1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted •to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:1–3)
In the midst of God’s physical judgment upon the earth and all its inhabitants, with four angels “locked and loaded” to unleash more terror, another intervenes to stop the process until 144,000 are set apart as witnesses, twelve thousand from twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. Who were these witnesses?
4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. 5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:4–5)
There are many questions about this group—where are the tribes of Dan and Ephrahim in the list, why is Judah mentioned first, does this group have anything to do with the Church, etc.? I will leave it at 144,000 witnesses set apart by their moral purity and allegiance to Christ for a rescue operation of such extraordinary proportions there will be innumerable martyrs showing up in heaven, “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues.” (Revelation 7:9)
While God has set out to judge the earth, his plan always provides a safety net for those who believe. Given the extraction (i.e., rapture) of believers prior to the commencement of the seven-year tribulation, those remaining who make it into God’s presence are either part of the sealed 144,000, the martyred new believers who end up before the throne in white robes, or new believers who enter the millennium alive and unscathed as subjects of Christ on earth.
So there really is no “worst case” (in relative terms) for believers in the end, whether you’re raptured, miraculously protected as his witnesses, martyrs for Christ, or stride into the kingdom on your own two feet. And their reward?
“They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:16-17)
[A note on the 144,000. There will more forthcoming on these men. It is not clear whether they were evangelists or witnesses, or on whom they focused. Given their relative purity, devotion to Jesus, and seeming immortality, with many falling by the sword, perhaps these men gave “rhyme and reason” to what was happening to urge faithfulness “to the Lamb” in a time of absolute terror and abject horror.]
Leave a Reply