Who are the 144,000 in Revelation?
The subject of the 144,000 is not a matter of testing truth—and it’s a good thing, because there are at least four or five different positions on this topic! Some see the number as literal, while others see it as symbolic. Some see them as God’s only the living saints at Christ’s coming, while others think they include all who have believed in the three angels’ messages. Still others see the 144,000 as a symbolic number for all the redeemed in every generation and still others as a literal number of Jewish male virgins. To be honest, there are a couple of other variations we could add.
Descriptions of the 144,000 can be found in three places in the book of Revelation. The first two are direct references (Revelation 7:1–4; 14:1–5), and the third is an implied reference (Revelation 15:2–4). Let’s take a look at these three references in order to get a better understanding who the 144,000 are.
Revelation 7 can be seen as an interlude, or an interruption of sorts, to the Seven Seals. In this chapter, John answers the question put forth in Revelation 6:17, “…who is able to stand?” This being the case, the interpretation of Revelation 7 is bound up in the context of the sixth seal.
The Second Coming of Christ
The sixth seal describes the Second Coming of Christ. As He approaches the Earth, there is tremendous commotion in sky, land, and sea. “Stars” fall, and entire mountains and islands are moved out of place (Revelation 6:14; Matthew 24:29–30; Mark 13:24–26).
So awesome and terrifying is the sight that the great and mighty men call for the mountains and rocks to fall on them rather than to face God, who sits on the throne with the Lamb at His right side (Revelation 6:15–16; Matthew 24:30 and 26:64; Mark 14:62). As every eye sees Christ coming, the lost who have survived the seven last plagues and who have just blasphemed the name of God now long to hide from the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 1:7; 15:1; 16:9; 6:16–17).
The Servants of God
In this context, the question is asked, “…who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:17), and it is answered twice in chapter 7—first by the angel with the words, “the servants of God” (Revelation 7:3), then by John when he says, “I beheld, and lo, a great multitude” who “stood before the throne” and “before the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16–17; 7:9).
Notice that the question is: “Who is able to stand” before “the throne” and before “the Lamb.” (Revelation 6:16–17, emphasis supplied throughout), and it is answered twice: “The servants of God,” “an hundred and forty and four thousand” (Revelation 7:3–4). “A great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood” “before the throne” “and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).
Two Groups of Redeemed
John’s vision is consistent with the rest of the Bible which describes two groups of people who will be able to stand before “Him who sits on the throne,” and the “Lamb” at the Second Coming.
First, there are those whose hope is in Christ and are alive when He comes (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:51). Then there are those who sleep in Jesus and are resurrected at His Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Corinthians 15:12–23, 51–52).
The Seal of the Living God
The central focus of this chapter is the seal of God which is placed upon the foreheads of the servants of God (Revelation 7:2–3). But what is this seal? The Bible gives five meanings to the sealing which all seem to apply to this chapter:
1) In the book of Revelation, the seal of God in the forehead is the same as the name of God in the forehead (compare Revelation 7:2–8; 14:1; and 22:4). This word “name” in both the Old and New Testaments means “character.” It describes those who have developed the attributes of Jesus’ character through His Spirit. They have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:30; Philippians 2:5).
2) A seal is the same as a mark or sign, and infers ownership and dedication. Abraham was to circumcise his house as a sign or seal that he belonged to God (Romans 4:11; Genesis 17:9–12). The high priest was to bear the engraving, “Holiness to the Lord” on his forehead as a sign of his dedication to God (Exodus 28:36–38).
3) The Bible also speaks of the concept of a seal or mark as offering protection (Genesis 4:15; Ezekiel 9:1–11; and Revelation 9:4-5). In Revelation, God’s people are sealed to protect them against the seven last plagues or four winds that hurt the earth (Revelation 7:1–3; 16:2). At the same time, they are not protected from the persecution of the beast (Revelation 13:15–17; 20:4). Likewise, the mark of the beast gives protection to its worshipers from the beast’s persecution; but they are not protected from the plagues of God (Revelation 15:1; 16:1–11).
4) Another aspect of sealing that gives insight to this chapter is that of genuineness, like documents that are sealed to protect them from change or alteration (Ezekiel 32:9–11). Thus, God’s servants are sealed as a guarantee that they will remain righteous and loyal to God (Revelation 3:12; 22:11).
5) And finally, the sealing of God’s people denotes their obedience to Him as faithful servants (Revelation 7:3; Romans 6:16). They are to be sealed by the Holy Spirit which is “given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32; Ephesians 4:30; Revelation 14:12).
(NOTE: Much of the insight in this section is owed to the writers of Symposium on Revelation – Book 1, Frank B. Holbrook, editor, pp. 254–256).
The sealing of God’s people is synonymous with the Judgment. According to Daniel 7 and 8, and Revelation 10, 11:1–2, and 14:6–7, this sealing/judgment work began with the dead in 1844 (Revelation 6:9–11). Soon, but no one knows how soon, it will move on to the living. Then God’s faithful people of all ages will have been sealed, the four winds will be let loose, and Christ will return.
Now let’s look at our next biblical text, as we move closer to a conclusion, based on all the evidence.
Revelation 14:1–5
In Revelation 14:1–5 the 144,000 are shown again—this time on Mount Zion with the Lamb, a scene future to the Second Coming (Hebrews 12:22–23). Here the description of the 144,000 is a picture of all the redeemed. Notice their characteristics:
– They have the Father’s name written in their foreheads (Revelation 22:4).
– They were redeemed from earth (Isaiah 43:1; 1 Peter 1:18).
– They are virgins (2 Corinthians 11:2–4).
– They follow the Lamb (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
– They are firstfruits (Jeremiah 2:3; James 1:17–18).
– They have no guile in their mouths (1 Peter 3:10).
– They stand without fault before God (Jude 24).
If we study the Bible carefully, we find that all the characteristics of the 144,000 brought out in Revelation 14:1–5 apply to God’s people in every age. Though the final generation may manifest these characteristics to a greater degree than previous generations, all of God’s people are redeemed followers of the Lamb, spiritual virgins, firstfruits (born again), with no guile and without fault (due to their faith in Christ’s righteousness). In fact, no generation of believers can ever place their standing before God on anything else but the perfect life, penalty-satisfying sacrifice, and death-destroying resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). This means that wherever we come into the picture historically, our salvation status is exactly the same: saved by grace through faith; not by works, but unto good works. In the gospel gift there is no elite status.
If that makes sense, hold onto it for a bit while we look at our final text.
Revelation 15:2–4
As noted earlier, this final reference to the 144,000 is indirect. Here we note two things:
1. This group stands on the sea of glass—an experience that will be given to all those who are redeemed, without exception.
2. This group of redeemed sings the song of Moses and the Lamb. This reaches back to the Old Testament and tells us that Moses will sing this song, since he and all the Old Testament faithful looked, by faith, to the Lamb.
The 144,000, Literal or Symbolic?
Okay, now let’s attempt to answer more questions regarding the 144,000. Are they literal or symbolic? Is the 144,000 who are sealed the same as the great multitude? Here are a few thoughts to consider:
1. Usually, what John hears is the same as what he then sees; i.e., John heard a great voice like a trumpet, then saw the Son of Man (Revelation 1:10, 13). John heard the number of horsemen, and then saw the horses in the vision (Revelation 9:16–17). It is significant to note that John first heard the number of them that were sealed, and then he beheld a great multitude which no man could number (Revelation 7:4, 9).
2. Another important point to consider is that the sealed are from the tribes of the children of Israel (Revelation 7:4). Since the Old Testament Church was designated as the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28; Acts 26:7), and the New Testament Church is described as the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the Israel of God, this allows for the 144,000 (which are from the twelve tribes of Israel) to symbolize all the saved, both in the Old and New Testaments (James 1:1; Galatians 3:29; 6:15–16; Matthew 21:43; Romans 2:28–29; 1 Peter 2:9–10).
3. Again, consider that the sealing of the servants of God (Revelation 7:3) includes all who have died with faith in Christ, as well as those who are alive at His Second Coming (Romans 4:11; Hebrews 11:13; Ephesians 1:10–14; 4:30). This is an important point. Every person who stands before the throne in Heaven will have the seal of God’s Name in their foreheads (Revelation 22:4.) This seal of God is equivalent to having our names written and retained in the Lamb’s book of life (Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:4; Luke 10:20; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15). Therefore, the sealing includes all of the redeemed, not just an end-time group.
4. The great multitude is said to come out of great tribulation (Revelation 7:14). God’s faithful servants in all generations, including the last generation, will have gone through great tribulation (Matthew 24:21, 29; Acts 14:22; Deuteronomy 4:30–31; John 16:33; Revelation 2:10; Daniel 12:1).
5. The 144,000 are called the servants of God. The great multitude are pictured as those who serve Him day and night in His temple (Revelation 7:3, 15). In a scene future to the Second Coming, when all the servants of God are called to praise Him, John hears the voice of a great multitude, which are called the Lamb’s wife, and are beckoned to the marriage supper (Revelation 19:5–9). There is no mention of the 144,000, because that is a code for the great multitude of all the redeemed. It is their number, just like Israel is their name.
Based on these thoughts, it can be seen that the number 144,000 is used symbolically to represent the Israel of God, the redeemed. However, this brings another question to mind: Why then, do the 144,000 appear to be a precise number?
The Symbolism of the 144,000
It is important to recognize that the 144,000 is an exact number, which, if it were literal, would pose some problems.
1. Contrary to His character, God would have to cut off any person over 144,000 from being sealed, written in the Book of Life, and eternally saved (2 Peter 3:9). Not only that, but He would be limited to sealing only 12,000 people from each literal tribe.
2. Another problem is that biblically, the numbering of people only included males (Luke 9:14; Matthew 14:21). Even taken literally, Revelation 7:4–8 would still have to be symbolic, so as to include women and children.
3. If literal, the twelve tribes listed in Revelation 7 would be the same as the original twelve tribes, but they are not (Genesis 49). Manasseh, one of Joseph’s sons, is added to the list (Genesis 48:13), and the tribe of Dan is missing (Revelation 7:4–8).
4. The Revelation 7 listing of the twelve tribes is different from the listing in Ezekiel 48, and since both lists are understood to be eschatological or end-time prophetic pictures, if the twelve tribes are literal, these lists should be the same.
5. When John is shown the bride, the Lamb’s wife, he sees the great city, the holy Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9–10). This city is the Lamb’s wife. In it are God’s faithful, both from the Old and the New Testaments. This being so, it helps us see the 144,000 as this same symbolic representation of the bride of Christ, the Israel of God, the redeemed of all ages. Thus, while we know that this city is a literal city, it also symbolizes God’s people. It is called the bride of Christ, and so are God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments (Revelation 19:7–8; Ephesians 5:23–32; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Jeremiah 3:14). In a symbolic sense, the Jerusalem City is described in the same way as God’s literal Old Testament and spiritual New Testament Israel. That is:
– It is foursquare (Exodus 28:16, 21).
– It is set with precious stones (Exodus 28:17–21).
– It has four sides of equal length, breadth, and height, measuring 12,000 furlongs (Revelation
21:16). 4 x 3 = 12, and 12 x 12,000 = 144,000 (Revelation 7:4).
– The wall is 144 cubits (Revelation 21:17; 7:4).
– The wall has twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of the children of
Israel (Revelation 21:12; 7:4; Genesis 49).
– It also has twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, the New
Testament twelve tribes (Revelation 21:14; James 1:1).
6. Also, there are numerous instances in the New Testament, like Romans 9, where the Apostle Paul clearly describes the seed of Abraham as including the Gentiles (Romans 9:7, 24). In this instance, Paul quotes an Old Testament prophecy which intermingles the terminology of Revelation 7:4 and the 144,000 with Revelation 7:9 and the great multitude:
“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ there it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’” Hosea 1:10
Notice that:
a) This prophecy includes Jews and Gentiles (Romans 9:1–27).
b) It speaks of the number of the children of Israel (Revelation 7:4).
c) It describes a people which cannot be measured nor numbered (Revelation 7:9).
The Significance of the Symbolism
The symbolism of the 144,000 is significant and represents unity, perfection, and the completion of God’s Church. Revelation 6:11 indicates that before God’s martyrs can be avenged and enter into the heavenly city, that “the brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” or “complete.” (This can infer their number, or the character being “fulfilled,” or made up.)
The book of Hebrews indicates that the faithful of past ages are waiting for this promise of entering “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39–40 (KJV). They are waiting for the completion or perfection of the number of God’s people, namely us.
Despite all the victories and good reports of the faithful of old, they are not complete or made perfect without us. This is a type of corporate oneness revealed by God’s people in rare times of spirituality, and exemplified by Christ’s prayer for us (Daniel 9:5–11; Ezra 9:3–15; John 17:20–23).
This same oneness is described in Revelation 7:4–8 with the final sealing of God’s people. When this sealing is finished, the number of the redeemed is complete, and “the mystery of God is finished” (Revelation 10:7 NASB). All who will make up the New Jerusalem, all who have and would ever accept the gift of salvation have done so, and the four winds can be let loose.
Thus, 144,000 becomes the number of those who are the sealed. It is a number which symbolizes the completion or perfection of the redeemed from all generations. When the final generation of the 144,000 are sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel (Hebrews 11:39; Revelation 7:4), the four winds can be let loose. All who have placed their faith in Christ as their Savior have God’s mark in their foreheads.
“The number 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1,000) is based upon the kingdom number twelve. The number twelve suggests perfect symmetry and completeness. The number one thousand represents the vastness of the multitude of the sealed. Twelve is the number of ancient Israel, based upon the twelve tribes. It is also the number of the church, built upon the twelve apostles. The New Jerusalem, structured to represent both Old and New Testament Israel, has twelve gates with the names of the twelve patriarchs, and twelve foundations containing the names of the twelve apostles (Revelation 21:12–14; Ephesians 2:20–21). The dimensions of the city are in multiples of twelve (Revelation 21:16–17).
“The great square city is designed to accommodate the ‘hollow square’ of saints who will enter its gates by the names of their respective tribes, 12,000 through each gate. This suggests that all who enter the gates of pearl will be assigned to a tribe, perhaps on the basis of character (see Genesis 49 for a preliminary description of their traits). The blending of the tribes and the apostles in the structure of the city suggest the unity of God’s church, Jews and Gentiles united into the one (Ephesians 2:14, 18–22). The number 144,000 should thus be understood as a symbol of the unity, perfection, and completion of God’s church—complete because the number has been made up (Revelation 6:11).” (From Symposium on Revelation – Book 1, Frank B. Holbrook, editor, p. 262.)
The Great Multitude
Consider some closing thoughts of encouragement. As John looks upon the great multitude of the redeemed, he points out some important characteristics about them:
1. First, he says that no man could number them (Revelation 7:9). This gives hope to all. Though the road to Heaven is narrow, countless millions will be saved (Matthew 7:13–14).
2. John also says that the redeemed come from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues (Revelation 7:9). Here it is shown that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34–35). Every race of people, nation, kindred, or tongue is granted a place in His kingdom.
3. John sees that the redeemed are clothed with white robes (Revelation 7:9). This indicates that they have received the free gift of the cleansing blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14; Isaiah 1:18). They do not depend on salvation by their works, but instead, they cry, “Salvation to our God” and “to the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10).
4. Though they have come out of great tribulation, they will not hunger or thirst anymore (Revelation 7:14, 16). Neither shall they know sorrow anymore, for “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17). This is a tremendous hope for us now. Someday soon, life is going to be different. Death, pain, sorrow, sickness, mourning, and heartache were never in God’s plan for us. And soon, very soon, all things will be new.
Summary
1. The two direct references and one indirect reference to the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation indicate an all-inclusive group who are sealed (Revelation 7:1–4). They stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1), and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb on the sea of glass (Revelation 15:2–4).
2. The characteristics of the 144,000 are also inclusive of all who put their faith in Jesus Christ and His righteousness for salvation (Revelation 14:2–4).
3. The 144,000 in number represents God’s kingdom people, who are symbolized by the New Jerusalem City.
4. God’s people from all ages are to be sealed during the investigative judgment.
5. The last generation of God’s people will complete the final number of those who are sealed—the 144,000, the redeemed of all generations.
6. Each generation of God’s redeemed who overcome the dragon (the devil) and his earthly cohorts are part of the final 144,000.
7. Each of the innumerable redeemed enters the New Jerusalem through one of the gates named after the 12 tribes, who are symbolized as having been sealed in Revelation 7.
Considering all of this information, we can see that the 144,000 are not literal Jewish male virgins (Revelation 14:4). They are a symbolic number representing all of the redeemed who have been investigated, sealed, and eternally saved to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb upon the sea of glass. They have overcome the dragon and his every earthly cohort who have deceived the world into turning their allegiance from God. They have free access into the Lamb’s “wife”—the New Jerusalem—through one of the 12 gates named after the 12 tribes. Jews and Gentiles, spiritual virgins through the everlasting gospel, gather on mount Zion without guile or fault, for they follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
The 144,000 in number, the Israel of God in name (Revelation 19:7; Galatians 6:16) are a team, a company, united over the 6,000 years of sin by an experience of overcoming the dragon and his earthly cohorts. This is an experience that no other company has had but those who were redeemed from among men, from this fallen planet Earth. The final generation of the 144,000 complete or perfect this unique company by doing what every previous generation would have done, but for time and place: they resist the final roar of the dragon, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus in a time of universal apostasy. You, my dear friend, and every person who longs for some better place than this land of sin, can be among them.
Many people see the Book of Revelation as isolated from the rest of Scripture—a gloom and doom, symbolic puzzle. However, in reality, the Book of Revelation is the summation of the entire Bible. In it, all the books of the Bible meet and end. The entire Plan of Salvation is brought together, the Lamb slain from this earth’s foundation is its central theme, and with that perspective, the 144,000 represent God‘s redeemed of all ages.
Soon, if we are faithful, we will stand with the 144,000 on the sea of glass, singing the Song of Moses and the Lamb as a song of our own personal experience in overcoming the devil and his earthly cohorts by the blood of the Lamb. May we strive to be among this number, and may we do all we can to help others gain Heaven, also. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.