QATSIYR - HARVEST

Petra Hadžidaova
2 days ago
4 min read

38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:38 (NIV)

(1)

INTRODUCTION

It was at the beginning of spring. Adonai had visited and blessed Israel abundantly that year. Among the most blessed was Boaz, walking amid his vast fields of barley, observing his workers diligently harvesting his grain. His eyes observed the steady, forward, efficient movement. Suddenly, his eyes caught something at the edge of his vision. Quickly, he moved his head and saw something beautiful. Or rather, someone beautiful. Unbeknownst to him, he saw his future bride, Ruth.

______

Ruth was picking up the leftover grain with as much efficiency as she could muster. She was going strong, but the heat was slowly getting to her. She had not drunk one drop of water since morning. For a split second, she looked up. The sun rose very high. It was right above her, indicating it was already midday. Time flew fast, Ruth concluded. As she was contemplating whether to continue or take a small break, a male voice interrupted her inner monologue. There he was, the one who would redeem. What other twist did this harvest, Qatsiyr, have in store?

There were three harvests in Israel, as we will see—the barley, the wheat, and the wet harvest. The Hebrew word for harvest is qatsiyr. There are many theories regarding the rapture out there. But what we are probably all so heavily anticipating is more accurately described as a harvest than a rapture. And there just might be three of them, as there were three major harvests in a Hebrew year.

QATSIYR - HARVEST

The Hebrew word for harvest is qatsiyr. It can be used to describe the harvest season, the harvesting process, or the crop itself. (2) It derives from the verb qatsar, meaning “to be short”, “to shorten”, “to harvest”, “to reap”. (3)

BIBLICAL HARVESTS

No matter the era or season, survival depended on the harvests of fruit, grain, and wild game.

Per Merriam-Webster, a harvest can allude to:

the season for gathering in crops
the act or process of gathering in a crop
yield
1. a mature crop (as of grain or fruit)
2. the quantity of a natural product gathered in a single season
an accumulated store or productive result (4)

In the ancient biblical lands, there were three important harvests:

The barley harvest starting in late March and continuing through May. It corresponds with Firstfruits.
The wheat harvest runs from late April through May and June. It corresponds with Shavuot.
The wet harvest in October. It corresponds with the Feast of Trumpets and is the harvest of grapes, pomegranates, and citrus. (5)

THE “RAPTURE”

As a believer, I am sure you have come across the big disputes regarding the rapture. Some claim it will be a one-time event before tribulation. Others claim it will occur in the middle of tribulation; a third group claims it will be at the end. And, of course, some claim there will be none. (5)

That is not the only detail scholars do not see eye to eye on. Will it really be a one-time event? There is a possibility that there might be three separate harvests as part of the “rapture”. In the Book Lost in Translation Vol. 3: The Book of Revelation: Two Brides Two Destinies, authors John Klein, Adam Spears, and Michael Christopher go into detail as to when and how they will occur. I highly recommend the trilogy, as I believe it is rather eye-opening, yet advise to read with caution. (5)

Per the book, three separate groups of people will partake in the wedding feast of the Lamb:

the groomsmen
the bride
the guests. (5)

Each one represents one of the harvests. The groomsmen represent the firstfruits. They will be harvested first on a future Feast of firstfruits. (5)

The bride is the best harvest; that is the wheat harvest. The groom will come to snatch her away on a future wheat harvest. (5)

The guests, on the other hand, represent a wet harvest. Per John Klein and Adam Spears, they will have to endure the full 7 final years, and many of them shall be martyred (the harvest of grapes). (5)

Then God shall arrive, and the Feast of the Lamb shall take place at the end of the last seven years on a future Feast of Trumpets. (5)

As fascinating as this theory is, I do admit I have not yet been able to test it. Still, I wish to put it out there for further debate, because if true, it needs to be spoken.

CONCLUSION

There are three major harvests in a Hebrew year: the barley harvest, the wheat harvest, and the wet harvest. Each one corresponds to a major Hebrew feast. The barley harvest corresponds to the Feast of Firstfruits. The wheat harvest corresponds to Shavuot, and the wet harvest corresponds to the Feast of Trumpets. On each one of the future Feasts, the harvest of God’s people will commence. The Hebrew word for harvest is qatsiyr. It derives from the verb qatsar, meaning “to be short”, “to shorten”, “to harvest”, “to reap”.