Who Are The 144,000 In The Book of Revelations?

Who are the 144,000 who are mentioned in chapters 7 and 14 in the Book of Revelation?  Are they the Jews only or are they redeemed of Christ or both?

The 144,000 Jews

The Book of Revelation twice mentions the 144,000 both in Revelation 7 and 14.  In Revelation 7:1-4 it says “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.  Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”  And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”  Does this mean that only 144,000 Jews will be saved?  I do not believe so because who are those who have been sealed by God?  Ephesians 1:13-14 describes those who are sealed by God: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Apparently there are more than these 144,000 Jews who would be sealed because John continues in Revelation 7:9-10 “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!”  So apparently it is not only these 144,000 who will be saved because there are multitudes that are “clothed in white robes” which is the righteousness of God, so these also must be those who are saved.

Who is a Jew?

Paul makes clear that “no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God” (Rom 2:28-29) “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:29) “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Gal 3:14).  Have Christians been grafted into the natural olive tree, which is symbolic of the nation of Israel?  Perhaps because Paul writes that “if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and [can] now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree” (Rom 11:17).  The fact that God has adopted those who by faith trusted in Christ declare that we are now the children of God and this makes us heirs according to the promise.

The Other Sealed 144,000

There is another place where 144,000 are mentioned and it is in Revelation but this time it’s in chapter 14, verses 1-5 “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.  And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.  It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”  Who are these 144,000? Obviously it is anyone that has been redeemed and “who follow the Lamb wherever he goes” and are found to be “blameless” but how can any Christian be called blameless when they obviously still sin (1 John 1:8, 10)?  Second Corinthians 5:21 give us a good idea, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  Who is the “for our sake” speaking about?  For our sake is for those of us who have trusted in Christ as their Savior but who is this “he” that was made to be sin for us? It is Jesus Christ because He was without sin and so we can read this as “For every believer’s sake, Jesus was made to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Jesus Christ, believers might become the righteousness of God.”  So now when God sees us who are in Christ, He sees us as having the same righteousness as Christ has, so no wonder we can be called “blameless” because we “follow the Lamb (of God) wherever he goes” because it was “for our sake” that “he made him to be sin.”

More than 144,000 Saved

I believe that there are more than only 144,000 saved.  This number is symbolic of the redeemed from every age.  Some of the Old Testament Jews like Abraham, David, Moses, Joshua and many others may be numbered among those of the 144,000 Jews (Rev 7)while the Gentiles which comprises most of the church today are the other 144,000 (Rev 14) who have been redeemed by the Lamb of God.  That is possibly why John writes that “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” (Rev 7:9-10)!  If there is such a great multitude that cannot even be numbered, we can conclude that there will be more than 144,000 of which number represents the perfect number of those redeemed by the Perfect, Sinless Lamb of God.  The 144,000 can be numbered…the multitudes cannot.

Conclusion

If you have been redeemed by God, this means that you have had a time in your life where you have repented of your sins (turned away from them), confessed them to God and had them washed away (1 John 1:9) and then trusted in Christ as your Savior (to be made blameless).  If so, you are part of “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” of God, Jesus Christ (Rev 21:9) and the Bride consists “of a great multitude” (Rev 19:6) then “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9) because you are one of “those who are wise [and] shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Dan 12:3).

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon