WHO ARE THE 144,000?
I get a little crazy when people teach the book of Revelation and give out their interpretation as though it's facts but it's not scriptural. Several people on Youtube keep bringing up the question of "Who are the 144,000?" But, the Word clearly tells us exactly who they are.
#1 They are the firstfruits. What's a firstfruit? Wouldn't it be the first fruit of the faith? Wouldn't these be the Old Testament believers who had a relationship with God, people like King David? People like David's mighty men? Men who went several rounds with the devil in hand-to-hand combat? These guys got physical with their enemies and some of these "Mighty Men" would kill 200 men in one battle with swords, spears and axes or whatnot.
#2 They were called out from the tribes of Israel.
#3 They are already in heaven with Jesus and come down with Jesus and on the way down to the earth, an angel of God seals them in their forehead. Jesus also has an identifying mark on his leg.
#4 They descend from Heaven during the Wrath of God. Timing here is all-important. And it's all laid out in Revelation if you just read it. There's no need for long-winded discussions, debates and interpretations. It's all right in the Word.
The reason why I believe this needs to be addressed is because it's sort of a pet doctrine that people are starting to spread around making believers feel like they're going to get a "special calling" for this period of time and get a special seal of God in their foreheads. But that's NOT going to happen. If you are a servant of God, you will have departed the earth BEFORE the wrath of God gets poured out on His enemies. YOU WON'T BE HERE FOR THE WRATH OR THE BATTLE OF ARMEGGEDON, BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
For heaven's sake, please, please, please read Revelation and ask God to show you what it says. Don't go blindly believing heresay and false doctrines. Some people are so confused, one minute they'll tell you you're going up in the Rapture BEFORE the tribulation. (The Tribulation happens before the Wrath and yes, some of us will be here for that. You will be here for it if you're still alive then. And, so will I. Which is one good reason for STUDYING THE WORD AND GETTING A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS !! Amen?)
Then, in the next breath, they're trying to tell you that God is going to select 144,000 followers on the earth to preach the Gospel. What? All of a sudden you're going to get the urge to preach the Gospel? Well, if you're not doing it now, why would you be doing it DURING THE WRATH OF GOD? By VIRTUE of the word "Wrath", doesn't that sort of indicate that there's a whole new ERA opening up?
The Wrath happens when God finally finishes DEALING with humanity and only the most stubborn, rebellious, unrepentent Satan-worshippers are left. These are the Gentiles who attack Jerusalem and burn her with fire. So, God has to come and rescue his backslidden bride from the hands of His enemies. Why? Because He vowed a vow to Israel. And for Jacob's sake, He'll come to rescue her. Then, a remnant will repent. (I'm not talking about the ones who repent before the Wrath. THEY will go UP in the Rapture with all the rest of the believers.)
All that to say, I just hope that you don't get deceived like I once was that believers would be receiving some sort of special mark in their forehead from the angel before going into the Tribulation. It's not going to happen. We have the Holy Spirit and it's up to us to operate in FAITH and in communication with the Lord to be prepared for whatever God has planned out for us.
Some of us will be martyrs. Some of us will be prisoners. Some will be called before leaders and powerful people to give an account of our faith. And we'll love not our lives to the end. We'll give God all the glory. And God will protect us, pour out great grace and provision for us and anoint us to do the job. We'll witness and preach the Gospel and die in faith as a testimony to the love of Jesus Christ. We'll lay down our lives because He laid down His life for us. And, just when it looks totally hopeless, JESUS WILL RETURN IN THE CLOUDS and we will RISE UP TO MEET HIM in the air! And so shall we ever be with the Lord! Hallelujah!
And THEN the 144,000 will join Jesus on their horses to go BACK to the earth and deliver God's wrath. Meanwhile, giant hail stones will be flying around, terrible insects and huge earthquakes but, not to worry because the servants of God on their horses who have some kind of physical bodies will be SEALED in their foreheads so that the angels know where they are at all times.
Does that make sense to you? Not really probably. But, I'm not interpreting AT ALL. I'm relating the events as I have read them in my Bible. It's not confusing. It's not hard to see what's going on scene by scene.
Simply put: The FIRST 5 SEALS concern us on the earth. The 6th SEAL happens AFTER WE ARE GONE. You'll notice it's accompanied by a "GREAT EARTHQUAKE". We won't be here.
The VIALS are the WRATH OF GOD. VIALS=WRATH. Sure, it's interesting reading and all that, but it doesn't concern us except as spectators. We may be allowed to WATCH from our heavenly vantage point. We may have the "best seats in the house" but WE WON'T BE ON THE EARTH. WE ARE NOT APPOINTED TO WRATH.
However, if you have not received Jesus as your personal Savior, NOW is the time for salvation. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and you will be saved from the WRATH to come. We serve a merciful and loving God Who DIED to save you from all your sins and mistakes, sorrows, suffering, and HELL! And you get all that for FREE! Where else can you get a deal like that? I'll tell you where. Nowhere. Everything Satan has to offer will cost you dearly. Misery now and hell hereafter. That's his bargain basement offer.
Why not let go of all of your preconceived ideas of what you thought God was like and just try Jesus? He's way better than you could possibly imagine. He's HEAVENLY. And, you're going to need Him!
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