God's resurrection order follows Israel's harvest process: first the firstfruits, then the main harvest, and finally the corners and gleanings.
Paul uses the Jewish harvest as the pattern for resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. Christ is the firstfruits, joined by the Jewish believers who came out of the graves in Matthew 27. Les Feldick identifies the church-age believers as the main harvest at the Rapture, and Old Testament and tribulation saints as the gleanings raised after the kingdom begins.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 — Paul explicitly calls Christ the firstfruits and then gives the order of resurrection: every man in his own order.
Matthew 27:52-53 — This passage records the Jewish saints who came out of their graves and joined Christ in the firstfruits resurrection.
Scripture ties the resurrection to a harvest in 1 Corinthians 15:20: 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.' The Bible then states the order in verse 23: 'But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.' Paul does not present a single event but a sequence headed by Christ as the firstfruits. In Matthew 27:51-53, Scripture records the firstfruits company: the earth quaked, the rocks rent, and the graves were opened; 'and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.' These verses establish that the resurrection has a firstfruits beginning and a later company at Christ's coming.
Les Feldick teaches that Paul is giving readers a clue when he calls Christ the firstfruits — he is telling us to use the Israeli harvest system as an illustration of the resurrections that are coming. The Jewish harvest had three stages: first, workers took a sampling of early ripening heads of grain and made it into a sheaf; then they brought in the main harvest; and finally they left the corners and gleanings for the poor. Les applies those three stages to the first resurrection of the just. The firstfruits are Christ and the Jewish believers who came out of the graves in Matthew 27. The main harvest is the church-age believers, the Body of Christ, who are raised at the Rapture. The corners and gleanings are the Old Testament saints and tribulation believers, who are resurrected shortly after the kingdom has begun — Les says about 75 days after the Second Coming.
Les describes the Jewish harvest process in three parts. First they would go in and take the sampling of the early ripening heads of grain and form a sheaf. Then they would take the main harvest. Finally, they had to leave the corners and their gleanings for the poor. Les says Paul gives this as the clue to understanding the resurrections that are coming in 1 Corinthians 15.
The firstfruits consist of Christ and the Jewish believers who came out of the graves in Matthew 27. These were not raised to die again like Lazarus; they were resurrected believers given immortality and were taken up into heaven. Les emphasizes the S on firstfruits — it is a sheaf, plural, formed from the ripened stems taken out of the grain field.
Les identifies the main harvest as the church-age believers — the Body of Christ and the bride. Those who are in Christ will be the next ones to experience resurrection, after Christ and the firstfruits. Paul states it as 'every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.' Les connects this main harvest to the Rapture, when Christ shall leave heaven and meet believers in the air.
The final group in the harvest is represented by the corners and gleanings that were left in the Jewish harvest. Les places the Old Testament saints and tribulation believers in this group. They will be resurrected shortly after the kingdom has begun — about 75 days after the Second Coming — and will be part of the Kingdom in resurrection bodies, completing the resurrection of the just of all ages.
The Firstfruits Saints of Matthew 27
Les explains that the graves opened in Matthew 27 were not all graves; many bodies of Jewish believers arose after Christ's death, and this group becomes part of the firstfruits.
The Three Harvest Categories
Les summarizes the whole resurrection harvest: firstfruits (Christ and Matthew 27 saints), the main harvest (the church at the Rapture), and the gleanings and corners (Old Testament and tribulation saints).
Firstfruits as the Sampling of the Field
Les compares the firstfruits to the sampling taken out of the grain field, and he places the Rapture as the main harvest and Old Testament and tribulation saints as the final gleanings.
Church-Age Believers Next After the Firstfruits
Les says the Body of Christ is the next group to experience resurrection, following Christ and the firstfruits.
Paul's Harvest Illustration
Les lays out the three aspects of the Jewish harvest and says Paul is telling us to use that harvest system as an illustration of the resurrections.
Firstfruits and 'His Coming' in 1 Corinthians 15
Les shows that Paul moves from the firstfruits resurrection to the church-age believers at Christ's coming, using 'every man in his own order.'
Every Man in His Own Company
Les explains that 'every man in his own company' means separate resurrection groups: firstfruits, the Body of Christ, then Old Testament and tribulation saints.
The Sheaf of Firstfruits, Plural
Les emphasizes that the Matthew 27 saints were immortal and taken to heaven, forming the plural sheaf of firstfruits from the field sampling.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Paul's central text for Christ as the beginning of the resurrection harvest.
1 Corinthians 15:23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
The verse that gives the resurrection order: Christ first, then those who are His at His coming.
Matthew 27:52-53: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
The Scripture record of the firstfruits company rising after Christ's resurrection.
Les Feldick uses Israel's harvest as the pattern. The firstfruits are Christ and the Jewish believers from Matthew 27; the main harvest is the church-age believers at the Rapture; the gleanings are Old Testament and tribulation believers raised after the kingdom begins.
Because more than one person was raised — many bodies of the saints came out of the graves after Christ's resurrection. They were formed into a sheaf, the plural firstfruits taken as the sampling from the grain field.
Les places it at the Rapture, when the main harvest is gathered. Those who are Christ's at His coming are raised after the firstfruits, each in his own order.
Les puts them with the corners and gleanings of the harvest. They are resurrected about 75 days after the Second Coming, once the kingdom has been set up.
Watch the Teaching: The Three Stages of Resurrection — 1 Corinthians 15:22-23 Explained