In chapter 7, we see four angels holding back the winds from the four corners of the earth, from blowing on the earth, the sea nor any tree. An angel ascending from the East, having the seal of the living God, cries out to the four angels, to hurt not the earth, or hold the winds, till we have sealed the people of God in their foreheads. The number of them which are sealed is 144,000.
This is a very solemn occasion. With respect to God’s intervention on this earth for the salvation of His people, something very important is going to happen before something very terrible happens. In other words, before the Second Coming of Christ, God’s people need to be sealed. We need to understand the symbolism of the winds, the trees, the four corners of the earth, what this seal is, and who the 144,000 are.
We will need to look at what sealing means in the Bible. This sealing by God looks to be a critical pre-requisite to becoming God’s child on this earth. God has been sealing his people throughout the time period of this earth. Is there something special about this end time sealing described in Rev. 7?
- The Saved of God Chapter 7
- Who is able to stand?
Leslie Hardinge is fond of saying, the chapter you have just finished reading poses a question to be answered in the next chapter. This is certainly the case in chapter 6 & 7. As the Second Coming is described in 6:14-16 at the close of the 6th seal, the question comes in 6:17, “for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Chapter 7 answers the question, “Who is able to stand?” Do not be scared of this chapter. There is a sealing going on right now. Are you wanting with all your heart the seal of God? There is solemn privilege for those who endure to the end and are of this 144,000. They will have the privilege of presenting the Loud Cry of Rev. 18:1-4.
Given the fact we are in the sixth seal, just before the Second Coming of Jesus, it stands to reason, these people described in chapter 7 and 14, are people at the end time, just before Jesus comes. The Scripture texts clearly imply something special about these people who overcome, this 144,000. Their relationship with Christ and His righteousness enables them to give the Loud Cry message in 18:1-4. This group of 144,000 at the end time have something special to say to the whole world.
At the end of time, in the seventh church period, with the seventh trumpet blowing, there are four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds. What are the winds? Jeremiah 49:32, 36 suggests that the four winds shall come upon Kedar, Hazor, and Elam and scatter them toward the four corners of the earth. The winds are a metaphor for scattering and destruction of the Elamite people. Ezekiel, speaking of apostate Israel, says God “will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.” In Daniel 7:2, the winds agitate the sea, with four great beasts coming up out of this sea. These nations of peoples, stirred up by the four winds, (17:15) in the Mediterranean promote violence, bloodshed, and dominance. At this End time, the strife and commotion of this world (brought about by the four winds) is being held in check throughout the four corners of the world till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads (7:3).
Notice what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say in connecting Rev. 7:3 with the end times.
“Already the restraining Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the world. Hurricanes, storms, tempests, fire and flood, disasters by sea and land, follow each other in quick succession. Science seeks to explain all these. The signs thickening around us, telling of the near approach of the Son of God, are attributed to any other than the true cause. People cannot discern the sentinel angels restraining the four winds, that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed. But when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.” {CTr 316.3}
Notice here the connection between the four winds being held till Jesus’ work is done in the Sanctuary and then they are loosed, and the seven last plagues follow this loosening.
“I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble. [See Genesis 32.] Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The one hundred and forty-four thousand triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God.” {CET 100.3}
It is difficult to imagine more strife and war than there is in the world now. Evidently, there is a day coming, at the very end of time, after the Close of Probation, in which Satan will be free to unleash all the forces of nature he can and plunge the world into war and bloodshed in an unprecedented way. Our full trust and complete confidence should be placed in Jesus now! We want the seal of His approval more than anything else.
What are the trees, the earth and the sea? Look up the answer in Jeremiah 17:7, 8 and Psalm 1:1-3. The man who trusts in the Lord is as a tree. The wicked are also described as a tree, Psalm 37:35, 36. The earth and sea are symbols for the New World and the Old World, America and Europe. By extension, the whole world. God’s people are everywhere. The angels are instructed not to let these titanic evil forces loose till they are sealed.
Who ascends from the East? “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Rev. 7:2” This angel, from the rising of the Sun, could be a messenger commissioned by God, or it could be Christ Himself! Is this such an important message that Christ himself brings it to this earth?
- The Seal, what is it?
What is this seal of God in the forehead of all individuals who are the 144,000? A seal signifies ownership. It contains the name, title and territory of the sealer. God’s seal in your life represents ownership, protection and genuineness. God writes on us his name (3:12), and calls us His sons and daughters (2 Cor. 6:18). We shall rule the world with Jesus from His throne. (3:21).
We find the three characteristics of a seal in the Fourth Commandment. We find here the name: LORD or Yahweh. His title is the Creator, for He made heaven, and earth, and the sea. His jurisdiction is heaven and earth, the sea, and everything they contain. There, within the fourth commandment, is the seal of God: His name, title, and jurisdiction. The Sabbath is a sign or seal of God’s authority as Creator, the sphere of His authority being “heaven and earth.” Sabbath keeping thus becomes a seal upon the one who bears God’s image, proclaiming God’s absolute sovereignty over him and his covenant consecration to God.”[1]
The Sabbath is called God’s sign (sign and seal are synonymous, as in Romans 4:11). Its observance by His people distinguishes them from those outside the covenant. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. (Exodus 31:12, 13, 17).” And in Ezekiel: “Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them…hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God (Ezekiel 20:12, 19, 20).”
By contrast, those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads will end up with the mark of the beast in the forehead or in their hand. “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (13:16, 17).” While the saints receive God’s seal, His enemies receive a mark upon the right hand or forehead, known as the “mark of the beast.”
“Do you know what it means to have the Father’s name in your forehead? What is the Father’s name, and what does the name represent? When you think of someone’s name, their name is associated with their character. And the Father’s name represents his character. Isaiah 57:15. Listen to Isaiah’s definition of God’s name. 15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; … The Father’s name is holy. The 144,000 will have the Father’s name in their forehead because they will be holy as God is holy. They will have had the experience of the righteousness of Christ in their lives. When they have this experience, they will receive the seal of God in their foreheads. We are looking forward to the day when the 144,000, that group of people who came from the Laodicean church, God’s Last Day church, The Second Advent Movement, they will stand on Mt. Zion with the Lamb.”[2]
- The characteristics of the 144,000 (incl. Ch. 14)
May we suggest that the number, 144,000, is likely symbolic. We shall explain that more as we see who they are. Some commentators believe these people are literal Israel, of the original twelve tribes of Israel. Study the New Testament and Paul’s writings to satisfy yourself that New Testament “Israel” is SPIRITUAL ISRAEL not a PHYSICAL and LITERAL ISRAEL. Paul became an apostle to the Gentiles. They were grafted into the vine as portrayed in Romans 11; 17-24. Some of the branches were pruned or broken off. “They are not all Israel which are of Israel,” and “he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly,… but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly.” Romans 9:6-8; 2:28, 29. The Christian Church in the New Testament is reckoned to be Spiritual Israel. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29. The 144,000 represent some end time portion of Spiritual Israel, based on the context of their being seen during the sixth seal, and the seventh church of Rev. 6 and Rev. 2.
I would never quarrel with those in our church who believe the 144,000 are literal, based on a statement in the Spirit of Prophecy, which we shall look at shortly. There are just more problems of interpretation to me with a literal 144,000 than with a symbolic 144,000. Do not forget that whether they are literal or symbolic does not mean they are not real. A group of 144,000 end time believers, as described in Rev. 7 & 14, go through an amazing period of turmoil at the end time. Adventist expositors today tend to concentrate on the characteristics of the 144,000 rather than on whether they are a literal or symbolic group.
Here are some additional thoughts on whom they might be. The twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles (12 x 12 = 144) stand for the totality of Israel; that is to say, the entirety of God’s people from both the Old and the New Testament times. The number 144, multiplied by the number, 1000, (Hebrew; eleph) is 144,000. The 144,000 are the true spiritual Israel, pure and without spot (14:1–5). They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (7:14). They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. They are redeemed from among men as the first-fruits of God and the Lamb, just as those raised from the dead at the resurrection of Jesus were the first-fruits of His people in the Old Testament. “The 144,000 are the end-time saints—the representatives of all God’s faithful people through the centuries. The final crisis through which they are to pass is symbolic of what God’s people have experienced since the death of Abel.”[3] In comparing Rev. 7 with 14:1-5, we make the following observations.
1) 144,000 is a separate subset of the saved of all the ages.
2) Great multitude comes out of the great tribulation of A.D. 538–1798, not the time of trouble of Daniel 12:1.
3) 144,000 demonstrate their fixity of character in following Jesus and His commandments, including the fourth, right at the close of probation.
4) 144,000 are the first-fruits of the New Testament era that are proof you can live for Christ. Similar to those raised at Jesus’ resurrection, and were the first-fruits of his victory over the grave.
5) 144,000 are discretely numbered, if symbolic. The great multitude is without number.
6) 144,000 come out of the twelve tribes of Israel; the great multitude comes out of all nations, kindreds, peoples, and tongues.
7) 144,000 sing a song no one else can sing.
8) The great multitude are those souls under the altar, in the fifth seal (6:9), who are crying out for vengeance.
9) The 144,000 are directly associated with the three angels’ messages in 14:6–12; the great multitude are not. The 144,000 has a singular task in the history of Christianity, to give the three angels’ messages at the end time.
We must make mention of the “great multitude” of 7:9, 14 ff. John sees this group “after this” or after hearing about the 144,000. Many commentators, including our own, conclude that the “144,000” and the “great multitude” are two different ways of depicting the same group of people. The former are the church militant and the latter are the church triumphant, those on the Sea of Glass, etc. It is possible that the 144,000 could BE PART of the Great Multitude, they have certainly been through great tribulation, and were hungry, thirsty, and cold and miserable, as were God’s people who were persecuted in every generation.
Yet, there is something that appears unique about them, they being the “first fruits” and associated with the Three Angel’s Message at the End time, being the messengers of the Loud Cry of Rev. 18:1-4. They appear to be a separate and identifiable subset of God’s people at the very end of time, with a very special message. Very few people in the Christian era can lay claim to these attributes, ascribed to God’s people at the very end.
Notice how the Spirit of Prophecy describes this group, in context with the other texts in Scripture. (quotes from the Scripture appear in the parentheses of the ones she is quoting. She ranges far and wide through Revelation and the OT to describe this special group of 144,000 people.) Only an inspired prophet of the Lord could rightly make these connections.
“Upon the crystal sea before the throne, (4:6) that sea of glass (4:6) as it were mingled with fire, (15:2) –so resplendent is it with the glory of God,–are gathered the company that have “gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name. (15:2)” With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, “having the harps of God,” (15:2) they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, “the voice of harpers harping with their harps. (14:2)” And they sing “a new song” (14:3) before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb (15:3)–a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience–an experience such as no other company have ever had. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. (14:4)”
These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as “the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. “These are they which came out of great tribulation; (7:14) ” they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; (Dan 12:1) they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; (Jer. 30:7) they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (7:14)” “In their mouth was found no guile: (14:5) for they are without fault” (14:5) before God. “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple (7:15): and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” (7;15) They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence, (Eze 12:16; 14:21) the sun having power to scorch men with great heat (16:8), and they themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. (7:16) But “they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 7:14-17.” GC 649, 650, ff.
We see here:
- 144,000 redeemed from among men
- They sing a song, “an experience such as no other company have ever had.”
- They are translated from the earth, from among the living. (Second Coming time)
- First fruits unto God and the Lamb.
- EGW ranges freely through the texts incorporating Time of Trouble, Tribulation language and Sea of Glass scenes, from all parts of Scripture.
- The 144,000, no less than the Great Multitude, have been recipients of the same persecution and conditions that all others have had, yet they are unique in their experience, at the very end of time.
EGW sees the 144,000 as unique and special, right at the very end, and yet still a subset of those of the Great Multitude, suffering the same things they did.
“There are two groups of people in this chapter: the 144,000 (vv. 1-8) and the great multitude (vv. 9-17). Among all the saved of the ages, these two groups are metaphors for two special groups of people who demonstrate two things to the world. The 144,000 are those at the very end, who by their lives, show total submission to Jesus, and have His robe of righteousness without a single blemish. The second group or great multitude, came out of the Great Tribulation of the Dark Ages and show their faithfulness to Jesus by loving not their lives unto death. They are the martyrs who stood faithfully for Jesus. At the very end of time, these two groups show who is able to stand, one by faithfulness unto death, the other by their total submission to their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by their life. They are the first-fruits of those who live for Jesus at the end-time.
As noted, the 144,000 and the great multitude appear to EGW to be in the grand scene of 15:2, where everyone is gathered, “the already and not yet” prophetic perfect of anticipated history that John sees in his vision. The 144,000 are part of this total group, which includes everyone who loved Jesus from Adam and Eve to the very last person saved on earth.
In the last few pages of the Great Controversy, where EGW describes the great scene around the Great White Throne, notice the groups of people who surround the throne at the Great White Throne Judgment.
EGW— (1)“Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion.
(2)Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void,
(3) and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith.
(4)And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues,’ ‘before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’” {GC88 665.1}
Does she see three, possibly four groups around the throne, which include the 144,000 (No. 2) and the great multitude (No. 4)? I think so.
I would caution us at the end of this study, that it is likely much more important to pray to God to be part of the 144,000, whomever they are, than to get all upset with one another over how to interpret the passage. That would be fatally unproductive. But, there are clues which help us understand the chronology of the 144,000, and that is important. Here are some appended thoughts from the Spirit of Prophecy on the subject, with some extremely good admonition for dealing with this subject.
WHILE I BELIEVE WE ARE IN THE SEALING TIME NOW, GOD MAKING UP HIS 144,000, OUR ENTIRE EMPHASIS SHOULD BE ON BEING SEALED BY OUR LOVING GOD, RATHER THAN ARGUING OVER WHO CONSTITUTES THE 144,000.
_______________________________________________________________________
Look at CET, pg. 58, 59. Describes EGW’s first vision on the 144,000.
“Soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured upon us the Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine with the glory of God, as Moses’ did when he came down from Mount Sinai. {CET 58.1}
The 144,000 were all sealed, and perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, “God, New Jerusalem,” and a glorious star containing Jesus’ new name. At our happy, holy state the wicked were enraged, and would rush violently up to lay hands on us to thrust us into prison, when we would stretch forth the hand in the name of the Lord, and they would fall helpless to the ground. Then it was that the synagogue of Satan knew that God had loved us who could wash one another’s feet, and salute the brethren with a holy kiss, and they worshiped at our feet.” {CET 58.2}
Several exciting phrases here that could be misinterpreted without the context of the lesson above.
- This paragraph describes the very end of historical time, just at and before the coming of Jesus.
- The saints are “living,” which excludes all the saints who ever lived on the earth, but are now deceased.
- 144,000 in number. A number of people take this phrase to mean a literal 144,000 people left, who make up the 144,000. The word “number” could refer to the 144,000 SYMBOLICALLY or LITERALLY. I will let you pray about it. In my personal view, if God allows every Christian on earth to die except a literal 144,000 people, that is His wisdom, not mine. If this is a symbolic “number,” then there could be more than 144,000 literal people left on earth when Jesus comes.
“Soon our eyes were drawn to the east, for a small black cloud had appeared, about half as large as a man’s hand, which we all knew was the sign of the Son of man. We all in solemn silence gazed on the cloud as it drew nearer, and became lighter, glorious, and still more glorious, till it was a great white cloud….” (I have not included the full text here due to limited space).
- This is Second Coming language, “a small black cloud appears,…” making it no doubt that the 144,000 are alive to see Jesus return.
“Then Jesus’ silver trumpet sounded, as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire. He gazed on the graves of the sleeping saints, then raised His eyes and hands to heaven, and cried, “Awake! awake! awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise.” Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted “Alleluia!” as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.” {CET 59.1}
- The 144,000 are alive at Jesus’ Second Coming and see the resurrection of the righteous dead and see their friends resurrected.
“We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns and with His own right hand placed them on our heads. He gave us harps of gold and palms of victory. Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square. Some of them had very bright crowns, others not so bright. Some crowns appeared heavy with stars, while others had but few. All were perfectly satisfied with their crowns. And they were all clothed with a glorious white mantle from their shoulders to their feet. Angels were all about us as we marched over the sea of glass to the gate of the city. Jesus raised His mighty, glorious arm, laid hold of the pearly gate, swung it back on its glittering hinges, and said to us, “You have washed your robes in My blood, stood stiffly for My truth; enter in.” We all marched in and felt that we had a perfect right in the city.” {CET 59.2}
- This is definitely the Second Coming, as the dead in Christ are raised, etc.
- The 144,000 stand in a perfect square. Does this square consist of ONLY the 144,000 or is this all the redeemed of all ages. The EGW quote above {GC88 665.1} would seem to suggest several group at the Sea of Glass, but that the 144,000 form their own square.
Is there any point in trying to identify WHO is to compose the 144,000?
“(2 Tim. 2:14-16; see EGW on Rev. 7:4-17.) Identity of 144,000 Not Revealed.–Christ says that there will be those in the church who will present fables and suppositions, when God has given grand, elevating, ennobling truths, which should ever be kept in the treasure house of the mind. When men pick up this theory and that theory, when they are curious to know something it is not necessary for them to know, God is not leading them. It is not His plan that His people shall present something which they have to suppose, which is not taught in the Word. It is not His will that they shall get into controversy over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and forty-four thousand. This those who are the elect of God will in a short time know without question. {7BC 978.4}
Is it worth striving to be among the 144,000?
“Strive to Be Among the 144,000.– [Rev. 7:9-17 quoted.] Those whom the Lamb shall lead by the fountains of living waters, and from whose eyes He shall wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God. . . . {7BC 970.8}
We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model. Let us, then, take our minds off the perplexities and the difficulties of this life, and fix them on Him, that by beholding we may be changed into His likeness. We may behold Christ to good purpose. We may safely look to Him; for He is all-wise. As we look to Him and think of Him, He will be formed within, the hope of glory. {7BC 970.9}
Let
us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and
forty-four thousand (RH March 9, 1905).
{7BC 970.10}
[1] Neall, Symposium, vol. 6 (Silver Spring, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1992), 258.
[2] Norman McNulty. Audio Verse.org Laodicea and the 144,000 sermon.
[3] Stefanovic, Revelation, 262 (1st ed.); 268 (2nd ed.).
