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God is collecting the firstfruits in this life, right now, up until Christ returns. The firstfruits are those who believe in Christ, now, in this life.
But what's God going to do with the rest of the harvest (the lastfruits)? Is God going to bring the rest of the harvest in? Or maybe he is content to burn up the rest forever...
Its really interesting if you do a study on the meaning of "firstfruits".
In the old testament there is different celebrations or feasts when harvest came in. The firstfruits were a small portion of the crop that was harvested first. The firstfruits were brought to the Lord first as an offering. They were the first to ripen:
Deut 26:10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God
But then later on the rest of the harvest was brought in, and there was a big celebration to celebrate the successful harvest. This was called the end of year in-gathering or Feast of Tabernacles. All came to the table and ate and all partook and celebrated.
Exodus 23:16 Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
This is how the cycle of planting, seeding, collecting the firstfruits, and then bringing in the harvest worked. Year in and year out. It was celebrated because this is how they survived - this was their food supply. Notice that the whole crop was used - the firstfruits were the first offering, but the whole harvest fed the people and sustained them.
Now later on we read:
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James is talking about the elect. The elect are a kind of firstfruits - they are like the firstfruits of the crops that were harvested. They are those chosen to follow Christ now in this life. But what about the rest of the harvest? That is, what about everyone else, the non-elect? Will they be discarded and wasted? No. Just like the cycle of growing crops and feeding, the rest of the harvest will eventually be brought in. And there will be a big celebration (like the Feast of Tabernacles) when it is brought in. All will partake.
The whole cycle of growing food is but a mere shadow or type of God's plan for humanity. God has a big crop to bring in. There is lots of work ahead!
James is talking about the elect. The elect are a kind of firstfruits - they are like the firstfruits of the crops that were harvested. They are those chosen to follow Christ now in this life. But what about the rest of the harvest? That is, what about everyone else, the non-elect? Will they be discarded and wasted? No. Just like the cycle of growing crops and feeding, the rest of the harvest will eventually be brought in. And there will be a big celebration (like the Feast of Tabernacles) when it is brought in. All will partake.
The whole cycle of growing food is but a mere shadow or type of God's plan for humanity. God has a big crop to bring in. There is lots of work ahead!
Amen, legoman. This is why the elect are referred as the first fruits. If the elect are a kind of first fruits of God's creatures, there is a later harvest which is to include all of mankind. The first fruits ripen or mature first and are only the beginning. This goes along with the passage in Romans 8 which speaks of the creation sharing in the freedom of the glory of the sons of God (the first fruits)
Romans 8:18For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to be revealed in us; 19for the earnest looking out of the creation/creature doth expect the revelation of the sons of God;20for to vanity was the creation/creature made subject -- not of its will, but because of Him who did subject [it] -- in *hope, 21that also the creation/creature itself shall be set free from the servitude of the corruption to the liberty of the glory of the children of God; 22for we have known that all the creation doth groan together, and doth travail in pain together till now. 23And not only [so], but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting -- the redemption of our body
*hope=elpis=expectation
An excellent study. Thanks for sharing and God bless.
Now before the firstfruits were offered every year, there was the celebration of passover in which a lamb was sacrificed. This is a shadow and type of Christ. Christ was the lamb who was sacrificed for all. He was the firstfruit of the rest of the firstfruits.
So in effect we have:
1. Christ (the firstfruit of the firstfruits)
2. The elect (the firstfruits)
3. The non-elect (the lastfruits - the rest of the harvest).
Now if this is a true shadow and type for all mankind, we should be able to find another scripture that confirms this. Here it is:
1 Cor 15:22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive,
23and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence, 24then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power --
So we see all shall be made alive by Christ. But each in his own order or rank. Here are the ranks:
1. The first-fruit Christ
2. those who are Christ's (the elect)
But wait, where are the last fruits (everyone else - the ingathering of the whole harvest)? It is there you just have to keep reading:
3. then -- the end. This is talking about the completion - the consummation of all - the non-elect lastfruits.
Some translations have a period after verse 23, but that is not quite correct. The thought continues in verse 24. Its not talking about the "end" as in the "end of time" or the "end of the world". Its talking about end as in completion of an order or list. What order or list? The order of those who will be made alive in Christ. So the "end" is the last of the last fruits - specifically, the last person who is to be made alive in Christ, and we know that all will be made alive in Christ. Carrying on in that passage:
1 Cor 15:25 for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet -- 26 the last enemy is done away -- death;
27 for all things He did put under his feet, and, when one may say that all things have been subjected, [it is] evident that He is excepted who did subject the all things to him,
28 and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all.
We see Christ will subject all to himself and then hand all power over to the Father and God will be all in all. God will bring in the harvest.
Absolutely love this promise in scripture. Those feasts were so important in so many ways. The Kinsman Redeemer, the Jubilee, so much not recognized in the stories and narratives of the Bible.
If you want to read a really excellent article on Benjamin, go here:
The concept of seeding, planting, and harvesting is used as a metaphor for God's plan throughout the bible. And it such a good metaphor. We are all seed. We must grow and be nurtured. We have chaff that needs to be removed and burned up. Weeds will come amongst us and cause us to dwindle. But in the end God's harvest will be successful.
Read all of Psalm 67, but these verses specifically mentions it: Psalm 67:6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
The Harvest of the Earth:
Rev 14:15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."
16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."
19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.
Now Rev 14 sounds kind of nasty doesn't it? Sharp sickle's harvesting the whole earth - and the the harvest (grapes) is thrown into the winepress (God's wrath). But we must keep reading. The winepress (which is God's wrath) will come to completion at some point:
Rev 15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
Furthermore, what can we learn about this winepress? What will it do:
Rev 19:15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
So we see it is Christ who is treading the winepress, and out of His (Christ's) mouth comes a sharp sword - the sword is the Word of God. "He will rule with an iron scepter" is also a reference to this:
Rev 2:26 He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; 27AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;
It is the elect who will rule with a rod of iron - they will rule over the non-elect, and break them into pieces, even like how they themselves received from the Father!
Remember Revelations is symbolic. This ruling with a "rod of iron" is symbolic of breaking the will and bringing them in line with God's will. The elect (the firstfruits) will bring in the last fruits. The elect will become the workers to gather the rest of the harvest.
Matt 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Notice: the workers are few but the harvest is plentiful. Many are called, but few are chosen to be the elect - the workers that will bring in the harvest.
Informative study, saving it for reference. God bless.
Quote:
It is the elect who will rule with a rod of iron - they will rule over the non-elect, and break them into pieces, even like how they themselves received from the Father!
Remember Revelations is symbolic. This ruling with a "rod of iron" is symbolic of breaking the will and bringing them in line with God's will. The elect (the firstfruits) will bring in the last fruits. The elect will become the workers to gather the rest of the harvest.
Amen. God bless.
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