Yes — Christ's resurrection is the beginning of God's resurrection order; He is the firstfruits, the first to be truly raised from the dead, and He is joined by the resurrected saints of Matthew 27 to form the plural firstfruits sheaf.
Paul says Christ has become the firstfruits of them that slept — those who died physically. Because the Old Testament firstfruits offering was a sheaf of many stems, not a single stalk, Christ could not be the only firstfruit; the saints who came out of the graves after His resurrection complete the plural firstfruits. As death came by Adam, so resurrection comes by Christ, and in Him all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 — This is the main passage Paul uses to explain Christ as the firstfruits of the resurrection and the order that follows.
Leviticus 23:10-11 — This Old Testament feast defines the firstfruits offering as a sheaf of grain waved before the LORD — the background needed to understand Paul's language.
Matthew 27:52-53 — These saints came out of the graves after Christ's resurrection and, according to Les, complete the plural firstfruits sheaf.
John 5:28-29 — This passage shows that the resurrection includes both the righteous and the wicked, which Les connects to 1 Corinthians 15:22.
Paul states plainly, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). He then connects the first man and the second: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). The passage concludes with an ordered resurrection: "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (1 Corinthians 15:23). In Leviticus 23, Israel was commanded to bring "a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest" to the priest, who would wave it before the LORD "on the morrow after the sabbath" (Leviticus 23:10-11). This sheaf was a sampling of the coming harvest. In Matthew 27:52-53, after Christ's resurrection, "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." John 5:28-29 also shows a coming hour when "all that are in the graves shall hear his voice" and come forth to either the resurrection of life or the resurrection of damnation.
Les Feldick explains that Paul's phrase "firstfruits" must be understood from the Old Testament. In Leviticus 23, the firstfruits offering was not a single stalk of grain but a sheaf formed from many early-ripened stems — a sampling of the harvest to come. Taking 1 Corinthians 15:20 as his text, Les emphasizes that Paul wrote "firstfruits" in the plural, not the singular, and that a sheaf cannot be made from one stem. Because Christ had to be the first to be resurrected from the dead, He is definitely first; but the saints who came out of the graves in Matthew 27:52-53 became the additional "stems" that made up the firstfruits sheaf. Les says these Jewish saints, raised right after Christ, complete the plural word firstfruits and fulfill the Leviticus type. They were truly resurrected — not merely raised to die again like Lazarus — so Les concludes they went up into glory. Les also connects the resurrection to Adam. Since death came by the man Adam, resurrection must also come by man, the man Christ Jesus. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. Les points out that this includes the lost, who are also resurrected, as John 5 shows.
Les says the only way to understand Paul's language is to go back to Leviticus 23, where the firstfruits offering was a sheaf of many ripened stems — a sampling of the crop soon to follow. Because a sheaf cannot be made from one stem, Christ could not be the only one. Although He was definitely the first, the resurrected saints of Matthew 27 came forth to comprise the plural firstfruits, fulfilling the type of the wave-sheaf offering.
Les defines "them that slept" as those who died physically. He makes a distinction between being raised from the dead and being resurrected: people like Lazarus were called back to mortal life and died again, but beginning with Christ's resurrection, the term "resurrection" is used in its fullest meaning. The believers who had died and came out of the graves in Matthew 27 were the sampling of those who had died, and with Christ they become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Paul connects the two men directly: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Les comments that if we die and God is going to keep His promises, resurrection has to follow. He also notes the connection to John 5 — even the lost are going to be resurrected.
Les observes that the Scripture does not explicitly say the resurrected saints went up into glory, but he concludes they had to have gone there because they were resurrected, not merely raised from the dead as Lazarus was, to die again. Their appearance in the holy city was the fulfillment of the whole idea of firstfruits as practiced in the Old Testament economy.
Christ and Matthew 27 saints as the first aspect of the first resurrection
Les identifies Christ as the firstfruits and the Matthew 27 saints as those who completed the Leviticus sheaf type, forming the first aspect of the first resurrection.
The plural firstfruits completed by Jewish saints
Christ had to be first, but the feast took a sheaf of many stems; the Jewish saints raised after Christ complete the plural firstfruits.
Christ's resurrection begins the fullest meaning of resurrection
Earlier raisings like Lazarus were only restoration to life; Christ was the first to be truly resurrected, and He needed others with Him to make the firstfruits bundle.
Death by Adam, resurrection by Christ
Les reads 1 Corinthians 15:21-23 to show that as death came by man, resurrection also comes by man, and as in Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive — even the lost are raised (John 5).
The Leviticus background to firstfruits
Les says firstfruits language can only be understood through the Old Testament, pointing to Leviticus 23 and Israel's seven feasts.
Firstfruits is plural in 1 Corinthians 15:20
Les emphasizes that Paul writes "firstfruits" in the plural, not singular, which points to a bundle rather than a single stalk.
Resurrected saints fulfilled firstfruits and went to glory
The saints from the graves entered the holy city; though Scripture doesn't say they went to glory, Les concludes they did because they were truly resurrected, not just revived.
The wave-sheaf offering was a sample of the harvest
The Leviticus wave-sheaf was a handful of early ripened stems, a sampling of the soon-coming harvest; this is why Christ, as first, needed the additional saints in the sheaf.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
This is the key verse stating that Christ is the firstfruits of those who have died.
1 Corinthians 15:21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
This verse connects the source of death (Adam) with the source of resurrection (Christ).
1 Corinthians 15:22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
This shows the universal scope of resurrection in Christ, which includes even the lost.
1 Corinthians 15:23: But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
This verse establishes the order of resurrection, with Christ as the firstfruits.
Leviticus 23:10-11: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
This Old Testament command describes the sheaf of firstfruits that foreshadows Christ and the resurrected saints.
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.
These saints came out of their graves after Christ's resurrection and, according to Les, complete the plural firstfruits sheaf.
John 5:28-29: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This shows that the resurrection includes both the righteous and the wicked, which supports Les's point that even the lost are raised.
In the fullest sense, yes. Les explains that people were raised from the dead by Elijah, Elisha, and even Jesus when He called Lazarus out of the grave, but they all died again. Christ was the first to be truly resurrected — the firstfruits of them that slept.
Paul writes "firstfruits," not "firstfruit." In the Old Testament the firstfruits offering was a sheaf of many stems of grain — a sampling of the harvest. Because a sheaf requires many stems, Christ was joined by the resurrected saints of Matthew 27 to make up the plural firstfruits.
Les explains this verse in terms of resurrection, not salvation. All in Adam die, and in Christ all are made alive — and he points out that even the lost are going to be resurrected, as John 5 shows. The resurrection itself is universal, but the verse does not say everyone receives the same life.
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