The 144,000 And The Great Multitude
Dear “Ministers of Reconciliation”
How many people will be in heaven? The Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) used to say 144,000 JWs until their number exceeded that. Now they say the 144,000 are a special select of the JWs and the rest of them will remain on earth. This is wrong. The JWs did not read the next verses that say, these are Jewish children of God from the 12 tribes of Israel, and they did not read the verses in chapters 7, 19 of Revelation that there were “great multitudes which no one could number from, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Jesus)”.
I thank God, I will already be in heaven as part of the raptured church before the arrival of the 144,000 and the great multitude of Revelation 7. And you too if you have trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Yes, even some biblical scholars disagree on the 144,000. The best way to find out is for us to read the text.
Let’s continue our study of the book of Revelation and read chapter 7:
The Sealed of Israel
7 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. 2 Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying,
“Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.
A Multitude from the Great Tribulation
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “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. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Chapter 7 transitions after Jesus had opened the first six seals of the Scroll. Now it is zeroing in on the greatest salvation of Israel as God promised all over Scripture and the greatest conversions from all over the world as Jesus promised. “ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14.
Remember, for God so loved the world and He gave us Jesus so no one should perish when we repent of our sins and trust in Christ. God is fulfilling his promise even to the end of the age. God told the destroying angels to hold off (verse 3) until He does His saving of the Jewish nation and nations of the world on earth. See also the eternal gospel is preached before the very end in Revelation 14:6-7. Our God is long-suffering and patient. Love and worship Him with all abandonment and all your heart. Believe in Jesus now if you have never. Don’t wait.
I do not want any other god other than this Mighty God and Savior. That is while all in heaven worship Him. Remember we did not merit our salvation. It is all by His grace that we are saved from His great wrath; for all have sinned and deserved his judgment and wrath.
We are told that the 144K are Jews and 12K from every tribe. We are told that the 144K were virgins (Revelation 14:4) and they were the first fruits, meaning many more Jews will be saved during the last days before Jesus returns (Revelation 14:4). We thank God He will never forget the Jewish nation even though many now reject Jesus but not forever. Check out Romans 11.
Regarding the great multitude no one could number, it says, “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”. Verse 14.
We saw in chapter six at the opening of the fifth seal, that not all who trusted Jesus survived the great tribulation because they were killed and more were to be killed. Verse 14 shows us that many believed in Christ during the great tribulation and were killed. The scene here is in heaven because they are at the throne of God.
Keep in mind that the raptured church was already in heaven before these tribulation saints. Do you see the power of the blood of Jesus? It still speaks on our behalf and saves now and forever. Both the Jewish and Gentile Believers in Christ were sealed by the Holy Spirit (verse 3 and Ephesians 1:13-14). God’s salvation is forever. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
So what? What do we do now? We must continue to worship our Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for our great salvation. There is no greater motivation to praise and worship our Lord. Not even your best physical healing or material need that is met compares to being saved by grace from God’s wrath. Do you have pain and tears now? ”And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Verse 16-17.
We must engage in God’s saving mission as “ministers of reconciliation” and pleading to all on behalf of God to be reconciled in Jesus through the atoning sacrifice for the whole world. Do something for Jesus that counts for eternity – introduce people to Jesus.
And of course, we must be alert, loving even our enemies and looking forward to His return. This same Jesus you see go to heaven, shall return in like manner (see Acts 1:1-11). Are you waiting for His return? When you are expecting a special guest, you get excited and work hard to prepare. Are you excited for Jesus’ return? ”Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
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