Sealed: The 144,000
This article is the fourth installment in a series on the Book of Revelation. I’ve chosen to delve into specific characters and events rather than follow a linear path from chapter one. This unique approach will offer a deeper understanding of future prophecies and their relevance to the present age. In this installment, we will explore the significance of the 144,000, a group of chosen followers sealed by God, and their role in the unfolding of the end times.
Chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation is a pivotal point where several events take shape. It contains a snapshot of a coming battle resulting in the victors’ martyrdom and introduces a significant pause in the sequence of events between the opening of the 6th and 7th seal. The restraining of angelic action (verses 1 through 3) is a moment of profound anticipation and preparation. During this pause, God sets aside, or seals, a specific group of chosen followers, the 144,000. Their role is of immense significance in the narrative, carrying a weight we must not overlook.
It has always been troubling for some to figure out how God intends to deal with the Jewish people as a whole since the advent of Christianity through the incarnate Christ. Some theologians assume the distinction of the chosen people, the Jews, the recipients of the old covenant, no longer exists. And insist that the old covenant ended by their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. Since the Jews rejected Jesus as Christ, they were no longer considered legitimate Jews; the authentic Jews were the Christians who succeeded them.
This train of thought eliminates one dividing line between people yet creates another. Before Jesus’s death and resurrection, two groups existed: Jews and Gentiles. The new assumed line of separation is believers and non-believers, in essence sweeping non-believing Jews into the fold of the non-believers, as well as replacing the old covenant with a new covenant. However, this position leaves some theological questions needing to be answered, such as the exact nature of the new covenant and its relationship to the old covenant and the implications of this theological shift on the understanding of biblical prophecy. These questions, while outside the scope of this article, are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of the theological implications of the 144,000 in Revelation.
Yet, we cannot deny that Judaism still exists today. Faithful believers in God, the same God we as Christians believe in. The world recognizes Jews as a separate people and Judaism as an individual faith. They keep the Law of Moses and observe the feasts instructed through Moses. It would be easy to say, ‘That no longer matters. They are simply non-believers.’ There are three problems with this concept. First, God doesn’t do away with covenants He institutes just because its recipients are disobedient. Secondly, some prophecies explicitly related to the Jewish people have come to pass in our time. 1948, Jews returned to their homeland, reestablishing the Nation of Israel. The prophecies foretelling this event are specific to Judaism 1 and have nothing to do directly with Christianity.
Looking back, some prophecies related directly to Judaism came to pass shortly after the advent of Jesus. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is a prime example. The temple’s destruction in 70 AD impacted Judaism with little impact on Christianity. We will discuss this line of distinction further when we get to the list of kings in chapter 17. Some prophecies apply to both Judaism and the Church. These shared and/or separate prophecies culminate in the Book of Revelation.
Thirdly, we find in Revelation chapter 7 that this distinction between Jew and Gentile still exists, clearly seen in the numbering of the twelve tribes. If we merely fold the unbelieving Jews into the sea of unbelievers, it would mean the unfulfilled prophecies regarding the Jews are either invalid or passed on to the Christians who presumably supplanted the Jews, to which there is no Biblical basis of support.
History tells us that various emperors of the Roman Empire expelled Jews from the city of Rome on several occasions, while other emperors ignored Christians. At other times, Christians were tortured or put to death while the Jewish community was left unscathed, two groups, two types of victims. We can trace this distinction throughout history. From Rome to France. From Nazi Germany to the Roman Catholic church. Jews, past and present, are treated as a separate group both by religion and genealogy.
Numerous theological questions persist regarding this division. While the Book of Revelation doesn’t provide all the answers to this question, I believe the Bible teaches that this division will cease to exist after the Great Tribulation. Revelation provides specific events and prophecies regarding the two groups, some of which have come to pass in precursory events, such as the destruction of Jerusalem and Christian persecution nationally. The focal group in Revelation 7 is Judaic, as there are no tribes in Christianity. Perhaps the sealing in verse 3 has already begun. Messianic Judaism is on the rise. Maybe this group will be comprised of messianic Jews sealed before the Great Tribulation.
Before we look at the 144,000 in-depth, there is another group we must take into account. The martyrs in chapter 6:9-11. Slain for “the word of God and for the testimony they held.” 2 These individuals were slain for ‘the word of God and for the testimony they held.’ In chapter 7, verses 9-14, we encounter another group of martyrs who emerge from the great tribulation. Nestled between these two groups are the 144,000—the chosen of the tribes Israel, preserved by God, messianic Jews. In Revelation 7, the sealed, the chosen, are not preserved for salvation but for another specific purpose.
The listing of the tribes comprising the 144,000 is of unique interest and is the focus of this article. The number sealed is emblematic of the Nation of Israel. This number does not mean precisely 144,000 members will be saved or rescued. Nor does it mean there will be precisely 12,000 saved or rescued from each of the twelve tribes. Salvation is open to all who will accept it, so limiting the number of saved to 144,000 is inconsistent with God’s grace. Nor does it fit that the 144,000 constitute a separate group of redeemed sandwiched between two other groups of martyrs “which no one could number.”
When scripture designates exact numbers, it indicates purpose. These 144,000 are sealed or chosen for a specific purpose, having nothing to do with salvation. In the Old Testament, the number 12,000 is associated with men chosen to do battle. “A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to war. So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.” 3
And again, “so the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men.” 4 Once he assumes world power, the beast will rally the world’s armies against Israel to destroy it, and this group, this chosen army of Israel, will meet the beast’s armies in battle. Even though 144,000 is emblematic of the twelve tribes, we have no reason to doubt the exactness of the number selected. God selects and seals a number, not a group of inexact counts. We must accept the 144,000 sealed literally.
It will be David versus Goliath all over again. There are some intriguing changes in the list of the twelve tribes recorded in Revelation 7 that deserve our attention. It is a mistake to skim over the list of the 12 tribes in Chapter 7 and assume it is the same list found in Genesis 30, 35, and 39. A closer examination of the list of tribes in Chapter 7 compared to the list in Genesis 49 shows several differences. Here are both lists side by side:
While the differences between the two lists have many potential theological implications, we will only focus on those that apply to the core message of Revelation 7.
First, the tribe of Judah is elevated from 4th to 1st on the list. The reason for this begins in Genesis 49 when Jacob issues his prophetic blessings concerning the future of his sons: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” 5 Tracing Jesus’s genealogical and prophetic lineage is one of the proofs that He is the Messiah. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He is the firstborn from the dead. He sits down at the Father’s right hand until His enemies become his footstool. He is the one worthy to open the scroll. 6
It is only natural the tribe of Judah is now first on the list. These chosen tribes are to engage in a physical battle with spiritual implications. In short, merging the two. Just as Reuben is the rightful physical heir, as firstborn, Jesus is the rightful heir, being firstborn from the dead. In the coming battle, the spiritual will have physical implications. The spiritual war that began in heaven ends in heaven. Since the spiritual conflict crossed over to the created world via sin, the punishment for that incursion will occur in the physical world. Satan’s interference in the physical realm is where he will meet his end.
Secondly, the angel excludes the tribe of Dan from the list of the chosen tribes. There is one practical reason for this and several spiritual inferences. Jacob foretold of Dan’s nature and fate just before his death. The pragmatic, “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.” 7 Jesus judges all humanity, beginning with the Church and cascading down from there, as numerous scriptures declare. In the second part of this prophecy concerning Dan, we find: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward.” 8 This last portion is a pretty damning prophecy. Does Dan’s exclusion from the twelve tribes chosen in Revelation mean God has changed His mind regarding a promise? Certainly not; in the book of Judges, one of the most famous and notorious Judges of Israel, Sampson, was from the tribe of Dan,9 Fulfilling the prophecy in one sense. In the new kingdom, there will be no division of territories; we will be one kingdom under one Christ.
In Judges 18, we find an account of the tribe of Dan’s descent into idolatry, culminating in “Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image.” 10 Looking back, Dan could never shake his connection to idolatry. We can trace Dan’s destinal decline throughout the Old Testament. I Chronicles 2 lists the twelve sons of Jacob and their children. Dan is also listed in I Chronicles 2:2, but his children are not. This omission suggests the tribe of Dan has no future, and his absence from the list in Revelation 7 confirms that implication.
We must remember that the purpose of sealing the 144,000 from these specific tribes is for battle. The tribe of Dan has proved time and time again to be unreliable in matters of warfare and discipline. Unable to conquer but a small portion of the area of the promised land given to them, their willingness to compromise, turning to idols so swiftly, and being so closely aligned to God’s curse on the serpent in Genesis 3:15, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel,” is reason enough to be excluded from the sealed.
Now, we find an addition to the original list of the twelve, Manasseh. This addition is interesting for several reasons. As you may recall, Manasseh is not Jacob’s son but his grandson, Joseph’s son. By the time of the conquest, the tribe of Manasseh prospered and became so large that they occupied two portions of the promised land, east Manasseh and west Manasseh, straddling both sides of the Jordan River. Joseph’s other son, Ephraim, also received a portion of the promised land, dividing Joseph’s share.
However, Ephraim is not on the list in Revelation 7, but Joseph is. Why? The scriptures tell us the Tribe of Ephraim went the way of Dan. “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” 11 The sins of Ephraim are expounded on throughout the book of Hosea, rightfully excluding him from the chosen to do battle. Those given to idolatry are unfit for particular callings. You can only serve one master, and allegiance to one is all-important during trying times. Another interesting fact is that since Ephraim and Manasseh’s mother was a gentile (Joseph’s Egyptian wife), they represent those gentiles to be grafted into Israel. “Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.” 12 And the Apostle Paul speaks of the grafting-in of the Gentiles in Romans 11.
A small number of the 144,000 sealed by God for the upcoming battle will be Gentiles, another indication of a removal of the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles yet to come. We, as Christians, have been grafted into the nation of Israel by the blood and salvation of Christ. The 144,000 will ultimately join the faithful group found in Revelation 7:14: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” 13 Notice that the 144,000 are sealed before the appearance of the two beasts. Revelation 14:1 confirms the purpose of the 144,000: “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.”
Revelation 14:4-5 spells out the rightful reason for the rejection of the tribes of Dan and Ephraim’s inclusion, “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 first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
An intriguing possibility exists when we consider the qualifications for inclusion in this group, their devout holiness, and they must come from one of the twelve tribes listed. It’s easy to assume the members who make up this group will all be orthodox Jews, but that is not one of the qualifications. We must expand our thinking on this matter. Since the diaspora of the Jews in 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the Jews continued to have families, and bloodlines continue until today. Many of their descendants do not participate in orthodox practices, and some may even be devout Christians today, unaware of their Jewish heritage, yet be one of the chosen of the twelve tribes listed, which is the singular qualification to be part of this group.
There is more to address in Revelation chapter 7, such as the angels ready to unleash nature itself on those who reject the Son of God. But for now, the 144,000 are the subject at hand. Let us be as prepared for spiritual battle as these sealed of God will be for physical battle.
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