Note to Reader: In this teaching, YHWH is used to refer to the LORD God, Creator. And Yahushua is used for His Son, who is the LORD God manifested in the flesh, as Messiah and Savior. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture references are taken from the 2009 version of The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research.
Writing and Graphics by J.M. (August 22, 2022)
The 144,000 are a group of people presented in the Book of Revelation. They have a significant role during the Tribulation and afterward. It is important to understand who these people are and what they will do before the Return of Yahushua. This article attempts to answer the question: Who are the 144,000?
The 144,000 are servants of Elohim who are sealed upon their foreheads.
Revelation 7:1-4 And after this I saw four messengers standing at the four corners of the Earth, holding the four winds of the Earth, that the wind should not blow on the Earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another messenger coming up from the rising of the sun, holding the seal of the living Elohim. And he cried with a loud voice to the four messengers to whom it was given to harm the Earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the Earth, nor the sea, nor the trees until we have sealed the servants of our Elohim upon their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Yisra’ěl.
To understand what it means that the 144,000 are sealed let’s consider a passage in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 9, there is an account of destruction that came to Jerusalem. Before YHWH destroyed the city, He told a man dressed in linen to mark the men on the foreheads that wept over the abominations of Israel—the ones that cried out for righteousness’ sake.
Ezekiel 9:4 and יהוה said to him, “Pass on into the midst of the city, into the midst of Yerushalayim, and you shall put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”
After the man passed through the city, everyone who was not marked was killed. Ezekiel found himself alone. He was the only one that was sealed.
There are other examples in the Scriptures of YHWH marking or sealing His people for their protection when He destroyed a certain region. The Bible foretells worldwide destruction that is coming. The 144,000 will be sealed, ensuring their survival.
Revelation 14:1 And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on Mount Tsiyon, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written upon their foreheads.
Revelation 14:1 says that the 144,000 will be marked with the Name of YHWH. With His name on their forehead, their salvation will be established. Very similar to when the children of Israel marked their doorposts with the blood to be saved from the angel of death during the First Exodus, YHWH will mark the remnant of His people before the Tribulation that they may partake in the Second Exodus.
The 144,000 are sealed out of all the tribes of Israel.
Some people believe that the 144,000 are people from the modern State of Israel. However, Revelation 7:4 says that the 144,000 will come out of the ALL the tribes of Israel. This means it’s not just people who believe they are from the tribe of Judah. The people from the tribe of Judah are scattered around the world, just like all the other tribes of Israel. Many of us do not know what tribe we descended from, but YHWH does. We associate with the twelve tribes of Israel because Yahushua came to seek and save the lost sheep of Israel. He found us from around the world, and many of us entered into covenant with Him. From those scattered around the world, YHWH will seal 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel. (Note that Revelation 7 leaves out the tribe of Dan and has Levi, as well as both Manasseh and Joseph listed to make up the 12 tribes.)
To further demonstrate the protection of those sealed by YHWH, let’s look at Revelation 9:4.
Revelation 9:4 And it was said to them that they shall not harm the grass of the Earth, or any green matter, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of Elohim upon their foreheads.
Revelation 9:4 is referring to the First Woe during the Tribulation: the Scorpion Sting. The woe is so bad that later on, it says that when people get stung they’ll want to die but will not find death. The 144,000 will not have to suffer through this because they will be sealed. They may be affected by the results of the first woe but not harmed by it. Praise YHWH that He has sealed His remnant, and He ALWAYS keeps His promises!
Revelation 7:9-10 After this I looked and saw a great crowd which no one was able to count, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
This crowd is an interesting group of people that the Scriptures say is uncountable. The 144,000 are a part of this crowd, but the crowd includes those who were beheaded during the Tribulation and resurrected (Rev. 20:4). This crowd will come out from all the nations. Every language and people will be united together blessing and praising YHWH and His Son, Yahushua!
Revelation 7:11-14 And all the messengers stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped Elohim, saying, “Aměn! The blessing, and the esteem, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the respect, and the power, and the might, to our Elohim forever and ever. Aměn.” And one of the elders responded, saying to me, “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Master, you know.” And he said to me, “These are those coming out of the great distress, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The 144,000 are unique in that they will come out of the Great Tribulation, meaning they will not perish in it. YHWH will save a remnant of His people. This promise is our only hope during the Tribulation. Most people on the Earth will not survive, but 144,000 will.
The 144,000 will go through chaos and many trials before they are brought out of the nations to peace and safety. In Matthew 24:13, Yahushua said that he who endures to the end shall be saved. There is a two-fold message of salvation here. First, the 144,000 will be washed in the blood of the Lamb for the forgiveness of their sins. Second, the 144,000 will be saved by their endurance to survive the Tribulation.
Revelation 7:15-17 “Because of this they are before the throne of Elohim, and serve Him day and night in His Dwelling Place. And He who sits on the throne shall spread His Tent over them. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and lead them to fountains of waters of life. And Elohim shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The 144,000 will serve YHWH day and night when they are before His throne. They are also the kind of people who will serve Him day and night during the Tribulation, knowing their salvation is near.
The 144,000 will not hunger or thirst.
Isaiah 33:16 he shall inhabit the heights; strongholds of rocks be his refuge. His bread shall be given him, his water be steadfast.
In reference to the Ingathering, Isaiah 33 shows that food and water will be provided for the remnant during the Tribulation. This is a promise for the Bride of Messiah. Given the set-apartness of the 144,000, the instructions and promises Yahushua gave would also seemingly apply to this group.
John 6:27 “Do not labour for the food that is perishing, but for the food that is remaining to everlasting life, which the Son of Aḏam shall give you, for the Father, Elohim, has set His seal on Him.”
The 144,000, who have YHWH’s seal, will labor for the food that is everlasting unto life, not perishing food. The perishing food is the food of this world. Demonic entities have been trying to change the food of this world by genetic modification. There are many people concerned about food shortages, inflation, and breaks in the supply chains—all these things are prophesied in the Bible about the Tribulation. However, there will come a time soon when the 144,000 will not work for basic food. They will be working for the everlasting bread. The bread Yahushua provides for the 144,000 will give them everlasting life.
John 6:48-51 “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of the heaven, so that anyone might eat of it, and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of the heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And indeed, the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
The 144,000 will work towards life, salvation, and redemption. They will trust Yahushua for their sustenance, which also includes their water.
In John 4, Yahushua had an interesting encounter while His taught ones were buying food. He met a woman at a well and asked her to give Him a drink. The woman hesitated and questioned Him. Yahushua said this:
John 4:10 “If you knew the gift of Elohim, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
When Yahushua mentioned the living water, the woman became interested, yet she still had doubts. She asked further, and Yahushua replied:
John 4:13-14 “Everyone drinking of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I give him shall certainly never thirst. And the water that I give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
After hearing this, the woman asked for the living water. Yahushua is the bread of life and the living water. To not hunger or thirst anymore, we must go through Yahushua. The 144,000 will partake in the bread of life and living water, through which they will have immortality.
The 144,000 will have no more sorrow.
Jeremiah 30 and 31 prophesy about the time of the Second Exodus during the Tribulation. YHWH promises to release the captives of His people, destroy all the nations, bring His people back to Him, and heal the wounds of the remnant. Many times in the prophets, characteristics of the remnant are similar, if not identical, to those that pertain to the 144,000. I believe that the 144,000 will be a part of the group described in Jeremiah 30 and 31.
The chart below shows the connections between the remnant in Jeremiah 30 and 31 and the 144,000.
In Jeremiah 31, YHWH declares that He will be the Elohim of all the clans of Israel.
Jeremiah 31:1 “At that time,” declares יהוה, “I shall be the Elohim of all the clans of Yisra’ěl, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:2 specifically mentions a group of people who have escaped the chaos of the nations to find rest in the wilderness.
Jeremiah 31:2 Thus said יהוה, “A people escaped from the sword found favour in the wilderness, Yisra’ěl, when it went to find rest.”
All of the tribes of Israel will be represented in this group of people. They will also escape from the sword. Their lives will be spared because they went to the wilderness and found favor with YHWH. Both Jeremiah 30:7 and Revelation 7:14 refer to the people who come out of the Great Distress.
I encourage you to read Jeremiah 30 and 31 to see all that YHWH has promised for the people who will survive the Tribulation. The remnant will rejoice before YHWH, their food and water will be provided, and they will have no more sadness.
Jeremiah 31:13 “Then shall a maiden rejoice in a dance, and young men and old, together. And I shall turn their mourning to joy, and shall comfort them, and shall make them rejoice from their sorrow, and shall fill the being of the priests with fatness. And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness,” declares יהוה.
Even though the 144,000 will experience a lot of loss during the Tribulation, YHWH promised to remove their sorrows. They will enter into something better with YHWH and rejoice with Him forever.
The 144,000 will sing a renewed song.
Revelation 14:1-3 And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on Mount Tsiyon, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written upon their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a renewed song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders. And no one was able to learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the Earth.
From the passage above we can see that the 144,000 learn a song that no one else can learn. What is the song?
Revelation 15:2 And I saw like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those overcoming the beast and his image and his mark and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of Elohim. And they sing the song of Mosheh the servant of Elohim, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvellous are Your works, יהוה Ěl Shaddai! Righteous and true are Your ways, O Sovereign of the set-apart ones! “Who shall not fear You, O יהוה, and esteem Your Name? Because You alone are kind. Because all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your righteousnesses have been made manifest.”
The song of Moses was sung after the Israelites were freed from Egypt (Exodus 15). It tells of the strength of YHWH and the Israelites’ journey during the First Exodus. The song of the Lamb, the renewed song, will also tell of the strength of YHWH. However, the renewed song is about the Second Exodus. Jeremiah prophesied about the Second Exodus.
Jeremiah 16:14-15 “Therefore see, the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when it is no longer said, ‘יהוה lives who brought up the children of Yisra’ěl from the land of Mitsrayim,’ but, ‘יהוה lives who brought up the children of Yisra’ěl from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I shall bring them back into their land I gave to their fathers.
As the song of Moses is about the Israelites’ journey from bondage to freedom, so the renewed song will be about the 144,000’s journey from the nations to the gathering place from where they will be redeemed from the Earth! It will be a literal song. The 144,000 will know the song because they lived it! Their redemption will come from their obedience to YHWH’s call to protection from His Written Word.
The 144,000 are not defiled.
Revelation 14:4-5 They are those who were not defiled with women, for they are maidens. They are those following the Lamb wherever He leads them on. They were redeemed from among men, being first-fruits to Elohim and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no falsehood, for they are blameless before the throne of Elohim.
Revelation 14:4 says the 144,000 are “not defiled with women, for they are maidens.” Although this may go against some commonly held opinions, I would like to suggest that this does not mean that this is a group of only men, nor does it mean that it is a group of people who have abstained from sexual relations. The Bible uses the imagery of women and virgins to describe the relationship between YHWH and His people. For example:
Jeremiah 3:6 And יהוה said to me in the days of Yoshiyahu the sovereign, “Have you seen what backsliding Yisra’ěl has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there committed whoring. And after she had done all these, I said ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Yehuḏah saw it. And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’ěl had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Yehuḏah did not fear, but went and committed whoring too.
The 144,000 will serve no other gods. I would propose this is what Revelation 14:4 means. Many times the prophets confronted YHWH’s people with whoring and mixing with other religions which were not fitting for people in covenant with YHWH. Even today people mix their worship of YHWH with false religious ideas. The 144,000 will be pure in their worship of YHWH.
The 144,000 will follow the Lamb wherever he leads them.
Revelation 14:4 is often taken out of context. It says the 144,000 “are those following the Lamb wherever He leads them on.” The context of this is the 144,000 assembled. It isn’t about people individually deciding to follow the ‘Spirit’ anywhere on Earth. These are people who have studied the Scriptures and understand where the safe place is for YHWH’s people during the Tribulation.
Yahushua, the Lamb, is going to lead people to His sheepfold.
John 10:2-4 “But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens for him, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he has brought out his own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.”
John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd. And I know Mine, and Mine know Me, even as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold – I have to bring them as well, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one shepherd.”
I believe Yahushua is teaching about the Second Exodus in John 10. Yahushua said that His sheep will know Him and His voice. And He will go before the sheep. The sheep are the 144,000 who follow the Lamb, Yahushua, wherever He goes. Another thing to note from the verses above is that there is going to be one flock and one shepherd. The sheep will no longer be scattered around the Earth, because Yahushua, the Shepherd, will lead them into one sheepfold.
To read more about this, check out the teaching The Greater Exodus: One Gathering Place or Many?
The 144,000 will be redeemed from among men.
Satan has had a certain control over the inhabitants of the Earth. He has even had a right to influence and deceive many of YHWH’s people. To be redeemed means to be bought back. YHWH will buy back the 144,000 from Satan’s control. The 144,000 are the righteous ones that YHWH will set apart for Himself among all the people of the Earth.
I praise YHWH for His testimony of the 144,000. I hope you have enjoyed this article. I’m sure YHWH will reveal more to His people as they study His Word about the 144,000.
Isaiah 10:20-22 And in that day it shall be that the remnant of Yisra’ěl, and those who have escaped of the house of Ya‛aqoḇ, never again lean upon him who struck them, but shall lean upon יהוה, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ěl, in truth. A remnant shall return, the remnant of Ya‛aqoḇ, to the Mighty Ěl. For though your people, O Yisra’ěl, be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return – a decisive end, overflowing with righteousness.
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