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The Book of Revelation
We come
now to a somewhat difficult passage to understand.
Chapter 7 presents a number of 144,000 to us but does not
give us the meaning or the purpose for 12,000 from each of
the 12 tribes of Israel who are sealed. From the Word of
God, we can gain a somewhat better, yet still not a
complete explanation.
There
are some today who teach that only 144,000 go to heaven.
That is a false teaching and even Revelation chapter 7
(from which the number of 144,000 is presented) tells us
there is a multitude that no man can number that John saw
"in heaven".
We’re
presented with the 144,000 here in chapter 7 (verses 4-8)
and in Revelation chapter 14. it is the 14th chapter,
however, which gives us more insight and explanation of
these 144,000 men.
Facts
concerning the 144,000:
1.
There are 12,000 sealed from each of the 12 tribes of
Israel. This is done for their protection from things
to come. (Revelation 7:3 {protection} and Revelation
7:4-8)
2.
They have God’s name in their forehead (Revelation
14:1)
3.
They have a song only THEY can sing! (Revelation 14:3)
4.
They are redeemed men from the earth (saved Jews).
(Revelation 14:3-4)
5.
They are virgins (Revelation 14:4)
6.
They have no guile in their mouths (Revelation 14:5)
7.
They are the firstfruits (Revelation 14:4)
These
144,000 are NOT the church or from the church! Consider
these facts:
1.
They are called "the children of Israel" (Revelation
7:4). This is a term that was never applied to the
church in any manner.
2.
Their tribal affiliation is specific. (Revelation
7:4-8). Some have argued that because today's Jewish
population does not know their tribal affiliation, then
this cannot be a literal numbering. Friend, God knows
the affiliation and nowhere does it say that the Jews
must know or that we must know which tribe one is from
in order for this numbering to occur!
3.
They are protected through the tribulation. There is no
such promise to the church as a whole! I know many will
argue the scripture that states "God hath not appointed
us to wrath", but this scripture doesn't mean the
church won't suffer loss or persecution. The first
church wasn't appointed to wrath either, yet they
suffered greatly. I'll cover this topic in more detail
later.
4.
They are the firstfruits of a greater harvest. If the
144,000 symbolize the church, then what "greater
harvest", are they the beginning of?
Some
have said these will be Jewish “tribulation preachers”
(evangelists) who will preach the gospel during the
tribulation period, however, this is an idea that is not
taught anywhere in scripture. The idea comes from a
misreading and a misunderstanding of Revelation 14:6. The
bible says it is an ANGEL that has the gospel to preach at
this point! There isn’t one single scripture that even
remotely suggest these 144,000 are going to preach, yet
there are all manners of teachings prevalent today that
proclaim these are ‘evangelists’, ‘tribulation preachers’,
etc.
I’m
going to give you a piece of steak in just a little while
that may be a bit hard to understand, but I’ll try my best
to explain it. In so doing, I will need to skip ahead a
couple of chapters to both chapters 12 and 14 and it will
be necessary to look at several other passages throughout
the bible in order to understand who this 144,000 could
possibly be.
I trust
you can handle steak and I trust that if you have a very
difficult time understanding this, then you will do the
mature Christian thing and
(1)
pray about this
(2)
fast if necessary
(3)
study it to see if this is true (like the Bereans
did).
To
completely understand who these 144,000 are, let's read of
the "elect of God".
Revelation 7:1-3 "And after these things I saw four
angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind
should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a
loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given
to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the
earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."
Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of
those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth
mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
and they shall gather together his elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
This
statement of the four winds and four angels should leave
no doubt as to whom we are referring. Zephaniah 3:8-13
describes a time following Armageddon in which the Lord
will convert the remnant of Israel.
Zechariah tells us that the surviving Jews will repent
when they look on Him whom they have pierced as He comes
to deliver them from surrounding enemies (12:2-13:1,
especially 12:10-14 and also in Matthew 24:30). The
remnant of Israel is sealed because God is going to
scatter Israel at the middle of the tribulation when
antichrist exalts himself in the temple. To understand
this "special protection" afforded the Jews we must
realize the reason for God doing so: They are
UNCONVERTED!
Ezekiel
5:7 to Ezekiel 6:9 seems to indicate this time of
scattering, protecting, recovering and converting of the
remnant of Israel.
Notice
in verses 5:12 and 6:9 that God scatters a third of Israel
into the winds and included in those scattered are the
remnant He will gather when He comes. The four winds in
Revelation 7:1 are designed to scatter a third of Israel,
but not until the remnant is sealed so they can be
re-gathered by the Lord at the proper time. It is this
remnant that Jesus gathers when He returns in Mark 13 at
the end of the tribulation:
Mark
13:26-27 "And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in the clouds with great power and glory. And then
shall he send his angels, and SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS
ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from the uttermost part of
the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
Rev
9:4 "And it was commanded them that they should
not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have
not the seal of God in their foreheads."
This
passage of Revelation 9:4 is often referred to as a
"spiritual" mark in the minds of men and it could very
well be, however, we see a similar incident described in
Ezekiel 9 concerning the writer's inkhorn. All who did
not have the mark were killed. In Revelation, all who do
not have the mark of the Antichrist are "hurt".
If the
verses of Ezekiel carry any weight in these verses from
Revelation 7, the sealing is for protection during the
tribulation when God destroys two-thirds of the Jews and
God's wrath when Christ returns. The bible also says that
God will destroy two-thirds and save a third through fire.
The seal of God marks those not to be killed from Israel
during the tribulation. Notice the mention of 1/3 (several
different items) in the trumpet judgments.
"The
Lord will purify Israel as He comes to His temple (Malachi
3:1-5). Judgment and tribulation precede the deliverance
and the cleansing of Israel (Jeremiah 30:7-11)."
Romans
11:26,27 shows the removal of ungodliness from Jacob when
all Israel will be saved. This does not occur until
Christ's return. The remnant when Christ returns is a
mainline subject of prophetic revelation in several
passages of scripture including:
Malachi
3:16; Ezekiel 20:33-38; Ezekiel 37:11; Zechariah 13:8-9;
Revelation 7:1-8, Isaiah in the following chapters and
verses: 1:9; 4:3-4; 6:12,13; 10:21; 26:20; 49:6; 51:1;
65:13,14.
Also
entire 26th, 33th, 35th and 65th chapters of Isaiah: 26,
33, 35, 65. In Jeremiah: 15:11; 33:25,26; and 44:28.
Also see Ezekiel 14:22; 20:34-38; 37:21-22, Hosea 3:5;
Amos 9:11-15; Zechariah 13:8-9.
The
remnant waits for the coming of God to deliver them; this
is their faithfulness. This is necessary for Him to
fulfill the covenants that are unconditional and eternal.
The tribulation according to Daniel is to be poured out on
"thy people" (Daniel 9:24-26). It is mainly for the Jews:
Deuteronomy 4:30; Jeremiah 30:7; Ezekiel 20;37; Daniel
12:1; Zechariah 13:8-9; Matthew 24:9-26; Revelation 7:4-8
and 12:1-2,17. It is a time concerned with Daniel's people
when God deals with them to bring them into His kingdom to
fulfill the covenant He made with them.
These will be the "remnant according
to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5)
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