Understanding the Significance of the FIRST FRUITS

 

Preface:

Without a background understanding of who true Israel is, the reader will not be able to comprehend the scope and depth of this study.

Here are studies of the true Israel.

The True Jew (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

https://youtu.be/adly05XUqgM

https://www.thethirdheaventraveler.com/2022/12/the-bride-wife-church-one-in-israel-one.html

1 Corinthians 15:20

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

King James Version (KJV)

Note:  Jesus Christ is The Firstfruit (singular).

Deuteronomy 18:4

“The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.”

King James Version (KJV)

 We see here in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Firstfruits (plural) used with the preposition "OF"  them (3rd person object plural pronoun referring to all the Saints as the object of existing as the "firstfruits" meaning who have died and are awaiting their resurrection from the dead to be with Christ Jesus. 

1 Corinthians 15:21

“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”

King James Version (KJV)

1 Corinthians 15:22

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

King James Version (KJV)

Jesus Christ is the First Fruit. He exists from the Type And Shadow of the Harvest Wave Offering of Leviticus 

Deuteronomy 18:4

“The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.”

King James Version (KJV)

The first fruit wave offering is mentioned in Leviticus 23:9-111. It is a sheaf of the first fruits of the harvest that is brought to the priest when the Israelites come into the land which God has given them1. The Wave Loaves are also offered on the fiftieth day, comprised of firstfruit grain harvest, baked with leaven, and elevated the exact same way the wave sheaf offering was2. They are holy firstfruits to the Lord, but are intended for the High Priest2.

Although the standard or conventional wisdom's explanation of "firstfruits" is logical in part, (see notes below), it leaves out what scripture is actually telling us which is actually.

Jesus Christ is the First Fruit and all who are saved are the First Fruits and this body will all be comprised as One in Israel.  See my extensive studies here that apply.

The True Jew (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

https://youtu.be/adly05XUqgM

https://www.thethirdheaventraveler.com/2022/12/the-bride-wife-church-one-in-israel-one.html

IF we carefully examine scripture we see as we find in1 Corinthians 15:20-22 KJB that the "kinds "of first fruits are Harvests:  BARLEY WHEAT and GRAPE.

Kinds*  I want to thank my sister in Christ Sharon for bringing to my attention the word, "kind" found in James. Also thank you sister in Christ Jennifer for your input.

James 1:18

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

King James Version (KJV)

Barely - the Winnowing of lifting - throwing up into the air the barely grain to separate it from the shell. Foreshadows of the RAPTURE

Wheat - The necessity of going through the TRIBULUM crushing process to break the shell from the kernel of wheat. To separate the chaff, there is a crushing and takes place.

Revelation 13:7

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

King James Version (KJV)

GRAPES  The treading and complete destruction pulverizing of the grape by smashing, crushing and completely obliterating the outer shell and process the grape juice.  Stomping on the grapes.

The Grapes of Wrath:  Revelation 14

Revelation 14:19

“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.”

King James Version (KJV)

Romans 11:16

“For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

King James Version (KJV)

Romans 11:16 is Jesus Christ existing as HOLY and the Body of Christ existing as Holy.  The Branches were originally ISRAEL of the Old Testament but after the MYSTERY was revealed to Paul, the Gentiles were grafted into the PROMISE OF ABRAHAM.

For details on MYSTERY please read more in Notes below.

The importance of knowing FirstFruits in scripture:

The Church will be Raptured "imminently" There are no prophetic events that must take place before this happens.

End Time Time Line:

Understanding the End Timeline - #Rapture #Tribulation #Millennial Reign of Christ (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

The Church of Philadelphia will be Raptured, Receive Crowns and Reign with Christ. Which Church do you belong? (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

Woe to you that desire the Day of the Lord; Why I believe The NON PRE TRIB Believers will get what they want (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

The Church of Philadelphia VS The Church of Laodicea (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

note: The Laodiceans - Apostate church operations of this day

This updates to the Church of Laodicea link in this Blog has been removed by Google because I posted articles of what is happening in church buildings today. If you're interested in reading this please email me at vietrandy@gmail.com and I will email the Blog to you. This blog started over 5 years ago with over 300 articles and had grown to over 1,000.

The Church is NOT failing but prevailing My response to Son's of Liberty Roger Anghis (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

Scriptures of the Different

 Harvests- Resurrections

The First Fruit Resurrection of Jesus Christ who DIED on the Cross for our sins according to the scriptures, WAS BURIED, and Rose Again the third day according to the scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJB.

Matthew 28:6

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

King James Version (KJV)

The Church's Resurrection:

The Day of Christ

The Day of Christ in Scripture

 refers to the Rapture - The 

Day of the Lord refers to the 

Tribulation:

The following scriptures

refer

clearly to the redemption rapture as Day

 of Christ:

Titus 2:3, Romans 13:11,12, 1 Corinthians 1:4-8. Read excellent study in link below:

The Day of Christ - doctrine.org

1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 1:5, 4:1; 5:10, 12:5, 20:6

Note: Revelation 20:6 uses the phrase "that hath part in the first resurrection". This is a clear indication that the Rapture of the Church is part of those other groups that will be considered PART of the First Resurrection: Example the Tribulation Saints and the Jewish Remnant.

Time to take a hard look at 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3, 7 KJV #Rapture #AntiChrist #EndTimes (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

Understanding the Revelation 12 Sign - Reproving Dr. Woods & Dustin "Busy For The Lord." (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

The Tribulation Saints 

Resurrection:  

Scriptures

Daniel 7:21-22,14:12,13; Revelation 7:9,14-17, 21-22; 12:11, 20:4

Additionally, from observation noted from Revelation 20:6 The Tribulation Saints will take part in the First Resurrection. 

The Jewish Remnant 

Resurrection:

Revelation 12:6, 14. 20:4*

*Scripture is not clear on the exact Resurrection of the Jewish Remnant and the separate group of the 144,000 male virgin Jews. But we see they are included in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb Revelation 19:7-9, and the Reigning with Christ Revelation 21:2,9. We also know from Revelation 20:6 the Remnant will be part of the First Resurrection.

The Old Testament Saints

Resurrection:

Scriptures:

*Scripture is not clear on the exact Resurrection of the Old Testament Saints as well as the Jewish Remnant and the separate group of the 144,000 male virgin Jews. But we see they are included in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb Revelation 19:7-9, and the Reigning with Christ Revelation 21:2,9; 19:7-9, 21:2,9. I believe that when Jesus Christ entered Sheol after his death on the cross for 3 days, He released the Old Testament Saints from ABRAHAM'S BOSOM and they went to heaven. Following scriptures apply:

Ephesians 4:8-10, Luke 16:22, 24:43, Matthew 11:23, Psalm 16:10-11.

The Lost Souls

Resurrection and to the Second Death

Scriptures:

Revelation 20:5,10-15, 21:8

Notes:

First Fruits standard explanation:

5 Kinds of Firstfruits (Session 5 – John 20:3-9; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28) - Explore the Bible (lifeway.com)

“The firstfruits” is a common expression found in both Old and New Testaments. It is used in Scripture with both literal and figurative meanings. So when Paul said Christ was “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), he was using terminology and imagery rich in history and meaning.

At least five kinds of firstfruits can be identified in Scripture:

1. THE FIRST HARVEST

In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to give the first and best portions of the harvest as an offering to Him (Ex. 23:16; Neh. 10:35). This included grain (Ex. 23:16; 34:22), olive oil (Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4), new wine (Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4), honey (2 Chron. 31:5), sheep wool (Deut. 18:4), fruit (Neh. 10:35), and even their herds and flocks (Deut. 15:19).

By giving the firstfruits as an offering to God, the Israelites acknowledged that all the harvest—in fact, everything they had—came from God and belonged to Him. The offering of firstfruits was likewise an expression of faith that something else—the harvest of the rest of the crop—would come later. Therefore, the firstfruits offering acknowledged God’s ownership of everything, expressed thankfulness for His provision, and anticipated what was to come.

Firstfruits were given at the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16), the second of three annual festivals. This feast is also known as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Ex. 34:22; Num. 28:26). It was normally celebrated seven complete weeks or fifty days after the Passover (Lev 23:16). In the New Testament it is known simply as Pentecost.

2. ISRAEL

In a symbolic use of the term, Jeremiah called Israel the firstfruits of God’s harvest. “Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest” (Jer. 2:3). Just as the first and choicest crops were devoted to God, Israel was God’s chosen and set apart people. But the fact that Israel was God’s firstfruits, not His only fruit, also anticipated other peoples and nations coming to the Lord.

3. BELIEVERS

In Romans 16:5 and 1 Corinthians 16:15, the first converts of a particular area were called “the firstfruits.” Some translations use the term “first converts,” but literally it is “firstfruits” (KJV), the same word used in 1 Corinthians 15:20.

James 1:18 uses the term with reference to believers: “By his choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” The new birth we have experienced is only a preview of the day to come when He will make all things new in a new heaven and a new earth.

4. THE HOLY SPIRIT

Paul said we “have the Spirit as the firstfruits” (Rom. 8:23). The Holy Spirit is a foretaste, the first installment of our future glory. He is God’s the pledge of more to come in our resurrection life.

5. JESUS

When Paul said Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), he was drawing an analogy between the Old Testament offering and Jesus’ resurrection. As the Old Testament firstfruits symbolized and consecrated the entire harvest that was to follow, Christ’s resurrection was the foretaste of the resurrection of all believers yet to come. His resurrection is our assurance that one day all believers will be raised from the dead and will receive new, resurrected bodies.

“Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55)

5 Kinds of Firstfruits (Session 5 – John 20:3-9; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28) - Explore the Bible (lifeway.com)

Mystery:

Ephesians 3:1-11

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

2If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

3How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

Romans 16:25-26 KJB:

5Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

27

Excerpt from the Rebuke of Dr. Andy Woods' dismantling of the Bride, the Wife, All One in Israel

Andy Woods dismantles the Bride - The Wife - The Church One in Israel One in Christ (thethirdheaventraveler.com)

Woods has no clue of the “Mystery” given to Paul. In fact he goes from outright heretical to blasphemous when he says on page 89 of the Coming Kingdom that “it is best to retain the traditional understanding of the word “mystery’ as something both unrevealed and unrealized in the Old Testament rather than following the inaccurate definition advocated by Progressive Dispensationalism as something revealed but unrealized.”

He has to go into agonizing, excruciating rant for over seventeen pages, page 81 to 98.

Andy pathetically goes through this excruciating seventeen-page rambling that attempts to try to tell us uneducated plowboys what Paul understood as the mystery (although Paul clearly tells us in Ephesians chapter 3 and throughout the Pauline Epistles) and that Romans 16:25-26 doesn’t really say what it says in the King James Bible. 

Note:  On page 85 he even uses a disgusting strawman to say Paul didn't use the pagan concept of what is the mystery, but rather the LXX (Septuagint) translation of mystery which is not the simplistic explanation that Paul gives in Ephesians Chapter 3. KJB. 

The Septuagint is another perverted Translation of God's word. 

Chick.com: What Is The "Septuagint"?

We unschooled plowboys with our King James Bible know what the mystery give to Paul by Jesus Christ is.

Here simply:

The Oxford English Dictionary page 1889 defines mystery as: “a religious truth known only from divine revelation; usually a doctrine…”

We Saints know that the mystery is defined by Ephesians Chapter 3 and frankly the entire book of Galatians and throughout the Pauline Epistles.


“Gentiles are now fellow heirs (of Israel: Galatians 4:26, Romans 4:16,17), and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus by the gospel: (Salvation by GRACE alone. Ephesians 2:8,9; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJB).

But Woods needs seventeen pages to tell us that it certainly is not this simple and that his "better modern translation" is better for understanding what Paul made simple.

He and his like-minded reprobates call believers like me Progressive Dispensationalists when in reality Woods and his kind are the Progressive or what I have termed HYPER DISPENSATIONIST.