The 144,000
– Parts 7-8
page
l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l
- 1 -
Begin
Text:
I’m
going to do a quick review on the
specifications of the 144,000 that we
discussed last time:
1. The
number 144,000 is literal and the 12
tribes of Israel are literal.
There is a
great misunderstanding about the 12
tribes of Israel. The problem stems
from the fact that many Christians
aren’t aware that God
redefined Israel at the
cross. According to the New
Covenant, the Israel of God is
now made up of believers in Jesus
Christ – these are the heirs of
Abraham! (Galatians 3:28,29) As far
as God is concerned, the 12 tribes
consist of people who have
circumcised hearts. Physical
circumcision means nothing after the
cross. (Romans 2:29,29)
2. Shortly
before the commencement of the
Great Tribulation, God will
thoroughly test and choose
144,000 people from all over the
world to be His prophets.
3. These
prophets will come from every language,
religion, culture and nation. Jesus
will handpick 144,000 faith-full-honest-hearted people
from every walk of life to be His
spokespersons during the Great
Tribulation.
4. The
sudden transformation of the 144,000 faith-full-honest-hearted people
into “believers in Christ”
is necessary so that Jesus will have“converted brothers
and sisters” speaking to their own “brothers
and sisters.” This simple
arrangement will help to overcome the
world’s greatest problem:
Religious arrogance and ignorance.
5. The
144,000 will be both men and women.
The book of Revelation also says they
will not be “defiled by
women.” The idea here is not of
virginity or celibacy. This language
comes from the book of Ezra. Many of
the Levites priests married
“foreign” women during the
Babylonian captivity. This union with
non-believers defiled the priests
because the laws of Moses commanded
them to choose a wife from Israel.
When the temple services began
functioning after the Babylonian
captivity, this violation was
discovered and the Levites were told
they could not serve the Lord as
priests unless they first abandoned
their foreign wives. These priests
were “defiled by women.”
The parallel is simple. When God
selects the 144,000 to serve Him,
their marriage (their spouse’s
views and attitudes) will not hold
them back from the calling of the
Lord. As necessary, they will
abandon their spouse to serve the
Lord.
6. For
the most part, the 144,000 will be
lowly people, humble people, and not
highly educated – just ordinary
people – upon whom the
extraordinary power and authority of
the Holy Spirit will rest.
7. Few,
if any, of the 144,000 will know each
other, yet they will all say and do
the same things.
8. Most, if
not all of the 144,000 will die
as martyrs during the Great
Tribulation.
9. Recognizing
the 144,000:
a. Because
the 144,000 will be widely scattered
and have diverse religious
backgrounds,
b. Because
the 144,000 will be very ordinary
people,
c. Because
the 144,000 will not be
part of an organized religious body,
a serious problem will arise:
How will
billions of people be able to
determine whether the 144,000 truly
speak for God or whether they are
just crazy people, perhaps demon
possessed?
How does
Jesus prove to a diverse
world of many religions and cultures
that the 144,000 really are His
prophets, speaking His Words? The
authenticity of God’s servants
will be affirmed by God’s
two faithful infallible witnesses: The Bible will
support everything they say and theHoly
Spirit will give their words
usual authority and power.
For the
honest and heart, God’s two
witnesses will be sufficient. For the
wicked, no evidence will be
sufficient. Remember Pharaoh? He
could not believe that Moses and
Aaron spoke for God even after nine
devastating plagues! The Bible and
the power of the Holy Spirit will
validate the message and the
messengers. People with honest hearts
will realize that the 144,000 speak
for Jesus.
10. As first
fruits of the end-time harvest,
the 144,000 will be the first to
have their carnal natures removed.
They will also be the first to
be taken to Heaven. After the 144,000
receive the seal of God, they will
have no predisposition or proclivity
for sin as human beings currently do.
After they are sealed, the 144,000
will be like Adam and Eve before the
fall.
Thus, the
144,000 will be living examples of
God’s promise to deliver
anyone and everyone from the
power and the penalty of
sin during the Great Tribulation.
Their selfless behavior and love for
God and man will be a powerful
influence upon those who listen to
them.
11. The
144,000 will present the gospel of
Jesus Christ during the Great
Tribulation. They will accomplish in
a mere 1,260 days, more than all the
Christian missionaries have been able
to accomplish in the past 2,000
years.
12. The
144,000 are not self-appointed. They
will be called and “chosen”
by Jesus. The conversion of the
144,000 will be similar to that of
the apostle Paul. Jesus will reveal
Himself to the people He chooses. He
will speak to them and He will give
them the words to speak and miracle
working powers to that their words
will have weight.
13. The
144,000 will be resurrected and taken
to Heaven on the 1,265th day
of the Great Tribulation (a Sunday?).
They will be presented to God as first
fruits (a sample) of the coming
harvest of souls.
14. Why
did God limit the number of
“last day” prophets to a
mere 144,000 people? World
population: 7,000,000,000 God’s
servants: 144,000
That’s 1
prophet per 48,611 people.
There’s an important object
lesson in this number. It’s
another “Gideon’s
army.”
Judges 7:12 The
Midianites, the Amalekites and all
the other eastern peoples had settled
in the valley, thick as locusts.
Their camels could no be counted than
the sand on the seashore.
You know the
story…. A great victory followed
Gideon’s attack and 120,000 of
Israel’s enemies perished. But,
the point here is that Gideon and his
300 men did not receive glory for
this great victory over the
Midianites. Everyone knew the odds.
This victory belonged to God.
“Not by
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit
says the Lord Almighty!”
So it will
be. God will accomplish the gospel
commission because it is humanly
impossible. Jesus is going to
“leapfrog” all Christian
organizations by doing something very
simple. He will choose ordinary
people from every religion to
be His prophets – His
spokespersons for the end-time.
This simple
plan of converted brothers
and sisters speaking to their fellow brothers
and sisters will produce a great
harvest. God shows His love and
compassion for us by selecting
144,000 ordinary men and women and
empowering them to do the
impossible…
He converts
them,
He seals
them,
He gives them
words,
He gives them
power,
To save a
numberless multitude.
Thus, God
circumvents some of the stubbornness
and diversity of mankind for the sake
of the honest-in-heart in every
nation. 144,000 people will
speak to their own people during a
period of 1,260 days. When the dust
finally settles, the harvest resulting
from the work of the 144,000 will be a
numberless multitude that comes
from every nation, kindred, tongue
and people.
Using a minimum number
of people, God will save a maximum number
of people during the Great
Tribulation!
What a
merciful God!
What a God of
love!
page l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l
- 1 -
