Our Christ is the Lamb whom the overcoming firstfruits follow, for the living overcomers who live in God’s presence today and are ripened earlier will be taken to Mount Zion, in the presence of the Father and of Christ, to be for His satisfaction; we want to be such ones today!
Amen, Lord Jesus, grow in us a little more today. Grant us to mature in life. We want to cooperate with You so that Your element may increase in us. We turn to You. We open our mind, emotion, and will to Your divine dispensing. Keep us in Your presence today. Amen, Lord, Your presence is everything to us. May we do all things in Your presence, one with You, until we’re in Your presence on Mount Zion as the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb! Amen!
This week in our prayerful consideration of the book of Revelation to see how we can experience, enjoy, and express Christ, we come to chapter 14, especially the first five verses; here we see the revelation of Christ as the Lamb whom the overcoming firstfruits follow. What a wonderful Christ we have!
We may be concerned with the rapture, for we want to be taken to the Lord’s presence, but we need to see what kind of people we should be and what kind of living we should have to be the Lord’s overcoming believers who meet God’s need.
In Revelation 12 we see the rapture of the man-child for the defeating of God’s enemy.
The man-child is composed of the overcoming saints who fought the enemy in their lifetime and have prevailed over him, and they have died; therefore, they are raptured to the throne of God and, as soon as they are up there, war breaks in heaven and Satan and his armies are cast down.
This is one kind of rapture, the rapture of the overcomers who have died.
But in Revelation 14 we see the firstfruits who are with God and the Lamb on Mount Zion. These firstfruits are not for overcoming the enemy or defeating him; they are for God’s satisfaction.
On the one hand, we want to be those who are with the Lord to stand against the enemy and cause him to suffer loss. On the other hand, we love the Lord, we want to grow in life, and we want to live a life for His satisfaction today.
The Lord needs the man-child to fight against the enemy, but He needs the firstfruits even more for His satisfaction and His own enjoyment.
He is the Lamb of God, and He needs many standing with Him, one with Him; He wants to gain those who ripen first to be the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb for His satisfaction.
May we be such ones today; may we follow the Lamb wherever He may go and be for His satisfaction!
The Firstfruits are the Living Overcomers who Ripen First in God’s Field and are Caught up to Mount Zion in God’s Presence for His Satisfaction
If we prayerfully consider verses 1 through 5 in Revelation 14 we will see Christ as the Lamb whom the overcoming saints follow. Later, we see the harvest, but in the first five verses of this chapter we see the firstfruits.
The book of Revelation is the harvest of all that the divine revelation speaks of, and many of these seeds were planted in Genesis.
In particular, in Matthew 13 the Lord Jesus likened Himself to a Sower, a farmer who goes forth to sow. He sows Himself as the seed of the kingdom into His believers.
In 1 Corinthians 3 we see that Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God causes the growth; we need to grow in life, that is, allow Christ to grow in us. We are God’s farm, God’s building; it’s not just us individually, but together we are God’s farm, His building.
In Revelation 14 we have the harvest, and in particular, the firstfruits.
These firstfruits are seen in Leviticus 23 and Exodus 23 in type, the firstfruits of the good land to be brought to the temple, to God’s house, for God to enjoy. God wants to enjoy the firstfruits.
God is a great Farmer, and He has a barn, a house, and a field; He wants the firstfruits from His field to come straight into His presence for His enjoyment.
What are these firstfruits? Can we be the firstfruits? 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.
They are not special; they merely ripen first. We want to be the Lord’s overcoming saints today, those who cooperate with Him to the best of our ability, so that He may grow in us unto maturity and we would ripen first to be the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
In the New Testament reality, the one hundred forty-four thousand overcomers will be the firstfruits in God’s new creation offered to God directly in the heavenly Holy of Holies for His satisfaction.
The firstfruits will be caught up to the heavenly Mount Zion, to the place of God’s dwelling, the third heaven, in order to be in the presence of God and Christ.
These early overcomers will ripe first in God’s field. God has a wide and large field, with many believers in it; however, some ripen first to be the firstfruits, and they are reaped and brought before God before the harvest (Lev. 23:10-11).
On the one hand, in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, we are told that those who are sleeping in Christ, who die in the Lord, will rise first, and will be caught up to be with the Lord in the air; this is at the seventh trumpet.
But we should not wait for that; we should aspire to be the Lord’s overcomers today for Him to ripen us first and bring us into His presence on Mount Zion. Amen!
In Revelation 14:6-13, we see a series of events, all of which will take place during the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21); this indicates in a clear way and even proves in a strong way that the first overcomers, the firstfruits in Revelation 14:1-5, will be raptured before the great tribulation.
First, the firstfruits are raptured to God’s presence on Mount Zion; this takes place before the great tribulation.
Then, the harvest, composed of the majority of the believers which are not yet overcomers, will be raptured at the end of the great tribulation.
The firstfruits will not be taken to the air; they will be taken to the heavens, even to the heavenly Mount Zion. These firstfruits are not special Christians; they only ripe first.
As the people of God are growing on earth, a small number of them will become the firstfruits, the overcomers. May we be these firstfruits taken to the throne of God and to the Lamb!
Lord Jesus, grow in us today. We give ourselves to You for You to grow and increase in us until we arrive at maturity. Amen, Lord, we aspire to be Your overcoming saints, even Your living overcomers in this age. Oh Lord, thank You for purchasing us from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. Keep us in Your presence. Keep us enjoying You. Keep us opening to You. May You have a way to spread from our spirit into our mind, emotion, and will. Saturate our inner being. Swallow our whole being in Your divine life. Cause us to be brought on to maturity. Oh Lord, may we be those who ripen first to be the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb! We want to live in Your presence today. We want to live a life for Your satisfaction. Grant us to be the living overcomers who will be the firstfruits taken by You at the heavenly Mount Zion for Your satisfaction and delight! Oh Lord Jesus, we aspire to be such ones today! May our daily living and work be for God’s satisfaction today! Amen!
To be the Firstfruits taken into the Lord’s Presence we need to Be in His Presence Today
To be raptured means that we are taken into the Lord’s presence; if we want to be the firstfruits taken into the Lord’s presence on Mount Zion before the great tribulation, we must be in His presence today (see Luke 21:36; 2 Cor. 2:10; Hosea 6:2; 2 Tim. 4:8; Acts 26:16).
Everything we do today needs to be in the index of the Lord’s eyes, looking at His face to see how He feels about things.
The apostle Paul forgave a sinning brother in 2 Corinthians 2:10, and this was not of himself but in the index of the Lord’s eyes and for the saints’ sake.
Even when we forgive someone, we should not do it in ourselves but in the Lord’s eyes, in His presence. We need to live in the Lord’s presence today.
We need to do all things by looking at His face to have His smile. When you look at someone and see their eyes, you know what he feels, what their desire is, and how he thinks of you and of the situation right now.
The Lord today has seven eyes, and He is looking at us constantly. Wherever we are, the Lord is with us.
We may spend time with the Lord in the morning, seeking to touch Him in a personal and intimate way, and we may not be able to have a taste of His presence.
But then, as we do this and that during the day, we may find ourselves in a place where the Lord does not want us to be, and His presence is right there with us.
He is burning in us with His seven eyes, causing us to be uncomfortable in that particular place or doing that particular activity, and we simply repent and return to the Lord.
As we do our shopping, as we speak to our friends, and as we do our job where we are working, the Lord is with us, and we need to live in His presence.
Sometimes we may be at the grocery store and, as we are walking down the aisle, we see something that we never knew existed but suddenly becomes very appealing and necessary to us.
With today’s marketing and advertising, so many things are enticing to us, and they draw our eyes and capture our attention.
But as we are about to pick up something and out it in our basket, we feel the Lord’s seven eyes present with us. Oh Lord! So we obey the Lord’s inner speaking and feeling, for we want to live in His presence and do all things in His presence.
May we be those who love the Lord’s appearing today (2 Tim. 4:8). Before we can be taken to Mount Zion as firstfruits to God for His satisfaction, we need to live in His presence today.
We need to love His appearing. This means that, wherever we are and whatever we do, we need to welcome and love the Lord’s appearing. May we not reject His appearing but love His instant, living presence.
On the one hand, the Lord needs the man-child to fight against HIs enemy, but on the other hand, He needs the firstfruits even more for His satisfaction and enjoyment (Rev. 12:5; 14:1, 4).
On the one hand, we need to overcome the enemy because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of our testimony and by not loving our soul-life even unto death.
On the other hand, we need to grow in life, live in the Lord’s presence, and be one with the Lord so that we may be the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb for His satisfaction.
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).
We do not want to merely be part of the harvest, which will be taken at the end of the great tribulation; we want to be the firstfruits. May we not be befuddled; may we not allow the enemy to befuddle us, to delay our growth in life.
May we take the Lord’s pure word and live for His satisfaction today by living in His presence.
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). 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).
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.
It is only a matter of time; it’s a matter of our decision to give the Lord the cooperation today to ripen sooner by living in His presence.
He will work it out; He works out the willing and the working for His good pleasure, but we need to cooperate with Him.
May we open to the Lord concerning this matter and allow Him to grow in us today a little more, even to ripen us before His coming to take us as the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
Lord Jesus, we want to ripen sooner – grow in us unto maturity! Keep us enjoying Your presence. May we be the first-ripe ones in God’s field. We give You our best cooperation. Grow in us. We open to Your shining. We want to live in Your presence. We want to do all things in Your presence. Amen, Lord, we treasure Your presence with us today. We want to live one spirit with You in all things. We give You our daily living; we want to be in Your presence in all things. We love Your appearing, Lord, and we give ourselves to You to grow in life unto maturity. Oh Lord, as we live our daily life, keep us in Your presence. Grant us to ripen earlier so that we may be the firstfruits You desire for Your satisfaction! May we look into Your eyes and do all things according to Your instant presence. Amen, Lord, we love Your presence and we love being in Your appearing today until one day we are taken into Your presence on Mount Zion to be there for Your satisfaction! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta on this topic, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 422 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4) (2025 December Training), week 45 (msg. 9), The Lamb Whom the Overcoming Firstfruits Follow – day 1.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Christ comes quickly for His grain, / Ripened firstfruits to obtain; / Unripe harvest will remain— / Ripen now! / From earth’s water grain must dry, / From the world your soul deny; / To mature the self must die— / Ripen now! (Hymns #1304 stanza 4)
– And soon will be the coming / Of our triumphant King! / He’s coming for the churches / Where His sweet praises ring. / Come, Lord, come reap the firstfruits, / As draws the harvest nigh, / And to Thy throne do take us, / To reign with Thee on high. (Hymns #1265 stanza 4)
– Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live, / From morning to evening my one world Thou art; / O let not my heart be contented or rest / When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part. (Hymns #389 stanza 1)
About aGodMan
May we live in the Lord’s presence today, loving His appearing, and growing in life unto maturity so that we may ripen first and be taken by Him to Mount Zion as the firstfruits!
We aspire to be the Lord’s living overcomers who are one with the Lord, who live a life for His satisfaction, and who bear His name on our foreheads, being mingled with Him!
The rapture is the reaping of God’s crop for His satisfaction and the first fruits are the ones to ripen the quickest. Those who love the Lord have an intimate relationship with Him and are in His presence daily. They will not be surprised by the rapture as His faithful followers
Amen Lord. Knowing who we have been and now knowing that we are making your living overcomers is that we call “good news”
As the first-ripe crops from the farm field are taken to the house of the farmer for the enjoyment of his family, the very matured saints will also be raptured and taken first to the house of God for His satisfaction. (Revelation 14:1-5). Praise the Lord for His faithful word all the time.
Brother, we should be those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. In order to escape spiritual death, we must walk with God by faith and obtain the testimony that we are well pleasing to Him.
Also, we must be faithful in the service of giving food to God’s household. We need to become one with the Lamb and the Father by becoming mingled with the Triune God and His people.