Lookahead: I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion! With him were 144,000 … They have been rescued as firstfruits to God and the Lamb…Rev 14:1,4 One could say that for the first time in history, we are seeing many Jews embrace Jesus in this new millenium, and certainly more than 144,000. (~350,000 Messianic believers worldwide, ~15,000 in Israel). Have we “arrived” prophetically speaking? Are the 144,000 among today’s Messianic Jews? I would say no unless the latter are religious, they practice celibacy, and their lineage traces back to one of twelve tribes according to precise percentages.
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. This verse follows on the heels of every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights…And precedes…everyone should be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. :18 seems to be a brand new “thread instantiation,” or could it be like a tributary winding off from the main stem of a stream of thought….
Is it a totally new thread that James opens up?
- A Bible Hub commentary seems to back this theory up — Meyer’s: Most interpreters subordinate the thought contained in this verse to the preceding, regarding it either as an example…or as a confirmation and a proof…On the contrary…it is to be recognized as a principal thought…not a confirmation of James 1:17…
Or is it a thread derived from existing thread?
- Another Bible Hub commentary seems to corroborate this — JFB Commentary: begat he us—spiritually: a once-for-all accomplished act (1Pe 1:3, 23). In contrast to “lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin … death” (James 1:15 KJV).
My theory? I think it might actually be a continuation of James 1:17. As we covered in Unpacking #9, God “fathered” light. And He also fathered Jesus, Who was the First of the firstfruits. And now the inevitable question, what does firstfruits mean?
aparchēn ἀπαρχήν
to offer firstlings or first-fruits…the first-fruits of the productions of the earth (both those in a natural state and those prepared for use by hand), which were offered to God…the first portion of the dough, from which sacred loaves were to be prepared…in a transferred use, employed of persons consecrated to God, leading the rest in time…with a reference to the moral creation effected by Christianity…all the Christians of that age..(a term for Christ) as the first one recalled to life of them that have fallen asleep.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ raised from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
As indicated, Jesus was the First of the firstfruits of God’s salvation. He was not the first one to be raised from the dead—but He was first to be resurrected into new spiritual life ((God) made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corin 5:21; But this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins in perpetuity, sat down at the right hand of God… Hebrews 10:12) All the firstfruits who followed the First, initially faced a very unpropitious Plan B in lieu of Plan A’s new spiritual life, that is, condemning judgment (John 5:24, 28, 29) and punishment instead. Bottom line, as sinners, these firstfruits would all have been damned if they hadn’t accepted the pardon that the First purchased for us by His atoning sacrifice. Note: James 1:18 says that they are “a kind of firstfruits” indicating that their nature is similar to, but not identical to the First.
Yesterday on Christian TV I heard the analogy of a flock of wild geese who got caught in an uncharacteristically early blizzard while flying south. They saw the shelter and light of a farmer’s house and kept slamming into his windows trying to get inside. The farmer attempted to herd them into his barn where it was safe and warm, but they hovered fearfully in the darkness. So he took one of the domesticated geese that he had on the farm as a model—and herded that goose into the barn. The wild geese were then able to recognize their path to salvation and model the domesticated goose’s behavior. The preacher subsequently explained that Jesus was our human-ish model Who showed us the path to salvation…
Here’s a spot-on summary about the First of the firstfruits from a Bible Hub commentator—MacLaren: According to the Levitical ceremonial (described in the Old Testament), the first sheaf of the new crop, accompanied with sacrifice, was presented in the Temple on the day after the Passover Sabbath…Now, in the New Testament, both these ideas of ‘the first-born’ and ‘the first-fruits’…are transferred to Jesus Christ. He is ‘become the first-fruits of them that slept’: and it was no mere accidental coincidence that, in this character, He rose from the dead on the day on which, according to the law, the sheaf was to be presented in the Temple. In His case the ideas attached to the expression are not only that of consecration, but that of being the first of a series, which owes its existence to Him.
So, the people whom James was referring to in :18 were a kind of firstfruits that the “First firstfruits” had previously modeled on their behalf. A fourth Bible Hub reference, about the many characteristics of these firstfruits, pulls in some of the other definitions cited in the Lexicons:
Benson: James 1:18. Of his own will — Without any necessity on His part, or merit on ours…He converted, regenerated us, who believe; by the word of truth — The true word, emphatically so termed, the gospel; that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures — The most excellent of his visible creatures, and consecrated to, and set apart for him in an especial manner. The first-fruits being the best of their kind, by calling the regenerated the first-fruits of God’s creatures, the apostle has shown how acceptable such are to God, and how excellent in themselves through the renovation of their nature; and as the first-fruits, being offered to God, were supposed to sanctify the rest of the harvest, true Christians, who are in a peculiar manner dedicated to God, in some respects may be said to sanctify the rest. The apostle says, a kind of first-fruits, for Christ alone is absolutely the first-fruits. (Underlines mine.)
Was firstfruits a common colloquialism of the day? Or did Paul coin the expression in the Greek and indoctrinate the burgeoning church with this vernacular? Going on the basis that James’ epistle post-dated some of Paul’s, I did a Blue Letter Bible search on “firstfruits” instances in the New Testament. In addition to ones above, I found three more scriptures in the New Testament, two of which were indeed in Paul’s epistles and referred to separate individuals who were from a city called Achaia (more on Achaia and coined term aspects later). However, I also found what was probably, the most impactful “firstfruits” instance in the Book of Revelation…from John the Revelator: I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion! With him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads…all of these (men) are pure virgins, and they follow the Lamb wherever he leads. They have been rescued as firstfruits to God and the Lamb…Rev 14:1,4
144,000 pure and blameless ones are identified as being set apart and saved by God. They sing a new song to God, that no one else can learn. Revelation 7:4 further identifies them as being from the twelve tribes of Israel. That means that they are Jewish men who are following the Lamb of God, i.e., have accepted Jesus as the Messiah. And they have been rescued/redeemed as firstfruits. The Contemporary English Version says it like this: They have been rescued to be presented to God and the Lamb as the most precious people on earth. But in addition to being most precious, they may represent the last of the firstfruits on earth.
One could say that for the first time in history, we are seeing many Jews embrace Jesus in this new millenium, and certainly more than 144,000. (~350,000 Messianic believers worldwide, ~15,000 in Israel1).
Have we “arrived” prophetically speaking? Are the 144,000 among today’s Messianic Jews?
I would say no unless the latter are religious, they practice celibacy, and their lineage traces back to one of twelve tribes according to precise percentages. As more-or-less ten of the twelve tribes were exiled in the 8th century BC and culturally assimilated in the lands they were sent to, sorting this out would be a major tour-de-force for AncestryDNA. Also, even the most religious of Orthodox Jews marry and have children as part of their theological beliefs and culture. Those who set out to remain celibate may actually disqualify themselves from religious avocation.2
But there’s more…when I was drafting this post, I heard a TV pastor mention the key distinguishing characteristic, apart from their lineage, purity, and consecration. He said that the 144,000 would be End Time Evangelists for Jesus. And I think the when in the pastor’s expression—basically, the point at which this intersects the cosmic timeline—is the key discriminator that makes this brand of firstfruits so unique…They preach the gospel just before the end. The theory is that there will come a time when the Jewish nation will corporately repent of denying that Jesus is the Messiah. And then these 144,000 firstfruits evangelists will help to usher in the End Time Jewish revival on a massive scale. …Then (the Jewish nation) will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 After that…the Day of the LORD will come. Zechariah 14:1
P.S. I believe this theory. 🙂
In the next post, we will continue to discuss further firstfruits characteristics….
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1https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/many-messianic-jews/
Cross-Denominational Bible Study 