After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. Rev 7:1-4

Revelation 7:5-8 goes on to describe this group as coming from among the Jewish people, with 12,000 from each of 12 named tribes. There is too much of a specific nature to suggest anything other than a literal interpretation of this passage. These are newly converted Jewish evangelists who will pick up where the Church leaves off after the rapture. It’ll be their job to bring the Gospel to the world during Daniel’s 70th Week.

Had they been believers before the rapture, they’d have disappeared with the Church. If the church was still here, there’d be no need for them. But the Church is in Heaven (Rev. 5), Daniel’s 70th Week has begun (Rev. 6) and the Lord needs someone on Earth to tell His story for Him. (Matt. 24:14).

How Many Tribes Are There, Anyway?
A careful reading reveals that while 12 tribes are identified, there’s one (Dan) missing altogether and another (Ephraim) is there, but under the name of Joseph. How can this be?

There were originally 12 tribes but after the reunion in Egypt Jacob adopted the two sons of Joseph and split his tribe between them. So counting Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, there are actually 14 names to choose from. If you want the original 12, use Joseph instead of Ephraim and Manasseh. If you’re going to war and want to exclude Levi because the priests are exempt from war, split Joseph in half and call one half Ephraim and the other Manasseh. You’ll have 12 tribes without using either Joseph or Levi. In Revelation 7 the Lord wanted to avoid mentioning Dan and Ephraim so He included Levi, split Joseph with Manasseh, and still had 12 tribes on His list.

Why Dan and Ephraim?
In 1 Kings 12:12-33 the City of Dan is identified as the location where one of two golden calves was set up for worship after Solomon’s death. The other was in Bethel in the region of Ephraim. This took place nearly 300 years after their deliverance from Egypt. Even so, when they were dedicated, the pagan priest actually quoted the words Aaron and the people had spoken at the original introduction of the golden calf at Mt. Sinai, saying “These are your gods, Israel, that brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4) Incredible.

The placement of golden calves in these two cities marked the beginning of idol worship in Israel. It was the reason for all the faithful of all the tribes moving south (2 Chron 11:16 … so no lost ten tribes after all), and the subsequent destruction of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians.

2 Kings 10:29 explains that those calves were still being worshiped in Dan 100 years later. Perhaps this is why the Tribe of Dan is not mentioned at all and Ephraim is only included by inference.

So it makes sense to view the 144,000 of Rev. 7 just as they’re described … Messianic Jews called by the Lord to witness to the world after the church is gone. They are the end times fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 43:10, being witnesses for the Lord to the heathen nations of Earth.

Then Who Are These Guys?
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless

As you can see, the group identified in Rev 14:1-5 is substantially different from the one in Rev. 7. This group is standing on Mt. Zion and they have the names of both the Father and the Son written on their foreheads. They are described as having been redeemed from the earth and are before the Throne of God singing a new song, a song only they can sing. They are pure and blameless, they’ve been purchased from among men, and are offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb.

A Beautiful Description
Hebrews 12:22-24 provides a beautiful description of this group. “But you have come to Mt. Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the Living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the Church of the Firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

The similarity is unmistakable. Their location (heaven), their spiritual state (pure and blameless), the fact that they’ve been purchased from among men and follow the Lord wherever He goes tells us who they are. Though some mistakenly identify them as the original 144,000, martyred and in heaven, only one group fits that description perfectly … the Church.

This 144,000 is a sampling of the redeemed, brought to heaven in the rapture and presented as the first fruits of God’s great harvest of souls, just as the wave offering was the first fruits of the harvest of grain (Lev. 23:9-14). All the grain was harvested, but only a sample was presented. So it is with the Church. The 144,000 is not meant to be the full number of raptured believers, just a sample.

As far as the phrase “defiled themselves with women” is concerned, it’s used to symbolize the worship of idols. Since pagan worship was sexual in nature, the Lord sometimes described idol worship in sexual terms. (Read Ezekiel 16 & 23if you dare.) These 144,000 had not done that. In fact they were found to be totally blameless, further evidence that they’re the redeemed in Heaven. No human on Earth is blameless, and there’s no Biblical evidence that men who remain celibate will receive special rewards.

A Word About The Number 12
Like 7, 12 is a divine number, denoting perfection of government or rule. There were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 spies went into the Promised Land, Jesus chose 12 disciples, there are 24 (12 X 2) elders around the Throne of God, etc.

In Revelation 7 and 14, 12,000 times 12 (144,000) can be is seen as ultimate expressions of this. In the first case the 144,000 sealed servants of God are the diplomatic corps of the Coming King, sent ahead to inform the world of His imminent arrival. And in the second, it’s the Church, the King’s perfect instrument of government, chosen to rule and reign with Him.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

There is perhaps no prophecy in the Old Testament more controversial than this one. Many liberal theologians reject the notion of the virgin birth of Jesus as being simply legend, Jews flatly deny its validity and non-believers scoff at it as the best example of the mindless belief necessary for Christianity to flourish.

Yet a careful study of the history of Israel, the laws of inheritance, and the promises by God to King David lead even the most skeptical student to conclude that Jesus had to be supernaturally conceived to be both God and human, and therefore qualified to redeem mankind, and have a legitimate claim to the Throne of Israel.

The God Man
Jesus had to be God to forgive our sins. No mere human can do that. One of the charges levied against Him was that He committed blasphemy by claiming the authority to forgive us, a power reserved for God alone (Mark 2:1-7). To prove He had that authority, Jesus healed a paralytic (Mark 2:8-12) the immediate healing being incontrovertible evidence of His authority, derived as a direct descendant of God.

But He had to be human to redeem us. The laws of redemption required that a next of kin redeem that which was lost. (Lev. 25:24-25) This so-called kinsman redeemer had to be qualified, able and willing to perform the act of redemption. When Adam lost dominion over planet Earth and plunged all his progeny into sin, only his next of kin could redeem the Earth and its inhabitants.

Since Adam was a human whose Father was God (Luke 3:23-38), only another direct Son of God could qualify. This is why Paul referred to Jesus as the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). Since the Laws of sacrifice required the shedding of innocent blood as the coin of redemption, only a sinless man was able (John 1:29-34). Since the kinsman redeemer’s life was required, only someone who loves us the way God does would be willing. (John 3:16)

This is the real test of the kinsman redeemer. Seeing Jesus as qualified and able to redeem us isn’t a great problem. After all He’s the Son of God. But recognizing that He was also willing to step down from His Heavenly Throne to trade His perfect life for ours should really humble us. What kind of love did it take to voluntarily suffer the pain and humiliation required to redeem us?

The Man Who Would Be King
To my logical mind the issue of royalty is the most intriguing factor related to the virgin birth. The opposite of the mindless belief of which Christians are accused, this one is blatantly logical. Does Jesus have a legitimate claim to the Throne of David under the rules of succession? The answer hinges on two technicalities.

First, God promised David that someone from His family would reign in Israel forever. David wanted to build God’s house, but God declined, saying He needed a man of peace and David was a man of war. So God chose David’s son Solomon to build the Temple and during Solomon’s reign Israel experienced peace as never before (or since). To alleviate David’s disappointment, God promised to build him a “house” making his dynasty everlasting (1 Chron. 17:1-14). From that time forward a descendant of David’s through Solomon’s branch of the family tree would sit on the throne in Jerusalem as King of Israel. But by the time of the Babylonian captivity 400 years later, these kings had become so evil and rebellious toward God that He finally said, “Enough”, and cursed the royal line, saying no son of their line would ever reign over Israel again (Jer. 22:28-30). The last legitimate King of Israel was Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah, who reigned for only 3 months in 598 BC. Did God break His promise to David?

The second technicality involves the right of inheritance in Israel. God had ordained that Israelites could never sell or give away the allotment of land given to their families during the time of Joshua. “The land is mine,” He declared, “You are but tenants.” (Lev. 25:23) It’s from this declaration that the rules of inheritance and redemption emerged. Family land was passed from father to son through out the generations. If a son lost his land, his brother was to redeem it, so the family wouldn’t lose their inheritance. So far so good.

Read The Fine Print
At the end of the Book of Numbers an interesting loophole emerged. A man died without a son, leaving 4 daughters. They came to Moses complaining that they would lose the family land since there was no son to inherit it. Moses sought the Lord Who decreed that if there was no son in a family, daughters could inherit family land providing they married within their own tribal clan. In effect they had to marry a cousin to keep the land in the “family.” This made sense since land was allotted first by tribe then by clan then by family. Marrying within the clan kept the families in close proximity and preserved the tribal allotment. (Num. 36 1:13)

Now compare the 2 genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38, and you’ll discover that Mary and Joseph were both of the tribe of Judah and descendants of David. Joseph descended through Solomon (Matt. 1:7, the royal but cursed line, while Mary’s line was through Solomon’s brother Nathan (Luke 3:31).

Here’s the tricky part. Mary had no brothers, and so was entitled to inherit her family’s land as long as she married someone also descended from David. Joseph fit the bill and being in the royal line had a claim to the throne, but carried the blood curse. No biological son of his could ever legally qualify asIsrael’s king, but Joseph could secure Mary’s right of inheritance.

When Mary accepted Joseph’s offer of marriage she preserved her family’s land and also made good her son’s claim to the throne of Israel. Being the legal son of Joseph, Jesus was in the royal line of succession. Since he wasn’t Joseph’s biological son, He didn’t carry the blood curse. But He was a true biological descendant of David’s through his mother and therefore of the “house and lineage of David.” He’s the only one since 598BC with an unblemished claim to David’s Throne.

This whole issue revolves around the facts that a) God has bound Himself to His own laws and b) He keeps His word; facts that should give you great comfort. God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind (Num. 23:19). Legally, a virgin birth was required to produce a sinless man who would be qualified and able to serve as our Kinsman Redeemer, and God longed to redeem us. A virgin birth was also required to sidestep the blood curse on the royal line, fulfilling God’s promise to David that a biological descendant of his would sit on the throne of Israel forever.

We’ll Return After This Pause
But what about the 2500 years that have passed since Israel had a King? Remember Jehoiachin was Israel’s last real King. In Ezekiel 21:25-27, written while a descendant of David’s still sat on the throne in Jerusalem, God declared that He was suspending the Davidic line of succession “until He comes to whom it rightfully belongs” a clear reference to the son of David who would also be the Son of God.

This declaration was confirmed to Mary. The Angel Gabriel promised that her coming son would sit on David’s throne and rule over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever (Luke 1:30-33). But all during the life of Jesus, a member of the Herod family served as King of Israel. Herod was an Idumean (Jordanian), a friend of Caesar’s who was appointed to serve as King. So this promised reinstatement is still to come, and will be fulfilled at the 2nd Coming when “the Son of Man comes in His glory and with all the angels with him” to “sit on His throne in heavenly glory” and finally “the Lord will be King over the whole Earth.” (Matt. 25:31 & Zech. 14:4-9).

And now you know the adult version of the Christmas Story.