“While
people are saying, “Peace
and safety” destruction will
come on them suddenly, as labor
pains on a pregnant woman, and
they will not escape.”
1 Thessalonians
5:3
The Bible indicates
the sealing of the 144,000
(Revelation 7) will be the next
prophetic event. Currently, the
144,000 are ordinary people going
about their daily tasks. They are
living in every nation, tribe and
language on Earth. One day soon,
Jesus will have a personal encounter
with them – as He did the
apostle Paul on the road to Damascus.
(Acts 9) After the 144,000 are
sealed, the great Tribulation will
begin with a global earthquake.
(Revelation 7:1-3; 8:5) Like Ezekiel
and John, the 144,000 will be given
words to speak. (Ezekiel 2:7; 3:4;
Revelation 10:8-11) Jesus enables the
144,000 to do this because He has
something to say to the world. The
world will hear “the testimony
of Jesus” coming out of the
mouths of the 144,000 and
unfortunately, many people will
reject it. (Revelation 1:9; 12:17;
19:10) The Holy Spirit will empower
the 144,000 for 1,260 days.
(Revelation 11:3) The 144,000 will
perform miracles and marvelous signs,
and they will speak fearlessly in
opposition to the religious leaders
of the world, as well as the
world’s political leaders. The
144,00 will cause all kinds of
turmoil and destruction during their
three and half years of empowerment.
(Revelation 11:6) The supernatural
power that rests on the 144,000 will
cause everyone to thoughtfully
consider the testimony of Jesus. What
will they say?
The noise level in
our world is out of control.
Consternation, conflict and
controversy are deafening. Peace and
safety have evaporated. The 144,000
will not have to compete with this
“noise” because Jesus will
silence this contentious world with a
series of sudden judgments. These
judgments are described in Revelation
8:5-12. The global sign marking the
beginning of the Great tribulation
will be followed by a meteoric
firestorm that will burn up one-third
of the earth. Then, two asteroid
impacts will follow which cause
incalculable damage. As darkness
covers the middle third of Earth
(where most people live), the world
will realize that more than 1.5
billion people have died during these
calamities. These horrific events
will silence the survivors. Every ear
will be listening for an explanation.
Into this momentary vacuum, Jesus
will send His 144,000 servants. What
will they say?
Of all the gods
that are worshiped on Earth today,
Jesus is despised the most. Hatred
against Jesus is great because He
said things that are offensive to
Jews, Moslems, Hindus (Eastern
Mystics), atheists and pagans. Jesus
said, “I am the way, the truth
and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.” (John
14:6) Wow! No one likes to be
informed that his religion is false,
so non-Christians reject the
teachings of Jesus. The American
Bible Society estimates that
Catholics and Protestants make up 27
percent of the world’s
population; therefore, 73 percent of
the world is not Christian.
(According to Zechariah 13:8,9,
two-thirds of Christianity does not
follow Christ, so in effect 91
percent of the world is not
Christian!) Because religion is a
spiritual, cultural and emotional
matter, it is impossible for one
person to prove that one religion is
superior to another religion. In
other words, Catholics are not
winning many Baptist converts,
Methodists are not converting many
Mormons, very few Jews are converting
to Christianity, and most Hindus are
not interested in becoming Jews. If
the 144,000 were to appear right now,
the testimony of Jesus would not be
heard. Every religious group on earth
because of what they are going to say
would reject them. So, what will they
say?
The 144,000 will
begin their ministry with these
words. “Fear God and give Him
glory, because the hour of his
judgment has come. Worship Him who
made the heavens, the Earth, the sea
and the springs of water.”
(Revelation 14:7) Guess who made the
heavens, the Earth, the sea and the
springs of water? The most hated God
on Earth. “For by Him [Jesus]
all things were created: things in
Heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers
or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for
him.” (Colossians 1:16,
insertion mine) Guess who demands
worship? The most hated God on Earth.
“Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, but the
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord
your God. On it you shall not do any
work, neither you, nor your son or
daughter, nor your manservant or
maidservant, nor your animals, nor
the alien within your gates. For in
six days [Jesus] the Lord made the
heavens and the Earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, but he rested on
the seventh day. Therefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy.”(Exodus 20: 8-11, see John
1:10, insertion mine) The creator of
mankind, the King of kings and Lord
of lords will soon speak to mankind
through His 144,000 servants. When
the world experiences the enormity of
our Creator’s authority, when
0ne-third of “the heavens, the
Earth, the sea and the springs of
water” have been destroyed by
His command, most of the survivors
will put aside their religious bias
long enough to hear what Jesus has to
say. The 144,000 will deliver the
testimony of Jesus. Jesus said,
“And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and
then the end will come.”
(Matthew 24:14)
