The 144 000 – Are They Literal, have some Died?
Only in Revelation Chapter 7 and 14 do we find mentioned in the Bible about the 144,000.
These two chapters help us to locate them in space and time.
Definition: A number of the sealed among the children of Israel (Revelation 7:4)
a) Group of People
b) A determined group of People
c) Clearly defined
The above definition is literal, we can also find a spiritual definition
a) Souls (People)
b) Church (determined number)
c) Sealed
d) Servants of God
We can determine that they are people in the church that receive a seal.
“Of the tribe if Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.”Revelation 7:5-8. There are sealed twelve thousand of each tribe, it means that those that will be sealed have a difference of character.
“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads” Revelation 7:3 There is broader information the sealed are called servants of God.” And after thes things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And 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 the winds until the servants of God are sealed.”
Before the major catastrophes happen on this earth the servants of God, the 144,000 need to be sealed.
The 144,000 are framed in a prophetic time period: 1)Time of the end, 2) in a Time of grace 3) Time of sealing and 4) Time of judgment. We know as Seventh Day Adventists that the time of Judgment began in the year 1844, prophetically also the time of the sealing began in the same time period, also the beginning of the time of the end began in 1844.
In Revelation Chapter 14 we read that the 144,000 are in heaven. “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Revelation 14:1 They are with Christ in Heaven. “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth” Revelation 14:3. They sing a song that only they could sing for they are redeemed from the earth. It is a literal number of people that will be sealed no more or less, exact number only 144,000 men and women.
They sing a song of deliverance from sin and have now gained the victory through Jesus Christ.” These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 14:4. Not defiled with women, means not defiled with other doctrines or churches, they live the present truth and are not defiling themselves with other doctrines. They are virgins, again they keep and live the present truth. We need to understand that these are spiritual terms, we are called to be a holy and pure people. Not to be following every wind of doctrine that may come our way. “To the Law and to the Testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”. Isaiah 8:20
We have a second confirmation they are redeemed from among men as first fruits. The first and the best, they are saved but not only, they are the first fruit of the crop. The 144,000 don’t represent all the harvest or to say all the saved, they are only the first fruit. They are a special group of people. “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God”. Revelation 14:5. The special number of people are faithful members that belong to the Church of God at the time of the end. “I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies;…..”Zephaniah 3:12,13. We are poor in the spirit, we are afflicted by the snares of Satan and sins, and daily we need to trust in the name of the Lord. We are not recognized by our numbers but because we trust in the Lord, not because of riches but because we trust in the Lord. We are called again to be a Holy and Spotless church, we will only reach this goal as we learn to trust in the Lord.
We continue reading in Revelation 7:9 “After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” Now the scenery changes we are told of a great multitude that no man could count, it is not talking of the144,000, but of another group. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood around the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever, Amen. “Revelation 7:10-12 It continues giving us information about the great multitude in these verses we just read. They sing a different song with another exclamation, the 144,000 we read before sing a new song that no one else can sing but them.
It is interesting as we continue reading in Chapter 7, the great multitude are before the elders and they have been introduced already but the 144,000 have not yet been introduced and the question comes up. “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence come they?” Revelation 7:13 In Revelation 7 there are presented before us two groups that are in heaven the first from verse 9-12 and the second from verse 13-17, the second group are clearly the 144,000. “And I said unto him, Sir thou knowest, and he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. “Revelation 7:14,15.
What tribulation do the 144,000 need to go through? The great tribulation or time of anguish is found in Daniel 12:1”And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” When it says “at that time” as students in prophecy we are able to understand that it is referring to the time of the end. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:21 In the Book Desire of Ages in reference to the 24th Chapter of Matthew there are three prophetical projections to this verse. 1)Destruction of Jerusalem 2)The reign of the Papacy 3)Time of the End. As we try to understand the great tribulation the 144,000 will go through, when is the big tribulation coming for God’s people? The book Great Controversy chapter 40 “The Time of Anguish” Tells us that the time of Anguish for God’s People in the time of the End will be at the time of Jacob’s Trouble it will be a time of internal and external anguish. The world will also be going through a time of anguish at the same time. The great tribulation will be when the seven last plagues are poured out upon the earth.
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” Revelation 7:16. When it says “they” who is it referring to? We were reading from the verses before about the 144,000 we can see that the protection continues with the same group of people they shall hunger no more neither shall the heat affect them. “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17 These verses are referring to the time of the plagues when the 144,000 go through the time of anguish it says that He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. We can say that God’s people will have cried much as they go through the time of anguish.
Let us do a little review, we read in Revelation 14:1-5 that the 144,000 are in heaven, they are the only one’s that may sing the song of Moses (of victory). We also read about the characteristics of these special people. When we are introduced in chapter 14:6-12 it talks to us about the message for the time of the end. Beginning from the year 1844 until the present time, the First, Second and Third angel’s messages have been preached. When we read verse 13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea: saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” Why does it say Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth? It must be for a special reason. The pioneers of the Adventist Movement all have died, they have lived and preached the Third Angels Message, the Lord calls them Blessed because they die in a special time period, the time of the end, they believe in the Sabbath and have preached against Sunday observance and against the institution that changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. The Lord will do a special work with those that have died in the faith of the Third Angels Message.
In Daniel 12:2 “And many of them sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” All who die in the Lord are blessed but those who die from “Henceforth” receive a special blessing. Why? Because they take part in the special resurrection. The Blessing is they rest in time of trouble. When shall the resurrection be? At the voice of God. When is the voice of God? “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” Revelation 16:17,18. In the beginning of the seventh plague is when this great earthquake happens, part of the 144,000 that have died resurrect at the Voice of God in that moment. Who came up from the graves? All who have died in the Third Angel’s message -keeping the Sabbath and those that pierced him.
This event is called the partial resurrection. Let us remember that the plagues continue one after the other, they resurrect in the beginning of the seventh plague. They will see all the chaos going on around them where they have resurrected, the question comes up how will they suffer the time of trouble, they will suffer in part but not as much as those that will live through the whole time of trouble(seven plagues). At that moment the living 144,000 and those that have resurrected will be all living, and will pass through Jacob’s Trouble together.
Conclusion
1. We are not saved until we are sealed “The Lord would teach man the lesson that though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him.” Vol 7 Bible Commentary p.969
2. Let us strive to be among the 144,000 “Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.” Vol. 7 Bible Commentary p.970 Let us look at the word “among” used in the Bible. Numbers 17:6 “and Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.” Numbers 17:6 Were there 13 rods or only 12? “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into to the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded,…”Numbers17:8 Aaron’s rod was for the house of Levi. This means that the house of Levi had only one rod, and that rod was Aaron’s, that would make only 12 rods. Among in this case means a part of. Another example “The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among the twelve” Desire of Ages p.717 I was shown that the fact that Judas was numbered among the twelve, with all his faults and defects of character, is an instructive lesson, one by the study of which Christians may be profited.” Vol 4 Testimonies for the Church p.41 The question is, were there 13 disciples or only 12 with Judas among them?
May the Lord help us to serve him and walk with him here on this earth and to remember that we are called as Seventh Day Adventists of the Reform Movement to be part of this special number of people. It is a literal number, no more or less, there will be two groups of saved in heaven. Our goal is to strive to be among the 144,000, or we will not make it. This is what God wants us to know. Is my desire in the Name of Jesus Christ.
AMEN.
Servant in Christ, Joshua Martinez