Is it a gotcha moment? Many of those who believe God has replaced Israel with the church say it is. Even if unspoken, their response to a literal, future interpretation of the 144,000 sealed Jews in Revelation 7:1-8 is quite clear in their demeanor, “You don’t really believe John is referring to future group of Jews, do you? How can that possibly be true?”
The amillennialists, those who say there is no future for the Jewish nation or a thousand-year reign of Jesus over the nations, insist that the 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelation refers to believers in the church age. They regard the number 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1,000) as symbolic of perfection, completeness, and thus the fullness that applies to all New Testament saints. It’s anything but a specific headcount, they tell us, but it’s rather John’s unique way of saying that the church is the new Israel, albeit spiritually.
The no Israel crowd justify their position by equating the 144,000 Jews with the multitude of saints the apostle with John’s reference to the saints in the next verses:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10)
The amillennial interpretations of the 144,000 sealed Jews place the group in the current church age and almost without exception, equate them with the multitude depicted in the above passage. They assume that the two groups mentioned in the same context are identical and both refer in some way to New Testament saints. But does the immediate context justify equating the two in such a way?
The Two Are Not the Same
Revelation 7 does not allow for one to identify the 144,000 sealed Jews as the multitude of believers. It’s impossible to say they represent the same group because of the following reasons.
First: In describing the group taken from the twelve tribes of Israel, John not only gives us the exact number—144,000—but also provides a precise breakdown, with equal numbers from each tribe. This level of detail negates interpreting this group as symbolical of the redeemed of the current age that consists of both Jews and Gentiles.
Second: If these two groups are identical, why would John identify the number of the sealed Jews with such exactness and then describe the second group as “a great multitude that no one could number” (Revelation 7:9)? Is this not a direct contradiction in the text itself? Why would he provide a precise number for one group and then say he couldn’t “number” the other?
Third: The origin of the two groups greatly differs. The message of Revelation 7:4–8 is unmistakable: the 144,000 are of Jewish descent and represent twelve different tribes of Israel. The apostle, however, describes the second group as “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added). The diverse ethnicity of the two groups makes it impossible to claim they are the identical apart from overriding the clear intent of the passage.
Fourth: The two groups cannot be identical because they experience vastly different fates during the same time period. The multitude described in Revelation 7:9–17 is the same group as the one in Revelation 6:9–11, whom John portrays as enduring martyrdom for their faith. The sealing of the 144,000 presumes protection from harm. What would be the purpose of the sealing if they were also destined to suffer the same violent death as the other group? This alone negates the amillennialists view that both groups represent believers during the church age.
Fifth: John wrote the book of Revelation around AD 95, approximately sixty years after the apostles recognized Gentiles as equal members of the body of Christ (Acts 15). Why would the apostle emphasize the Jewish and male makeup of the 144,000 (Revelation 14:4) if he meant for it to symbolize the redeemed of this age, both men and women? If the apostle was referring to Jewish believers in the first century, what would be the purpose of the sealing and how would that differ with that of the Holy Spirit that all believers enjoy (Ephesians 1:13-14)?
Sixth: Neither group fits with the body of Christ. The 144,000 consists entirely of members from twelve different tribes of Israel. That is not the church. Although the second group is far more diverse and thus representative of believers in this age, it consists entirely of martyred saints who are already in Heaven calling upon God to avenge their murder (Revelation 6:10-11, 7:9). How does that fit with the redeemed of this age?
One is not like the other; they are two completely diverse groups. The two are not same and speak to a much different era than the church age. They must refer to a future era, which the Bible refers to as Daniel’s seventieth week, or the fast approaching seven-year Tribulation.
A Final Response to the Scoffers
Those who do not interpret the book of Revelation literally scoff at what they regard as the impossibility of identifying descendants from the various tribes of Israel after the passing of so many centuries. During the past few years, however, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has conducted a worldwide search for descendants belonging to the tribe of Levi. Not only did its effort meet with considerable success, but they have subsequently trained a great many of them to serve as priests in the future temple. If this organization is able to identify Levites in our day, who is to say our all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign God cannot do same in both identifying and sealing 12,000 men from each of twelve different tribes?
Recently, I saw a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcoming Jews who were relocating to Israel. The news story identified the group as belonging to the tribe of Manasseh. The identification of 12,000 individuals from each of the twelve tribes of Israel is not near as far-fetched as today’s scoffers claim that it is.
My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed–An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. This book provides a great deal of biblical support regarding the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. It’s the basis of our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us.
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