144,000 WITNESSES FOR CHRIST
The 144,000 is the first group to be sealed and protected from what is coming- Rev 7: 3-8). Revelation 14 describes them as those who were “redeemed from the earth” (14:4). John says, “They have not defiled themselves” (verse 4). The 144,000 follow the Lamb wherever he goes, and “no lie was found in their mouths” (verse 5).
The context suggests that the 144,000 symbolize those who are true to God and his way. This group is composed of spiritual virgins who do not commit spiritual fornication by following false religious and philosophical teachings-Matthew 25:1-13. Neither have they refused to repent of ungodly behavior. They are true to God’s perfect way.
Those whom God has “sealed” will survive the outpouring of God’s wrath. They may suffer trials, persecution, or even martyrdom, but they are saved for eternal life. To have the seal of God, then, is to belong to God – to be his spiritual child. Paul explains that God has “set his seal of ownership on us” (2 Cor 1:22). Christians can be sure of God’s divine care for, “The Lord knows those who are his” (2 Timothy 2:19). The saints are sealed by the Holy Spirit “for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).
The irregularities in the list of tribes help us identify the 144,000 of the “tribes” of Israel as a metaphor for the church – the spiritual Israel. Revelation’s use of numbers also suggests that the 144,000 are not meant as a literal count. Since Israel is a symbol for the church, we should not take the 144,000 as a literal number. Revelation is a book of cosmic symbols, and it uses numbers such as seven and twelve in symbolic ways. Twelve seems to be used as a foundational number, such as in the twelve apostles and twelve tribes of Israel. The number 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1000) would then tell us the church is a complete “nation” of large size.
Revelation Chapter 7
1 After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, (the whole world) holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
- (Parallel) Isaiah 11:12- He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Jews returning to Israel in 1948).
2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, (Within Scripture, east is often the direction of the deliverance or judgment of God) having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
- (To be “sealed” is a symbolic way of saying that the 144,000 are identified as belonging to God. They are “marked” as his special people).
3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” (See church of Philadelphia, two witnesses).
- Rev 3:10 - Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- John 6:27- Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
- Rev 9:4 - They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
- 2 Peter 2:9 - The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
- 2 Corinthians 1:21-22- God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
- Ephesians 4:30 - And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Joel 2:32- And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.
- Romans 11:5 - In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
----In stark emulation: Rev 13:16-And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
**The tribe of Dan is missing from this list. This tribe settled in Laish after the Exodus and lapsed into idolatrous worship (Judges 18:30). Later, the king of Israel, Jeroboam, set up one of two great worship centers opposed to the God of Israel in Dan (1 Kings 12:28-29). No matter what his spiritual condition, his inheritance in Israel was guaranteed by birth, not moral uprightness. His omission in Revelation implies inheritance comes not through human birth – rather, it comes through faith in Christ.
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
- Rev 20:4 - And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Galatians 3:14 - He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to theGentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
- Revelations 6:11 - Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.
10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
- “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
See Rev 11:12 - And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.
(The Tribulation is a period of time set aside for two purposes; the judgment of a Christ-rejecting world and the national redemption of Israel.)
- Rev 22:14 - Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
- Daniel 11:35 - Some of the wise (saints) will fall (persecuted), so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
- Daniel 12:10 - Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat.
- Revelation 16:8 - Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given power to scorchthe people with fire (heat).
- Daniel 12:3 - Then the wise (saints) will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.
- Rev 21:6 - And He told me...To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
- Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
- Rev 21:4 - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain...
(See chapter 22 for parallel scriptures)