THE SEALED 144,000 IS SYMBOLIC OF SPIRITUAL ISRAEL
Rev.14: 1 “ And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads”
One of the most confusing aspects in the interpretation of the Book of Revelation is to have it in correspondence to the Book of Daniel. Yes, there are motifs from the Book of Daniel that can be found in the Book of Revelation going by apocalyptic writings. But the truth is, while the Book of Daniel was not only an Old Testament prophecy., It basically concerned itself with literal, physical, outward, earthly events transpiring in the world of literal, physical, natural and outward laws of ritual ceremonies even in their laws and ordinances etc etc.
But under the New Testament in which the Book of Revelation is represented, it’s completely a different thing as God’s people are a spiritual people born from above as opposed to the physical Israel old. Here we have the laws of God written in our hearts, unlike Israel that have theirs written in tablets of stone. Especially, then we can see that the Book of Revelation not sent to the Natural Israel of God after the flesh, but to His Spiritual Israel after the Spirit, his heavenly citizens of heavenly Jerusalem.
If this Book is a prophecy, as stated (Rev. 22:19), for the called out ones, that is the Church.
Then of course, what is the function of prophecy, the word tells us, it’s is for edification, exhortation, and comfort (I Cor. 14:3).Meaning you can’t relegate this Book to history. Its purpose has been on for the Church since when it was proclaimed two thousand years ago, fulfilling and accomplishing its goal within God’s people, the Church. I here state again that it is not an ancient history Book neither is it futuristic, but that ‘which was, which is and which is to come’. It was fulfilled, being fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled, because the one who gave it “was, is and is to come”.
When Jesus made his proclamation as he started his earthly ministry in the Book of Mark 1:14-15, proclaiming the kingdom of God that was the end of the Book of Daniel. The final end of the Book of Daniel was when the Lord started building his spiritual house without hands, spiritual temples of living stones made without hands right from the time of Pentecost, fulfilling the Seventy week of Daniel .
This was a new order in the Spiritual kingdom of God as opposed to the order of the Israel of old. This is why, the 144,00 we are about to deal cannot be that of physical Israel.
Here in Rev.14:1-5, we are told of a company of people, the 144,000 that are standing with the Lamb upon mount Zion.
This simply tells us something that these people, identified as 144 000 are also Lambs, just like the one they are standing with, ‘The Lamb of God’. So here we are seeing a 144,000 lambs standing with the Lamb (Christ) on mount Zion!
Who do you imagined these people are? These are the company of people who have followed the Lamb of God right from when he was going to the cross down to the very highest point in Gods kingdom of rulership, which is what Mount Zion stands for. Why do we say they are Lambs as well?, because they have received and do have the nature and characteristic of the one they are following, the Lamb of God. And the major Characteristics of the Lamb is that of peace. Jesus is the prince of peace, so then we are told,
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened He not His mouth” (Acts 8:32).Therefore Jesus will teach, saying Mt 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
And these are the ones that shall minister the very peace of God which is already within them to the rest of the inhabitants of the earth with the same identical authority of Christ in the power and Glory of God’s kingdom. These are truly the sons and daughters of the kingdom of God who have been raise up in Glory.
Even as we can read.. “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Heb 2:10 (KJV) These therefore are the lambs with the Lamb on Mount Zion.
Be reminded that, just as we had Mount Zion as the highest point in literal Israel occupied by King David and his family, representing to us the highest point of kingdom authority as a king, within Israel and the rest in Jerusalem. Even so, are the lambs now to stand with the Lamb in the place of authority and power, for it takes the king to make decrees for rulership. This is sonship authority. The 144,000 are simply a people redeemed unto the Lord from among men, not just physical Israel.
To be continued…
© 2016 – Dr. David O. Ogaga