feast 2: Unleavened Bread/ Matzah
• Tabernacle Furniture: The Bronze Washbasin, a picture of Baptism and daily repentance for accidental sins
• Redemptive Gift: The Servant

Then we are ready for:

STEP 3: We are raised with Yeshua our Messiah to a new life in Him and learning to live a sanctified, set-apart life by studying the ways of YHVH the Father in His Word and applying it. This means we SHAMA – the only word in Hebrew for OBEDIENCE that means: to HEAR, to LISTEN, to GIVE ATTENTION, to UNDERSTAND, to SUBMIT to and to OBEY.

PICTURES:

• Feast 3: First Fruits/ HaBikkurim
• Tabernacle Furniture: The Table of Showbread in the Holy Place, a picture of daily eating and drinking the Word and being taught by the Holy Spirit.
• Redemptive Gift: The Teacher

TABERNACLE FURNITURE: THE TABLE OF SHOWBREAD IN THE HOLY PLACE, A PICTURE OF DAILY EATING AND DRINKING THE WORD AND BEING TAUGHT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Phase 1 of UNLEAVENED BREAD is completed when we are SPIRITUALLY resurrected with Yeshua, we have been BAPTISED IN THE WATER OF REPENTANCE AND we RISE AS A NEW CREATION/ A NEW PERSON IN YESHUA our MESSIAH. Then we may enter INTO the HOLY PLACE and sit down at the TABLE OF SHOWBREAD.

Meaning: We are sitting down to be TAUGHT and NOURISHED by the LIVING WORD OF ABBA FATHER

Here we have the privilege to enter EVERY MORNING and EVERY EVENING to EAT, free of charge and to our hearts delight and content OF THE LIVING BREAD and DRINK of the LIVING WATER of THE WORD at the TABLE of ABBA FATHER prepared for us by our SHEPPERD (Yeshua our Messiah who IS the LIVING BREAD and WATER). Read Psalm 23 and John 6:35. And as we eat and drink we are nourished and strengthened and healed (physically, mentally and emotionally) day-by-day and step-by-step!

We also start discovering and developing our: Redemptive Gift received from Abba Father on conception and our Office Gift/ calling received from Yeshua our Messiah (Romans 11:29, 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10 and Ephesians 4:11) that will reveal our PURPOSE to us.

We will now have 49 DAYS to be MENTALLY and SPIRITUALLY be PREPARED and TESTED by YESHUA our MESSIAH on our progress on LEARNING and IMPLEMENTING the WAYS of ABBA FATHER to enable us to on DAY 50 receive the Holy Spirit.

REDEMPTIVE GIFT: The Teacher

The Teacher gift represents the Table of Showbread. Yeshua is the True Bread of Life, the Word Incarnate (read Exodus 25:23 and John 1:1-14).  The Table of Showbread is a picture of Communion. On the table there is 6 breads, then the wine in the middle, then 6 breads again. The number 12 represents the government (direction, control) of YHVH on earth in accordance to His Word (laws, commandments, decrees, rulings, decisions, judgements). The bread is before the incense, representing that the Word comes before worship. The bread symbolizes the Word, Yeshua, and the King. The purpose of the Teacher gift is to bring down the government of YHVH, and to teach the rest how to walk in it. The Teacher must search for the government of YHVH in the Word, and then bring it to the Body of Messiah. The Teacher reads the Word, receives revelation, and out of the revelation comes forth worship. The Teacher must have discipline to daily spend time in the Word for new revelation about the Glory of YHVH, the nature of YHVH and the character of Yeshua and His kingdom, and then react with worship. Worship is the expression of what the Word says and is, through revelation. Then the government of YHVH realizes from the spirit into reality.

The importance and power of THE WORD of YHVH are highlighted in:

• Ezekiel 36:27 “I will put My Spirit inside you and cause you to live by My laws, respect My rulings and obey them.”

• Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the SWORD given by the SPIRIT, that is, the WORD of GOD;”

• 2 Timothy 2:14-15 “Keep reminding people of this and charge them solemnly before the Lord not to engage in word-battles. They accomplish nothing useful and are a catastrophe for the hearers! Do all you can to present yourself to God as someone worthy of His approval, as a worker with no need to be ashamed, because he deals straightforwardly with the WORD of the TRUTH.”

• 2 Timothy 3:14-16 “…continue in what you have learned and have become convicted of, recalling the people from whom you learned it; and recalling too how from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which can give you WISDOM that leads to DELIVERANCE through TRUSTING (believing, having faith) in Yeshua the Messiah. All Scripture is GOD-BREATHED and is VALUABLE for TEACHING the TRUTH, CONVICTING of SIN, CORRECTING FAULTS and TRAINING in RIGHT LIVING; thus, anyone who belongs to God (the Father) may be fully equipped for every good work.”

• Titus 3:3-11 & 14 “For at one time, we too were foolish and disobedient, deceived and enslaved by a variety of passions and pleasures. We spent our lives in evil and envy; people hated us, and we hated each other. But when the KINDNESS and LOVE for mankind of GOD our DELIVERER was revealed, HE DELIVERED us. It was not on the ground of any righteous deeds we had done, but on the ground of His own MERCY. He did it by means of the mikveh (baptism) of REBIRTH and the RENEWAL brought about by the RUACH HA KODESH (the Holy Spirit), whom He POURED OUT on us generously through YESHUA the MESSIAH, our DELIVERER. He did it so that by HIS GRACE we might come to be considered RIGHTEOUS by GOD (the Father) and become HEIRS, with the CERTAN HOPE of ETERNAL LIFE. You can TRUST (believe, have faith) what I just said, and I want you to SPEAK with CONFIDENCE about these things, so that those who PUT THEIR TRUST IN GOD may apply themselves to DOING GOOD DEEDS. These are both good in themselves and valuable to the community. But AVOID stupid controversies (disagreements, argument), genealogies, quarrels and fights about the TORAH (Genesis to Deuteronomy, including the Ten Commandments); because they (these arguments) are worthless (valueless, useless) and futile (pointless, wasting valuable time and energy). Warn a divisive (disruptive, troublemaking) person once, then a second time; and after that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a person has been perverted (depraved) and is sinning, he stands self-condemned…have our people learn to apply themselves to doing good deeds that meet genuine needs, so that they will not be unproductive.”

SO, IN SUMMARY

THE FEAST OF FIRST FRUITS (HaBikkurim in Hebrew):

Takes place this year on our calendar at sundown on 4 April to sundown on 5 April 2026.

We remember Yeshua our Messiah’s RESURECTION with JOY, THANKFULNESS and GLADNESS!

We celebrate the VICTORY of our Messiah Yeshua and our DELIVERANCE and REDEMPTION from sin, sickness and the second death! All will die the first death of the body but those who accept the free gift of the Father and Yeshua the Lamb for our sins and FOLLOW Yeshua in obedience to YHVH the Father, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit in us, have the promise of being raised on the LAST DAY and not to be condemned at the GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT and die the second death (1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 20).

Scripture to read:

• Yeshua was resurrected early on the FIRST DAY of THE WEEK (Sunday) while it was still dark (John 20:1-2).
•  Paul confirms the Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the THIRD DAY (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
• Counting the omer – 50 days to the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost starts on THE DAY (Sunday)Yeshua the Messiah was resurrected (Leviticus 23:15-16)

Yeshua the Messiah appears to many as confirmation of His resurrection so that people will believe and have LIFE IN HIM:

• Yeshua appears to Mary Magdalene and other women (Matthew 28:8-10 & 16-20, Luke 24:1-10 and John 20:11-18).
• Yeshua appears to two men on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33 and Mark 16:12-13).
• Yeshua appears to His disciples (Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-49 and John 20:19-23).
• Yeshua appears to Thomas (John 20:24-29).
• Yeshua reinstates Peter (John 21:15-25).
• Yeshua appears to 500 men and performs many miracles in the 40 days BEFORE His ascension that people may BELIEVE that He is the Messiah, the Son of YHVH the Father and by believing we may have LIFE IN HIS NAME (John 19:30, 21:1-12 & 25 and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).