Ⅰ
Revelation 14:1-5 reveals Christ as the Lamb whom the overcoming firstfruits follow:
A
The firstfruits are the living overcomers, who will be the first ripe ones in God's field; hence, they will be reaped before the harvest as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb:
１
The firstfruits will be caught up to the heavenly Mount Zion, to the place of God's dwelling in the third heaven, in order to be in the presence of God and Christ.
２
The meaning of rapture is to be taken into the Lord's presence; in order to be taken into the Lord's presence, we must be in His presence today—Luke 21:36; 2 Cor. 2:10; Hosea 6:2; 2 Tim. 4:8; Acts 26:16.
３
The rapture is for defeating the enemy and satisfying God; the Lord needs the man-child to fight against His enemy, but He needs the firstfruits even more for His satisfaction and enjoyment—Rev. 12:5; 14:1, 4b.
B
The Bible reveals two aspects of the rapture: the rapture of the overcomers before the great tribulation and the rapture of the majority of the believers at the end of the great tribulation—Matt. 24:40-41; Luke 21:36; Rev. 3:10; 1 Thes. 4:15-17; Rev. 12:5; 14:1.
C
In Leviticus 23:10 we see a type of the rapture—the type of the crop ripening in the field—Matt. 13:24; Rev. 14:14-16:
１
The reaping of God's crop is what we call the rapture; this reaping indicates that the believers will be taken away from the earth—Matt. 13:30, 39b.
２
Part of the crop—the firstfruits—ripens earlier and is reaped earlier; the rest of the crop—the harvest—ripens later and is reaped later.
３
According to Revelation 14, there are two kinds of rapture—the rapture of the firstfruits and the rapture of the harvest—vv. 4b, 14-16.
D
The firstfruits are raptured to the house of God in Zion as the fresh enjoyment to God; this is for God's satisfaction—Exo. 23:19a; Lev. 23:10; cf. John 20:17a.
E
The firstfruits have the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their foreheads; this is the designation of their being one with the Lamb and with the Father and of their belonging to Them—Rev. 14:1b.
F
The firstfruits are the earliest among God's crop to reach maturity—Heb. 5:14—6:1; 1 Cor. 2:6; Eph. 4:13; Phil. 3:15:
１
To be transformed is to be changed in our natural life; to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us—Rom. 12:2; Eph. 3:19b.
２
For God's expression there is the need of maturity; only a mature life can bear God's image and exercise His dominion—Gen. 1:26; Rom. 5:10, 17, 21.
Morning Nourishment
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us be brought on to maturity…Eph. 4:13 Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
In Revelation 12 the rapture of the man-child, who fights against God's enemy, is for a function before God. God needs the man-child to be raptured to the heavens to fight the battle with His enemy so that the enemy might be defeated and cast down to the earth for the fulfillment of God's purpose. In the same principle, the firstfruits in chapter 14 do not merely enjoy the rapture but satisfy God's need. God and the Lamb need enjoyment. God is hungry and thirsty. He desires some first-fruits to taste for His satisfaction. On the one hand, the man-child fulfills God's purpose by defeating His enemy, and on the other hand, the firstfruits are for God's satisfaction. As the firstfruits offered to God in the temple for His satisfaction, the living overcomers enjoy the rapture in order to take care of God's need. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4308)
Today’s Reading
We should pay attention to our maturity so that we may be the firstfruits to satisfy the heart of God…If we are still immature, how can we be the firstfruits and be raptured?In order to be the firstfruits, we must love the Lord Jesus…We should spend our time in loving the Lord, saying, “Lord, I enjoy looking at You and talking to You. Lord, I want to satisfy You, to be one with You, and to stay in Your presence.” We should learn to spend time loving the Lord Jesus in an intimate way…It is not adequate merely to be sinless; neither is it sufficient simply to be good or right. We must be in love with the Lord. We all need to fall in love with the Lord Jesus, telling Him, “O Lord Jesus, I love You, and You know that I love You. Because I love You, Lord, there are certain things that I will not do.” This is the way to be a living overcomer. Although the Lord certainly needs the man-child to fight against His enemy, even more He needs the firstfruits, His lovers, to be His satisfaction.
We should be firstfruits, those who ripen earlier for the Lord's satisfaction. We need to say, “Lord, for the sake of Your satisfaction, I want to ripen early… Lord, as long as I can satisfy You, it makes no difference to me whether I am on earth or in heaven.” This is the attitude of the living overcomers.
Because it does not matter to the firstfruits where they are, we are not told that they are caught up; instead, we are simply told that the one hundred forty-four thousand firstfruits are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion… This surely is not the Zion on earth but the Zion in the heavens…Those who are raptured as the firstfruits will have no feeling of surprise. Rather, they will say, “Lord Jesus, I have been with You continuously for years. Lord, it makes no difference whether I am on earth or in the third heaven. I have no special feeling about being here because I have been in Your presence for years. I have lived in this atmosphere for a long time.”…If we truly love the Lord and live in intimate fellowship with Him, the rapture will not come as a surprise; it will be an ordinary experience.
The firstfruits are the saints who are saturated with the Lord Jesus. They are the ones who have been fully occupied with Christ and taken over by Christ until they are matured. Our heart should ache for many of the Lord's children who seem to be ignorant, careless, and dull concerning the need to be matured…We need to consider how mature we are…We need to take this word seriously and bring this matter to the Lord.
We all need to pray, “Lord, have mercy upon me that I would be a part of the firstfruits and that I would be an overcomer.” We need to see God's purpose and intention, and we need to see our responsibility to cooperate with Him. We should enjoy Christ, participate in Him, and take Him in until we are matured. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4308-4310, 4312)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 57, ch. 22