First fruits is mentioned in the ‘New’ Testament. We are truly given a more revealing understanding of this feast by reading what has been written about it after Jesus death and resurrection. Paul first introduced this in his letter to the assembly in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Leviticus 23:14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Just as we read last time, Christ is the true first fruits of our redemption and had to present Himself to the Father before the real harvest could begin. This is exactly why God instructed Moses that God must receive His offering before any other harvest could be enjoyed. God always comes first in all things.
15:21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
5:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Christ precedes us and we follow Him. We who belong to Him and only those who truly belong to Him will be in this great redemptive harvest of both our physical bodies and our eternal souls.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Jamss 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Revelation 14:4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, 14:5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
So now we have a new understanding of how God created these feasts to both give us a prophetic plan of His timeline from Jesus’ first coming to His second coming. All four spring feasts have been fulfilled by Christ, the remaining three fall feasts are coming.