THE 144,000
Revelation 7:1-17
In the Christian classic, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan wrote this parable about the character Faithful:
First they scourged him, then they buffeted him, then they lanced his flesh with knives; after that they stoned him with stones, then pricked him with their swords, and last of all, they burned him to ashes at the stake. Thus came Faithful to his end.
Now, I saw that there stood behind the multitude a chariot and a couple of horses waiting for Faithful, who was taken up into it, and straightway was carried up through the clouds with sound of trumpet the nearest way to the Celestial Gate.
The martyrdom of Faithful stands out as an exciting episode in Bunyan’s famous story. Is Faithful a heretic, as the jury finds, or is he a true disciple of Christ? It all depends on your perspective.
Are the martyrs of Revelation to be pitied or to be praised? It all depends on your perspective, but the best answer is both!
Have you ever noticed how looking at people from a different vantage point changes what they appear to be? We live in San Diego County. If I arrive in San Diego from the east, I would come over the hills and come through sprawling suburbs, shopping malls, well groomed subdivisions, that merge from dry golden hills. If I were to approach from the west, via the ocean, I would be struck with the sight of a glittering metropolis, skyscrapers and the Coronado bridge that rises over the horizon.
So what is San Diego, a glittering metropolis or sprawling suburbs? It all depends on your perspective, but the best answer is, both. Keep this in mind as we look at chapter 7.
This chapter forms an interlude between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. It also introduces two groups of people from the tribulation. Here lies the principal exegetical difficulty with our chapter. Who are the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude clothed in white? Is the reference to the tribes of Israel symbolic, representative or literal? Are those described in the multitude martyrs?
Before we begin to deal with the whole chapter in detail, remember that John is seeing the vision of what is to happen in the last days. In these final days there will be an assault by every evil and demonic power with devastating effect. Just before the onslaught of evil, the faithful are to be sealed with the seal of God in order that they may survive it.
Who are these people?
144,000 Sealed
John’s vision is still from heaven. He is high above the earth and can see four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. This phrase does not mean John thought the world was square, but refer to the four primary points on the compass, from which direction the four winds blow.
These angels hold back the wind for the duration of this interlude. There will be no wind, no breeze, no waves breaking on the shore, no movement of clouds in the sky, everything will be deathly still.
The reason for this becomes clear as John sees another angel coming up from the east (sun rising) with a promise of blessings. The seal of the living God is different from the seals on the scroll (Chapter 5). Here the seal is to protect God’s people from the destructive effects of the coming judgment.
What is the seal? Let’s look back for a moment. In Egypt, Israel marked their doorposts with blood. Years later Rahab place a scarlet cord out her window. You and I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. This seal will be on their foreheads in contrast to the coming seal of the Antichrist.
The angel places the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. Being a servant indicates that they are already redeemed. They will have remained faithful to the Lord in the midst of the chaos of the first six seals.
Now we come to the famous 144,000. Who are they? There are many theories as to who they are. The Seventh-Day Adventist apply it to the faithful who will be found observing the Jewish Sabbath at the Lord’s return.
Those who follow Joseph Russell, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, teach that the 144,000 are the overcomers of their church who continue faithful to the end.
There are many more who have appropriated this number to their select group. All of these overlook a very simple fact, the 144,000 are composed 12,000 from each tribe of the children of Israel. Some believe that this refers to the church citing New Testament passages that identify the church as Israel.
To understand this correctly I believe that we must interpret the term Israel in accordance with its normal Old and New Testament usage as it refers to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If we do that, we must ask then, where are the twelve tribes today? We know that there are Jews in almost every country of the world. As to which tribe they belong to, well practically all the tribal records were lost when the Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70, so only God knows all the genealogies.
Then, there is an interesting question with the list of the tribes. First I want to mention that there is no standard way of listing the twelve tribes. There are nineteen different listings (as to order) in the Old Testament. So no certain one is more than the other.
The first issue with the list is that Judah is listed first, no reason given. Some have suggested it is because Reuben forfeited his birthright as punishment for his sexual misconduct. Others believe it is because Jesus was born from Judah’s line. This interpretation seems to be the most likely, although we really don’t know why.
The second issue is that the tribe of Dan is omitted and the tribe of Levi included. Dan was guilty of grievous idolatry and sin and that may be why they are not included in this list.
Similarly, the name of Ephraim is omitted in favor of his father Joseph. This could be for two reasons, Ephraim defected from the ruling house of Judah (Isaiah 7:17) and just like Dan, Ephraim was consumed with idolatry. The problem is we don’t know for sure.
What we do know is that this passage reinforces the biblical truth that God is not through with the nation of Israel (Romans 9-11). Though Israel failed in its mission to be a witness nation in the Old Testament, that will not be the case in the future. From the Jewish people will come the greatest missionary force the world has ever known. The result of their effort will be a redeemed Israel and innumerable redeemed Gentiles.
Here’s were I believe we start, the first group of people (vs 1-8), are Jewish evangelist who will be preserved on earth. They will survive the holocaust of divine wrath unleashed by the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments. God will protect them from persecution, war, famine, natural disasters, and disease, and will most likely by ushered into the Millennial kingdom alive.
Heavenly Multitude Praising God
There have been many times of great response to the gospel throughout history. The day of Pentecost, the Reformation in Europe, the Great Awakening in America, just to mention a few. During these powerful movements of God, thousands have come to faith in Jesus. It has always been the prayer of God’s people that He would bring in great harvests of souls.
But there is coming in the future a worldwide response to the gospel that will far exceed any other in history. It will sweep the globe and produce a vast multitude of redeemed people from all the nations of the world.
God’s saving work during that future time will be twofold. First, it will be the time of Israel’s national salvation, which Zechariah (12:10) in the Old Testament and Paul (Romans 11:25-27) in the New Testament predicted. Second, the first fruits of Israel’s salvation will be the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will preach the gospel both to their countrymen and to the millions of Gentiles, which is the second facet of God’s saving work.
The group introduced in this passage is distinct from the 144,000 for three reasons. First, it is after this which introduces a new vision. Second, this group is described as a great multitude that no one could count, no specific number. Third, the 144,000 came from the twelve tribes of Israel where this group comes from every nation, tribe, people and language. This group depicts the mass of humanity, crossing all barriers and dividing lines.
John goes on to describe them as being in heaven before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They are wearing white robes and ...holding palm branches in their hands. Palm branches were the ancient equivalent of balloons at a party, a mark of joy and festivity.
It is quite possible that this is the same group that John saw under the altar.
The second group mentioned are those who will be martyred, thus entering God’s rest as mentioned in the fifth seal.
Verse 10 contains the first words spoken in heaven by an assembly of redeemed people. Their first praise is for full salvation. Salvation from sin, salvation from all sorrow and sadness, salvation from the trials that they endured. Salvation is wholly from God, the don’t take credit for it.
vs 11-12 Like a great antiphonal choir, the angels echo back the worship of the redeemed. All those around the throne respond. They fall on their faces in worship.
vs 13-14 This is the second and last time that one of the elders spoke to John. The first time was to comfort him by identifying the one worthy to open the scroll of God (5:5). Now an elder asked a two-part rhetorical question about the multitude, who were they, and were did they come from?
John doesn’t know so he replies, Sir, you know. The elder answered the where part of the question first. They have come out of the great tribulation. The elder next answers the who part. These are the redeemed, described with an image not found elsewhere in Scripture, but often found in our hymnals. The portrait of Christians who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
That anything could be cleansed by washing it in blood seems strange to consider except for those familiar with the Old Testament. To them such a washing was required for spiritual cleansing. This is a frequent metaphor in Scripture for Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross which provided cleansing from sin.
This chapter concludes with a wonderful promise of ten eternal blessings enjoyed by this redeemed multitude.
1st They are before the throne of God
2nd They serve Him day and night in his Temple
3rd God will spread His tent over them
4th Never again will they hunger
5th Never again will they thirst
6th The sun will not beat upon them
7th Nor any scorching heat
8th The Lamb will be their shepherd
9th He will lead them to springs of living water
10th God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes
To summarize, the first three of these blessings mean that the redeemed will be in the direct presence of God. The next four describe an end to the negative effects of sin. The final three blessings focus on the eternal joys of the redeemed.
Look at what awaits the believer in heaven. Are you ready to move there?
