Who are the 144,000?
144,000 From All the Tribes of Israel
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, 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. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, 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: 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.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. (Revelation 7: 1-3)
Just before the wrath of God is about to be poured out, God selects and seals 144,000 of His people to serve as His witnesses. After the 6th seal is opened, there is a brief delay as His servants are sealed. God’s wrath is about to be poured out onto the world but God’s special servants will be protected from His wrath (see the 7 Golden Bowls).
12,000 from Each of the 12 Tribes of Israel
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. (Revelation 7: 4-8)
The 144,000 people will be sealed as God’s special servants. They will all be Jews: 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Sealed in the Name of Jesus Christ & Almighty God
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. (Revelation 14: 1-5)
The 144,000 are Jewish men. They are virgins. They are honest and blameless. They are very special servants of God during the great tribulation.
The “144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” – They are sealed with the name of Jesus Christ and God the Father. They will bear witness to Jesus Christ during the final days of the Great Tribulation as God pours out His wrath upon the world.
The 144,000 will have a unique place in heaven as reward for what they endure during that time – but contrary to some people’s beliefs, the 144,000 are not the only believers in heaven! (see What is the Great Multitude in White Robes?)
The Seal is the Holy Spirit
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1: 13-14)
“The 144,000 are “sealed” by the Holy Spirit and they belong to Jesus & Father God. This indicates that the Holy Spirit is still on the earth after the Great Tribulation and during the time the God’s wrath is being poured out onto the earth. The Holy Spirit will indwell the 144,000 and anyone who accepts Christ during that time frame. (see Will the Holy Spirit Leave?)
In the Past, God Blinded the Jewish People
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers). 11 For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.” 13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught (Isaiah 29: 10-13)
(see Why didn’t the Jews recognize their Messiah?)
They Will Finally Understand the Prophesies
18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. (Isaiah 29: 18)
They Will Realize that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. (Psalm 118: 22)
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. (Isaiah 28: 16)
God will open the eyes of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses and they will help Israel hear and understand the words of the scroll. As God opens their eyes, Israel will be able to recognize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah (the precious cornerstone they had rejected). It appears that this marks the time of the gentiles and the beginning of the Jews being called to Jesus Christ.
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