Revelation 7 & 14 - the 144000 firstfruits

REVELATION 7 & 14 - THE 144000 FIRSTFRUITS

In Revelation chapter 7 the apostle John hears an angel speaking about a group of 144,000 "servants of our God" who are to be "sealed" and protected from the seven trumpet events of Rev 8-11 which are at that moment about to commence. As explained on the page "THE HISTORICAL 7TH SEAL - THE 7 TRUMPETS", these are seven major events in the history of Jerusalem, starting with the 70AD destruction of the Holy City at the hands of the Romans.

These 144,000 are said to be 12,000 each "of all the tribes of the children of Israel".

After this, John sees a group he describes as "a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Rev 7:9-10).

Many have wondered about the identity of this "great multitude" and its relationship to the 144,000. The Seventh Day Adventists (SDA), amongst others, believe that the two groups are one and the same.

I believe there is good reason to accept this interpretation, as internal evidence in the book of Revelation points in that direction. Take a look at the following examples:

In Rev 1:10-13 John hears behind him what he describes as "a loud voice, as of a trumpet", but when he turns around he sees "One like the Son of Man".

In Rev 5:5-6 John is told that "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll", but when he looks he sees "a Lamb as though it had been slain".

In Rev 17:1-3 John is told by an angel "I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters", but when John is taken to see this apparition he states "I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns".

In each of the three examples given above, John hears a description of something, and immediately afterwards sees a vision of it, but in a substantially different form.

The same appears to apply in the case of the 144,000 and the great multitude in Rev 7; John first hears their number and then sees this great congregation of people. And since the first group is "of Israel" and the second group is "of all nations", we can see that Israel is to be understood here as spiritual Israel. This would also explain the omission of Dan from the list of the tribes in Rev 7:5-8.

In Rev 14:1-5 we see the same group again, where we learn that they are "firstfruits", meaning the first to receive salvation through the plan that God is working out here on Earth.

From I Thes 4:13-18 we understand that the firstfruits receive salvation at the return of Christ; in I Cor 15:52 it says that this occurs "at the last trumpet"; and Rev 11:15-19 shows that Christ also returns at the seventh, or "last" trumpet. This is the same scenario as in Rev 14.

Many similarities can be seen between the great multitude in Rev 7 and the 144,000 in Rev 14. The diagram below, taken from an SDA site, but modified by the author, bears this out.

Let's look at Revelation 7 and 14, with my annotations in (purple).

Revelation 7

Revelation 7:1 After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

2 Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea,

3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” (indicating the protection of God's people during the seven trumpet events of the seventh seal of Rev 8-11).

4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed (12 groupings of spiritual Israel):

5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6  of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7  of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8  of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number (the 144,000 are such a large group that John cannot determine the number of them), of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues (these people come from Gentile as well as Israelite nations), standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the ("the" is not in the original text) great tribulation (the almost 6000 years of Satan's rule on Earth, during which they lived and were called by God. Acts 14:22 states "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God"), and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;

17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”.

Revelation 14

Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads (John in a vision sees the completed firstfruits harvest at the time of Christ's return).

2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.

3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins (true Christians undefiled by false religion). These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits (the first group to be saved) to God and to the Lamb.

5 And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God (their sins have been forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ).

6 Then (showing how the 144,000 came into being) I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people

7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come (has begun for the 144,000); and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (the gospel preached since the Garden of Eden, that the firstfruits both respond to and proclaim, by which process they become part of the 144,000).

8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication” (the gospel goes out into a world that is entrenched in false religion, typified firstly by the original pagan Babylon which is symbolic of all false religions, and secondly by "Babylon the Great", i.e. false Christianity. The first had "fallen" at the time of John's writing; the second began its fall in the 20th century. However, it is not until Christ's return that all false religion will finally be eliminated).

9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast (the powers that Satan has put in place, which oppose God) and his image (the nature of Satan), and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand (Sabbath breaking),

10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast (accept its teachings and practices) and his image (those who love Satan's nature, rather than God's nature), and whoever receives the mark of his name (Sabbath breaking, being an observable sign of their rejection of God)”.

12 Here is the patience of the saints (the enduring righteous ones, the 144,000); here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (the standards laid out in the Scriptures, by which all are judged).

13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on" (throughout the two thousand years of the Church eras, until Christ's return when the 144,000 will be born into the family of God). “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them” (they receive their reward at the resurrection).

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man (Christ), having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth (spiritual Israel) is ripe”.

16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped (the spiritual harvest of the 144,000 firstfruits at Christ's return).

17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine (God's people are described as a vine) of the earth (all Israel), for her grapes are fully ripe”.

19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God (the wrath of the seventh trumpet poured out on all Israel who have rejected Christ).

20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city (Jerusalem, to where Christ returns), and blood came out of the winepress (the punishment of the unrighteous), up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs (the English word "furlongs" is the word "stadia" in the Greek text. A "stadion" (sing.) equals approximately 180 metres, so 1600 stadia is about 288 kilometres. This is the approximate distance between Dan and Beersheba, which in the Scriptures denotes the full length of inhabited Israel, as for instance in I Sam 3:20. Thus, the expression "1600 stadia" may symbolically indicate judgement proceeding from the land of Israel, or on the land of Israel).

It should be noted that much of the prophecy in these two chapters is yet to be fulfilled, and so cannot be fully understood until that occurs. However, when the content is examined in light of the surrounding chapters the general meaning can certainly be determined.