The Veil of Jacob and the Eleventh Hour Laborers

The day of Pentecost or Shavuot as it is called by the Jews today, has been quite important throughout biblical history. It is a Spring harvest feast beginning with the barley harvest followed by the wheat harvest. It is called the Feast of Weeks being a 7-week period beginning with the wave sheaf offering by the high priest and culminating on the 50^th day in a Holy Day convocation on the day of Pentecost where the priest waves two loaves of bread made from the grain before the Lord.

It is a feast of ingathering and is signified by the 'Counting of the Omer'. An omer is a unit of measure that is one sheaf.  Normally, we are used to counting down to a holiday or our birthday, or the last day of school for instance, "Only 8 more days of school!" As Pentecost is an ingathering or an accumulation of the harvest, we count up to the day of Pentecost as sheaves are added.

The Jews believe, as do I, that God thundered the Ten Commandments from Mt. Horeb on the day of Pentecost. God gave his first instructions directly to the people of Israel on how he wants them to conduct their lives on this day. God through his lovingkindness and grace has on this day provided men the means by which they can develop the very character of God, if they will only listen and obey.

Though they agreed to comply completely with God's Law that day, their history shows they were unsuccessful. So much so that God granted them a bill of divorcement, cut them off from his grace and blinded their eyes from the truth.

Isa 29:10-14 KJV  For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.  (11)  And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:  (12)   And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.  

According to Daniel, this book is sealed up until the time of the end. (Dan 12:4)

Who do we know who is worthy to open the book that is sealed? (Rev 5)

(13)   Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:  (14)   Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Because the house of Jacob turned away from God and began teaching instead the traditions and precepts of men, God cut them off as you would a branch that is diseased until a time in the future when they are healed and can be grafted back in. Until then the Gentiles were to be given the truth of God and his Holy Spirit. They were wild branches grafted into root of The Branch, Jesus Christ, in order to make the true descendants of Israel, the natural branches jealous.

Rom 10:17-21 KJV  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  (18)  But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.  (19)   But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.  (20)  But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.  (21)  But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. (Isa 65:1-2)

Rom 9:30-33 KJV  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.  (31)  But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.  (32)  Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;  (33)   As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

  

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:43)

Rom 11:11-28 NKJV  I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.  (12)  Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!  (13)  For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,  (14)  if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.  (15)  For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?  (16)  For if the firstfruit [Jesus Christ] is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  (17)  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,  (18)  do not boast against the branches. [the ones that were cut off] But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.  (19)  You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."  (20)  Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.  (21)  For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.  (22)  Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.  (23)  And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  (24)  For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?  (25)  For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  (26)  And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME OUT OF ZION, AND HE WILL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB;  (27)  FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."  (28)  Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

Jesus came to his own to preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God but they received him not, (John 1:1) the stone which the builders rejected. (Matt 21:42) And as result they were spiritually blinded and remain so today until that future time when God will open their eyes to the truth and pour out His Holy Spirit so that they can understand and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah. How long will their blindness continue?

Isa 6:9-12 KJV  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.  (10)   Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.  (11)   Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,  (12)   And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 

Luk 21:20 KJV   And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Luk 21:24-25 KJV  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.  (25)  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Peter spoke of God pouring out His Spirit and quoted from Joel chapter 2 in his Pentecostal sermon when he stated:

Act 2:16-21 KJV  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;  (17)  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:  (18)   And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:  (19)  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:  (20)   The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:  (21)   And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We have no record of these wonders in heaven taking place at this time. This pouring out was but a type of a future pouring out of God's Spirit yet to come.

Joe 2:28-32 KJV   And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:  (29)   And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.  (30)   And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  (31)   The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.  (32)   And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. [A remnant who have not defiled themselves with women.]

Rev 6:12-13 KJV  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;  (13)  And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

These passages are describing the same event!

So this final pouring out of God’s Spirit doesn’t take place until the sixth seal. There’s something else that takes place at the sixth seal.

God has shown us through his Holy Day Plan that he is a God of order and certain times on his calendar carry a certain significance. He has set certain days on his calendar as 'moedim' or sacred appointments. 

1. God thundered His Law, the Ten Commandments from Horeb on Pentecost. (Exo 19:11; 20:1)
2. I believe that the day Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove was most likely on Pentecost. (Mat 3:16)
3. God poured out his Holy Spirit to start His church on this day some 1984 years ago on Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4)
4. When and how do you think our God of order, who is consistent, who does not change, who has given us a pattern and a model for His entire plan for mankind will graft back in the House of Jacob and seal them with his Holy Spirit?

Isa 25:7-9 KJV   And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.  (8)   He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.  (9)  And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

The long awaited Messiah whom they have waited for has arrived. Just as God rent the veil in twain at the death of Jesus and gave us direct access to His throne of grace, God will tear this veil from their faces as well and give them a new heart, and a new spirit. He will take away their stony heart, and will give them a heart of flesh. He will put His spirit within them, and cause them to walk in His statutes, and they shall keep his judgments, and do them. (Eze 36:26-27)

This won’t happen through man’s doing. Not by power, or by might but by God’s Spirit.

Zec 4:5-7 KJV  Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.  (6)   Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.  (7)   Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he [the governor of Judea (Zec 12:6)] shall bring forth the headstone [the one that the builders rejected, the one that has become chief of the corner] thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

God will pour out His Holy Spirit on the house of Jacob and all flesh, the veil will be removed, Jesus Christ, the headstone, will be acknowledged as the Messiah and as this good news spreads, the counting of the omer begins! The final harvest, the ingathering of believers begins! These are the eleventh hour laborers who receive the same gift of the Holy Spirit as those who labored in the heat of the day. These are they who were not defiled with women, who remained true to God's Law as they knew it. Who did not follow after other gods or after the Catholics, or the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Protestants or after Islam. And with them will be an innumerable multitude of believers who came out of the tribulation to be redeemed by God. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. (Matt 20:6-16)

When the following events take place it is still after the sixth Seal and before the seventh.

Rev 7:1-4 KJV  And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.  (2)   And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,  (3)   Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.  (4)  And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. [and the tribes are listed. The tents of Judah first. (Zec 12:7)]

  

Rev 7:9-10 KJV  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;  (10)   And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

  

Rev 7:13-14 KJV  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?  (14)   And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

  

Rev 14:1-4 KJV  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.  (2)  And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:  (3)  And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.  (4)  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Mat 20:6-16 KJV  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?  (7)  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.  (8)   So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.  (9)  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.  (10)  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.  (11)  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,  (12)  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.  

We have been warned back in Romans 11:20-21 not to complain when these branches are grafted back in lest we be cut off.

(13)  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?  (14)  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.  (15)  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?  (16)  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

The veil will be removed at last from the eyes of the house of Jacob, the remnant whom the LORD shall call, and the house of Israel will be restored and receive their reward, and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit on Pentecost. The eleventh hour laborers are the natural branches who were once cut off now being grafted back in and joining with the innumerable multitude who have already accepted Christ. Those who say that Christians claim there is no salvation for the Jews need a better understanding of the feast of Pentecost.

Oh, and those two loaves of bread the high priest waves on Pentecost. What's that all about and why are there two? One for the Jew (Israelite) the natural branch, and one for the Gentile, grafted in! They are both firstfruits unto the LORD! (Lev 23:17)

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