seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,
from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000,
from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,
from the tribe of Levi 12,000,
from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,
from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,
from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
Whenever I want to be sure I'm getting a Jewish perspective on a Bible verse, while posting in the mornings, I go to "got questions". The author is Jewish and he's a Christian. So.... this is from gotquestions.org.
So the answer to the question “who are the 144,000?” will depend on which interpretive approach you take to the book of Revelation. With the exception of the futurist approach, all of the other approaches interpret the 144,000 symbolically, as representative of the church and the number 144,000 being symbolic of the totality—i.e., the complete number—of the church. Yet when taken at face value: “Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel” (Revelation 7:4), nothing in the passage leads to interpreting the 144,000 as anything but a literal number of Jews—12,000 taken from every tribe of the “sons of Israel.” The New Testament offers no clear cut text replacing Israel with the church.
These Jews are “sealed,” which means they have the special protection of God from all of the divine judgments and from the Antichrist to perform their mission during the tribulation period (see Revelation 6:17, in which people will wonder who can stand from the wrath to come). The tribulation period is a future seven-year period of time in which God will enact divine judgment against those who reject Him and will complete His plan of salvation for the nation of Israel. All of this is according to God’s revelation to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:24–27). The 144,000 Jews are a sort of “first fruits” (Revelation 14:4) of a redeemed Israel which has been previously prophesied (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25–27), and their mission seems to be to evangelize the post-rapture world and proclaim the gospel during the tribulation period. As a result of their ministry, millions—“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9)—will come to faith in Christ.
These Jews are “sealed,” which means they have the special protection of God from all of the divine judgments and from the Antichrist to perform their mission during the tribulation period (see Revelation 6:17, in which people will wonder who can stand from the wrath to come). The tribulation period is a future seven-year period of time in which God will enact divine judgment against those who reject Him and will complete His plan of salvation for the nation of Israel. All of this is according to God’s revelation to the prophet Daniel (Daniel 9:24–27). The 144,000 Jews are a sort of “first fruits” (Revelation 14:4) of a redeemed Israel which has been previously prophesied (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25–27), and their mission seems to be to evangelize the post-rapture world and proclaim the gospel during the tribulation period. As a result of their ministry, millions—“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9)—will come to faith in Christ.
I'm at the calm before the storm. Remember, John is the author and he's writing this long before man took a ride to the moon. As far as John and his contemporaries are concerned, the earth is flat. So... IMHO... When John talks about the four angels holding aback the wind from the four corners of the earth.... he's just saying "things went silent".
Why would Jesus stop after the 6th seal to pick up some Jews?
Originally, the plan was for humans to live in beauty and splendor.... walking and talking with their creator [God] all day long. Humans mucked it up by believing they could be as smart as God. Who was He to tell them what they could eat?
Once humans got out of control... the plan had to shift. So God washed the planet off.... saving only a few humans [Noah] to transplant.... and He started over again.
Then humans got out of control.... the plan had to shift. So God sent them to Egypt and then saved them from Egypt. He led them to their home land and set them up with a beautiful place to live, plenty to eat....gave them some rules.... and He started over again.
Then humans got out of control.... the plan had to shift. Humans refused to follow the rules. They started making little idols again. They started marrying people from other nationalities that brought bad habits to God's chosen. So God took a break.... He put down his tools and walked away.... for 400 years..... and He started over again.
Then God decided to let Jesus go down there. Jesus could feed them, heal them, explain the need for rules, explain the need to love rather than threaten. They hung Him on the cross for His kindness. God tricked the humans.... did you get that.... God tricked the humans.... It was always the plan that Jesus would come to earth.... and conquer the one thing that keeps plaguing humans.... death.
So.... doesn't it make sense.... since the Jews want a king to beat all kings..... and they didn't believe Him to be the Messiah because He came as a carpenter's son.... doesn't it make sense that God would build an army of Jews.... an equal number from each tribe.... to fight alongside King Jesus when He returns.
I don't know for sure.... I'm just an old lady with an online Bible.... but it seems to me that this reads a whole lot like when King David rounded up the troops... or when Moses led them out of Egypt.... it looks like to me... King Jesus is gathering His troops.
