ABOUT THE 144 000 WHO WERE SEALED IN REVELATION 7:4
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “Die 144 000 verseëldes in Openbaring”
Translator: Robin Barker
I was sent an email by someone, asking my opinion and understanding of the one hundred and forty four thousand sealed mentioned in Revelations 7:4.
I am not a great Theologian, but I share with you my answer that I sent to the person. Maybe you have also thought about this, or maybe you know of someone who is wondering about this.
I want to start by saying in my modest (humble) opinion; the one hundred and forty four thousand has nothing to do with you or me. Let us read the verse again – you will see that the ‘CEV’ meaning of the ‘sealed’ has been re-written:
REV 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. (TNIV)
REV 7:4 Then I heard how many people had been marked on the forehead. There were one hundred forty-four thousand, and they came from every tribe of Israel:
(CEV Contemporary English Version)
The one hundred and forty four thousand are of the children of Israel. If someone still is unsure verses 5 to 8 explains it further:
REV 7: 5-8 5From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000, 6from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, 7from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, 8from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Ben-jamin 12,000.
The devil who also knows (understands) the Bible very well, let many people stare (fixate, look intensely) at the one hundred and forty four thousand, which has nothing to do with them, but that which is of more importance to them, they wholly overlook;
Look at verse 9:
REV 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
REV 7:10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
I must just hold onto Jesus and I shall have my place before the Throne.
I find that people spend a lot of energy and time on things which God will definitely reveal to us, His children.
Let me explain with the following imaginary example which I generally use with this sort of problem:
My son and I are walking in the bush. He has never seen a lion before. I tell him that it is safe in the bush, except if we come across a lion.
Now we come around a bush and a springbok is standing there.
Scared my son asks me if that is a lion and whether we should run. I tell him that he does not have to be afraid. It is only a buck and that I will tell him if we see a lion.
At another occasion we come across an ostrich and again he wants to know if this is not a lion, and again I tell him that he does not have to be afraid.
At a third occasion we round a bush and there – about 60 metres from us – lies a lion.
I now tell my son, that he must quickly climb the nearest tree because that is a lion.
You see, we must tell the people about Jesus – and Him who was crucified:
1COR 2:1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters.
When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
1COR 2:2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
You see, I am not concerned about that the signs and things I do not understand, because I know my loving Father will make sure that I know, what I need to know, when I need to know.
For the time being I use my energy and time on spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Remember now, I do not tell you that it is wrong to reason about those things but I must also ask myself the question: “What can I achieve by this?”
Personally I do not have the time to reason about those things because at this late stage in peoples history, according to my understanding – Would this help to bring a soul to Jesus?
I do not mind to the best of my knowledge answering someone’s questions, but for myself I do not worry about those things that I do not understand, because I know – when I need to know, I will know.
Now briefly about your question:
According to my personal opinion the one hundred and forty four thousand has nothing to do with you or me and as you saw in verse 9 there will be place for you and me:
JOHN 14:1-3
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2 My Father’s house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
I want to show you a verse out of the Bible which I have quoted below. The Bible tells us that God completed the creation within six days:
EX 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them,…..
God made the earth and the unlimited multitude of stars in six days.
Jesus ascended to Heaven approximately 2000 years ago to prepare a place and He said and I repeat this from the TNIV:
JHN 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Naturally no one can imagine this preparation and normally I do not spend much time and energy speaking on this subject. But what I can tell you if I think about this sort of thing: It boggles my mind. Just a thought – think about it: Our God created the unmeasurable universe and all within it in just six days. Jesus is now been gone for more than 2000 years busy preparing for us a place. It is something that we should think about. I do not know what it will look like when I get there, but can you see why I say; it boggles my mind.
ROM 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
1COR 2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"–
But I can surely tell anybody that wonders about this; there is a place for each one of us who accepts Jesus Christ as his Redeemer and Saviour.
JHN 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Greetings,
Sakkie