144000

As part of a series of visions shown to John in the Island of Patmos was a number of 144,000 people who are said to be servants of God who were sealed or marked by God. Those sealed are said to be 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, making a total of 144,000 people, all males (Rev. 7:4-8). The tribes are said to include Levi and Joseph. But the tribes of Ephraim and Dan are excluded from the list.

In Rev. 14:1-5, John gave details of the 144,000 people. They are said to have been redeemed from the earth (v. 3), purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (v. 4). This suggests that they were redeemed from all the earth, including literal Israel. Their outstanding qualities are also given: (i) They have not defiled themselves with women; they remained virgins; (ii) No lie was found in their mouths; (iii) they follow the Lamb wherever He goes); (iv) they are blameless. They were sealed by having the names of God and of the Lamb written on their foreheads.

One area of contention is whether this number of 144,000 should be understood as being literal or symbolic. While some religious teachers, especially the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), have argued that the figure is literal, some hard rebuttals have been brought against their theology. There are some other glaringly false theories that have been eisegetically interpolated in the teaching of the topic. The purpose of this article is to inform my fellow Christians of these wrong ideas that have been woven into the teaching about the 144,000 people.

Is the 144,000 A Literal Number?

As argued by the JWs, “Although Revelation contains symbolic numbers, some of the numbers it uses are literal. For example it speaks of the “the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.” (Rev. 21:14). Consider the evidence for concluding that the number 144,000 should likewise be taken literally. Rev. 7:4 records ”the number of those who were sealed [or, confirmed to life in heaven],144,000.”In the immediate context of this verse, a second group is contrasted: “a great crowd, which no man was able to number.” Those of the “great crowd” also receive salvation from God. (Rev. 7:9,10). If the number  144,000 were symbolic, referring instead to a group without number, then the contrast between the two groups would be lost. In addition, the  144,000 are described as being “bought from among mankind as firstfruits” (Rev. 14:4). The expression “firstfruits” refers to a small representative selection. It aptly describe those who will rule in heaven with Christ over an undetermined number of subjects on earth – Rev. 5:10.” (Online article entitled “Who Goes to Heaven? The Bible’s Answer” by JW.ORG).

In the same article the JWs wrote:

“They will serve alongside Jesus as kings and priests for 1,000 years (Rev. 5:9,10: 20:6). They will form “new heavens” or heavenly government, that will help restore mankind to the righteous conditions that God originally intended. – Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13.” (ibid.).

“The Bible indicates that 144,000 people will be resurrected to heavenly life. ( Rev. 7:4). The resurrection to heavenly life is called “the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:6). This indicates that there will be another resurrection. It will be an earthly one.” (ibid.).

“Those “who are called and chosen” to rule with Christ in the Kingdom are referred to as a “little flock.” (Rev. 17:14; Luke 12:32). This shows that they would be relatively few in comparison with the complete number of Jesus’ sheep. – John 10:16.” (ibid.).

Fallacies In the JW’s Theology

First, they argue that the 144,000 represents a literal number, but in their teaching they cleverly portray the people as representing mankind from the earth, a teaching which makes the people symbolic. They have thus created a confusion. Going by their argument, they should also accept that the 144,000 people are literal Israelites.  And that would mean, according to their teaching, that no one who is not an Israelite would be in heaven. And in fact that would include Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who are never of any of the tribes of Israel. This makes their teaching contradict Christ’s words which say the three men will be in the Kingdom of heaven (Matt. 8:11). This would also mean that worthies like Joshua ( from the tribe of Ephraim) and Samson (from the tribe of Dan), who were numbered among the heroes of faith, would also be missing in the Kingdom of heaven.

Moreover, when our Lord referred to the small group of His Jewish followers as “little flock” (Luke 12:32), it was understandably in reference to their small number; 144,000 was never in His view. When He said that He had “other sheep which are not of this fold,” referring to Gentiles who would later believe in Him through their preaching, He specifically mentioned that when they come into His fold, He will be the “one shepherd of one flock” (John 10:16). Nowhere did the Lord say a class of this one flock will be on earth while another class of 144,000 will be in heaven. The four living beings and the 24 elders, in their song said: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10 NIV, bold emphasis added). They will not be invisible kings reigning from heaven. All of God’s saints will be together in the New Jerusalem, also known as the Paradise of God (Heb. 12:22-24; Rev. 2:7), not a part here on earth and another part there in heaven.

The Bible has revealed that all dead people will eventually be resurrected by God (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28,29). The first resurrection is called the resurrection of the just which will take place on the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns physically and visibly to the earth to begin ruling over the Kingdom of God, also known as the Kingdom of heaven (Luke 14:14; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thes. 4:15-17; Heb. 11:39,40; Rev. 20:4,6). All of God’s righteous people, beginning from Abel, will take part in the first resurrection. The Bible nowhere teaches that only 144,000 people will take part in the first resurrection. The second resurrection is called the resurrection of destruction (John 5:29). Rev. 20:5 says it will take place 1,000 yekars after the first resurrection. So, it will be a resurrection of dead sinners for their ultimate destruction (Rev. 20:14,15).

The 144,000 Is Symbolic

The following is an excerpt from an online article written by Hank Hanegraaff, published by  Crosswalk.com.

“Moreover, the pattern of Scripture is to refer to the community of faith, whether Jew or Gentile, with Jewish designations. New Jerusalem itself is figuratively built on the foundation of the twelve apostles and is entered through twelve gates inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Not only so, but its walls are twelve times twelve or 144 cubits thick (Revelation 21:12–17). As such, it is far more likely that 144,000 is a number that represents the 12 apostles of the Lamb multiplied by the 12 tribes of Israel, times 1,000. T he figurative use of the number 12 and its multiples is well established in biblical history. For example, the tree of life in Paradise restored is said to bear twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month (Revelation 22:2), and the great Presbytery in heaven is surrounded by twenty–four elders (Revelation 4:4; 5:8; 11:16; 19:4). Likewise, the figurative use of the whole number 1,000 is common in Old Testament usage. God increased the number of the Israelites 1,000 times (Deuteronomy 1:11); God keeps his covenant to 1,000 generations (Deuteronomy 7:9); God owns the cattle on 1,000 hills (Psalm 50:10); the least of Zion will become 1,000 and the smallest a mighty nation (Isaiah 60:22); better is a day in God’s courts than 1,000 elsewhere (Psalm 84:10); God shows love to 1,000 generations (Exodus 20:6); “Even if a thousand shekels were weighed out into my hands, I would not lift my hand against the king’s son” (2 Samuel 18:12). A thousand more examples (figuratively speaking) could easily be added to the list.”

Hank Hanegraaff’s interpretation appear to be most convincing of all the theories on the 144,000 people. According to him, “the 144,000 and the great multitude are not two different peoples, but two different ways of describing the same bride. From one vantage point the purified bride is numbered; from another, she is innumerable – a great multitude that no one can count.”

Some Other Misconceptions

“This chapter [Rev. 7] reveals the sealing and protection of some redeemed and righteous Jews, who belong to God. They will be protected from divine wrath upon the sinful world during the great tribulation…Multitudes will hear the gospel through the sealed servants of God and get saved.” (Search The Scriptures, Volume 76, Lesson 981, pp.39, 43).

This church has not grasped the clear difference between the great tribulation and the wrath of God. In Christ’s words in Mark 13:24-27 (Matt. 24:29-31), He said the great tribulation will be followed by the phenomenal changes that will take place in the universe, that is, the darkening of the sun and the moon, and the falling of the stars from their places in the heavens. This will be followed by the return of Christ to the earth. It is after His return that the wrath of God will be poured on the world of the sinners.

This order of events was shown to John in Rev. 6. The great tribulation is unveiled by the opening of the first five seals (Rev. 6:1-11). It is during this time that the souls of the martyrs will be crying for vengeance (vv. 10-11). The opening of the sixth seal unveils the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars from their places. This is followed by the visible return of Christ to the earth, an event that will strike fear and panic in the hearts of the sinners who will be alive at the time of His return (vv. 12-17). Therefore, the great tribulation and the wrath of God are two different events. The tribulation is from men, especially the Antichrist, all of whom will be empowered by Satan, and it will be long over before the wrath of God is poured on the earth. This wrath is unveiled by the opening of the seventh seal in Rev. 8.

Before the wrath of God is poured out in stages, as it happened in Egypt, God had to seal all His servants on the earth by writing His name and the name of the Lamb on their foreheads. Their number is represented by the symbolic number of 144,000 but in reality, they are innumerable. God had to seal His people because He will not allow the righteous to suffer with the wicked the consequences of their obstinate disobedience and unbelief (Gen. 18:23,25; 2 Pet. 2:9). The sealing is not limited to just 144,000. 

Will the 144,000 be involved in evangelism? This is nowhere seen in either chapter 7 or 14 of Revelation, or anywhere in the Bible. This is another supposition of men. It is another instance of eisegesis.

Conclusion

Of all the theories surrounding the 144,000 people in Rev. 7:4-8 and 14:1-5, the most biblically and logically tenable is the view that the 144,000 is a symbolic number representing all of God’s people who must be marked with the names of God and of His Christ before His wrath is poured on the earth. The frequent use of the terms “Israel,” “Jew,” “Jerusalem,” et alia, in the book of Revelation denote the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), that is, the whole people of God, whether Jew or Gentile.

The fact that the tribe of Dan is missing in the list is enough proof that the vision cannot be rightly interpreted literally. God had revealed to Paul that God Himself, because of His prevenient grace, will cause Israel to turn from their sins and be saved (Rom. 11:25-32). Dan alone is here mentioned because I surmise that the name Joseph, which is not one of the twelve tribes, is here used for Ephraim which is also not in the list. The 144,000 sealed people are therefore a symbolic representation of the great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language (Rev. 7:9) who needed to be sealed prior to the pouring of God’s wrath on the earth.

Although the occurrences during the great tribulation and the wrath of God are not recorded in clear chronological order in the book of Revelation, the two events are not the same. The origin, purpose, target, and timing of the two events are not the same.