57 – Will you be part of the firstfruits?

Revelation 14:1-5 (KJV)

“[1] 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. … [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. [5] And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”

This passage shows a symbolic description of those who are the firstfruits unto God — those who are part of the firstfruits company. It says: (1) they are lambs, (2) they number to 144,000 (3) they stand upon Mount Zion, (4) they have the Father’s name written on their foreheads, (5) they are not defiled with “women”, but are “virgins”, (6) they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and (7) no guile is found in their mouth (which makes them to be without fault before the throne of God). These are seven qualities that define the firstfruits. Meaning, anyone who has these qualities, particularly before the time of the firstfruits harvest, would indeed (by the mercy of the Lord) be part of the firstfruits company forever.

What is the firstfruits harvest?

It is an agricultural concept. Anytime crops are planted (for example, tomatoes) a set of crops always mature first ahead of the others. The rate of maturity is at an individual level (that is, per crop), but there comes a time when the farmer decides to harvest the crops that have already matured, ahead of the full harvest. This harvest is called the harvest of the firstfruits. Meaning, for every agricultural cycle of a particular crop type, there are two harvests: the firstfruits harvest, and the full harvest. This is a standard agricultural fact, and one that God (as the Great Farmer) also applies.

James 5:7 tells us that Jesus is a farmer (a husbandman) who waits patiently for the fruit (the harvest) of the earth. It says: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the Husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain.”. So we see that Jesus is indeed a farmer who is waiting for the harvest of the earth, and soon He will stretch forth His sickle (His harvest equipment) to reap the firstfruits harvest; that is, to gather to Himself those who are fully ripe. Revelation 14:14-16 shows this, saying: “[14] And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. [15] And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. [16] And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.”. 

When this happens, the result is that those who are part of it (the firstfruits) would be “made alive” (using the language of 1 Corinthians 15:22-23). 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 says: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” This passage tells us of the order in which people will be “made alive”. “Made alive” means deliverance (or freedom) from sin, mortality and corruptibility. 1 Corinthians 15:51-56 explains this, saying: 

“[51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. [54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? [56] The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

This will be the experience of the people of God when they have been “harvested”, but those who are part of the firstfruits harvest would experience it ahead of the rest of their brethren, which is why they are shown on Mount Zion. Whereas all of the people of God that would be harvested are prophetically called Jerusalem (as shown in Revelation 21:2-14), the firstfruits are the Zion. These terminologies (Zion and Jerusalem) are gotten from the Old Testament. 2 Samuel 5:6-10 shows us how they were established. King David set out to conquer Jerusalem (to make it the capital city of Israel), and in the course of doing that, he took Zion first (which became the city of David), after which he conquered all of Jerusalem. Meaning, whereas Jerusalem became the capital of Israel, Zion was the city of David, the capital of Jerusalem; in other words, the capital within the capital. This is a prophecy of what the Greater David will do. His goal is to get a people for Himself as His symbolic Bride out of all humanity, and Revelation 21 tells us that they are called New Jerusalem, but in the course of accomplishing this goal, He will get a people first ahead of the rest. They are the first portion of Jerusalem: the Zion Christians (those in whom Christ will accomplish His salvation goal first).

What would make one to be a part of this Zion category?

It is the seven qualities we mentioned earlier (as stated in Revelation 14:1-5), which are: (1) they are lambs, (2) they number to 144,000 (3) they stand upon Mount Zion, (4) they have the Father’s name written on their foreheads, (5) they are not defiled with “women”, but are “virgins”, (6) they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and (7) no guile is found in their mouth (which makes them to be without fault before the throne of God).

1. They are lambs: This means that they are selfless like Jesus who gave Himself as a sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world. Such selflessness is an offshoot of a character of love. John 15:13 says: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”. This is the character of the Lamb. A character of selfless love.
2. They number to 144,000: The number 144 is gotten from 12 multiplied by 12. According to biblical prophetic numerology, the number 12 represents “chosen”. An example is that Jesus chose 12 disciples. God also chose that there be 12 tribes of Israel. As such, 144 represents a higher order chosen (chosen raised to power two); that is, a chosen within a chosen. It is what Revelation 17:14 is referring to when it says: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful”. Called, Chosen and Faithful. Matthew 22:14 says: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”. Everyone is called by the gospel to receive Christ, but few are chosen. The chosen are those who yield to Christ are saved. That is the first order 12. Then among these chosen there are those who are faithful. They are the chosen within the chosen: the 144. Those who yield to God to the fullest and maintain that yield faithfully. That’s the character of the firstfruits. They are the faithful believers who maintain faith in Christ and remain yielded to the Holy Spirit. The thousand in 144,000 simply indicates that they are many. Many faithful ones.
3. They stand on Mount Zion: This means that they are the first set of people that Jesus will accomplish His business of salvation in, as was the case with David (like we discussed earlier). Meaning, they have a quality of devotion to God, which accelerates the work of God in their lives.
4. They have the Father’s name written on their foreheads: This means they have the mind of Christ; they think in accordance to the Father’s will. The forehead represents the mind, and the Father’s name simply represents the Father (His will, His nature, His personality, etc). Having His name on their foreheads indicates that they are sealed as belonging to Him (which means they have His nature and live according to His will).
5. They are not defiled with women, but are virgins: This “women” is not referring to physical women (females). Rather, it is a symbol for ideologies, mindsets, or principles of behaviour. For example, in the book of Proverbs, in many places (e.g. Proverbs 1:20-23), wisdom (which is the fear of the Lord, Job 28:28) is referred to as a woman; so also, foolishness and rebellion: they are also shown as a woman (the strange woman, e.g. Proverbs 7:1-27). As such, “not defiled with women” means that they do not imbibe the life principles of the world. They live strictly according to the Word of God as the only guiding principle they operate with every situation.
6. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes: This is the same character that is mentioned in Romans 8:14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”. Following the Lamb (Jesus) wherever He goes means that they have a character of obedience to the Holy Spirit. They are obedient to the Lord’s instructions in every situation
7. No guile is found in their mouth: Guile is deceit. No guile in their mouth means no deceit in their mouth. In other words, they always speak the truth. But this is beyond just saying the truth when asked a question, etc. Rather, it is a key to the means by which they are able to overcome. Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). So saying the truth means speaking Jesus (speaking what Jesus has said concerning you; speaking the Word of God). On the other hand, satan is called the deceiver (Revelation 12:7-11); and as the deceiver, he is also called the accuser who accuses the people of God. Meaning, his accusations are deceit (they are lies because they are contrary to the truth of what Jesus made us to become on the cross). As such, “no guile is found in their mouth” means that they do not echo the accusations of the enemy  to themselves with their mouth. They do not agree with the enemy to say things like: I am a failure, I am good for nothing, I cannot please God, I am prayerless, I am full of sin, I don’t really love God. These are lies of the enemy projected as accusations with the intent of making the person use his or her mouth to echo (prophesy) it to themselves. But those who emerge victorious as firstfruits are careful not to fall for this trap. They do not echo the guile (the deceit) of the enemy. They only speak to themselves the Word of God, just as Joel 3:10 says “… let the weak say, I am strong.”

Prayer for today:

Lord Jesus, help me to be among the firstfruits. Help me to be a lamb; let me be among the chosen within the chosen (the faithful); let me be among those in whom You accomplish salvation first (the Zion category); let me have the mind of Christ; let me not be defiled by worldly principles but live only by the Word of God; let me always be obedient to You; let me never echo the deceitful accusations of the enemy in mouth, but always only speak Your Word. In Your name I pray, Amen.