The First and the Last

THE FIRST AND THE LAST
(Rev. 1:11)
by Leland Earls

“This is the revelation of Jesus Christ—His unveiling of the divine mysteries. God gave it to Him to disclose end make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to his bond servant John, who has testified to and vouched for all that he saw (in his visions), the Word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ… I (John) was in the Spirit—rapt in His power—on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the FIRST AND THE LAST. Write promptly what you see (your vision) in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (Rev. 1:1-2, 10-11 Amplified Version).
Please prayerfully read and meditate on the above words. It is important to under­stand that the book of Revelation contains “divine mysteries” which had not been previously unveiled – either by Jesus Himself, or anyone else. Furthermore, to make the matter em­phatic, the glorified Christ characterizes Himself in this final revelation as the “Alpha and the Omega, the FIRST and the LAST.” (Rev. 1:11). “Alpha” is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and “Omega” is the last. Letters make up syllables and words. Words communi­cate ideas. Thus Jesus was emphatically declaring that He alone (as THE WORD – John 1:1, 11; Rev. 19:11) has the first and the last “word” on matters of Divine Revelation.
Why is this so important? Because so many Bible students seek to find in the epis­tles of Paul, Peter. John, etc. the “final word” on various aspects of Christian truth. Certain­ly the apostles have made a contribution to our understanding. But only in the words of Jesus in the Gospels and the book of Revelation do we have the FIRST and LAST authorita­tive “word” on all spiritual truth. And all the revelations of Jesus arc FOUNDED in that which the mighty Yahweh-Spirit had made known to Moses and the other prophets in the Old Testament. “To the law (Moses) and to the testimony (of the other prophets)! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Is. 8:20).

[Does Paul Contradict the Teachings of a Two-Stage Translation?]

In order to illustrate this principle, I will now deal with a couple of questions sub­mitted by a Canadian reader regarding apparent contradictions between statements made by the apostle Paul, and that which is founded in the revelation of Jesus Christ, concerning end-time truths. The questions are as follows:
1. Paul says in I Cor. 15:15 that “we shall all be changed” at the time of translation. This appears to contradict the word in your book “Let My People Go ” that only those who have attained the proper maturity by the end of the tribulation shall be changed while the rest remain on earth to enter the earth-based Kingdom. What is your solution for this?
2. Paul indicates in I Thess. 4:15 that the translation of the living ones does not pre­cede the resurrection of the dead. Despite the abundance of evidence to scripturally support otherwise the taking of a “first fruits sheaf” before the tribulation, how do you reconcile the apparent contradiction?
First, I will go to the heart of the matter and answer briefly the above questions. Secondly, since Paul’s statements quoted in the above questions deal with climactic events to take place at the close of this age, I will go into the Scriptural pattern for the “harvest” and show how Paul’s statements fit into this pattern. Third and finally, I will seek to probe somewhat deeper into Paul’s understanding and draw out some points which perhaps you had not noticed before.

[The Incompleteness of Paul’s End Time Teaching]

First, Paul was honest enough to admit that he understood only “in part,” and as “in a mirror, dimly” (I Cor. 13:12), Therefore it is impossible to build a pattern of end-time events on the writings of Paul alone. Read again what I have already written in the first part of this article. I repeat, there is only ONE who has the “first word” and “last word” on all divinely revealed truth: Jesus Christ. Whatever was revealed to Spirit-tutored men such as Peter, Paul, etc., was but partial and incomplete; only “pieces” of the over-all puzzle and will not be contradictory if fitted into the proper place.

I point out in my “Three Comings of Jesus ” booklet that even Jesus’ words in the gospels do not give a complete picture of end-time events. For example, in John 5:29, Jesus speaks of the resurrection of some unto life, and others unto judgment. Based on that statement, we might conclude that both resurrections would take place at the same time, but according to Rev. 20:4-6 there is more than one resurrection, separated by at least a thousand years. To give additional revelation that had not been given before was the very purpose of Jesus sending a special messenger to John on the isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:1). If Paul was given the “last word” on end-time prophetic events, why would John receive ad­ditional details from a special messenger long after Paul’s ministry was over (ponder that much until its truth has sunk deeply into your consciousness). As to Paul saying in I Cor. 15:15, that “we all” shall be changed, we must understand that there are different catego­ries of Christians. I will seek to show as we proceed that we need to understand WHO Paul is including when he uses such pronouns as “we” “our” and “us.”

[The Harvest Parables: Foundational Paradigm to Understanding the End Time “Rapture”]

We need to understand God’s end-time pattern for the “harvest” if we are going to fit the pieces into the over all picture. Jesus emphatically declared in Mt. 13:39 that “the harvest is the end of the age (not “world,” as it is in the King James version). It is quite common for the word “harvest” to be used to denote the “winning of souls” to Christ. From a limited perspective, I believe this is a legitimate analogy. However, scripturally speaking, we are dealing with epochal events which consummate six thousand years of human history, and open a new cycle and dimension of God’s dealings with the earth and its inhabitants. The very metaphor of a “harvest” implies that seeds have been planted, and have grown to maturity over a process of time under the right conditions. Then follows the reaping and threshing that they might be transported to another place. Even so, the Lord’s harvest in­volves the planting of His word-seed in the soil of human hearts (Mt. 13:19,23) followed by the right conditions for growth to maturity, in order that a great multitude of humans will be prepared for transport to another realm (the heavenly Kingdom) by having their physical bodies glorified at the close of this age.

– [Three Stages of Salvation Revealed in the Parable of the Sower]

In several of His parables, Jesus used the figure of the harvest to portray truths of His spiritual Kingdom. Mt. 13:3-9 records the parable of the Sower and Jesus gives the inter­pretation in Mt. 13:.8-23. I will not go into detail, but simply state that the parable speaks of the different kinds of soils (human hearts) and the different degrees of response to the Word of God, typified by the 30, 60 and 100 fold. In Mark’s account of the same parable, Jesus follows with the statement, “Do you not understand THIS parable? How then will you understand all parables?” (Mk. 4:13). In other words, this is the KEY parable. It un­locks the other parables.

For my purpose here, I will just focus on one verse – Mt. 13:23, where Jesus states that the seed on the good ground brought forth “some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty fold.” Thus declaring that there are THREE groups or categories of Christians and each of these three groups has a different destiny. This can be established and amplified on by nu­merous other teachings of Jesus, as well as seen in many pattern truths in the Old Testament. That is beyond the scope, however, of what I want to cover in this article, I will just quote one more parable given by Jesus to focus on the “maturity” question raised by the Canadian reader. I will quote in part Mark 4:26-29: “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. . . for the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But, when the grain ripens, immediate­ly he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Notice the three groups again. The “blade” corresponds to the 30 fold Christian, “the head” (but still green and partially filled) corresponds to the 60 fold, and the “full” (ripe) grain in the head corresponds to the 100 fold. Not only do we have pictured here the three categories of Christians, but also three stages of progress or growth.

In order to better understand the end time harvest picture, and just WHO is to be “harvested,” I want to share briefly what takes place in the life of a believer in Christ in each of these progressive stages. The “thirty fold” or “blade” Christian is an intellectual believer only. Those in this category give “mental assent” to the truths of Christ, and believe that they should at least TRY to live somewhat of a respectable life. This group forms the bulk of church people in the world today. But there is no “seed” in a blade; therefore the thirty-fold have NOT been “born of the incorruptible seed” of Jesus Christ (I Pet. 1:23). Theirs is but a provisional salvation, conditioned upon their continued going TOWARDS Christ. Such, said Jesus, would by no means be cast out (John 6:37). However, they can (and many do) “drawback to perdition” (He. 10:39) returning to their former ways (II Pet. 2:20-22). The blades who fail to follow through are pictured in the parable of the Sower as those which “sprang up,” but were either “scorched out” by tribulation or persecution (Mt. 13:5-6, 20-21) or “choked out” by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches (Mt. 13:7, 22).

The “sixty-fold” are the HEART receivers (John 1:12-13). They have come to a deep seated repentance and have invited Christ to “come in” (Rev. 3:20) being “born anew” (John 3:3) of His deathless life seed, which is engrafted into the soul (James 1:21) causing them to pass from death to life (John 5:24). Theirs is a secured salvation which can never be lost (John 10:28-29). But pause now and THINK! This second stage in Mark 4:28 is called the “head” (or “ear” as it is rendered the King James Version). But in the context the clear im­plication is that the head of grain is yet green and not fully developed. It is not ready to be harvested (removed) from the earth realm (either by translation or out-resurrection) into the heavenly or glorified realm. The salvation of the thirty-fold or sixty-fold groups has nothing to do with heaven. Theirs is but to be preserved to remain on earth, or to be res­urrected back to earth to continue to progress in God’s plan. Their harvest from physical to glorified bodies is yet far into the future (a thousand years or more). The exception will be those now living who let the Lord prepare them in the coming tribulation for the harvest at the close of this age, now near at hand.

It is the hundred-fold who have the potential to become the full (ripe) grain in the head (Mk. 4:28) Christian, ready for harvest. That which introduces one into the hundred­fold estate is the Holy Spirit baptism (Mt. 3:11, John 1:33). No, I am NOT referring to speaking in tongues, although that gift may or may not accompany the experience. The one who is immersed in the fire of God’s Spirit does not need a special sign as an evidence of something that is in itself a life-transforming encounter with the living Christ. When prop­erly understood and received according to the Divine pattern and intent, this infusion sanctifies the human tabernacle with the glory of the Lord (Ex. 29:43), purging the heart from bondage to carnality, being the “circumcision made without hands by the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11).

This estate of Spirit-sanctification, however, must be maintained by whole-hearted devotion to Christ and separation to Him. There must also be continued testing, proving, overcoming, and spiritual growth before being approved for the harvest. That approval is spoken of in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of Life which the Lord has promised to those that love Him.” That “CROWN of life” is life on the glorified plane, in contrast to the earthly. Read I Cor. 9:24-27, and note that Paul indicates he is “running” and “fighting” for that crown, lest he should be disqualified and lose out on that prize.

(Glenn’s note: I do not fully agree with Brother Earls interpretation of the three levels of Christians here.  I believe each of the groups, the 30, 60, and 100-fold Christians, are all productive Christians.  The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 clearly shows,  however, that there are two other groups of Christians who do not even make it to any productivity at all.  The first failed type of Christian is the one who is sown on rocky ground, but fails to take root in his new-found faith and thus falls away when tribulation or persecution comes because of his faith. The second type of failed Christian is the one who lets the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out his faith. All of these failed Christians have their part in the Lake of Fire according to Revelation 21:8. Compare this with Revelation 2:11 which says, “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” and Revelation 20:14, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” On the other hand all three of the 30, 60, and 100-fold Christians “bear fruit!” See Matthew 13:23. None of those three productive types of Christians will have a part in the Lake of Fire.)

Click here for the source of the above writing by J. Leland Earls.

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