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Who Are the 144,000?

Who Are the 144,000?

There has been much speculation throughout history as to whom comprises the 144,000 of Revelation chapter seven. Do they represent the totality of the saved or just a subset of the saved? Are they the literal biological descendants of Abraham? Is this a literal or symbolic number?

The Bible does not give a specific answer. It does not say “the 144,000 are thus and so”; therefore, we are left to examine the weight of biblical evidence and come to our own conclusion.

Examining this question is a good exercise in reasoning, weighing and balancing biblical evidence, and keeping our minds open to new insights and truths—i.e., not becoming dogmatic and insisting one’s conclusion is the only possible right answer. While I’m sharing my thoughts as to whom I currently believe this group represents, I also recognize that my understanding is growing and truth is ever unfolding; thus, I am not stating my findings as a final, absolute conclusion, only that this is my best understanding of the evidence I have at this time. When new evidence or better explanations come along, we must be eager to grow and willing to update our conclusions.

With this in mind, there are some facts we must identify that will set the framework for our conclusions.

First, Revelation is a book filled with symbolism; very little of its text is to be understood literally. For instance, lamps, stars, the Lamb, dragon, beasts, horns, book with seals, bowls, women, and more are all symbolic of something else.

Thus, as we consider the 144,000, with 12,000 from twelve tribes of Israel, we must decide whether the number is to be taken literally or symbolically. The overall symbolic nature of the book would suggest this is a symbolic number, and there are other clues that support the symbolic interpretation, such as the names of the tribes—which are not the exact list of the original twelve tribes (see below).

Another reason to understand the number as symbolic is that much of the imagery of Revelation is taken from the Old Testament sanctuary service and everything in that service was symbolic, metaphor, an acted-out object lesson, and was not to be taken literally. Examples of the sanctuary symbolism in Revelation include lampstands (Revelation 2:1), the sacrificial lamb (Revelation 5:6;12), the temple (Revelation 3:12), Jesus as High Priest (Revelation 1:13–20), bowls full of incense (Revelation 5:8), golden censor and golden altar (Revelation 8:3), white robes (Revelation 7:9;13), and the ark of the covenant (11:19).

When God gave instructions through Moses for the Jews to set up a camp around the sanctuary, they did so with thirteen, not twelve, tribes. There were thirteen tribes because Joseph received a double-portion inheritance and, therefore, both of his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, received a full inheritance. Thus, around the sanctuary on all four sides were three tribes, totaling twelve tribes, but in between those twelve tribes and the sanctuary camped the Levites for a total of thirteen tribes.

This layout of the tribes symbolically represents the plan of salvation—the reality of how it works. The sanctuary is the symbolic place in which sinners are restored to at-one-ment with God, in which sin is removed and reconciliation with God and heaven happens. The Levites represent the priesthood of believers, whose mission it is to take the gospel of salvation to the people in all four corners of the earth, represented by the twelve other tribes on the four sides of the sanctuary. The twelve tribes on the four sides represent the unconverted peoples of the world who come to the sanctuary of God for salvation through the witness of God’s people (the Levites—priesthood of believers).

My conclusion that the 144,000, 12,000 from each tribe, is a symbolic group drawn from the Old Testament sanctuary symbolism is supported by Revelation being highly symbolic, the symbolic nature of the sanctuary service, and the change in the list of the twelve tribes from the original twelve to the modified list in Revelation. But there is more …

Another clue to their symbolic nature is that the 144,000 are called the “servants of our God.” Throughout Scripture, the term “servant” is repeatedly applied to God’s prophets. And God’s prophets are not primarily those who foretell the future, like Daniel and John did, but they are God’s spokespersons, the individuals who are sent by Him to the people of that time with a message from God specifically for them (1 Kings 14:18; 2 Kings 9:7, 17:23, 21:10; Ezra 9:11; Jeremiah 7:25, 25:4, 26:5, 29:19, 35:15; Ezekiel 38:17; Daniel 9:10; Zechariah 1:6). As Amos has written:

 

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7 NIV84, emphasis mine).

This would include the culmination of the events on planet Earth—God would not bring to completion the plan without first revealing it to His “servants the prophets,” who are here represented as the 144,000.

In the context of Revelation 7, an angel comes from heaven to the angels at the four corners of the earth, representing the four points of the compass (east, west, north, south)—in other words, the entire planet—which reflects the layout of the twelve tribes on the four sides of the sanctuary (east, west, north, south). So, the symbolism is that God’s angels are working among all the people of the world, holding back the winds of strife until the people called by God to be His messengers of the final call to salvation are sealed; then, the four winds are loosed.

The 144,000 of Revelation 7, therefore, represent God’s end-time spokespersons. These people are sealed by God—so settled into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so that they cannot be moved—and have been established at the four corners of the earth. Once these spokespersons are settled and, therefore, ready to give the final message of mercy to the world, the four winds begin to loosen and from the testimony of the 144,000, a great multitude from every nation, kindred, tribe, and people respond to accept Jesus and are saved! (Revelation 7:9).

 

The Names of the Tribes and Their Meaning

But there is an additional hint found in the names of the twelve tribes chosen in Revelation that add weight to my conclusion that this is a symbolic representation of people and not the literal genetic descendants of Jacob—which is that the list of tribes is given in a different order than the birth order and one of the original tribes is missing (Dan).

In Scripture, names of people have meaning. The name “Jacob” means deceiver, but when he was converted, his name was changed to “Israel,” which means one who with God overcomes.

If we examine the names of Jacob’s twelve sons, the fathers of the original twelve tribes, in the order of their birth and supply the meaning for each name, we find a message—and when we do the same thing with the twelve tribes listed in Revelation 7, we find a very powerful change to the message.

The Original Twelve Tribes:

Reuben means behold a son is born to us.

Simeon means to hear.

Levi means joined or to be joined to, attached.

Judah means praise the Lord.

Dan means judge, judging.

Naphtali means wrestling, my struggle.

Gad means good fortune.

Asher means blessed or happy.

Issachar means wages, hire, or reward.

Zebulun means exaltation, glorious dwelling place.

Joseph means increaser, may he add to my family.

Benjamin (Ben-Oni) means son of my right hand, son of righteousness.

So, in the order of their birth, the twelve sons of Israel give the following message:

Behold a Son, our Savior, is to be born to us, one who will hear us and join himself to us. Praise the Lord, He will judge [diagnose] our struggle and bring us good fortune, blessings, happiness, reward, and exalt us to His glorious dwelling place, making us His family—the children of righteousness.

The original twelve names in the order of their birth have embedded the message of Jesus, the coming of the promised Messiah. But notice the subtle but important and powerful change in the message in the way Revelation orders the names and replaces Dan with Manasseh:

The Twelve Tribes in Revelation 7:

Judah means praise the Lord.

Reuben means behold a son is born to us.

Gad means good fortune.

Asher means blessed or happy.

Naphtali means wrestling, my struggle.

Manasseh means forgetting.

Simeon means to hear.

Levi means joined or to be joined to, attached.

Issachar means wages, hire, or reward.

Zebulun means exaltation, glorious dwelling place.

Joseph means increaser, may he add to my family.

Benjamin (Ben-Oni) means son of my right hand, son of righteousness.

Now the message reads,

Praise the Lord, for God’s Son has been born to us and has brought us the good fortune of His remedy, healing us and restoring us to happiness, and our struggle is now forgotten by Him who heard our plea and joined Himself to us and ransomed us from sin. Through Him we now receive our eternal reward and are honored to be part of God’s heavenly family, offspring of faith in God’s right Hand—Jesus Christ, children of righteousness.

If my understanding of these verses is correct, God is waiting for those who will be His special end-time spokesperson to be sealed, to be settled into the truth so that no trial, tribulation, or trouble will shake them out of their love and loyalty to Him, and are able to tell the truth about His character and government in the setting of the Great Controversy—meaning, they have returned to Creator worship and understand God’s law as design law.

When this happens, the four winds begin to loosen and terrible calamities, tribulations, wars, conflicts, pestilences, and other manifestations of Satan’s power increase, making the contrast between the message of mercy from God and the malignancy of evil ever more stark and easy to see, so that people will be capable of discerning the two sides in this conflict and choose for themselves to reject the beastly powers of this world and surrender to Jesus Christ and be eternally saved.

I invite you to become one of God’s end-time spokespersons, settled into love and loyalty to God, a representative of God’s kingdom who understands the truth in the setting of the Great Controversy, who has rejected the human imposed-law lie, and who worships God as Creator, understanding His laws as design laws. For when His spokespersons are sealed, then the four winds loosen and Jesus will soon return!

 

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Testimony 34

I was introduced to Come and Reason Ministries by accident, via a passing comment made in a bible study class we were visiting. I checked this website out and my life was changed. The understanding of the truth of God’s character, and how we apply it, is so right. The tricky part is consistently applying which “lens” to look through. As I began to understand, I started sharing the basics of this understanding with a discussion group I was leading and, suddenly, a lot of things started to make sense that never used to. At the same time, I enjoyed an amazing opportunity. I was able to conduct a full bible study at WORK! What an amazing experience! It is such a joy to share the truth about God and to share how it all fits in the war between God and Satan. So many people benefit when we have a correct understanding about how God works and who He really is! Thank you for this transformational understanding. Keep up the good work! God Bless you!

Tony P., CA, USA

 

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

Dr. Roger D, Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 40

I was brought up in a different faith and have been petrified my whole life of God. I believed that I would burn in hell for eternity. When I was 12 I started pursuing the things of this world, but for the next 45 years the Spirit was always calling me, as I knew there was a God through nature. I could see the vast sea of stars in the universe and knew there was something bigger out there. Five years ago, through a Revelation seminar, I was blessed to learn about God’s character and government.

Then I found Come and Reason Ministries and have come under some extreme pressure when I speak about the ministry. One time a member sent me an internet article titled “Whats wrong with Tim Jennings?” I asked her what she thought of it and she said “I don’t know, I didn’t read it.”

I have always wanted to find out for myself the truth about God, so I stayed with the Design Law construct and have been liberated to understand the big picture. Once we consider Design Law, all other Bible stories and prophecies seem to fit perfectly. It is truly beautiful to see people grasping how God operates this Universe of Love and the liberation it has provided in their lives. It blows my mind to see how consistent Design law is with what our founders believed. I hear statements like “This makes so much sense.”

Tom W., Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

 

Testimony 57

You have helped make sense of thirty two years of confusion. The material you freely provide reorganized so much of my life into such a beautiful pattern that has always been hinted at from within, but misguided with my training and what I was experiencing externally. My filipno parents, who were converted from Catholicism to SDA, were sincere and did their best to raise me the right way and I have deep respect for them. However, being immigrants and not understanding the language made for a difficult transition as I was growing up, which also applied to my spiritual growth as I learned the patterns of religion. I have been listening to as many bible study classes and reading blog posts as my time in a work truck will allow, searching for the practical applications of where spirituality and reality meet, and I thank you for helping me find that. You have helped me reach a point in which I can truly say that I love God, that I believe He loves me, and, like David, I delight in His law. God bless.

Emmanuel V., Calgary, AB Canada

Testimony 41

I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 30

God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

Kessy B., Australia

 

Testimony 16

Your seminars are still inspiring and changing our lives and we continue to share the principles we have learned from you. Your ministry has changed our lives!

E.W.

 

Testimony 66

I am incredibly grateful for the transformative impact you’ve had on my life, and words cannot fully express my appreciation. Over the years, I have been an avid listener and follower of C&R and extend my heartfelt thanks for creating the C&R mobile app. It has allowed me to immerse myself in your lessons repeatedly, enabling me to grasp the profound significance about the Character of God, Design Law, the protocols for life, the reasons behind the current chaos, and Christ’s mission to restore everything. They have deeply touched me. Having studied with various churches, I came away with the perception that God is no different from the deities of ancient Greek or Roman mythology—demanding sacrifices and taking pleasure in bloodshed. Thanks to your transformative teachings, I have experienced a profound awakening to the true nature of God and the immense power of His love. It is truly a remarkable and liberating sensation to finally grasp the truth and embrace the empowering nature of God’s laws. My self-perception has become brighter and more infused with love. My journey of growth continues on a daily basis.

Chris P., Lake Mary, FL, USA

 

Testimony 9

I really enjoy with you the view of a gracious God. Thank you for sharing the work you are allowing the Lord to do in you.

L., Queensland, Australia

 

Testimony 64

I’ve been reading the bible and walking with Jesus since I was around 16. I’m 42 now. I’ve mostly been alone in my walk although I went to several churches in different denominations. For the past 3 years God has been showing me His character of agape. It’s been a blessing and changed how I view God and my walk with Jesus. About a year ago I came across the power of love and the principles of design law. These teachings changed how I read scripture and have been such a beautiful blessing. I’m very excited and grateful for these truths. We share these truths of agape, design law and the reality of the principles of the two trees in the garden of Eden with people on Facebook and YouTube. People all over are learning to trust God and His agape design law which makes life possible. Thank you for everything you shared with me. May God continue to bless your ministry and lives.

Bradley M., Hinsdale, NY, USA

 

Testimony 32

The message [of Come And Reason Ministries is] for all Christians (and those who may become Christians) and not just Adventists or any other group. It is difficult to imagine why any [anyone] with intellectual and spiritual honesty could find fault with the way you explained the healing substitution concepts and the truth about God’s character, though I know some will reject and criticize. On behalf of those in our group near Tacoma, WA, thank you and your staff for all of the hard work and for sharing the Gospel in this manner. God’s message of healing love will be carried to the whole world and then Jesus will come – He promised it.

Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA

 

Testimony 27

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 2

I continue to enjoy your lessons every week. The more that I research your conclusions, the more I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has lead you to distill out the essence of human redemption. Thank you for your courageous stand for the truth.

S. G., TX, USA