And I heard the number of those who were being sealed, 144,000, sealed from all the tribes of the sons of Israel. Rev. 7:4.
One of the most fascinating puzzles in the book of Revelation is what to do with the eye-catching number 144,000. What or whom does this group represent and what difference might that make to those of us who read this text today?
The most obvious thing in the passage, perhaps, is that the number derives from multiplying 12 times 12 by 1,000. One 12 represents the 12 tribes of Old Testament Israel; 12, 00 come from each tribe, thus reaching a total of 144,000. But the Old Testament uses the Hebrew word for "thousand" (pronounced eleph) in a variety of ways--it is not just a number. As a number, of course, eleph would represent 144 groups of 1,000 people each. Related to this, the word can also designate a military unit. We would call that unit a brigade or battalion. The Romans referred to it as a cohort. A Roman cohort had about 1,000 men, 960 soldiers plus their officers.
It appears that eleph ("thousand") could also apply to the administrative divisions of each tribe, something like countries or shires (Ex. 18:21, 25). Ancient Israel had rulers over ten thousands (the number of men in each tribe totaled five figures [Num. 26:4-62], rulers of thousands (this would be like the county administration), and rulers of hundreds (villages), fifties and tens (extended families).
Since the nation of Israel originally descended from a single family (see Gen. 49:1-28), such administrative divisions also represent a family tree: each of the tribes could be broken down into subtribes, clans, and families. The eleph then would not represent a number, but the leader of a major tribal subgroup or clan. The number 144,000 would stand for 144 heads of households, each ruling a clan numbered in four figures. What is the point? However you interpret the "thousand," the number 144,000 is a symbolic way of depicting the totality of Israel's people.
So the 144,000 depict the people of God as a whole. The book of Revelation expands Israel to include those who follow the disciples of the Lamb in their allegiance to the Messiah. In the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21) each gate represents one of the 12 tribes of Israel and each foundation stands for one of the 12 apostles (see Matt. 19:28). So the 144,000 is not some elite group that leaves most of us out. It is a symbol of everyone who has ever been faithful to the God of Israel, no matter when or where (Rev. 7:9).
Lord, I am so grateful that everyone can be a part of the totality of Israel, no matter who they are or where they come from. I commit myself to be part of Your Faithful end-time people.
One of the most fascinating puzzles in the book of Revelation is what to do with the eye-catching number 144,000. What or whom does this group represent and what difference might that make to those of us who read this text today?
The most obvious thing in the passage, perhaps, is that the number derives from multiplying 12 times 12 by 1,000. One 12 represents the 12 tribes of Old Testament Israel; 12, 00 come from each tribe, thus reaching a total of 144,000. But the Old Testament uses the Hebrew word for "thousand" (pronounced eleph) in a variety of ways--it is not just a number. As a number, of course, eleph would represent 144 groups of 1,000 people each. Related to this, the word can also designate a military unit. We would call that unit a brigade or battalion. The Romans referred to it as a cohort. A Roman cohort had about 1,000 men, 960 soldiers plus their officers.
It appears that eleph ("thousand") could also apply to the administrative divisions of each tribe, something like countries or shires (Ex. 18:21, 25). Ancient Israel had rulers over ten thousands (the number of men in each tribe totaled five figures [Num. 26:4-62], rulers of thousands (this would be like the county administration), and rulers of hundreds (villages), fifties and tens (extended families).
Since the nation of Israel originally descended from a single family (see Gen. 49:1-28), such administrative divisions also represent a family tree: each of the tribes could be broken down into subtribes, clans, and families. The eleph then would not represent a number, but the leader of a major tribal subgroup or clan. The number 144,000 would stand for 144 heads of households, each ruling a clan numbered in four figures. What is the point? However you interpret the "thousand," the number 144,000 is a symbolic way of depicting the totality of Israel's people.
So the 144,000 depict the people of God as a whole. The book of Revelation expands Israel to include those who follow the disciples of the Lamb in their allegiance to the Messiah. In the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21) each gate represents one of the 12 tribes of Israel and each foundation stands for one of the 12 apostles (see Matt. 19:28). So the 144,000 is not some elite group that leaves most of us out. It is a symbol of everyone who has ever been faithful to the God of Israel, no matter when or where (Rev. 7:9).
Lord, I am so grateful that everyone can be a part of the totality of Israel, no matter who they are or where they come from. I commit myself to be part of Your Faithful end-time people.
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