Who are the 144,000?

By Rev. Charles Cooper

In prophetic circles, there are numerous attempts at identifying the 144,000 Jews mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14. A common identification is that they are Jewish evangelists that traverse the world during the 70th week of Daniel and are instrumental in bringing untold numbers of people into the kingdom of God. That understanding is however, never taught in the Scripture!

When a study is made of the 144,000, we learn that there are only three verses in the entire Bible that mention these people. From a study of these three verses we learn the following:

1. They are 12.000 Jews from 12 tribes of Israel that are sealed for protection just before the Day of the Lord's wrath, between the 6th and 7th Seal.

2. In Revelation 14 they are with "the Lamb...standing on Mount Zion" and bearing the name of His Father "written on their foreheads". In 14:3 they sing a new song "before the throne".

3. In 14:3-4 we also learn that these are "purchased from the earth" as "first fruits to God and to the Lamb" (from among the Jews), are spiritually pure ("not ... defiled with women"), follow the Lamb "wherever He goes", are absolutely honest and "are blameless".

It appears that the 144,000 are "the woman" of Revelation 12. Note the following:

1. Romans 11:26-27, Paul tells us that at the conclusion of the times of the Gentiles, "all Israel will be saved".

2. Zechariah 13:8-9, tells us that 2/3 of Israel will be killed during the holocaust of Antichrist and Isaiah 6:13 tells us that only 1/10 of the remaining 1/3 will survive the Day of the Lord's wrath, along with a few others, thus leaving a remnant that will be saved.

3. In Revelation 12:6, we are introduced to "the woman" who flees into the wilderness "prepared by God" and is nourished by God for "a time, times and a half time (1260 days) from the presence of the serpent" and enter into the millennium.

The "woman" is Jewish, preserved by God, reappears after the 70th Week is completed, is again taken to a place of protection (Is. 26:20-21; Zech. 14:2-5) until the Day of the Lord's wrath is finished (at the end of the 30 day extension period - see Reclamation Period in the glossary) at the battle of Armageddon.

From the above references, the identification of the 144,000, the "first fruits" of Israel, appears to be "the woman" who resists the covenant with Antichrist at the beginning of the 70th Week and later flees Jerusalem when he reveals himself for who he really is, are protected by God during the Day of the Lord's wrath and when Christ takes control over earth, enter the millennium as saved individuals. They comprise the "remnant" often spoken of in Scripture along with others that survive the Day of the Lord's wrath.