We have recently been asked a question about the “Vanguard” found in the Shepherd’s Rod message. Although there have been varied thoughts about who constitutes this group and what is their role in the closing events of prophecy expressed by different individuals over the years, in this study we will supply evidence from the golden bowl to address these questions. We are praying for God to bless this effort and clear away any confusion there may be on the subject and hopefully shed some light that will be welcomed as a nourishing portion of butter and honey for the thirsting soul. As always your prayerfully considered thoughts and comments are welcome in the comment section below this post.
Q: Are the vanguard represented by the 144,000 as a whole, or a subgroup who will be used to gather them?
Answer:
“The name, Davidian, deriving from the name of the king of Ancient Israel, accrues to this Association by reason of its following aspects: First, it is dedicated to the work of announcing and bringing forth the restoration (as predicted in Hosea 1:11; 3:5) of David’s kingdom in antitype, upon the throne of which Christ, “the son of David,” is to sit. Second, it purports itself to be the first of the first fruits of the living, the vanguard from among the present-day descendants of those Jews who composed the Early Christian Church. With the emergence of this vanguard and its army, the first fruits, from which are elected the 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes of Jacob, “the 144,000” (Rev. 14:1; 7:2-8) who stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb (Rev. 14:1; 7:2-8), the reign of antitypical David begins.” — Leviticus, p. 3
“The Lord wants us to know that when He turns away our captivity He will also make us a name and a praise among all the people of the earth. This kingdom of Judah (the church purified and set apart), is therefore, not only pre-millennial, but also probationary. And how glad we ought to be for the privilege to be among the first of the first fruits.” — Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 23, p. 9
Q: Is there a type for the Vanguard, i.e., the first of the first fruits of the dead?
Answer:
Christ, The Antitype Of The Wave-Sheaf.
For more than a thousand years the annual waving of the sheaf pointed forward to its antitypical event, the resurrection of Christ. And as Christ arose on the very day that the wave-sheaf was to be offered, the day “after the Sabbath,” let no one attribute the singular concurrence of these two events on that day to mere coincidence or to any cause other than divine design. “He was the antitype of the wave-sheaf,” declares the Spirit of Prophecy, “and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave-sheaf was to be presented before the Lord.” — Desire of Ages, p. 785 .
So Christ, the first fruits, and those who with Him at His resurrection came forth from the grave, raised to everlasting life, were the antitypical wave-sheaf of the dead. And since the wave-sheaf of grain pointed forward to the in gathering of the first fruits of the field, just so those who arose with Christ, being first fruits of the dead, pointed forward to the in gathering of the gospel’s first fruits — the 120 disciples. But as those who arose with Christ ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave, they thereby became a living type, and thus
The Wave-Sheaf Of The Living.
Just as Christ arose on the very day the sheaf was to be offered, likewise the Holy Spirit fell upon the 120 disciples on the very day the wave-loaves were to be presented before the Lord. The apostolic Pentecost was accordingly the prototype of the ceremonial Pentecost (the day the wave-loaves were offered). And since the wave-sheaf was a figure of Christ and of those who arose with Him as the first of the first fruits of the dead, hence the wave-loaves were a figure on the 120 Spirit-filled disciples who were the full complement of first fruits of the dead, and who were gathered in after the resurrection.
From these facts it can more clearly be seen that those whom Christ took with Him were the living wave-sheaf and the only one that has been offered in the heavenly sanctuary; and that as ones raised from the dead, they are the first fruits of the dead, whereas as ones everliving before the Father, they are the living wave-sheaf of the first fruits of the living, the 144,000 servants of God, who sequentially precede
The Second Fruits And The Feast Of Tabernacles.
The 120 disciples on the day of Pentecost being the gospel’s first fruits of the dead, it follows that the great multitude added to the church daily thereafter, naturally were the gospel’s second fruits of the dead.” —Tract No. 3, pp. 79-80
Those that rose with Christ are:
- the antitypical wave sheaf of the dead.
- the “first of the first fruits” of the dead.
- the living wave sheaf for the first fruits of the living, the 144,000
The 120 disciples are:
- the antitypical wave loaf of the dead
- the “first fruits” of the Pentecostal harvest, those to be resurrected (2 TG 46:27)
Q: So who is the antitypical wave loaf of the living?
Answer:
“As the light focusing to this point clearly reveals that the Pentecost after the resurrection was for the ingathering of those who were to die, there must, correspondingly, be a Pentecost for the ingathering of those who are to be translated. And by the same token of logic, the wave-sheaf and the wave-loaves must have a double application, each to the dead and to the living, together comprising the total fruits of the antitypical harvest.” — Tract No. 3, pp. 82-83
Two points to consider:
- Since the 120 disciples are still in the grave they cannot be a living type in the same way that the ones who were resurrected with Christ are.
- If the wave sheaf has a double antitype so shouldn’t the wave loaf?
“The 120 who received the power of the Spirit on the very day the wave-loaves were offered, were therefore the antitypical wave-loaves, signifying the completeness of the first-fruit harvest. Subsequently came the second fruits of the dead, in the period of which the tares were commingled with the wheat.” — Tract No. 3, p. 85
The next challenging question:
Q: How can those that rose with Christ, the living wave sheaf, and the 120 disciples, the wave loaf first fruits of the apostolic Pentecost, both be types for the 144,000, the first fruits of the final Pentecost?
Answer: Is it possible that one represents a type of the vanguard, the first of “the first fruits of the living”, and the other represent the remaining “army”, or complement of the 144,000 as mentioned in Leviticus p. 3? Something to ponder, pray about, and meditate on as summarized in the chart below.
Antitypical Wave Sheaf and Wave Loaves of the Harvest, Dead and Living
| Group of Saints | Wave Sheaf | Wave Loaves |
| Dead | Christ, plus those who were resurrected with him | the 120 disciples |
| Living | the vanguard portion of the 144,000, “the first of the first fruits” | the remaining portion of the 144,000, “the army” |
The 120, First Fruits of Those to be Resurrected
The 144,000, First Fruits of the Living
“And surest evidence that the apostolic Pentecost is the prototype of the latter day, the antitypical, Pentecost—that which is just ahead of us.” — Tract No. 3, 3rd Ed. p. 96
“To get into the full beam of light, we must first face the fact that the pre-pentecostal harvest took place in a self-deceived church, the Jewish; and through miracle-working power manifested by Christ Himself, it yielded the 120 disciples, the first fruits of those who are to be resurrected. Whereas the post-pentecostal harvest took place among the nations; and through miracle-power manifested by the Spirit-filled 120 disciples, it yielded an innumerable multitude of converts to Christianity (Acts 2:41, 47), the second fruits of those who are to be resurrected.
“Now to summarize the types before the Pentecost: (1) the first fruits were numbered; (2) they came exclusively from the church itself; (3) the miracles then wrought were by Christ Himself.
Now coming to the types after the Pentecost: (1) the second fruits were not numbered; (2) they came from the nations; (3) the miracles then wrought were by the numbered ones (the 120), the first fruits.
Accordingly, the antitypical Pre-pentecostal harvest takes place in a self-deceived church, the Laodicean, “the house of God”; and through miracle-working power manifested by Heaven itself in the angels (Matt. 13:39), it yields the 144,000, the first fruits of those who are never to die. Whereas the antitypical post-pentecostal harvest takes place among the nations; and through miracle-working power manifested by the Spirit-filled 144,000, it yields the great multitude which no man can number (Rev. 7:9), the second fruits, of those who are never to die.” — Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 46 , p. 27
“The only such holy governments of God in the Christian era, one in the past and one in the future between which the path of the chariots lies, are the church of the Pentecost with the 120 Spirit-filled disciples, symbolized by the mountain to the chariots’ right, and the church at the second Pentecost (Joel 2:28, 29, yet future) with the 144,000 Spirit-filled disciples standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb (Rev. 14:1), symbolized by the mountain to the chariots’ left.” — Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 22, p. 20
End of Study
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The Vanguard: The First of the First Fruits
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