Chapter 2 – Who Are They?
The 144,000 are not a group of scholars, theologians, or even pastors, though some could be included in the number, but a group of Spirit filled believers who possess a supernatural trust in their God, who just happen to be living at the very end of this world’s history. They have their eye on the prize and a sacrificial call to duty, reflecting the character of Christ during the darkest hour of our world’s history. With literally all hell breaking loose on the planet their focus is centered on one thing, the mission given to Israel of old, “And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I am hallowed (consecrated, set aside for holy use) in you before their eyes.
“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God” (Eze. 36:23-2). This is the very essence of what it means to be Christ-like, to bring glory to God’s name.
What has occurred at the end with the 144,000 is that the Father’s name has been written on their foreheads, (Rev. 14:1), this is a word picture of God having full control of the will, the governing force of their mind. This control now allows Christ to end His mediatorial work in the Sanctuary above, as the 144,000 have reached the level of character development in reflecting Christ. It is now safe for Christ to end His mediatorial work and prepare to come as King of kings and lord of Lords.
Their mission is much more about God’s character than anything else, He is the one on trial so-to-speak, His character has been called into question throughout His creation. “Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His Judgment is come, and worship Him” (Rev. 14:6-7). Humanity has been caught in the middle of a supernatural warfare; Christ and Satan have been vying for allegiance for centuries, now humanity must make their final choice. There are only two options; will they worship the true God, believing in the Covenant relationship between the Father and the Son, following His instructions or follow mans theories and traditions? What master will each one serve, many will attempt to play the middle of the road, but this is not an option, not to choose is to choose.
Many have been taught and think that the 144,000 are a group of literal Jews that teach the true Gospel and prepare the world for a second chance after a secret coming. They forget that the book of Revelation deals with Spiritual Babylon not literal, and that it describes Spiritual Israel not literal Israel as the righteous players at the end, God’s servants are Spiritual Jews and circumcision is that of the heart. “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, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God” ( Rom. 2:28-29).
The dispensation for literal Israel ended in 34 A. D. with the stoning of Deacon Stephen. Their dispensation began at the death of Noah 350 years after the great flood. God had already primed Abram to receive the mantle of truth after the passing of Noah; this was the beginning of the Jewish dispensation. This transference of the Covenant Relationship mandate occurred around 1967 B. C. bringing their total probation as a nation to 2,000 years, just as the previous Adamic dispensation had. It was in 34 A. D. with the stoning of Stephen that the Jewish nation fully rejected the Messiah and the Gospel message, this was the last straw, especially after having crucified the true Messiah just 3½ years earlier. Even before Christ had been put to death He predicted their end, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! (referring to His own death and that of Stephen) How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! “See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ” (Luke 13:34-35).
The book of Daniel also predicted the end of the Jewish dispensation in the 70 week prophecy, found in Daniel chapter 9. This is a chapter along with Isaiah 53 that even today the Jews prohibit their children from reading, as they expose the true Messiah. Daniel describes the closing 490 year period (70×7’s) of their probation that was designated especially for the Jewish people and their city concerning the things the true Messiah would accomplish.
“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy” (Dan. 9:24). Christ the true Messiah would be the ultimate fulfillment, “Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27). What had been prophesied, what had taken place was all about Christ the true Messiah, and the Jewish leadership had rejected it, how sad. At the end with the 144,000 it too is all about what God will accomplish and not Literal Israel.
The Jews today, like anyone still have an opportunity to come to Christ, repent and accept His atonement with the Father and be received by the Father because of what the Son has accomplished. To create hysteria over literal Israel is to distract from the work of Spiritual Israel and the 144,000. Satan always plants the counterfeit before the true. He is a master at distracting from the real circumstances and the truth. What he will accomplish is a brilliant deception using literal Israel as the bait, to lure in unsuspecting Christians to entrap them in his snare.
One of the reasons for the confusion concerning the 144,000 stems from a misunderstanding of verses 5-8 in chapter 7. John in Revelation chapter 7 divides the group (144,000) into 12 equal sections; this breakdown facilitates the use of certain Israelite tribes. This is where the concept originated of the group being 144,000 literal Jews; however the use of the tribes is defining something totally different. Since we have already shown the group could not be connected to literal Israel of old, the use of the names of certain tribes must be considered from another perspective. The 144,000 are connected with Spiritual Israel as the end remnant of the Christian dispensation; they cannot be an exclusive group made up of literal Jews alone, so what is the purpose of the names?
The first thing we notice is the first tribe mentioned was not the first son of Jacob, but the fourth. This is significant as the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah, and the notable distinction of the Messiah apart from His virgin birth was the perfect life He lived. The 144,000 have not lived perfect lives, but they have grown in Grace to a full maturity in Christ (Rev. 14:1-5). They have matured to the place of living soberly, righteously, Godly in this present world (Titus 2:12). They are the called, the faithful, the chosen, on a special mission; that of reflecting the character of Christ. This is a necessary development in vindicating the character of God at earth’s darkest hour. They become the answer to the Great Controversy question, and prove that God had it correct right from the start. Let’s investigate how the meaning of the names adds to this understanding more thoroughly.