The 144000 FIRST FRUITS
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.
No one could learn the song except the 144,000
who had been redeemed from the earth.
These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure.
They follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Revelation Ch 14
The Lamb and the 144,000
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”The Harvest of the Earth
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one “like a son of man” with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” 16 So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.
The 144000 in Revelation 14 are not the same as the 144000 in Revelations 7 who are Jews
The 144000 in Revelation 14 are followers of the Lamb
They stood before the throne in Heaven and sang a song which only the Redeemed could Learn
They had the name of the Lamb and His Father's name written on their foreheads
They are somewhat pure in that they were not defiled by women and they had no lie found in their mouths
They were blameless and they followed the Lamb where ever he lead
They were purchased from among men and offered as Firstfruits to God and the Lamb
They were redeemed from the Earth (as opposed to the 144000 Jews who were sealed and left on Earth)
The firstfruits of a harvest only represent a small part of the overall harvest
The firstfruits ripen first and are offered to God and the Lamb some time before the majority of believers
They could be the same group as the Church in Philadelphia who were also faultless and whom God promised to spare from the Hour of Trial
If the 144000 are spared from the Hour of Trial, they could be said to be raptured pretribulation
The majority of believers are, nevertheless, raptured post tribulation but before God pours out His Wrath upon the Nations who are left behind
The 144000 firstfruits are different from the main group of Christians that are harvested later in the Chapter after the Three Angles' messages are given
The Church is, therefore, harvested in two parts
During the second or main part of the Harvest at the End of the Age, the Angels separate the Wheat in God's Kingdom from the Weeds
The weeds are, therefore, dealt with in the second part of the Harvest (which is the major part of the Harvest)
There will probably be a pre-tribulation rapture AND a post-tribulation rapture. The later containing the majority of believers.
When the Church has been raptured or harvested, God will pour out his Wrath on the Nations that have been left behind.
Hence the Rapture will be Pre Wrath aswell.
