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God's kingdom is a heavenly government. A kingdom is a government run by a king. Jesus is God's appointed king. But he is not alone. Just as in many courts, a person is tried by a jury of his peers, 12 peers, so too, Jehovah has lovingly and justly decided to allow a select number of chosen ones rule with Christ Jesus in heaven.
JESUS HAS CO-RULERS, JOINT HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM
DANIEL 7:18
“But the holy ones of the Supreme One will receive the kingdom, and they will take possession of the kingdom for time indefinite, even for time indefinite upon times indefinite.’”
DANIEL 7:22
“until the Ancient of Days came and judgment itself was given in favor of the holy ones of the Supreme One, and the definite time arrived that the holy ones took possession of the kingdom itself.”
DANIEL 7:27
““‘And the kingdom and the rulership and the grandeur of the kingdoms under all the heavens were given to the people who are the holy ones of the Supreme One. Their kingdom is an indefinitely lasting kingdom, and all the rulerships will serve and obey even them.’”
REVELATION 1:6
“and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—yes, to him be the glory and the might forever. Amen.”
REVELATION 5:9,10:
“You [Jesus Christ] were slaughtered and with your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”
(At Revelation 14:1-3 these “bought from the earth” to be rulers with the Lamb on heavenly Mount Zion are said to number 144,000.)
ROMANS 8:17
“If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together.” (See Heb 1:2)
JAMES 2:5
“Listen, my beloved brothers. God chose the ones who are poor respecting the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to those who love him, did he not?”
REVELATION 3:21
“To the one that conquers I will grant to sit down with me on my throne, even as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
REVELATION 20:4
“And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had worshiped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.”
REVELATION 22:3-5
“And no more will there be any curse. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in [the city], and HIS SLAVES will render him sacred service; and THEY will see his face, and his name will be on THEIR foreheads. Also, night will be no more, and THEY have no need of lamplight nor [do they have] sunlight, because Jehovah God will shed light upon THEM, and they will RULE AS KINGS forever and ever.”JESUS IS THE RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH
REVELATION 1:5
“and from Jesus Christ, “the Faithful Witness,” “The firstborn from the dead,” and “The Ruler of the kings of the earth.”“
REVELATION 19:16
“And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”
REVELATION 21:24
“And the nations will walk by means of its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”
PSALM 89:27
“Also, I myself shall place him as firstborn, The most high of the kings of the earth.”JESUS’ CO-RULERS ARE KINGS, JUDGES, PRIESTS AND MAKE UP GOD’S KINGDOM, THE GOVERNMENT
REVELATION 20:4-5
“And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. Yes, I saw the souls of those executed with the ax for the witness they bore to Jesus and for speaking about God, and those who had worshiped neither the wild beast nor its image and who had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.”
REVELATION 20:6:
“They will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.” (Also Daniel 7:27)
1 CORINTHIANS 4:8
“YOU men already have YOUR fill, do YOU? YOU are rich already, are YOU? YOU have begun ruling as kings without us, have YOU? And I wish indeed that YOU had begun ruling as kings, that we also might rule with YOU as kings.”
1 CORINTHIANS 6:2:
“Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?” (Compare Rev 20:4)
2 TIMOTHY 2:12
“if we go on enduring, we shall also rule together as kings; if we deny, he also will deny us;”
REVELATION 5:10:
“You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over [“on,” RS, KJ, Dy; “over,” AT, Da, Kx, CC] the earth.” (The same Greek word and grammatical structure is found at Revelation 11:6. There RS, KJ, Dy, etc., all render it “over.” Really, looking only at this scripture, that word could be translated either way. But based on the rest of the Bible, it seems to me the word “over” is a better translation.)
LUKE 22:28-30
““However, YOU are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant with YOU, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, that YOU may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Jesus told the apostles that in “the re-creation” they would “sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Mt 19:28) And he expressed a similar thought when he made a covenant with his faithful apostles for a Kingdom. (Lu 22:28-30) It is not reasonable that Jesus meant that they would judge the 12 tribes of spiritual Israel later mentioned in Revelation, for the apostles were to be part of that group. (Eph 2:19-22; Re 3:21) Those “called to be holy ones” are said to judge, not themselves, but “the world.” (1Co 1:1, 2; 6:2) Those reigning with Christ form a kingdom of priests. (1Pe 2:9; Re 5:10) Consequently, “the twelve tribes of Israel” mentioned at Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:30 evidently represent “the world” of mankind who are outside that royal priestly class and whom those sitting on heavenly thrones will judge.—Re 20:4.A SELECT BODY OF RULERS, A LITTLE FLOCK OF 144,000 MAKES UP THE KINGDOM, RULING WITH CHRIST
It was not intended that great masses of mankind be included in this administrative body.
LUKE 12:32:
“Have no fear, LITTLE FLOCK, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom.”
(In the original language used in this part of the Bible, the word “little” (mi·kroś) is the opposite of great (mégas), and its use at Luke 12:32 refers to quantity or fewness in number. Hence, membership in “the kingdom of the heavens” does not allow for an unlimited number. To illustrate: If you were asked to pour a little water into a glass, you would make sure that it did not overflow. So, too, the “little flock” cannot be made up of overflowing numbers of people. God’s Kingdom has a set (“little”) number of corulers with Christ. The exact number of these rulers, 144,000, was revealed to the apostle John.)
REVELATION 14:1-3:
“I saw, and, look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion [in heaven; see Hebrews 12:22-24], and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. . . . And they are singing as if a new song . . . and no one was able to master that song but the HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND, who have been BOUGHT FROM THE EARTH.”
REVELATION 7:3-4,9
“saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” And
I heard the number of those who were sealed, a HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of [spiritual] Israel: . . . .After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands.”OTHER SHEEP, THE GREAT CROWD
It is obvious that the holy ones will be ruling over someone. Who might that be? (Matt. 5:5; 6:10)
JOHN 10:16
““And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.”
Or, as Today’s English Version puts it, “There are other sheep which belong to me that are not in this sheep pen.”
(A “little flock” bought from the earth will be given the kingdom, and be given the special privilege presiding as rulers, judges and priests. Who do they rule over? The “other sheep.” “And they will become one flock.” We notice that he did not say, “One flock in one fold.” But though there might be separate folds, there was to be only “one shepherd.)
If the fold, or pen, represents an ongoing distinction between two classes of Christians, then it cannot represent the difference between Jews and Gentiles, because that distinction is abolished in the spirit-begotten “little flock.” (Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:15)
The only ongoing distinction between two classes of Christians would be the distinction between spiritual Jews and those who are not such. This is the same as the distinction between Abraham’s “seed” and the “nations” who would be blessed by it. It is the same as the distinction between the 144,000 members of spiritual Israel, mentioned in Revelation chapter 7, and the limitless “great crowd” of persons from all the nations mentioned right afterward.After the mention of the 144,000 who have been bought from the earth, we are told:
REVELATION 7:9
“After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands.”
PSALM 72:7-8
“In his days the righteous one will sprout, And the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. And he [Jesus, Prince of Peace] will have subjects from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth.”
(The subjects of God’s Kingdom will be a global family of humans who are submissive to Christ’s leadership. See Heb 1:2)ARE THE 144,000 ONLY NATURAL JEWS?
These ones who rule as priests and kings have been taken “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,” not just fleshly Israel. (Revelation 5:9, 10)
The 12 tribes mentioned in Revelation chapter 7 must refer to this spiritual Israel for several valid reasons. The listing does not match that of natural Israel at Numbers chapter 1. Also Jerusalem’s temple and priesthood and all the tribal records of natural Israel were permanently destroyed, lost forever, long before John had his vision in 96 C.E. But more important, John received his vision upon a background of the aforementioned developments from and after Pentecost 33 C.E. In the light of such events, John’s vision of those standing on the heavenly Mount Zion with the Lamb (whom natural Israel had rejected) revealed the number of this spiritual Israel of God to be 144,000 “bought from among mankind.”—Re 7:4; 14:1, 4.
REVELATION 7:4-8: “I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: . . . Judah . . . Reuben . . . Gad . . . Asher . . . Naphtali . . . Manasseh . . . Simeon . . . Levi . . . Issachar . . . Zebulun . . . Joseph . . . Benjamin.”
(These cannot be the tribes of natural Israel because there never was a tribe of Joseph, the tribes of Ephraim and Dan are not included in the list here, and the Levites were set aside for service in connection with the temple but were not reckoned as one of the 12 tribes. See Numbers 1:4-16. Obviously, the listing here is not for the purpose of identifying fleshly Jews by their tribes but to show a similar organizational structure for spiritual Israel. This is balanced. There are to be exactly 144,000 members of this new nation—12,000 from each of 12 tribes. No tribe in this Israel of God is exclusively royal or priestly. The whole nation is to rule as kings, and the whole nation is to serve as priests.—Galatians 6:16; Revelation 20:4, 6.)
ROMANS 2:28, 29: “He is not a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code.”
GALATIONS 3:26-29: “You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one person in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.”ARE THE NATURAL JEWS TODAY GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE?
Consider: Following the Babylonian exile, when Israel was restored to its land, the people were to restore true worship in their God-given land. One of the first projects undertaken was the rebuilding of Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem. However, since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E., the temple has never been rebuilt. Instead, in the former temple area stands an Islamic shrine. If the Jews, who say they are under the Mosaic Law, were today in Jerusalem as God’s chosen people, would not the temple devoted to his worship have been rebuilt?
MATTHEW 21:42, 43: “Jesus said to them [the chief priests and the older men of the Jews in Jerusalem]: ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, “The stone that the builders rejected is the one that has become the chief cornerstone. From Jehovah this has come to be, and it is marvelous in our eyes”? This is why I say to you, The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.’”
MATTHEW 23:37, 38: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her,—how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings! But you people did not want it. Look! Your house is abandoned to you.”Phoenix
Quote Why i think we are in the Tribulation period? Because it says in Rev 7 that the angels were told not to harm the land and seas until all the 144,000 were sealed. So if the 144,000 were those in the OT then the Tribulation should be now or was back then. Right? You are much closer to the truth Phoenix. The 144,000 are end time Christians (spiritual Israel), not Jews, because they “are they which follow the Lamb (Jesus) whithersoever he goeth.” Rev 14:4 Their characters are Christlike and will represent the perfection of Christ's character to the world before He comes.
Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
Rev 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
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 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
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.Hi FF,
Are they first fruits then?
Are they the Sons of God or only some of the sons of God?
Who are the great crowd then? those saved in the second resurrection?Hi Phoenix:
This is a wonderful story that the meaning of the name of these tribes tell. Never heard this before, and so, praise God for this wonderful story.
I haven't listened to Doug Bachelor in some time. He seems to know much about the bible, and he is very confident about what he believes.
Isaiah 2:-4 states: Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it . And many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may teach us concerning his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will judge between nations and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war”.
My understanding is that the 144,000 are 12,000 elders who are in authority over each of the 12 tribes mentioned because Rev. 14:1 states: “And I looked, and a behold the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written in the foreheads. Having his name signifys that they have his character and authority. Since they have not been defiled by women (that is they have not been defiled by false doctrine), they will, therefore, be able to correct the false doctrine that is in the church, and by doing so bring the church to maturity so that the Lord can come for a church that has been brought to maturity. (Ephesians 4:11-13 states: “And He gave some apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ”). Perhaps that is what we are seeing in the great multitude that is saved from every nation, kindred and tongue in Rev. 7:9.
We know that the 144,000 are 12000 from those tribes mentioned. Some say that they are literal Jews, but since whoever comes to God through Jesus since his resurrection from all nations is the “Israel of God”, (Gal. 6:15-16, Eph. 2:12-22) I don't believe that these are literal Jews. We know that they are sealed in their forheads by the angel as servants of God, before the four angels begin hurting the earth and the sea. And after them, are shown a multitude from all nations, kindreds and tongues that come out of great tribulation and wash their robes in the blood of the lamb. We know that they are on Mount Zion with Jesus and have their Father's name witten in thier forehead. No one could learn the song of the harpers except the 144,000 who redeemed from the earth. They are not defiled by women. They are virgins, they follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. They are redeemed from among men, being the firsfruits unto God and to the Lamb. They have not guile. They are without fault before the throne of God.
Hi David
May I ask what makes you say there was no tribe of Joseph? I read Numbers 1:10 “from the sons of Joseph;…” I agree with you though on the 144,000 doesnt sound to be literal.
That new song…I wonder what it is?
“I will praise the Lord for he has looked on me and granted good fortune. I am happy because my wrestling, God is making me to forget. God hears me and is attached to me. He has purchased me a dwelling and will add me to the Son of his Right Hand.”What do you think?
Quote The only ongoing distinction between two classes of Christians would be the distinction between spiritual Jews and those who are not such. What do you mean by “those who are not such”? The ones that dont know the bible or choose to ignore it (for a good reason of course)? or those that arent so fortunate enough to understand or struggle to have the faith in Jesus? Or did you mean that the 144,000 are the spiritual Jews and the great crowd are those that are not? I like what you said in that paragraph though.
Nice one David
Hugs
PhoenixHi Nick
Quote Are they first fruits then?
Are they the Sons of God or only some of the sons of God?
Who are the great crowd then? those saved in the second resurrection?First Fruits – Those that were ressurrected in Matt 27:52,53?
Sons of God – Well I think David might have figured it for us – Spiritual Jews (There are those still laying in the ground to be raised yet) Ive wondered if there would ever be very many in this generation compared to the other generations before us?
Great Crowd – Yep those that come out of the Great Tribulation (as David said – those who are not such Spiritual Jews)?
What do you think?
Hugs
PhoenixHi 94
Quote I haven't listened to Doug Bachelor in some time. He seems to know much about the bible, and he is very confident about what he believes. Yep definitely. But we still need to be vigilant. Satan knows the Bible well too. Im not saying that Doug could be Satan though. hehe
Im not too sure on SDA church but Doug has deciphered the prophecy pretty good so far in my opinion.
Hugs
PhoenixHi Phoenix,
Quote May I ask what makes you say there was no tribe of Joseph? I read Numbers 1:10 “from the sons of Joseph;…” Joseph received a double portion of the inheritance. (Deuteronomy 21:17) He thus became the father of two tribes—Ephraim and Manasseh. The other sons of Israel fathered only one tribe each.
Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were advanced to full status as tribal heads. (Ge 48:1-6; 1Ch 5:1, 2)
On his deathbed, Jacob, in effect, adopted his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh and appointed them to be the equals of his direct sons. (Ge 48:5)Again 12 tribes exclusive of Levi could be numbered, and also a double portion of the land was representatively given to Joseph the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. In this way the firstborn rights were taken away from Reuben, the firstborn of Leah, and given to Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel. (Ge 29:31, 32; 30:22-24)
Now with these adjustments the names of the 12 (non-Levite) tribes of Israel were Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Dan, Asher, Gad, and Naphtali.—Nu 1:4-15.Quote I agree with you though on the 144,000 doesnt sound to be literal.
I do believe that it is a literal number, in that right after we hear that number we then hear of a great crowd which no man was able to number. If the 144000 wasn't a literal number, it wouldn't make sense.
But I don't believe they are literally the tribes of fleshly Israel, if that's what you mean, which I think it is.Quote That new song…I wonder what it is? . . .What do you think?Perhaps it is a song of praise to Jehovah publicizing the new things he is accomplishing by means of the Israel of God and in behalf of it.
Members of this spiritual Israel respond to the psalmist’s invitation: “Praise Jah, you people! Sing to Jehovah a new song, his praise in the congregation of loyal ones. Let Israel rejoice in its grand Maker, the sons of Zion—let them be joyful in their King.” (Psalm 149:1, 2)Why is it, though, that only the 144,000 are able to learn the song mentioned at Revelation 14:3? Because it has to do with their experiences as chosen heirs of God’s Kingdom. They alone are bought from the earth to become part of that heavenly Kingdom, and they alone “will be priests . . . and will rule as kings” with Jesus Christ for a thousand years to bring mankind to perfection.
These unique experiences and prospects give them a singular appreciation of the Kingdom and enable them to sing about it in a way that no one else can.—Revelation 20:6; Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12.Nevertheless, others listen and respond to their singing.
A growing great crowd of other sheep has heard their triumphant song and been moved to join with them in publicizing God’s Kingdom. (John 10:16; Revelation 7:9)References to “a new song” appear not only in the Psalms but also in the writings of Isaiah and the apostle John. (Ps 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Isa 42:10; Re 5:9; 14:3) An examination of the context surrounding most occurrences of the expression “new song” reveals that such is sung because of a new development in Jehovah’s exercise of his universal sovereignty. As joyfully proclaimed in Psalm 96:10: “Jehovah himself has become king.” The new developments in Jehovah’s extension of his kingship, as well as what these signify for heaven and earth, appear to be the subject of this “new song.”—Ps 96:11-13; 98:9; Isa 42:10, 13.
Quote Or did you mean that the 144,000 are the spiritual Jews and the great crowd are those that are not? I like what you said in that paragraph though.
Yes, this is what I meant, and thankyou.Quote Ive wondered if there would ever be very many in this generation compared to the other generations before us? I'd say there would be quite a bit. It took us thousands of years to get to 2 billion people. In the last century, 4 billion have been added. Plus, it would seem to make sense that in the last days,this special time, when the good news is being preached in all the nations, that there would be many. Many in the first century, probably. Then, a great slow down, through the dark ages. Things moved very slowly for centuries. For a great time, Bibles weren't something ordinary people were even really allowed to read. Things changed about a century ago.
Quote Great Crowd – Yep those that come out of the Great Tribulation
I would tend to agree with much of what you say.Hi david,
You say
“Why is it, though, that only the 144,000 are able to learn the song mentioned at Revelation 14:3? Because it has to do with their experiences as chosen heirs of God’s Kingdom. They alone are bought from the earth to become part of that heavenly Kingdom, and they alone “will be priests . . . and will rule as kings” with Jesus Christ for a thousand years to bring mankind to perfection. “Do they rule with Christ on earth are they taken to heaven as the JWs claim?
Does mankind ever come to perfection?I think the unified song is that of the Spirit of God in them all.
Hi all
Chapter 7 tells us that the 144000 are all of the tribes of Israel.
Chapter 14 tells us they are all virgins, they did not defile themselves with other woman.
Woman is symbolic for church or religious organization. What this means is, these 144000
had no contact or involvement with other religion or churches. The only way this could be
possible is that they were all Israelites. They came out of obeying the Law of Moses, to
become followers of Christ.
They had the name of the Father written in their forehead, they were the adopted sons of God.
They are the kings that will inherit all things with Christ, and rule with him on earth.
You will notice that the great multitude did not have the Fathers name written in their forehead,
and they stood before the throne, they are the priests and will likewise rule with Christ on the earth.
All included are the first-fruits and will be in the first resurrection.I hope that helps some, IM4Truth
Quote (seek and you will find @ Mar. 26 2008,14:43) Hi all
Chapter 7 tells us that the 144000 are all of the tribes of Israel.
Chapter 14 tells us they are all virgins, they did not defile themselves with other woman.
Woman is symbolic for church or religious organization. What this means is, these 144000
had no contact or involvement with other religion or churches. The only way this could be
possible is that they were all Israelites. They came out of obeying the Law of Moses, to
become followers of Christ.
They had the name of the Father written in their forehead, they were the adopted sons of God.
They are the kings that will inherit all things with Christ, and rule with him on earth.
You will notice that the great multitude did not have the Fathers name written in their forehead,
and they stood before the throne, they are the priests and will likewise rule with Christ on the earth.
All included are the first-fruits and will be in the first resurrection.I hope that helps some, IM4Truth
Hi Mrs:My understanding is that they were virgins because they were not defiled by the false doctrines that the various women denominations are teaching today.
Since they are not defiled through these false doctrines, it is through them that God will bring the church to maturity so that the Lord can come for a church without spot or wrinkle.
God Bless
The 144000 are the kings who will rule with Christ, they are all from the twelve tribes of Israel; while the great multitude standing before the throne represent all the saints, from all nations, that will serve as priests.
The church without spot or wrinkle, are the great multitude: they all came out of great tribulation, they all endured till their end, gave their life for Christ.Georg
The 144,000 is a symbolic number for the “servants” of God who are among His “new covenant” Heb 8:13 people (Israel was a type and shadow of the church). The number 12X12 is a giveaway, since 12 is the number of government in the Bible. Rev 7:9 describes who they are:
“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;”
We are already – now – in heavenly places : Eph. 2:6Quote (Irene @ July 16 2008,14:59) Hi Nick, but we are no virgins.
Hi Irene,
Should be,
2Cor 11
1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to ChristQuote (Irene @ July 16 2008,14:59) Hi Nick, but we are no virgins. Neither are the parabolic (and make no mistake, Revelation is parabolic/symbolic) virgins in Matt 25:1-13.
Remember that we have been betrothed to one Man, Jesus: 2 Cor. 11:2.
We are His bride Rev 19:7 in a spiritual sense. We going to a spiritual wedding.
Remember, “…flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven…” ? 1 Cor 15:50The virgin aspect is a spiritual one.
Quote (Hanoch @ July 17 2008,19:29) The 144,000 is a symbolic number for the “servants” of God who are among His “new covenant” Heb 8:13 people (Israel was a type and shadow of the church). The number 12X12 is a giveaway, since 12 is the number of government in the Bible. Rev 7:9 describes who they are:
“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;”
We are already – now – in heavenly places : Eph. 2:6
Hi Hanoch:I believe that your statement of 12 being the authority in the church is correct. The 12 Apostles, and 12000 from each tribe=144,000, Apostles, is the authority in the church in these latter days.
But why is the tribe of Dan not listed? Any ideas?
God Bless
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