Who are the 144,000 and the Great Multitude?
Rev 7:4
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. (Rev. 7:4)
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
First of all, who are these 144000?
There is no rule to suggest that these 144,000 are any other than literal Jews, 12,000 for each tribe of Israel.
It is not up to any individual to assume the authority to spiritualize this number.
The 24 Elders are not spiritualized, the 4 angels are not spiritualized. There are 4 beasts and 7 spirits of God and 7 candlesticks.
We cannot pick and choose what we are going to take as allegory, metaphor, or spiritual and what is literal.
The 7 churches in Asia were literal churches and their names are given. Rev 2 and 3.
The text says, that there was a group of 144,000 and that they are from the 12 tribes of Israel.
The text does not say that these 144,000 represent any other group other than the tribes of Israel.
The text does not say that they are the saints. The text does not say that they are a representation of the church.
In fact the text makes a definite distinction between these 144000 and the Great Multitude.
Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, 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, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Whether you hold a Pre Tribulation position or a Pre Wrath position, it is quite clear that these two groups are different.
There are those that would suggest that the 144,000 represent the whole of the believing church. However there is no text to suggest this. Exegetically, they are who the text says they are, 144,000 Jews.
The multitude on the other hand, are the church.
How can we say that?
Well! The text tells us.
Rev 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They are those that are removed from the earth prior to the wrath of God being poured out on the world, which begins at the beginning of Revelation Chapter 8.
They came out of the Great Tribulation as was told by Jesus in Matt 24.
Jesus said that the Great Tribulation would be cut short for the “Elects” sake.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Who are the ones who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb?
The answer is the believers, the Elect, the saints, the church, the dead in Christ and we who are alive and remain. 1Thess 4.
These are the ones who are kept from the Hour of Testing.
Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
“keep thee from” (Greek, Tereho Ek) keep from.
Also, 1 Thess 5:9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The distinction is further seen in how John identifies the 144,000.
John calls the 144,000, “servants of God”, he calls them “servants,” and he calls them “servants the prophets,”
The four angels were told, do not hurt Earth until the 144,000 are sealed.
Rev 7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 19:2 For true and righteous are his judgements: for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Perhaps a larger selection of Bible texts will clarify why John differentiates between saints and prophets. The 144,000 are called “servants” in Revelation 7:3, because this word expresses their calling.
The word “prophet” denotes their mission.
When the two terms “servants and the prophets” are brought together, the term becomes a job title.
See below a selection of texts that link the terms servants the prophets.
Notice how the title, “servants and servants the prophets” is applied.
2 Kings 17:22, 23 “The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.”
Jeremiah 7:25, 26 “From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers.”
Ezekiel 38:16, 17 “. . . .In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel?’ ”
Daniel 9:6, 10 “[Oh Lord,] We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. . . . we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.”
Joel 2:28, 29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
The Bible uses the title, “servants the prophets” nineteen times and in every case this title identifies special individuals whom God selected to speak on His behalf.
Of course, the word “servants” can be used in a broader sense to mean subjects, slaves, employees and believers.
(Genesis 24:34; 1 Corinthians 4:1) But the context in Revelation 7 indicates the 144,000 servants of God will not be ordinary servants.
When we realise that God has delayed destroying the Earth until 144,000 servants are sealed, we know they will not be ordinary people!
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
Unlike the numberless multitude who will come out of the Great Tribulation, the 144,000 will be numbered.
Rev 7:5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
Rev 7:6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
Rev 7:7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
Rev 7:8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
The 144,000 will experience and endure the sufferings of Christ. They will be honoured above the rest of the redeemed. No one else will be able to sing their song. (Revelation 14:1, 3)
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
No lie or falsehood will be found in the mouths of the 144,000. (Revelation 14:5)
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The 144,000 will be Jews, descendants of Abraham. (Revelation 7:5-8).
12,000 from each of the tribes.
This is in contrast to the multitude that John saw.
Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, 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, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
This multitude could not be numbered. They were not from the tribes of Israel but from all nations and kindred’s and peoples and tongues.
There can be no doubt that these two groups of people are different.
The 144,00 are Jews from the 12 tribes of Israel and the Multitude is the church, the Elect, the saints.
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Why 144,000 means 144,000.
The first reason is that it is a very clear statement.
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel. (Rev. 7:4)
Notice, John did not see the 144,000. He heard the number. The 144,000 were not present in heaven at the time of John’s vision. However, he saw the multitude, from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues.
All believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit but these are sealed for a special purpose.
They are different from other believers in that they have a song that only they know.
No one else will be able to sing their song. (Revelation 14:1, 3)
They are sealed in their foreheads with the Fathers name.
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
What are the recognisable characteristics of these 144,000?
They are celibates.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
The 144,000 are called "virgins" in this verse. The Greek word used here is parthenoi, most often a reference to those who have abstained from sex.
This could be a metaphor, a reference to spiritual purity.
It could be a reference to those that refused to participate in the idolatrous worship of the beast.
They are like the wise virgins Jesus described as having oil in their lamps while they waited for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1–13).
Similarly, the 144,000 are faithfully waiting for Jesus, the bridegroom, to return with His bride at His coming to the earth.
They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
Instead of following the beast, as so many will do in the tribulation, the 144,00 follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They are obedient servants of the Lord.
Furthermore, they have been redeemed—washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Firstfruits.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
As redeemed tribulation Jews, they are the firstfruits for God and the Lamb. They precede a vast number of Jews who believe on their Messiah at the end of the tribulation and enter Jesus' kingdom on earth (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:15, 26–27).
No guile and without fault.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
The number is literal, the nation is literal and the names of the tribes are literal.
Rev 7: 4-8 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
Verse 9 makes it clear that these 144,000 are distinctive from the multitude, for they are numbered and the multitude are an unspecified number from every nation, all tribes, all peoples and all languages.
Rev 7:9 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,
The 144,000 are all men, (sons of Israel) no women. Whereas, the whole of the redeemed are made up of both male and female.
The number 144,000 is not a metaphorical number as some numbers are in the book of Revelation.
E.g. 666, Six hundred, three score and six, which is obviously symbolic.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Unless it is quite clear that a number should be read as symbolic or is quite obviously a metaphor for something else, the number should be taken literally.
E.g. God created the heavens and the earth in six days (Hebrew - shêsh, yôm), Literally six days.
The Millennium is a literal thousand years.
Rev 20:6 and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Greek – Chilioi, etos).
2 Peter 3:8 that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ( Greek - hēmera (day, that is, (literally) the time space between dawn and dark, or the whole 24 hours). (Greek, Chilioi)
Is it important to recognise what is literal and what is metaphorical or allegory?
Yes, it is.
If one symbolises everything that he cannot understand literally, it leads to misinterpretation.
When an interpreter approaches a text with the presupposition that “The number can’t mean what it says”.
Or because it does not fit his presupposed idea, it leaves the text open to misinterpretation.
This hermeneutic is a dangerous hermeneutic and can lead to any number in scripture being manipulated to mean something else, or to disregard it altogether.
