144000 and a great multitude
After Jesus opened the six Seals in Revelation Chapter 6, he did not open the 7th Seal in chapter 7. But he indicated angel to show another vision and let apostle John wrote it down. What does the vision about? It is about the “144000” and “a great multitude”. Is there any relationship with the 7th Seal?
Yes should be. You can imagine angel shows this vision to John before opening the 7th Seal, so it tells us the importance of “144000” vision. Maybe angel wants us to know “144000” is the “key” to open the 7th Seal.
The “Key” for opening 7th Seal
When the 7th Seal is opened, it will be the End Day the God’s Day. When the sealing of 144000 saints complete, then the Great Tribulation will come, a Great Multitude shall be survived. Why can we say that?
Because Revelation 7:1-3 says, “holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree 2 Then I saw another angel…, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees…”
“until” …
“until” we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, “144,000“, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. -Revelation 7:3,4
“144000” are the slain souls of the 5th Seal, they have to “rest a little longer”, that means they have to wait, “until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete”. It is what Revelation 7:3,4 means “…until we have sealed… 144000 complete”. They(144000) will become the heavenly 12 Tribes of “Kingdom of Priests” and a heavenly “Holy Nation”.
Same as Israelites left Egypt and stay in the wilderness 40 years, waiting to enter the Promised Land, the slain souls(Saints) are also waiting, until their brothers(144000) sealed complete. After that, the 7th Seal will be opened, the 4 destroy winds will be released and the Great Tribulation will come. How long of this sealing period? It is an unknown period, why?
Matthew 24:36 Jesus said “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
Why Jesus said no one knows the end day but the Father only? Because it depends on the time when will be completed of sealing 144000 saints, no one knows except the Father. For only the Father knows who is His last son(the chosen). So this unknown period is from 1st century till to the End Day, it is also the 7 Churches period; “a time, times, and half a time” period.
When the last Saint of 144000 is sealed, the “key” would appear, “there would be no more delay”, this key will open the 7th Seal. When the 7th Seal is opened, that means “four destroy winds” will release to destroy the earth the sea and the trees, it means the seven Trumpets have to blow, and the Great Tribulation will come officially. The climax of the Great Tribulation of mankind will be the blowing of the 6th Trumpet.
Revelation 9:14-16 “saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a “third” of mankind. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.”
After the Great Tribulation, a Great Multitude will be saved and survived. Revelation 7:14 Angel said “These are the ones coming out of the Great Tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”.
Now let’s read Revelation chapter 7
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the “four winds” of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, “until” we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.4 And I heard the number of the sealed, “144000“, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:”
Why verse 2 says angel “from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God”, and he stopped the four winds to harm the earth, sea and trees? When the six seals have opened, the 7th Seal is expecting to open now. “But stop! Pause and hold on, don’t open the 7th Seal yet “until” we have sealed all 144,000 saints complete!”–the angel with the seal of God said. Holding the four winds means holding the destroy winds of Great Tribulation, so that it won’t bring the destruction. That means the four destroy winds will not be released until all 144,000 saints have sealed.
In the other words, the key the “only condition” to open the 7th Seal is all 144000 saints have sealed, then the 7th Seal will be opened, also the seven Trumpets will be blown and the four “destroy winds” will be released.
Is it 144000 a real number or symbolic? We are sure they are the real number, why? Because verse 3 says “Do not harm… “until” we have sealed the servants of our God (complete)”. There has a “quantity” condition of this work… until we have sealed 144000 complete. That means angels have to seal the saints one by one, until the last one of 144000. If it is a symbolic it wouldn’t say 144000, for it is used to symbolic a whole of someting, maybe use 10(a whole) or 144(symbolic something special meanning), adding more zero is meaningless.
Please read “Seventy Sevens” for another evidence.
The “Kingdom of Priests” and the “Holy Nation” is formed by heavenly 12 Tribes, they are…
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
144000 is really a small quantity comparing with the whole Israelites, but that is God’s will, they are the holy seeds.
Isaiah 6:13 says,
“And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.
There is an interesting question : Does “144000” means the Israelite by blood?
Part of the 144000 are really the Jews(Israelite by blood) but most of them are gentile, all of them are circumcision by the holy spirit and receive adoption as God’s sons.
Romans 2:28,29 says,
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”
Romans 9:6,8,23-26
6 …For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Therefore all 144000 of heavenly Israel are God’s sons, they are sealed by Holy Spirit and adopted by God, that’s why they are called God’s sons and inherited God’s kingdom. Please also read <Salvation> <The Mystery of Kingdom of God>.
A Great Multitude
9 After this I looked, and behold, a “great multitude” that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Amen.
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones “coming out” of the great tribulation. They have 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 shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Amen.
Interesting
There is an interesting question : Are only 144000 can got the salvation?
It is clear that Bible says the number of the sealed are 144000 saints, “And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000“. So only 144000 saints can go to heaven, they are being the Priests and Kings of heavenly kingdom. But if you mean “the Salvation”, they are not only 144000, the number of those who are “saved” is uncountable and unlimited. A Great Multitude come out of the Great Tribulation is a part of salvation, and Jesus “will guide them to springs of living water”, they will live foreverand have eternal life. Please read <Salvation>.
Another interesting question : Why are they 144000?
Why not 12000? Or why not 120000? Why not 14400 or other number…?
In the ancient time, Jehovah God allowed men from the tribe of Levi to replace the other twelve tribes of Israel to be the Priests, they served God and made atonement for the sins of the Israelites. There were 24 shifts of Priests to serve God, they were on duty twice(half month x 2) a year. Another way to say, if there are 12 shifts of Priests serving God, they will on duty once a year(a month).
So Maybe it means 12 priests come from 12 tribes, they are on duty each month in New Jerusalem to serve God and 12 shifts a year. Each month is a turn with 12 Priests, there are 12 months a year therefore need 144 Priests a year, then a thousand years will be 144000 priests. 1000 years? Yes.
Revelation 20:6 says, “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! … they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”
If we calculate 144 Priests x 1000 years, it will be 144000, so that’s why God arrange their number is 144000.
And maybe this is the “first shift” of their duty, and the second shift will begin with the next a “thousand years”… and to forever and ever.
Maybe it is related to Revelation 22:2, “through the middle of the street of the city(New Jerusalem); also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its “twelve kinds” of fruit, yielding its fruit “each month“. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations”. Therefore 12 kinds of fruit x 12 months will be 144 a year, then you may know how many fruits of a thousand years.
It is also related to New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:16,17, “The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, “12,000” stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, “144” cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.”
Let’s Prayer.
YHWH God our heavenly Father, may praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power be You our God forever and ever! Amen.
You have already planned your heavenly kingdom, and let your only beloved son Jesus and 144000 saints to form the heavenly kingdom. When Jesus Christ back to your throne, your kingdom has finished the half. And when the last your son of 144000 is sealed, all 144000 is complete and another half of kingdom is also completed.
After 144000 saints have sealed, we know the End Day will come, the Great Tribulation will come too. We won’t afraid but would straighten up and raise heads, for we have to be saved soon. Amen. We have to honor and worship you day and night before your throne, give the Glory, the Praise, the Power, Thankful to you and to your beloved son Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer is also in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now let’s open <The seventh Seal>…
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