These are They (Firstfruits)

Click here for a .pdf file with chords included (If you would prefer to play in D (capo2), the chords are D G D A D G Bm A Bm G Bm A G A G D for the verse and D G Bm A (repeat) for the chorus)

Yes, Lord, You need the man-child
To fight Your enemy,
But, Lord, Your deeper longing
To have Your lovers,
To have Your lovers,
Those overcomers,
Firstfruits, Your satisfaction

Lord Jesus, I do love You;
I’ll keep myself for You,
Remain a virgin for You:
Defiled by nothing,
Dirtied by nothing,
Spoiled by nothing,
Pure for Your satisfaction

These are they
Who have not been defiled
For they are virgins
These are they
Who follow the Lamb
Wherever He may go
These were purchased
From among men
As firstfruits to God and to the Lamb
(Revelation 14:4)

(click on the down arrow if you want to download it)

This one is my most recent song, written about two weeks ago. I was reading through Revelation and decided to do a bit of extra study on the firstfruits in chapter 14, because it kind of “jumped out” at me.

In chapter 12 of Revelation, there is a vision of a dragon, a woman, and a man-child born of the woman. Here is the entire text of Revelation chapter 12. If you have a couple of minutes, you should read it. The reality of all conflict in the universe is the spiritual warfare behind all the outward situations.

1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon underneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2 And she was with child, and she cried out, travailing in birth and being in pain to bring forth.
3 And another sign was seen in heaven; and behold, there was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
4 And his tail drags away the third part of the stars of heaven, and he cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bring forth, so that when she brings forth he might devour her child.
5 And she brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place there prepared by God so that they might nourish her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels went to war with the dragon. And the dragon warred and his angels.
8 And they did not prevail, neither was their place found any longer in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole inhabited earth; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
12. Therefore be glad, O heavens and those who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you and has great rage, knowing that he has only a short time.
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who brought forth the man-child.
14 And to the woman there were given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast water as a river out of his mouth after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by its current.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon became angry with the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.
18 And he stood on the sand of the sea.

The dragon signifies Satan, the enemy of God. This dragon is persecuting the woman, signifying the totality of all of God’s people on earth. From out of God’s people, a stronger part is born. These overcomers are signified by the man-child in Revelation chapter 12, and we see that it is these overcomers who war against and defeat Satan, the enemy of God (12:11).

God does need us to overcome in order to defeat His enemy. This is very much in line with His original purpose in creating man (Gen. 1:26). But if we continue to Revelation chapter 14, we see something deeper in God’s heart concerning these overcomers. Here are the first five verses of chapter 14:

1. And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harp-singers playing on their harps.
3 And they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth.
4 These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He may go. These were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth no lie was found; they are without blemish.

Both of these portions show us the overcomers, but there are different aspects in each. In chapter 12, the overcomers are the man-child for fighting God’s enemy, Satan. In chapter 14, the overcomers are the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. They are the ones who satisfy God.

In our day-by-day christian experience, sometimes we need to learn to go on from chapter 12 to chapter 14. When we overcome Satan by the Lord’s shed blood and by the word of our testimony (12:11), this often involves “preaching to Satan”. We may say something like, “Satan, yes I know I failed in this matter, and enjoyed doing something that I shouldn’t have. But don’t you know? Jesus died for me! The debt is paid! Satan, you are defeated already! Hallelujah!” We find that speaking the word of God to Satan in this way can be very releasing. But we also need to be careful that we wouldn’t be distracted from our precious Lord and God by spending too much time talking to Satan. He really isn’t worth it. Don’t preach for Satan for too long; after a short time, you may say, “Satan, I have no more time to talk to you. I need to spend my time to love the Lord”.

It is because we love the Lord that we keep ourselves from other things to be pure for His satisfaction. This is the significance of the overcomers being “virgins” in Revelation 14:4. The overcomers abstain from many wordly pleasures. But it’s not because they are afraid of those things. It’s not even because they are keeping certain regulations. It is simply because they love the Lord Jesus so much, that they are motivated from deep within to keep themselves as pure as possible, for the sake of God’s own satisfaction. Only such a love can keep us so pure. This portion of the Bible resounds deeply within me. I’m so grateful that God has purchased me from among men to be one of the firstfruits to Him.

Lord Jesus, I say “Amen” to Your word. I exercise my spirit of faith in this matter. Work this out as a reality in my daily living. I love You Lord Jesus. I really love You!

Also of note is the word “these”. Note the plurality. Our God is not looking for individual christians. Only the Body of Christ can satisfy Him. (For more on this, read the previous post!)

There is so much more in this portion of Revelation about the firstfruits, but what I have shared is what the song is based on. I encourage you to pray over these verses, pray with these verses, pray pray pray! It is such a mercy that God has revealed to us something so deep in His heart! Praise the Lord!