Life Walk Lesson 109: The Law of Firstfruits and the 144,000
All Scripture is from the Amplified Classic Translation
[Amplified ClassicAmplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
The Original Intent for Humans and Animals
Genesis 1:26-28
26 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth.
27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.
Genesis 1:29
29 “And God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.”
Because humans sinned against God and His creation, God destroyed by flood everything that had become defiled, including humans, animals, and plant life. [Genesis 6-9]
God saved Noah and his family, and a sample of all the animals and plant seeds on the Ark, to populate the earth once again.
In Genesis 9 God makes a Covenant with both Humans and Animals:
11 “I will establish My covenant or pledge with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood; neither shall there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth and make it corrupt.
12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
13 I set My bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be a token or sign of a covenant or solemn pledge between Me and the earth.
14 And it shall be that when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow [rainbow] is seen in the clouds,
15 I will [earnestly] remember My covenant or solemn pledge which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy and make all flesh corrupt.”
In the days of the formation of the Ancient Nation of Israel, God instructed Moses in the Laws of God, with respect to Humans and Animals, and the protocols He had already placed, which the Pre-Flood world broke, beginning with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:16-17
15 “And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The Law of Firstfruits for Humans and Animals
Exodus 34:19-20
19 All the males that first open the womb among your livestock are Mine, whether ox or sheep.
20 But the firstling of a donkey [an unclean beast] you shall redeem with a lamb or kid, (a baby goat) and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck.
All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And none of you shall appear before Me empty-handed.”
Law Regarding the Harvest of Trees
Leviticus 19:23-25
23 "And when you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count the fruit of them as inedible and forbidden to you for three years; it shall not be eaten.
24 In the fourth year all their fruit shall be holy for giving praise to the Lord.
25 But in the fifth year you may eat of the fruit [of the trees], that their produce may enrich you; I am the Lord your God.”
The Law of Firstfruits for Crops
Deuteronomy 26
1.When you have come into the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance and possess it and live in it,
2 You shall take some of the first of all the produce of the soil which you harvest from the land the Lord your God gives you and put it in a basket, and go to the place [the sanctuary] which the Lord your God has chosen as the abiding place for His Name [and His Presence].
3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days, and say to him, I give thanks this day to the Lord your God that I have come to the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.
4 And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
5 And you shall say before the Lord your God,
‘A wandering and lost Aramean ready to perish was my father [Jacob], and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and numerous.
6 And the Egyptians treated us very badly and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage.
7 And when we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our [cruel] oppression;
8 And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, and with great (awesome) power and with signs and with wonders;
9 And He brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And now, behold, I bring the firstfruits of the ground which You, O Lord, have given me. And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God;
11 And you and the Levite and the stranger and the sojourner among you shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given you and your household.’
12 When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger and the sojourner, the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled,
13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God,
‘I have brought the hallowed things (the tithe) out of my house and moreover have given them to the Levite, to the stranger and the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Your commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
14 I have not eaten of the tithe in my mourning [making the tithe unclean], nor have I handled any of it when I was unclean, nor given any of it to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
16 This day the Lord your God has commanded you to do these statutes and ordinances. Therefore you shall keep and do them with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being.
17 You have [openly] declared the Lord this day to be your God, [pledging] to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments and His precepts, and to hearken to His voice.
18 And the Lord has declared this day that you are His peculiar people as He promised you, and you are to keep all His commandments;
19 And He will make you high above all nations which He has made, in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a holy people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.”
In Exodus 23 God gives Ancient Israel the three festival periods to be celebrated annually.
14 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to Me.
15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before Me empty-handed.
16 Also you shall keep the Feast of Harvest [Pentecost], [acknowledging] the firstfruits of your toil, of what you sow in the field.
And [third] you shall keep the Feast of Ingathering [Booths or Tabernacles] at the end of the year, when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.”
And in verse 19 —
19 “The first of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God…”
And here is the reward for obeying God:
In verse 20-22 God declares:
20 Behold, I send an *Angel before you to keep and guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
21 Give heed to Him, listen to and obey His voice; be not rebellious before Him or provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgression; for My Name is in Him.
22 But if you will indeed listen to and obey His voice and all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
[*Footnotes
- Genesis 16:7 “The Angel of the Lord” or “of God” or “of His presence” is readily identified with the Lord God (Genesis 16:11, 13; 22:11, 12; 31:11, 13; Exodus 3:1-6 and other passages). But it is obvious that the “Angel of the Lord” is a distinct person in Himself from God the Father (Gen. 24:7; Exodus 23:20; Zechariah 1:12, 13 and other passages).
- Nor does the “Angel of the Lord” appear again after Christ came in human form. He must of necessity be One of the “three-in-one” Godhead. The “Angel of the Lord” is the visible Lord God of the Old Testament, as Jesus Christ is of the New Testament. Thus His deity is clearly portrayed in the Old Testament. The Cambridge Bible observes, “There is a fascinating forecast of the coming Messiah, breaking through the dimness with amazing consistency, at intervals from Genesis to Malachi. Abraham, Moses, the slave girl Hagar, the impoverished farmer Gideon, even the humble parents of Samson, had seen and talked with Him centuries before the herald angels proclaimed His birth in Bethlehem.”]
Proverbs 3:9-10
9 “Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;
10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.”
God’s Intent for a Holy People and Nation
The Nation of Israel is God’s Firstfruit of the Nations
Jeremiah 2:2-4
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: I [earnestly] remember the kindness and devotion of your youth, your love after your betrothal [in Egypt] and marriage [at Sinai] when you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holiness [something set apart from ordinary purposes, dedicated] to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest [of which no stranger was allowed to partake]; all who ate of it [injuring Israel] offended and became guilty; evil came upon them, says the Lord.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.”
Ezekiel 20:39-41
39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go, serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to Me! But you shall not profane My holy name any more with your sacrificial gifts and your idols!
40 For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There will I [graciously] accept them, and there will I require your offerings and the firstfruits and the choicest of your contributions, with all your sacred things.
41 I will accept you [graciously] as a pleasant odor when I lead you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered, and I will manifest My holiness among you in the sight of the nations [who will seek Me because of My power displayed in you].”
Ezekiel 44:30
30 “And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priest the first of your coarse meal and bread dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.”
Ezekiel 48:13-15
13 “And opposite the border of the priests the [other] Levites shall have 25,000 [measures] in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 and the breadth 10,000.
14 And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it; they shall not convey or transfer this the firstfruits of the land, for it has been offered to the Lord and is holy to Him.
15 And the remaining strip of 5,000 [measures] in breadth and 25,000 in length shall be for the city’s secular use, for a place in which to dwell and for open country or suburbs. The city shall be in the midst of the plot.”
The New Covenant — Jesus and the First Believers
The Apostle Paul describes the people and the nation this way:
Ephesians 1:14
That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it—to the praise of His glory.
Romans 8:23
And not only the creation, but we ourselves too, who have and enjoy the firstfruits of the [Holy] Spirit [a foretaste of the blissful things to come] groan inwardly as we wait for the redemption of our bodies [from sensuality and the grave, which will reveal] our adoption (our manifestation as God’s sons).
Romans 11:16
“Now if the first handful of dough offered as the firstfruits [Abraham and the patriarchs] is consecrated (holy), so is the whole mass [the nation of Israel]; and if the root [Abraham] is consecrated (holy), so are the branches.”
1 Corinthians 15:20
But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) has been raised from the dead, and He became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death].
1 Corinthians 15:23
“But each in his own rank and turn: Christ (the Messiah) [is] the firstfruits, then those who are Christ’s [own will be resurrected] at His coming.”
1 Corinthians 16:15
“Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts and our firstfruits in Achaia (most of Greece), and how they have consecrated and devoted themselves to the service of the saints (God’s people).”
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“But we, brethren beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those who are in debt] to give thanks always to God for you, because God chose you from the beginning as His firstfruits (first converts) for salvation through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief in (adherence to, trust in, and reliance on) the Truth.”
James 1:18
“And it was of His own [free] will that He gave us birth [as sons] by [His] Word of Truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures [a sample of what He created to be consecrated to Himself].”
The Firstfruits of Jesus
Mark 12:26
26 But concerning the dead being raised—have you not read in the book of Moses, [in the passage] about the [burning] bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of [the] dead, but of [the] living! …”
Luke 20:38
“Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all men are alive [whether in the body or out of it] and they are alive [not dead] unto Him [in definite relationship to Him].”
Matthew 27:46-54
46 And about the ninth hour (three o’clock) Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?—that is, My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me [leaving Me helpless, forsaking and failing Me in My need]? [Psalm 22:1]
47 And some of the bystanders, when they heard it, said, This Man is calling for Elijah!
48 And one of them immediately ran and took a sponge, soaked it with vinegar (a sour wine), and put it on a reed (staff), and was about to give it to Him to drink.
49 But the others said, Wait! Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him from death.
50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.
51 And at once the curtain of the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep in death were raised [to life];
53 And coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
54 When the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over Jesus observed the earthquake and all that was happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, Truly this was God’s Son!”
Ephesians 4:7-10
7 Yet grace (God’s unmerited favor) was given to each of us individually [not indiscriminately, but in different ways] in proportion to the measure of Christ’s [rich and bounteous] gift.
8 Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of [vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men.
9 [But He ascended?] Now what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from [the heights of] heaven into [the depths], the lower parts of the earth?
10 He Who descended is the [very] same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He [His presence] might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest).”
1 Peter 3:18-20
18 For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit,
19 In which He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 [The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God’s patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water.”
Job 33:23-25
23 “[God’s voice may be heard] if there is for the hearer a messenger or an angel, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him [how to be upright and in right standing with God],
24 Then [God] is gracious to him and says, Deliver him from going down into the pit [of destruction]; I have found a ransom (a price of redemption, an atonement)!
25 [Then the man’s] flesh shall be restored; it becomes fresher and more tender than a child’s; he returns to the days of his youth.”
Matthew 20:25-27
25 And Jesus called them to Him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men hold them in subjection [tyrannizing over them].
26 Not so shall it be among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant,
27 And whoever desires to be first among you must be your slave—“Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free].”
Revelation 13:8
“And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain [in sacrifice] from the foundation of the world.”
Isaiah 35:10
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Isaiah 43:1
“But now [in spite of past judgments for Israel’s sins], thus says the Lord, He Who created you, O Jacob, and He Who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”
1 Peter 1:17-19
17 “And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short].
18 You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,
19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.”
Now, keep in mind everything we have learned about crop harvest, and firstfruits. We have also learned about human and animal life, as firstfruits — all that was dedicated, devoted, and sanctified as Holy unto God throughout time, from the beginning — that which was born first, grown first, or created first, etc.
There are always two harvests of a crop — firstfruits, and the second harvest. The firstfruits, like the tithe, was to be given to the Priests, because they had no physical inheritance in Israel.
Insight
Now, humanly, we also see Adam called “the first Adam”, and Jesus called the Second Adam. The first Adam failed, just as Reuben failed [Jacob’s firstborn and the firstfruit of his manhood] failed, and his right to the birthright was revoked. [Genesis 49:3].
Jesus took Adam’s place, just as Judah took the place of Reuben as firstborn and created the lineage of the King of kings to come.
Additionally, there were two trees in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve took of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God said not to eat of. It was forbidden, like the trees under three years old were forbidden to eat of for the Ancient nation of Israel.
They were expelled from the Garden so that they could not eat of the Tree of Life.
This Tree, the Wisdom that represents Jesus, could only be received after Jesus was crucified, buried, resurrected, and had ascended into heaven, when He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers, so that the Tree of Life could be in us.
Jesus took our place, because only a sinless person can do so, so that we can be saved — forgiven, healed, delivered, and made righteous in God’s sight.
The Biblical Definition of Salvation:
[Greek] σωτηρία sōtēría, so-tay-ree'-ah; feminine of a derivative of G4990 as (properly, abstract) noun; rescue or safety (physically or morally):—deliver, health, salvation, save, saving.
The Apostle Peter declares: in 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy.”
Jesus was the Lamb, slain, from the beginning, before the world began, because God knew that only Jesus could pay the price for our ransom, and our redemption. A firstborn had to be redeemed with a lamb, or a baby goat, according to the law.
From the Beginning
So from the beginning, from the death of Adam and Eve onward, each individual who died was buried. Their spirit was kept, if they were righteous, in a place called Paradise, referred to by Jesus Himself while speaking to the thief dying by His side at His crucifixion. After the death of Abraham, it was called “Abraham’s Bosom” — the place where the righteous were held.
The wicked were held in hell. They could see the righteous in Paradise, adding to their eternal torment because of their utter separation from God’s love and presence.
Luke records the story of Lazarus and the rich man in chapter 16. Hell and Paradise were located across from one another, separated by a large and uncrossable chasm.
Luke 16:22-23
22 And it occurred that the man [reduced to] begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 And in Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom."
In the days of Job, the grave, or what happened to his spirit after his physical death, was not known to him as a place of Paradise, but of darkness, gloom, a place which he called the shadow of death.
Job 10:21-22
21 “Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death,
22 The land of sunless gloom as intense darkness, [the land] of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as thick darkness.”
Jesus, however, encourages us in Matthew 4:16
“The people who sat (dwelt enveloped) in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned.”
Upon the death of Jesus on the Cross, these all were raised from the dead — these first righteous ones, who lived from the time of creation to the time of the death of Jesus.
The spirits of the righteous, having been kept in Paradise, were now able to ascend to heaven with Jesus when He ascended — for He led “captivity captive” — He took them out of the place where they had been awaiting His coming, to take them with Him to see His glory, the glory which He had from the beginning, as promised in John 17:24, which says:
24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You have entrusted to Me [as Your gift to Me] may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory, which You have given Me [Your love gift to Me]; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, those who were righteous among the Ancient Tribes of Israel were also taken up to heaven now, as the Firstfruits of the Children of Israel, numbering 144,000 — 12,000 from each Tribe. [Revelation 7]
These were given a special reward for their obedience to God’s Laws. They followed the Protocol’s set in place from the beginning, and were not defiled by the practices of the pre-flood world.
These who lived in the post-flood world all died in faith believing and obeying God, but they could not yet go to heaven until the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, “the Firstfruits among many brethren” — 144,000 brethren.
It does not say myriads, but many, for these were specifically counted — numbered among the righteous.
After the resurrection of Jesus all these who had been previously kept in Paradise, and everyone who died after that in the faith, would be blessed by being able to go straight to heaven. This is why it says in Revelation 14:13 that they are blessed who die from that time on.
A Godly Lifestyle is Rewarded
One of the first things Paul taught new converts, to God’s way of life, was the heavenly protocol of godly behavior.
The Apostle John also emphasizes this in his writings, that we ought to love one another, as Jesus loved us, and care for one another, so that we may be judged righteous, according to Matthew 25:31-46.
Those who are were taught the ways of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God, are part of a second harvest of the righteous, recorded in Revelation 14:14. A separate harvest of the wicked is also recorded.
Interesting:
These 144,000 did not sing the Song of Moses, mentioned in Deuteronomy 32:2-44, and Revelation 15:3-4, for they were not born under the Law. These firstfruits, this sample of God’s greatest gift to a nation, were given a new song which no one else knew as their reward for obedience.
These are people who lived before Jesus came to earth in His earthly ministry, or during His earthly life, by implication of verse 14, and they died in the faith, and were part of the Tribes of Israel.
These 144,000 people, mentioned in Revelation 14, do not include anyone born of any other nation, other than Israel.
We find the list in Revelation 7, which coincides with this account, to prove that Revelation 14 is speaking of the Tribes of Israel who are sealed with the Name of God. These had been sealed with God’s own Name, just as the Angel of the Lord bore God’s name in him [Genesis 16:7].
Jesus gave us His name, by which to pray, because we are in Christ, as believers in Jesus. It is clear that there are separate harvests for the righteous and the wicked. Jesus called them, “wheat” and “tares” in His parable. Matthew 13:29-30 makes it clear that God does not include the righteous and the wicked together when "harvesting" -- gathering together to one place or another.
The righteous are taken to heaven when they die. The wicked are sent into hell when they die. Ultimately the wicked will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. [Revelation 20:10-15]
Jesus declares in Matthew 13:30
30 “Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
Let’s look at what the Scripture clearly says when God showed the Apostle John what the reward of this Righteous Remnant of Israel was:
Revelation 14
1. Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 [men] who had His name and His Father’s name inscribed on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of great waters and like the rumbling of mighty thunder; the voice I heard [seemed like the music] of harpists accompanying themselves on their harps.
3 And they sang a new song before the throne [of God] and before the four living creatures and before the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin]. No one could learn [to sing] that song except the 144,000 who had been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from the earth.
4 These are they who have not defiled themselves by relations with women, for they are [pure as] virgins.
These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
These are they who have been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from among men as the firstfruits for God and the Lamb.
5 No lie was found to be upon their lips, for they are blameless (spotless, untainted, without blemish) before the throne of God.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, with an eternal Gospel (good news) to tell to the inhabitants of the earth, to every race and tribe and language and people.
7 And he cried with a mighty voice, Revere God and give Him glory (honor and praise in worship), for the hour of His judgment has arrived. Fall down before Him; pay Him homage and adoration and worship Him Who created heaven and earth, the sea and the springs (fountains) of water.
8 Then another angel, a second, followed, declaring, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She who made all nations drink of the [maddening] wine of her passionate unchastity [idolatry].
9 Then another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a mighty voice, Whoever pays homage to the beast and his statue and permits the [beast’s] stamp (mark, inscription) to be put on his forehead or on his hand,
10 He too shall [have to] drink of the wine of God’s indignation and wrath, poured undiluted into the cup of His anger; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite (no pause, no intermission, no rest, no peace) day or night—these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him.
12 Here [comes in a call for] the steadfastness of the saints [the patience, the endurance of the people of God], those who [habitually] keep God’s commandments and [their] faith in Jesus.
13 Then I heard further [perceiving the distinct words of] a voice from heaven, saying, Write this: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are the dead from now on who die in the Lord! Yes, blessed (happy, to be envied indeed), says the Spirit, [in] that they may rest from their labors, for their works (deeds) do follow (attend, accompany) them!
14 Again I looked, and behold, [I saw] a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud One resembling a Son of Man, with a crown of gold on His head and a sharp scythe (sickle) in His hand.
15 And another angel came out of the temple sanctuary, calling with a mighty voice to Him Who was sitting upon the cloud, Put in Your scythe and reap, for the hour has arrived to gather the harvest, for the earth’s crop is fully ripened.
16 So He Who was sitting upon the cloud swung His scythe (sickle) on the earth, and the earth’s crop was harvested.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple [sanctuary] in heaven, and he also carried a sharp scythe (sickle).
18 And another angel came forth from the altar, [the angel] who has authority and power over fire, and he called with a loud cry to him who had the sharp scythe (sickle), Put forth your scythe and reap the fruitage of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are entirely ripe.
19 So the angel swung his scythe on the earth and stripped the grapes and gathered the vintage from the vines of the earth and cast it into the huge winepress of God’s indignation and wrath.
20 And [the grapes in] the winepress were trodden outside the city, and blood poured from the winepress, [reaching] as high as horses’ bridles, for a distance of 1,600 stadia (about 200 miles).”
Encouragement
Colossians 3:11
11 "[In this new creation all distinctions vanish.] There is no room for and there can be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [nor difference between nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [who are the most savage of all], nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [everything and everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person]."
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus for all who would believe on Him, all of modern day Israel, along with all the nations, can come to God, and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior — not as part of the 144,000 which have already been numbered and are in heaven — but as those who must accept Jesus to be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God dwelling in them so that they can rule and reign with Christ in the earth, now and until God replaces this creation with the New Heavens and the New Earth, described in Revelation 21-22.
