Who Are The 144,000?

 

 

"And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed." 

Revelation 7:4-8

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord. We're glad to have you here with us today, thank you for joining us. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been continuing to share the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! Praise God!

 

I want to let all of you know that we are thankful your prayers. Prayer is powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory!

 

As we discussed in our last message, chapter 7 is a parenthesis, an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals, however, it is also one which answers some very important questions. From the very nature of the judgments of the preceding section it would appear no one could possibly be delivered physically, much less saved spiritually. 

 

Due to the rapture of the church, there is no voice among men for God. Throughout history there has always been a voice from God among men, a remnant of believers. Therefore, the Tribulation cannot go on without the raising up of a new remnant. The spiritual vacuum left by the rapture will be quickly filled by this work of God to bring 144,000 Jews to Christ; Jews who have been redeemed. And, as we saw, these slaves are sealed on their foreheads.This sealing guarantees their physical and spiritual protection. I believe they will be a part of that great missionary force. They will evangelize the rest of the world.

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, as always, we thank You for Your Word. We are thankful for the gift of grace. We are grateful that we are no longer destined for wrath. How blessed we are to know that in the future Your people, those who once failed to be Your witness, will now succeed by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Lord, we pray for those who are yet lost and unsaved, today would be that day. We pray that they would come to Christ, Who in this day of grace is offering forgiveness. Help us to be faithful to preach the saving truth that can deliver others. May it all be for Christ's sake and Your glory.

In Christ's name we pray

Amen

Today's Message: Who Are The 144,000?

Open your Bibles to Revelation the seventh chapter. Revelation chapter 7. While there have been many groups, including the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have claimed to be the 144,000, which is a result of their false doctrine, however, there is nothing in our passage today that leads to interpreting the 144,000 as anything but a literal number of Jews.

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to you these five verses, to set the text in our minds as we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit is saying to each of us. Revelation 7:4-8.

 

"And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed."

In Zechariah chapter 12, it had been previously prophesied that Israel would repent and turn back to God.

 

In John's vision, he hears the number of those who were sealed. That number was 144,000, and as we see, all 144,000 were from the twelve tribes of Israel. The significance here is that the first group of people, the 144,000, is being set apart from the remainder of the remnant of Israel and the Gentile world for that matter to receive the seal of God which will protect them from the judgments which are to come. It is no coincidence, the first group are called "doúlos," or slaves. Their mission is to evangelize the post-rapture world and proclaim the gospel during the tribulation period, and because they have been sealed, they can freely perform their mission during the Tribulation. In other words, they are invincible against the judgments. And, as a result, a "great multitudes that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language," will come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. 

Verse 4, "And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel." I find it curious that there are a number of scholars who claim the 144,000 is the church, I don’t understand how you get the church out of a statement like this.

 

When interpreters come to this passage, it is amazing to me to see just how wild their imaginations can get. It is significant to note, that the tribe of Dan is missing and one of Joseph’s sons, Manasseh is listed, but not Ephraim. The reason is because Ephraim was addicted to idols, he was a defector from the house of David. So, his place is taken by his father Joseph. In Scripture there are approximately 19 arrangements listing the tribes of Israel, and this list is different than them all. 

 

Sometimes the order of birth is followed, as in Genesis 29 through 35. Sometimes the order of Jacob’s blessing is followed, such as in Genesis 49. Sometimes the order of encampment is followed, as in Numbers chapter 2. Sometimes the order of the census before the invasion of Canaan is followed, such as Numbers 26. Sometimes the order of blessing and cursing as in Deuteronomy 27. Sometimes the order of Moses’ blessing, Deuteronomy 33. Sometimes the order of the princes in Numbers 1. Sometimes the order of inheritance, Joshua 13 through 22. Sometimes the order by the wives and the concubines, as in I Chronicles 2. And, sometimes the order is of the gates of the city, as in Ezekiel 48. So, you can see, the order changes a lot.

 

Notice that the first tribe named is Judah. But Judah wasn’t the firstborn; Reuben was. I believe the reason for this is because Reuben lost his birthright because he sexually defiled his own father’s bed. We know that from I Chronicle chapter 5. 

 

Then, in verse 7, we see it includes Levi. Remember, they are the priestly tribe from which the Levites come. If you remember, they were never were given a territory. Though they were the priests to the whole nation, they never had a territory. They are included here because the tribe of Dan is left out because of gross idolatry. And, in Deuteronomy 29, it says that anyone who brings idolatry into Israel will have his name blotted out. So, the tribe of Levi replaces the tribe of Dan in order to keep the twelve. God's grace triumphs, and Dan is included in the millennial listing of the tribes, Ezekiel 48. But Dan is not protected here because of idolatry.

 

By the way, no Jew knows what tribe they’re a part of. They still have a tribal heritage; they just don’t know what tribe it is. Because the records have all been lost and destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. However, God knows. So, because God does, there are still going to be 12,000 out of every tribe. This clearly shows, that God has not finished with Israel, as some have suggested.

 

When the kingdom divided, in 722, ten tribes were taken captive and went to the north. However, before they were taken captive, remnants from those ten tribes filtered back down into the southern kingdom so that all twelve tribes were reconstituted, even within Judah and Benjamin. God is going to choose 12,000 from every tribe to be His witness nation. That demonstrates to us, that in His wonderful grace, God is faithful, no matter how difficult it is!

 

In Closing..

 

 In our culture today, there seems to a question looming "How Much Can You Still Get Away With And Still Be A Christian? It seems to me that we have become a nation of narcissists, slackers, self-entitled generation, always looking to do as little work as we can, and yet make the highest pay possible. In other words, we want to work the least and get the most, because we feel we deserve it. Don't get me wrong, I love America, but we  can learn a great lesson about faithfulness, reward and being set aside from today's Scripture.

If Jesus Christ is your Savior, then you have been bought out of the slavery of sin. Because you have been set free from sin, you do not have to sin, the problem is, you choose to sin. You must be willing to abstain from sin and take stand for Him.

 

The Lord knows those who are His... Are you known to be among them?

 

May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

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