"And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel"
(Revelation 7:4)
Who are the 144,000? They are unlikely to be literal Israelites living at the very end of history during a severe tribulation, nor are they literal Israelites living during the desecration of Israel's second temple in the first century, for in either case God's protection would apply only to ethnic Jews-and a limited number of them-rather than to His people redeemed from every nation, including Jewish believers in Jesus. Such a suggestion would be alien to the teaching of the New Testament, read Galatians, four instance.
A better understanding comes from the context. In (Rev. 5:9), the Lamb is said to have purchased with His blood "men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." In (Rev.14:3-4), the 144,000 are said to have been purchased "from the earth" and purchased "from among men." The almost identical language suggests that the two are the same group-the church of all ages. This would explain why, immediately after the vision of the sealing, John sees a great multitude of people from every nation and tribe and people and tongue (Rev. 7:9).
All Satan's followers bear his mark or name, and all of the Lamb's followers must bear the Lamb's mark or name-hence, all believers in Christ throughout the ages are sealed and must be included in the 144,000.
But why speak of a specific number? In (Rev. 21:13-14), the 12 tribes and 12 apostles together form the foundational structure of the new Jerusalem. Multiplying 12 x 12 equals 144, representing the entire people of God through the ages. Multiplying that figure by 1000 reinforces the notion of completeness.
(G.K. Beale)
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