- Many interpreters understand
the reference to be literal. After all, it lists 12
tribes of the sons of Israel and he lists 12,000 from each tribe. I think to many people,
it seems clear from that that we have a literal reference to a literal 144,000 and that
they're literally from Israel and I have respect for that view. However, I don't think
that view is convincing. I would actually argue that the 144,000 is a symbolic number,
and that the reference to the 12 tribes of
Israel is also symbolic and that represents the church,
or another way to put it is that it represents all believers. Why do I think that? The first reason is the
way chapter six ends. Chapter six ends with a
statement of God's wrath that is coming upon the world, and the author tells us,
"And who is able to stand?" Who is able to stand when
God's wrath is poured out? That's the question, and
I think chapter seven answers that question. Those who are able to stand
are those who are sealed, or protected, by God, and those who are sealed and protected by God are the 144,000. And I think it's most natural to say that refers to all Christians. Secondly, the 144,000,
they're not only described in Revelation chapter seven, but we also see them described
in Revelation, chapter 14, and they're the 144,000 that
are described as the redeemed of the earth. So, that's a description of the 144,000, and I think that's a
comprehensive description. That's what it means to be a Christian. They're not described as
Israel, but the redeemed. So, thirdly, we find a
very fascinating parallel in chapter seven and chapter five between hearing and seeing. So, in chapter five, he
hears, John, the writer, hears about the Lion
of the Tribe of Judah, but when he looks and
sees, he sees a lamb. So, that's very interesting. Jesus is the Lion, the son
of David, who conquers, but he conquers, John is
telling us, by his death. So, the lion and the lamb are
the same referent, right? They both refer to Jesus. So, how does that relate to chapter seven? John hears about 144,000, but he sees, that's verses one through
eight of chapter seven, but he sees, in verses nine through 17, a great multitude. So, do you see the
parallel with chapter five? It's the same sort of thing. What he hears and sees is the same entity told from two different perspectives. You have Jesus as a lion and a lamb. The 144,000, another way to describe them, is the uncountable multitude, But that's another argument then that the 144,000 refer to all Christians. The 144,000, or another way of saying it is they're an uncountable multitude. Which leads to my fourth argument. The number is symbolic. So, in Revelation, in
apocalyptic literature, you have symbolic numbers,
so you have the number 12, just as there were 12 tribes of Israel and there's 12 apostles, and then you have 12 times
12 times 1,000, 144,000. Sometimes people don't
recognize the symbolic nature of 12 times 12, because we may not do that
multiplication in our minds, but I think the author,
John, is clearly signaling that he's writing symbolically. Fifth reason. In chapter two, verse nine and
in chapter three, verse nine, the Jews are called a Synagogue of Satan. Now John didn't say that
because he hates Jews. John was Jewish himself. I think he says that because the Jews were
cooperating with the Romans, the Jews in these synagogues were cooperating with the Romans and they were informing the Romans that the Christians weren't part of them, and, therefore, the Christians
should be persecuted. So, it's just John's
way of saying the Jews, these Jewish unbelievers Not all Jews, right? The Jewish unbelievers are
opposed to the People of God. But at the same time, chapter seven, the true Jews is the
Church of Jesus Christ, and this is what we see
elsewhere in the New Testament. Who are the true children of Abraham? We can read Galatians 3, read Romans 4. The true children of Abraham are those who believe in Jesus Christ,
both Jew and Gentile. We belong to one family now, Ephesians chapter two,
verses 11 through 22. So, what I'm saying here, what John is teaching with the 144,000, this is what we find often
in the New Testament, that the Church is the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel. It's not a rejection of Israel, but it's a fulfillment of
what Israel was meant to be. It's Jew and Gentile together
as one people of God. A sixth argument. When you actually look at the
list of the 12 tribes there, that list doesn't fit with any list we see in the Old Testament. There is nowhere in the Old Testament that the 12 tribes are listed this way. In fact, the Tribe of Dan
is omitted in the list. So, what does it mean to say these 12 tribes are
the 12 tribes of Israel when it doesn't represent any kind of list of the tribes we see in the Old Testament. And I think it's very significant that the Tribe of Judah is listed first, which I think is symbolic way of saying the people of God fall
under the authority of Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, as we read in chapter five. Seventh, and lastly, if we think of a future
fulfillment of this, this isn't a biblical argument, but if we think of a
future fulfillment of this, it's hard to think of how this future fulfillment would work, because most Jews today,
the vast majority of Jews, they don't know which
tribe they're from anymore. The tribal system in Israel
was tied to their geography. Alright, when the 12 tribes were separated into particular regions, but
that is long gone phenomenon. So, if there's going to be a
future, literal, fulfillment, it's a little bit hard to
know what that would mean. I listed this argument last. It's not a decisive argument, but it is a little bit hard to know how this prophecy could
even be fulfilled today, since the vast majority of
Jewish people living today, they don't know what tribe they're from. So, I think that's another argument to say this is not a literal fulfillment of literal Jews from 12 different tribes, but it's a reference symbolically to the Church of Jesus Christ. So, what is the practical
implication of this? Is it just some kind of prophecy teaching that doesn't really matter to us today? I think it is practical. Remember the question at
the end of chapter six. When God's wrath comes on
the final day, who can stand? If it's a reference just
to literal Israelites in the Tribulation period,
you know a literal 144,000, or then you have some strange
interpretations out there of the 144,000, like, what
the Jehovah's Witnesses say. Then it's really not about,
it's not our story is it? It's their story. It's some kind of abstract story about something that may
happen in the future. But what I'm arguing here
is this story is our story, it's the story of all Christians. John's not just talking about something that happens to people
a long time from now, or a short time from now,
but it's not our story. I think he's saying, this is our story. How do you escape the wrath of God? You're sealed and protected by God. And as we go on and read in chapter seven, how does that happen? Well, John makes it
clear in chapter seven. Doesn't he? We're sealed and protected by God, because we're washed by
the blood of the Lamb. How is it that the uncountable
multitude comes out of the Great Tribulation and stands before the
throne of God forever because of the blood of the Lamb? So, this is a very
practical issue, isn't it? And it's an issue that should
lead us to worship God. Praise God that by His grace
we belong to the People of God and one day we will
stand before His throne and we will worship Him, and
what does chapter seven say, He'll wipe every tear from our eye. He'll lead us to the streams
of the water of life. That's what awaits us. So, how delightful, how wonderful. We look forward to that day. - [Narrator] Thanks for
watching Honest Answers. Don't forget to subscribe. (music)
