Are the 144,000 of Rev. 14:1-3.

[percho]

firstfruit of God and the Lamb V4. the same 144,000 of Rev. 7:4, 5-8 and are the firstfruit of Rev. 14:4 the same firstfruit of James 1:18?

 

[HankD]

Firstfruit - Grk. aparche I see it as a general purpose word not all encompassing of any one group.

00620 UBS First portion - Jewish term for anything set apart to God before the remainder could be used.

In James the Firstfruits are those newly born into the Jewish apostolic church - the church of Matthew 16:18.
Roughly IMO consisting of those brought into the infant church at the preaching/teaching of the apostles.
Paul may be a special case not included? As he is the Apostle of the Gentiles.

In the Revelation passages these are the body of 144,000 Jews called out of national Israel saved and sealed for a mission.

They are the Firstborn of Redeemed Israel which goes into the millennium.

No I can't prove every element above - its speculative and my best guess.

 

[percho]

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Same group?

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. James 1:1

Does that, "we," come from that addressed group?

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits (singular) unto God and to the Lamb.Rev 14:4

How are we to understand this?

BTW Thanks for your reply.

 

[Covenanter]

firstfruit of God and the Lamb V4. the same 144,000 of Rev. 7:4, 5-8 and are the firstfruit of Rev. 14:4 the same firstfruit of James 1:18?

2 interesting replies. It does seem that the "firstfruits" are simply the first of a specific group. In Rev. 14 of first century Jewish Christians - not necessarily virgins as marriage does not defile. (Heb. 13:4)

My thinking goes back to the Olivet prophecy, quoted by John in Rev. 1:7, - "tribes of the land" is a valid translation. Jesus' Olivet translations is a warning to the Jews of the land to recognise the signs of the destruction in the lifetime of "this generation."

Note the allusion -

Mat. 24:30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Rev. 7:1-4 "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.​

The believers in Jerusalem & Judea were warned to flee before the destruction. I take the "partial preterist" understanding of prophecy, including an early date for Revelation, so that the prophecies largely refer to the destruction. That understanding means the prophecies in their cryptic language refer to real historical events & situations, rather than the events of 2000 years of history or yet future events. In neither case would "firstfruits" be valid. Revelation becomes relevant to its readers in the years before AD 70. See Rev. 1:1-3.

 

[HankD]

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Same group?

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:18
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. James 1:1

Does that, "we," come from that addressed group?

I think so.

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits (singular) unto God and to the Lamb.Rev 14:4

How are we to understand this?

It may have a spiritual connotation of which I am not sure. Perhaps a kind of singular loyalty and devotion to Jesus Christ and Him alone.