The 144,000

“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 given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.  And I heard the number of them which were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”  Revelation 7:2-4

This particular scene that the apostle John was allowed to view was quite different than the last six scenes of destruction and chaos.  This was one of peace and quiet.  The seventh seal had not yet been opened, and it was almost like God had called a “time out” to do some very important tasks.

John saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth.  Up until the time that it was proved otherwise, most people believed the earth to be flat, hence the “corners” which represented the north, east, west, and south portions of the world.  The four angels were commanded by God to hold back the winds so that nothing on earth would be touched by storms or other weather events in order to create some calm after the chaos.  The sea would be still, smooth as glass.  The atmosphere would be so calm that not even a single leaf would rustle among the trees.  This reminds me of times that I have been doing my Bible study and look out the window.  The air is so still that the leaves on my maple tree were not moving at all.  And then all of a sudden, a group of leaves would move because a squirrel had jumped on the limb.  He seemed to come out of nowhere, providing me with a simple illustration of Christ’s second coming.  II Peter 3:10 tells us that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night”, completely taking the world by surprise.

John saw another angel different from the four who came out of the east.  What is significant about the east?  The direction of the east is mentioned more times in scripture than west, south, or north because it is the direction from which God’s glory often appears.  The wise men followed the star in the east to lead them to the Christ child (Matthew 2:9).  Jesus said that His coming would be like lightning that comes out of the east and shines unto the west (Matthew 24:27).  The mount of Olives from which Jesus ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:11) and will return to stand upon (Zechariah 14:4) is east of Jerusalem.  The angel who ascends from the east will have in his possession the seal of the living God giving him the authority to instruct the four angels to not hurt the earth, sea, or trees.  Prior to this instruction from God, these four angels were given the task to bring the forces of nature against earth’s people.  But now they were to stop this task in order that this appointed angel could place the seal of the living God on the foreheads of the servants of God.  This seal would be for their identification and for their protection.

As with other scriptures which are difficult to decipher, there is disagreement among Bible commentators as to the identity of these servants.  However, scripture does indicate that these 144,000 servants are of the tribes of the children of Israel, twelves tribes with 12,000 servants from each tribe.  Some Bible scholars believe that these 144,000 are Jewish evangelists who came to believe in Christ during the tribulation and were sent out to preach the gospel among the people of Israel.  Others believe that they are those who came to faith in Christ during the tribulation, and that the number was not literal but symbolic.  Others see the 144,000 as representatives of the Christian church.  There is one particular church which teaches that after the 1,000 reign of Christ, all the dead will be resurrected, and 144,000 of their members who reach the required standard as set forth by their teachings will live in heaven and all others will live on earth.  Those who reject their teachings will be annihilated (from “A Book of Beliefs”, John Butterworth).  However, scripture is clear in its identification of the 144,000 as belonging to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The seal with which they were identified was a means to protect and preserve them for their important duties of spreading the gospel among the Jews during the final days of the tribulation.  The seal will not protect them from persecution but will protect them from God’s judgment and keep them from harm so that they can be witnesses of God’s saving power among the people.  When God called Israel out to be His very own people, they were to be a light to the rest of the world in illuminating the glory and honor of the God of Israel.  However, they failed to live up to their part of the Old Covenant, and they also rejected Christ.  God has not abandoned them, though.  Many Jews will come to receive Christ during the tribulation under the preaching of the Jewish evangelists who will be the “firstfruits” among the redeemed of restored Israel (Rvelation 14:4).

If you have spent time in the Old Testament, you will be more convinced than ever that God is a God of mercy.  Israel’s history is replete with their many turns to idolatry and abandonment of the LORD, their disobedience after all that He had done for them giving them the promised land and providing everything that they needed to sustain life and prosper, and then being the ones who crucified His Son, Jesus Christ.  After all of that, God will give them another opportunity to repent and receive His Son as Lord and Savior.  What a good God that we serve.