The 144,000 – Parts 1-3

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The judgments of God will begin on time. Jesus is waiting in His “Grandfather’s” clock to chime and when it does, He will declare the delay to be over (Revelation 10:6) and the four winds of His wrath will be released.

 

Revelation 10:5 Then the angel [Michael] I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 

 

Revelation 10:6   And he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!”

 

Revelation 10:7   but in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his [144,000] servants the prophets.”

 

Before we leave Question #2 which questioned whether the delay in Revelation 7 was based on character or timing, please consider the following points:

 

According to Rule One, each apocalyptic prophecy has a beginning point and an ending point in time and the sealing of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:1-8:1 is no exception. For centuries, Bible students have asked, when does Revelation 7:1-4 occur? Please examine these two texts and notice that in each case, four angels are involved:

 

Revelation 7:1   “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.”

 

Revelation 9:14,15   “It (the voice from the Altar of Incense) said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.”

 

These two texts identify two groups of four angels. The first text (Revelation 7) describes four angles sent from God’s throne to harm Earth. The second text (Revelation 9) describes four angels (actually four fallen angels, e.g., demons) who will be let out of the abyss during the fifth trumpet.

 

During the sixth trumpet, four demons in the second text will be released at a specific hourto kill a third of mankind. Since the four demons in Revelation 9 are held back until the very hour, day, month and year arrives, do you think it is possible that the four angels in Revelation 7 are waiting for the exact hour, day, month and year to do their work? Yes! With God, timing is everything.

 

Also, consider this: God’s four angels and Lucifer’s four angels will be allowed to kill the same number of peopleduring the Great Tribulation!

 

Look at the math: Twenty-five percent of Earth’s population will die when the fourth seal is broken. In round numbers, Earth’s population is about seven billion people at this present time. Twenty-five percent of Earth’s population would be 1.75 billion people. So, Earth’s population will be reduced to 5.25 billion people by the destruction of the first four trumpets.

 

When the sixth trumpet sounds (1,040 days later), one- third of mankind will be killed by Lucifer’s four angels. One third of 5.25 billion people is another 1.75 billion people!  The net result is that both groups of angels will kill the same number of people. The population will be reduced by 50%--- not including death from natural causes.

 

Do you think this 1.75/1.75 balance is a mere coincidence? No, God has deliberately and purposefully determined the properties of the Great Tribulation. God had predetermined that the battle for the hearts and souls of mankind will be a “fair fight.” If the devil was given complete control of Earth, he would destroy the whole world in a single day. Therefore, the devil will be restrained at each step of the way because God insists that the survivors must remain free to exercise their power of choice.

 

The Great Tribulation will be a powerful vortex that will force the living into choosing whom they will honor and obey. This is how worship will ultimately surface as the all-important issue during the Great Tribulation.

 

When the people of Earth behold the overwhelming death and destruction caused by God’s wrath, the topic of appeasement and worship will become highly important because worship will be viewed as the prerequisite means to appeasing God so that His anger will cease. Desperate circumstances will force the survivors into making some tough decisions.

 

Whom will they obey? The consequences, regardless of choice, will be most difficult. The vortex explains why the Great Tribulation is called, “a time of wrath.” (Daniel 8:19; 11:36; Revelation 15:1)  

 

It is interesting to discover that during the Great Tribulation, Whatever Jesus is allowed to do, the devil will be allowed to do. Jesus will have 144,000 servants speaking for Him and the devil will have thousands of religious and political authorities speaking for him. Evil cannot conquer good, nor can good destroy evil until Jesus arrives.

 

Jesus wants the people of earth to make an informed and intelligent decision as to whom they will obey. (Matthew 24:14) This is why He seals 144,000 prophets before the Great Tribulation begins. The world must hear the testimony of Jesus through the mouths of His servants the prophets. Then, the end will come.

 

End Text:  

 

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