Revelation 7
Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000. After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:2-9 NIV
Who are the 144,000 servants of God who receive this seal? The answer to this question is controversial and has been debated over the centuries. Are these literally 144,000 people, or is this number symbolic? The truth is that only God knows for sure. If it means that literally 144,000 people will be sealed at this point during the End Times, this does NOT mean that only 144,000 people will be saved and allowed into Heaven. There is a plethora of false doctrine out there regarding these 144,000 people. One example can be seen with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their belief is that 144,000 is the limit to the number of people who will reign with Christ in Heaven and spend eternity with God. Those who are not among the 144,000 will enjoy what they call the “earthly hope”: a paradise on Earth ruled by Christ and the select 144,000. This teaching sets up a caste society with two separate classes of people. The Bible does not describe this class/caste system anywhere, which makes it false doctrine. What is true is that there will be people ruling in the millennium with Christ. These people will be comprised of believers in Jesus Christ, along with Old Testament saints (believers who died before Christ’s first appearance on Earth). The Bible places no numerical limit on this group of people ruling during the millenium. The millenium refers to the thousand years after the Great Tribulation. It is when Christ will rule on the Earth and the devil will be bound up, but before the final battle when Jesus defeats Satan. In addition, the millennium is different from the eternal state, which will exist after the millennial period. In the eternal state, God will dwell with all of us in the New Jerusalem. So what is the significance of the 144,000, then? These 144,000 Jews are “sealed,” which means they have the special protection of God from all of the divine judgments and from the antichrist during the tribulation period. The tribulation period is a future seven-year period of time in which God will enact divine judgment against those who reject Him and will complete His plan of salvation for the nation of Israel. It is clear that these 144,000 are not the complete number of those who will be saved: the 144,000 Jews “…were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4). In addition to all of those who will be saved throughout history, God will save “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (verse 9). How many people will be saved and live out eternity in Heaven with Jesus? No one knows for sure, but we do know that “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13, emphasis added). The number 144,000 in this passage of scripture is 12 x 12 x 1,000. This number is a symbol of completeness. It is interesting to note that the list of the 12 tribes in this passage is a different list from the original listing of the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament. The original tribes were: Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Judah, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun. The list in Revelation is a symbolic list of God’s true followers, and here we see a few of the differences:
-Judah is mentioned first, possibly because Judah is both the tribe of David and of Jesus the Messiah.
-The Levites originally had no tribal land allotted to them, but here the tribe is mentioned, likely as a reward for their faithfulness.
-Dan is not mentioned. This tribe was known for rebellion and idolatry, traits unacceptable for God’s followers. “Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward (Genesis 49:17).
-The two tribes representing Joseph were Ephraim and Manasseh. Here they are called Joseph and Manasseh, likely due to Ephraim’s rebellion. Hosea 5:9-11 says, “Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning…I will pour out My wrath on them like a flood of water. Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.”