Every Man in His Own Order - The Harvest of the Ages
“But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” — 1 Corinthians 15:23
“The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.” — Matthew 13:39
God’s work in humanity is not random or rushed. Redemption moves in divine sequence, an order as precise as the stars and as certain as the sunrise. The Kingdom does not gather all at once, but in stages, each life coming to maturity in its appointed season. The elect understand this order, and because of it, they do not compare themselves with others or grow impatient with the process. The harvest of the ages is unfolding, and every seed will rise in the timing of the Lord.
The Order of Resurrection
Paul unveils the sequence: Christ the firstfruits, then those who belong to Him, then the end when all is restored. This is not simply about bodies rising from graves, it is about the progressive unveiling of life in every realm.
Christ’s resurrection is the prototype, the guarantee that all creation will follow. The elect are the next wave, those who manifest His life before the fullness of the age is revealed. They are a sign to the rest of the world of what is coming, a living preview of the final renewal.
Knowing this order protects the heart from striving. You are not late if your fruit has not yet appeared. You are not forgotten if the field around you seems empty. The Gardener knows the season of every seed, and He will not harvest you before your time.
The Maturity of the Firstfruits
“Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” — James 1:18
The firstfruits are those who come to maturity ahead of the full harvest. They endure the early heat, the pruning, and the stretching winds that prepare them to stand as examples. The firstfruits are not chosen for their comfort but for their readiness to be offered entirely to God.
In Israel’s feasts, the firstfruits were presented to the Lord as a declaration: if these are ripe, the rest will follow. The elect who mature early are living declarations of the certainty of the final harvest. They embody the life of the age to come while the age of decay still lingers.
Their maturity is not measured by perfection in the flesh but by the depth of their union with the Lamb. They are stable in storms, unshaken by shaking, and radiant even in pressure.
The Angelic Reapers and the End of the Age
Jesus said the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. In the final gathering, there will be a separation, wheat from tares, gold from dross, light from shadow. This is not the cruelty of exclusion, but the necessity of purity.
The angels are not merely collecting bodies; they are gathering what has been formed in the image of the Son. The tares are removed not because God hates, but because nothing destructive can enter the Kingdom’s final state. The harvest is the great unveiling of what each seed has become.
In this, there is both urgency and rest. Urgency, because the time of growth is now; rest, because the Gardener is faithful to bring every seed to its intended fullness.
The Confidence of Your Appointed Time
Every man in his own order means you do not have to compete for the spotlight or rush to prove your worth. Your season will come, and when it does, nothing can delay it. Until then, your call is to abide in the Vine, to grow in secret, and to allow the root to go deep.
The elect understand that God’s order is flawless. Even what feels like delay is part of the sequence. The moment of your unveiling will be exactly when it will display the greatest glory to the Lamb.
This is why the mature do not envy those who are revealed before them, nor do they look down on those yet to ripen. They rejoice in every stage of the harvest, for they know the field belongs entirely to the Lord of the harvest.
The harvest is certain, beloved. The order is set. Christ has risen, the firstfruits are appearing, and the full ingathering is on the horizon. Stand in your appointed place, grow in your appointed season, and know that when your time comes, the world will see the glory God planted in you from the beginning.
— Joe Restman
Mystic-Scribe | Flame-Bearer
Quill Dipped in Lightning