by Greg on 3/1/13
Rev. 7: 2-4: “Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed.”
Rev. 14: 1-5: “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads…They sang as it were a new song before the throne…and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
Ten Lost Tribes
According to scripture, the 144,000 is a group comprised of 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Therefore, it is taught by many Christian preachers and scholars that this is an after-the-secret rapture, end-time group of Jewish believers that will come from the nation of Israel.
Aside from the fallacious secret rapture,* the problem with identifying this group as only literal, ethnic Jews, is that from 10 of the tribes, there aren’t any pure bloodied Jews today to fit the above popular prophecy.
In 722 B.C., because the 10 northern tribes gave in to idolatry, God allowed Israel to be defeated and its people carried away to Assyria. History shows that long before the time of Jesus, the 10 exiled tribes intermarried with the Assyrians. Furthermore, history doesn’t show a mass return to the homeland, as is the case with the southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, returning from Babylonian exile.
The result of the 10 tribes being scattered around the world (Ezekiel 12: 15), means that it would be extremely rare to find one current descendant from those tribes who is a pure blood Israelite. Forget about coming up with 12,000.
Spiritual Israel
Scripture’s 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes is speaking of not literal Israel, but instead spiritual Israel.** Most of the New Testament prophecies, from the time of Jesus, speak of Israel as children of faith. That denotes a transition.
That a transition has been made from the physical to the spiritual is seen in this passage, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit” (Romans 2: 28, 29).
Then there are these passages: Paul says, “If you are Christ’s, then you’re Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 29). Peter applies an Old Testament title of ancient Israel (found in Exodus 19: 6) to spiritual Israel. He calls the Christian church, “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2: 9).
Furthermore, in James 1: 1, it can be clearly seen that James, Jesus’ brother, also viewed and addressed the Christian church as spiritual Israel—“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings.”
A Separate Saved Group
There are some, as mentioned earlier, who teach that the 144,000 is a group of literal, ethnic Jews. Others teach, as this article suggests, that the group is comprised of spiritual Jews; in other words, Christians. However, both sets of teachers think of the 144,000 as a special, separate group of saved ones who are akin to Jesus’ 12 disciples. Like the disciples, who turned the world upside down by spreading the gospel, these teachers tout the 144,000 as a separate evangelistic group for the end-times.
I agree that the 144,000 is a separate group. But even though the 144,000 is a separate group heard by John, they look just like the great multitude of unnumbered Christians seen by John (Rev. 7: 9).
The 144,000 have the same characteristics. In Rev. 14: 1-5, the group is on Mount Zion with Jesus. The following description of the group lists characteristics possessed by all the redeemed.