A New
Look at One of the Great Mysteries -
Who Are The 144,000
of Revelation?
No
question has perplexed Christians more concerning Bible prophecy!
Are
the 144,000 of Revelation the original Jehovah's Witnesses? The
Worldwide
Church? Descendants of "physical
from Christ's time till now?
Will they live to meet Christ? Or
are they all
destined to DIE in the Great Tribulation? Will they have a "lesser reward"
than the "
William F. Dankenbring
Just who are the 144,000 of the book
of Revelation, anyway? This question has
mystified Biblical students of prophecy probably more than any other. Interpretations and explanations are
rife. Everybody, it seems, has their own
idea about this mysterious group. No
doubt many are very sincere in their ideas -- but everybody can't be right!
For decades the Jehovah's Witnesses
have explained the mysterious group as the original members of their own sect
-- that is, until their numbers grew beyond the number given. The new members of their church, they then
explained, would be members of the "great multitude" who followed the
144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7!
Herbert Armstrong in his booklet
"Key to the Book of Revelation" explained the 144,000 as men and
women who would be converted DURING the "Great Tribulation," 12,000
from each of the l2 tribes of Israel, with Joseph getting a double portion
(Ephraim and Manasseh getting 12,000 each), and the tribe of Dan -- understood
to be the Irish -- being left out of the group because of massive
idolatry. The tribe of Dan was the first
tribe of
"You shall have no other gods
before me. You shall not make for
yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth
beneath or in the waters below. You
shall not bow down to them nor worship them; for 1, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of their fathers to the third
and fourth generation of
those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations, of those who
love me and keep my commandments" (Exo.20:3-6, NIV).
Later on, however, as he neared the end
of his life, Herbert Armstrong wrote to members of the Worldwide Church of God,
who he consistently said were the
Now a new theory of the 144,000 has
arisen. A former minister of the Worldwide
Church of God, Gerald Flurry, who left the Church in December 1989 due to
severe differences of opinion with current Church leaders, and who feels the
cur-rent leadership has gone astray from the truth, and entered into apostasy,
has come up with a novel approach to this question. Gerald Flurry rightly points out that the
Worldwide Church of God, under Joseph Tkach, has departed from the standard of
the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert Armstrong. It has become the
Flurry points out that the Laodicean
church was prophesied to be "rich and increased with goods"
(Rev.3:16). The Greek literally means, in the original, "have become
enriched," "I am rich and have gotten goods." Thayer's Greek
English Lexicon defines the expression as meaning, "to be rich, to have
abundance . . . outward possessions." Flurry shows how this can certainly
apply to the Worldwide Church of God with its $200,000,000 annual income, real
estate, and because of its arrogant, proud attitude. All this is well and good. He shows that unless they repent, they will
be cast into the Great Tribulation!
But then Flurry says, the promise in
Revelation 3:21, "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my
throne even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne,'
which comes after the passage about the Laodicean Church, does
NOT refer to the Laodiceans at all --
that this promise is not meant for them -- but to the
In fact says Flurry, the Laodiceans are
all who do not repent, and who go into the Great Tribulation. They will all be martyred and die in the
Tribulation. These, he says, will number
144,000, and will constitute the 144,000 of Revelation. They are identified, by him, as all the DEAD
LAODICEANS who are martyred in the Great Tribulation!
According to his new theory, "all
the Laodiceans who enter God's Kingdom must DIE for God. . . . The Laodiceans
must prove themselves by dying for God.
That is when they are sealed.' This sealing, he says, could only
apply to the Laodiceans. He goes on,
"These Laodiceans make it into the Kingdom. However, the 144,000 Laodiceans will not be
in God's temple, or at Headquarters forever, as the
Philadelphians will be (Rev.3:12). The 144,000 Laodiceans won't qualify for
assignment to God's Headquarters, but they will enter God's Kingdom and assist
Christ for all eternity."
Is Flurry correct? His 'inspiring new truth" is not the
same teaching of Herbert Armstrong, which he so often says we must get back
to. What is the truth about the
144,000? Where do they fit in Bible
prophecy? And what
about the Laodiceans? Is there
any connection? Let us explore this question,
carefully, and see just what the Scriptures really say -- and don't say!
The
In
Revelation 3, we read: "To the angel of the church in
"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will
take your crown. Him who overcomes I
will make a pillar in the temple of my God.
Never again will he leave it I will write on him the name of my God and
the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of
heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches'" (Rev.3:7-13).
Notice several things about these
verses. Those who belong to the "
Notice, too, God blesses them because
of their OBEDIENCE to His commandments, and their patient endurance and faithfulness. Obedience is the key here -- obedience to the
laws of God! This has nothing directly
to do with remembering the teachings of Herbert Armstrong, some of which were
in error, or clinging to his mistakes, as if they were inspired of God. Not at all!
Herbert admitted some of his mistakes
-- but not all of them. Many of his
errors, such as keeping Passover and Pentecost on the wrong days, he most
likely never understood -- or else, I believe, he would have repented and
changed. But on some things, he was
simply ignorant -blinded -- and remained so till the day of his death. Therefore, he did NOT "restore all
things," as the Elijah to come is prophesied to do. Herbert Armstrong only restored SOME things
-- the truth about the Sabbath, that the holy days should be observed, the
truth about hell fire, the error of the immortality of the soul, the supreme
purpose of human life, the truth about law and grace, what it means to be "born again." BUT
HE DID NOT "RESTORE ALL THINGS"!
He left the job unfinished; undone; incomplete!
For the most part, Herbert Armstrong
finished his work in 1967 when his wife died.
He himself said that by 1972 he had preached the gospel to the world,
and his commission was finished. After
that, he began to appear to wander, became confused, and from that time till
his death in 1986 he grew old and lonely, made many mistakes, married the wrong
woman, became difficult to contact or to approach, was blinded to true loyalty
and was a victim of "court flatterers," who deceived and misled
him. He visited dignitaries around the
world -- but in effect CEASED TO PREACH THE GOSPEL, and instead gave general
"talks" on world events, principles of success, and talked about
"a strong hand from someplace" which would have to intervene in world
events. But he ceased preaching CHRIST,
did not mention His name to these world leaders, left he offend them. He did not go to them as a
"prophet," rebuking them for their sins, but "bought" his
way in to their presence with gifts, and " Steuben
crystal."
Does this sound like something the fiery
prophet ELIJAH or John the Baptist would have done?
Gerald Flurry says that Herbert Armstrong
was the "Elijah" to come. I
can only say -- Balderdash! In many
ways, no doubt Herbert Armstrong BEGAN to fulfill some of the work of Elijah --
he BEGAN to "restore" much truth.
But then he bogged down,
became distracted, disoriented after the death
of his wife, and allowed great sins and mismanagement to invidiously creep into
the
Thus Herbert Armstrong FAILED to live up
to his "advance billing" and self-proclaimed announcement that he was
in the office of "Elijah." He fell short of the mark! He failed!
Elijah was prophesied to turn the hearts of fathers to their children,
and children to their fathers -- but Herbert Armstrong failed to reconcile his
own family, and died estranged from his own son, whom he would not even see or
allow to visit him the last few years of his
life! He was most definitely not
"Elijah."
However, I do not mean to minimize his
importance, as a link in the chain, and as one whom God did use to restore much
truth since 1927, when he was converted, and 1934, when he stepped out on faith
to begin "the
God forbid! Let's carefully preserve and nurture the
baby, even as we get rid of the dirty bath water!
Why is it that so many people can't get
their balance, and always go to extremes?
They become offended at some small (or large) thing, and leave the
Church, and the truth of God -- just as people became offended at Christ, when
He told them they would have to eat His flesh and drink His blood to be
saved! Should we be offended at the sins
of Herbert Armstrong -- and so jettison the truth? Should we allow any man's mistakes to
distract us, personally, from serving God and obeying His commandments? Should we allow another's faithlessness to
also render US "faithless"? I
have seen this sort of thing happen all to often, over
the past 40 years, since becoming a member of God's Church! We should be ashamed!
The truth is, we should neither worship
nor condemn Herbert Armstrong, or other leaders whom God has used. They are not worthy of worship, placing on a
pedestal, as some do -- they were human and made sometimes very serious
mistakes. On the other hand, we should
not condemn them and consign them to hell fire -- it is for God to judge their
lives. Only He can know their true
hearts, how deceived they might have been, or how responsible
they were for their own actions and
decisions.
In many respects, God did begin the
"Philadelphia" era of His Church through Herbert Armstrong and his
wife, Loma. But as the 1970's grew on,
the Church seemed to flounder, lost its way, and became disoriented. Serious doctrinal problems arose, with the
failure of the Church's prophecy that Christ would return by 1975. Many became discouraged. Others began to question and uproot basic
doctrines. Hundreds of ministers left
the Church over one thing or another.
Some of them probably felt justified.
But God did not really use them to continue His Work. He remained, even as they left, working with
what was left of His Church, no doubt lamenting its condition, and bemoaning
its lapse into lethargy, and Laodiceanism.
Yet the Word of God had foretold it would happen!
The Laodicean Church Becomes
Dominant!
Notice what God foretold would happen
after the Philadelphia branch or era of His Work did their early work:
"To the angel [messenger, or
leader] of the church in Laodicea write: 'These are the words of the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the ruler of Gods creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I wish you were either one or
the other! So, because you are lukewarm
-- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
"'You say, "I am rich; I
have acquired wealth and do not need a thing." But you do not realize that
you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in
the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover
your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
"'Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline. So be earnest and
repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
"To him who overcomes, I will
give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcome and sat down
with my Father on his throne. He who has
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches"' (Rev.3:14-22).
Here, in all its ugliness, the
Laodicean, End-time "Church of God," the final age of Gods Church,
before the coming of the Messiah -- the LAST and SEVENTH of the Church ages or
eras -- is described, in all its loathsome, horrid, execrable detail. It is, according to Christ Himself, filthy,
disgusting, wretched, miserable, abominable, detestable, and worthy of nothing
but to be spit or vomited out. It is
like rancid food, which when it reaches the stomach causes the stomach to
recoil and cause a spasmodic regurgitation of the unpalatable food.
This End-time Church is full of
members who are well off financially, drive new cars, enjoy the social
activities at church. They seldom pray
or read the Bible, except in Church.
They are not in earnest seeking God and studying His Word like the
Bereans (Acts 17:11). They do not enjoy
Bible study, or prayer. They may pray on
the average 5 minutes a day. They are
not really in touch with God throughout their day, and close to Him. They have become lovers of the world, and its
society, its luxuries, and pastimes, its pleasures and activities. Their minds are largely on the around, the
physical, the sensual, the pleasurable.
They are not really fasting and praying and seeking truth and new
knowledge in the Word of God. They are
not WATCHING world events rapidly fulfilling Bible prophecies. They are turned off to "prophesy,"
and despise those who do prophesy, treating prophecy with 'contempt"
because of previous errors or misunderstandings (I Thess.5:20). They are not
seriously "proving all things," and continually checking up on
doctrine and new truth, searching out the plain truth of God (see I
Thess.5:21).
The Laodicean age of God's Church is
now full-blown and upon us! Indeed, when
Herbert Armstrong "passed the baton" to Joseph Tkach, the pitifully
weak remnant of the Philadelphia Church age ended, and the LAODICEAN AGE BEGAN
-- with a VENGEANCE! Herbert Armstrong,
weak and frail, and largely unaware of what was happening around him, died in
1986. Six months before his death, he
wrote:
"A final personal word. In a few days I will be 93 years of age. For some years
now, there have been some,
like vultures, waiting for me to die.
They would
like to come back and take
over the leadership of the Church in my stead.
I have
been deeply concerned
about this, but in no sense worried.
This is the Church of
God, not of any man. Jesus Christ is the living Head of this
Church. I am not"
(Worldwide News, June 24, 1985).
When he died, the baton of Church
leadership was passed on to Joseph W. Tkach, or "Chicago Joe." Since
that time, enormous changes have taken place in Church doctrine. The healing doctrine has been scuttled, with
all sorts of medical treatments and any kind of surgery now permissible to
brethren, if they want it or think they need it. The healing power of God is relegated to
limbo, except as an "afterthought"!
Marriage and divorce has been watered down -- divorce is now permitted
on almost ANY grounds, including mere 'we don't get along." Remarriage is
permitted within the Church, even though one divorces a mate who also remains
in the Church, even though both of them had been mar-ried within the Church!
Prophecy, of course, has been toned down,
written off as of no real worth, as merely a "curiosity item." No
stress is placed on the SOON coming of Christ the Messiah -- but rather stress
is placed on looking at your own self-interest, your own personal
"spiritual temperature." Herbert Armstrong used to say that if you
only think of your own spiritual welfare, and growth, you become self-centered,
and shrivel up and die, spiritually. He
had a larger, broader view, and
said that you only grow
spiritually as you get your mind OFF "self" and onto doing God's
Work,
and begin to think about
OTHERS! He was right; "Chicago
Joe" was dead wrong!
Herbert Armstrong was dead set against
College Accreditation by this world's agencies.
He wrote in a letter, June 24, 1985:
"The
liberals at Pasadena wanted accreditation.
They did not want to be accredited
as a Bible college, but as a full
competing college or university. As such
the college
would fall under rules of the
secular accrediting society, which would more or less
determine policy and curricula.
"Finally this effort on the
part of the liberals increased the enrollment of the college
from the approximate 500 limit
that I had set to about 1,400 and going up. IT WAS
NO LONGER GOD'S COLLEGE. I had realized the danger of a student body
in
excess of 500 students, in
residence on campus, and had set that as a definite college
policy. But during those years when I was absent from
Pasadena headquarters most
of the time, changes were being
gradually made in college policies as well as Church
doctrines."
Herbert Armstrong went on to say,
"Jesus Christ had founded this college through me as God's college. I had realized the state into which higher
education had drifted into materialism.
Moral and spiritual values were being overlooked almost entirely in
college and universities. I had realized
the tremendous responsibility to avoid neglecting this missing dimension in
education at the time of founding Ambassador College."
But today, Chicago Joe has rejected the
wisdom and policy of Herbert Armstrong, and is strongly pushing for
accreditation of the college at Big Sandy, Texas. He has CLOSED DOWN the college campus at
Ambassador College, Pasadena, California.
Thus he has REJECTED the prime truth about this world's materialistic
educational system, and has EMBRACED it!
Herbert Armstrong also condemned the evil
of the world's scholarship, and those who sought to inject error into Church
teachings, by "DISproving the TRUE DOCTRINES Jesus Christ put into
His Church though His apostle, and inject false doctrines into the Church of
God." He then declared:
"This very thing happened in the
days of the apostle Paul and the original apostles.
And Satan DID BLIND AND
DECEIVE THOSE WHO, WITH HONEST HEARTS,
HAD ACCEPTED GOD'S
TRUTH!"
Herbert then asked this pointed question:
"Brethren, do we think we are
superior to those of the first, second and third
centuries that Satan could
not have tried to pervert God's TRUTH today?"
(Good News, August 1979, article
"How Satan Injects False Doctrines").
Since the death of Herbert Armstrong, the
Worldwide Church of God, or "Church of Laodicea," has flip-flopped
completely on ALL MAJOR DOCTRINES -- including the nature of God, the Trinity
doctrine, the identity of the United States and Britain in prophecy, being
"born again," the nature of the "kingdom of God," eating
"unclean meats," whether the Sabbath is still in force, whether the
annual holy days must be observed, and has even embraced the pagan holidays of
Christmas and Easter, at least in theory if not in complete practice!
A Revolution in the Church!
Few have realized it, but a literal
REVOLUTION has occurred within the Worldwide Church of God, since the death of
Herbert W. Armstrong. A massive
REBELLION has occurred!
For years I have been saying this,
shouting the warning. Since March 1987,
when Prophecy Flash began with its first issue, I have been crying out
concerning the apostasy in the Worldwide Church of God, the descent into error,
the fact of the Church becoming a CULT, and even wrote an article "35
Places Where the Church Went Astray." I wrote articles "Where Is the
LAODICEAN CHURCH?" and "Who Is Shebna in Bible Prophecy?" I
wrote articles in Prophecy Flash about "Can An Entire Church of God
DIE?" and "History Repeats Itself -- Apostasy of the End-Time Church
of God!"
But how many are paying
attention? How many are still
awake? How many haven't fallen into a
deep spiritual slumber and profound sleep?
Can YOU still WAKE UP?
Prophesying of our day, today, the
apostle Paul declared: "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
our being gathered to him ... Don't let anyone DECEIVE you in ANY WAY, for that
day will not come until THE REBELLION occurs and the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is
revealed, the man DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION.
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything . . ." (II
Thess.2:1-4).
As students of the Bible know, the Bible
is filled with "types and anti-types." Although this Scripture is
warning about the end-time Beast power rising up in Europe, and its mad, crazed
leader who will literally sit in a rebuilt Temple of God, in Jerusalem,
claiming to be God, it has a DUAL fulfillment!
It is also a warning to THOSE IN GOD'S CHURCH! It is a warning that in the end-times a great
APOSTASY will occur in God's Church, just as happened during the time of the
first century apostles. This apostasy
will be a WHOLESALE REBELLION against the precious truths of God! It will be led and orchestrated by a
"man of sin," a "son of perdition," WITHIN THE CHURCH -- a
modern LEADER of the Worldwide CHURCH of God!
The Phillips Translation has, "That
day will not come before there arises a DEFINITE REJECTION of God and the
appearance of the LAWLESS MAN. He is the
product of all that leads to death, and he sets himself up in opposition to
every religion [but his own!]."
Phillips goes on to describe how
insidiously this craftily deception occurs within the Church -- this
diabolical, Satanic CHANGE and PERVERSION of truth into error! "You will probably also remember how I
used to talk about a 'restraining power' which would operate until the time should
come for the emergence of this man. EVIL
IS ALREADY INSIDIOUSLY AT WORK, but its activities are restricted, UNTIL what I
have called the 'restraining power' is removed.
When that happens the lawless man will be PLAINLY SEEN [by those who
have eyes to see, and haven't been totally blinded!] -- though the truth of the
Lord Jesus spells his DOOM, and the radiance of the coming of the Lord
Jesus will be his utter destruction. The
lawless man is produced by the spirit of evil [Satan the devil actually
engineered his taking over the Church leadership in the last days!] and armed
with all the force, wonders and signs that falsehood can devise. To those involved in this dying world he will
come with evil's undiluted power to deceive, for they have refused to LOVE THE
TRUTH which could have saved them. God
sends upon them, therefore, the full force of evil's delusion, so that
they put their faith in an UTTER FRAUD and meet the inevitable judgment of all
who have refused to believe the truth and who have made evil their
playfellow" (II Thess.2:5-12).
Type and anti-type -- the principle of
DUALITY -- plays a major part in Bible prophecy. Just as there will be a future "Man of
Sin," rise up in Europe, to lead the Beast power of Revelation
(Rev.13:1-4), so a "man of sin" is prophesied to RISE UP inside the
Church of God, in this end-time generation, to lead thousands astray, and
straight into the lake of fire, if they
don't repent! Those who follow him will go straight into
the GREAT TRIBULATION! Those who will
not repent, even with the suffering imposed on them from the Great Tribulation,
will find their spot in the lake of fire and brimstone -- Gehenna fire! They will accompany this "beast,"
this "MAN OF SIN," this "SON OF PERDITION," this end-time
Judas Iscariot, this horrible traitor, quisling, and Benedict Arnold, to his
final fate (Rev.19:20-21).
Terrible things are in store for the
Laodicean Church!
Jesus Christ says to them: "I
counsel you to buy from me GOLD refined in the FIRE" (Rev.3:18). This
refers to the fiery wrath of Satan poured out in the Great Tribulation! The small remnant of the Philadelphia Church
of God will be spared the horrors of the Great Tribulation. Christ says to them, "I will also keep
you FROM the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test
those who live on the earth" (Rev.3:10). Somehow, supernaturally, Christ
will protect them from or through the Great Tribulation (see Psalm 91 to see
how this promise is amplified). But the
Laodiceans have no such promise.
Notice how this will come about. We read, "When the dragon [Satan] saw
that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman [God's Church] . . .
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to
the place prepared for her in the desert [a place where she will be protected
by God from the Tribulation], where she would be taken care of for a time,
times, and half a time [three and one half years -- see verse 6], out of the
serpents reach. Then from his mouth the
serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away
with the torrent But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and
swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth [even as the
armies of Pharaoh were swallowed up in the Red Sea when they pursued after the
children of Israel].
"Then the dragon was ENRAGED AT THE
WOMAN and went off to make WAR against the REST OF HER OFFSPRING -- those who
obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus"
(Rev.12:13-17).
Indeed, the Laodiceans will suffer the
full wrath of Satan against them. They
will be persecuted, hunted down, harassed, destroyed, martyred, and even
tortured, before being put to death, for Jesus' sake! Many of them will die in the Great
Tribulation. John records in chapter 6
of the book of Revelation, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God
and the testimony they had maintained.
They called out in a loud voice, 'How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and
true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?' Then
each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little
longer, UNTIL THE NUMBER OF THEIR FELLOW SERVANTS AND BROTHERS WHO WERE TO BE
KILLED AS THEY HAD BEEN was completed" (Rev. 6:9-1 1).
The Laodiceans will go into great
tribulation. Many of them will be
martyred. They will at this time repent
of their sins, and foolishness, and lethargy, and nakedness, and will prove
their faith and dependence on Christ by literally being whipped, beaten,
scourged, imprisoned, and tortured on the rack, and suffer other fiendish
tortures, and by giving their lives for Him.
This will be their "final test" Many will die for Christ Some
will recant their faith, and give up the truth -and still die. Some may survive, in some dungeon or prison
somewhere, but their lives spared due to God's mercy and intervention, as He
sees fit.
But for those who do repent, and come to
a deeper conversion, and dedication to Christ, He says to them: "To him
who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I
overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" (Rev.3:21). This verse
clearly follows the discussion of the Laodicean Church -- and it applies to
THEM, to those who come to repentance, during the Great Tribulation -- those
whose gold is REFINED IN THE FIRE! In no
way does this verse go back to apply to the Philadelphia Church (Rev.3:7-13).
This is very clearly the promise which Christ gives to the repentant Laodiceans
who "OVERCOME" by their suffering during the Great Tribulation! What could be plainer than that?
Many who remain in the Worldwide
Church of God, out of a blasé sense of loyalty, thinking that they should
remain and that God will take care of the problems, fall into this
category. Many also who are members of
the Church of God, International, Global Church of God, and United Church of
God, and other groups, also fall into this category. They are presently asleep, slumbering,
catching 40 winks, oblivious to the rapid-paced fulfillment of vital Bible
prophecies all around them.
The Tribulation is even now in its
first stages. We have entered the final
SEVEN YEARS of this world's existence, before Christ's return. It began slowly, quietly, inadvertently. Millions did not even know at first that we
have slipped into the "lean years," the years of plague, drought, and
incredible suffering. It will seem
gradual. But the waters will heat up,
and there will be no relief, no respite, no intervention. The rains will stop; and they will not
return. Business will dry up. Economies will collapse -- not all at once,
but increasingly, intensifyingly.
All of us will go through the first 3
1/2 years of this Tribulation, even as ancient Israel suffered the first of the
plagues that God sent on Egypt But after the first 3 1/2 years, God will make a
plain and clear distinction between the Philadelphia Spirited brethren, and the
Laodicean Church. He will draw the line. He will make a division between them. The Philadelphia brethren will be spared!
God says of them: "Then those
who FEARED the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and
heard. A scroll of remembrance was
written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his
name [the Philadelphia brethren -- their names will be written down in this
scroll, listing those who will be spared the Great Tribulation]. 'They will be mine,' says the LORD Almighty,
'in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will SPARE THEM, just as in compassion a
man spares his son who SERVES him [does his part in God's great Work!]. And you will again see the DISTINCTION
between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who
do not" (Malachi 3:16-18).
This division is also prophesied by
Ezekiel. Notice! God said, "Now, son of man, take a sharp
sword and use it as a barber's razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the
hair. When the days of your siege come
to an end, bum a THIRD of the hair with FIRE inside the city. Take a THIRD and strike it with the sword all
around the city. And SCATTER a THIRD to
the wind. For I will pursue them with
drawn sword. But take a FEW STRANDS OF
HAIR and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. Again, TAKE A FEW OF
THESE and throw them into the FIRE and bum them up. A fire will spread from there to the whole
house of Israel" (Ezek.5:1-4).
What is the meaning of this
prophecy? Ezekiel is told, "A third
of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third
will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the
winds and pursue with drawn sword" (verse 12).
But notice! A "few strands of hair" are saved,
and protected, in the folds of Ezekiel's garment. This represents the Church of God! But even some of them are to be taken out and
thrown into the fire -- the Great Tribulation!
Thus the Philadelphians will be spared, and safely tucked away, but the
Laodiceans will be thrown into the fiery Tribulation, as their final
opportunity to repent, and turn to Christ and be saved spiritually!
Who, Then, Are the 144,000?
Now notice what Almighty God says
about the mysterious 144,000. They are
not even mentioned until we come to Revelation, chapter 7. Revelation 6 describes
the world-shaking events of the Tribulation period, beginning the final seven
years of this end-time age -- Daniel's Seventieth Week. These final years begin with the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Rev.6:1-8). The White Horse symbolized the end-time
work of God, the work of "Elijah," going forth in great power as a
witness to the world (v.2). The Red Horse symbolizes war. (verses 3-4). The black horse symbolizes famine (verses
5-6). The Pale Horse represents plague
and pestilence and natural disasters (verses 7-8). These plagues begin in fall of 1990 and grow
in intensity through 1994.
After this beginning, the Great
Tribulation erupts in incandescent fury and incredible intensity (Rev.6:9-11),
lasting 2 1/2 years -- a short but violent period of unparalleled suffering and
woe, never before seen on planet earth, even during the world years of the
Black Death, of Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, or Hitler's ovens. The coming "Beast" will make them
all seem like pikers by comparison. He
will be Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Hitler, Nero Caesar, and Antiochus
Epiphanes, all rolled into one! Millions
will die; millions will be taken into captivity, as slave labor. Millions will suffer incredible persecution,
suffering, and anguish, from which they will finally cry out to God for
deliverance and salvation -- even as the ancient Israelites did who served
Pharaoh as slaves in Egypt and built his cities, and pyramids.
God will see their suffering, and
hear their prayers. He will begin to
intervene in world affairs! "I
watched as he opened the sixth seal.
There was a great earthquake. The
sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood
red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree
when shaken by a strong wind. The sky
receded like a scroll rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed
from its place.
"Then the kings of the earth,
the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free
man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks,
'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from
the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day
of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Rev.6:12-17).
These heavenly signs occur AFTER the
Great Tribulation, and BEFORE the "day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31;
Matt.24:29). Now notice what happens
NEXT!
The 144, 000 Revealed
John describes the scene after the
heavenly signs, following the Great Tribulation:
"After this I saw four angels
standing at the four comers 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.
"From the tribe of Judah 12,000
were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad, 12,000,
from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the
tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of
Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun
12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin
12,000" (Rev.7:1-8).
Who are these people? Notice, first of all, they come from ONLY the
tribes of Israel! None of them are
Gentiles! This fact alone shows us that
these people are NOT ANY PARTICULAR CHURCH, OR BRANCH OF GOD'S END-TIME CHURCH!
Among the Worldwide Church of God are
numerous Gentiles -- peoples who are Oriental, Black, Brown, as well as
Germans, Italians, Poles, and so forth.
If all the Church members were looked at according to their ethnicity,
perhaps only HALF of them might be considered descended from
"Israel," as the Church understands their identity. Therefore, this group of men and women cannot
be the Worldwide Church of God!
Also, this group cannot be the
Philadelphia Church of God, per se, nor can it be the Laodicean Church, per
se. All these churches contain members
who are from various and sundry nationalities and races! None of them are exclusively Israelite! Therefore, no Church group can constitute the
144,000, as it stands!
Notice also! Gerald Flurry says these are the Laodiceans,
or Worldwiders, and that they DIE in the Great Tribulation. That, also, is not the truth. As we go through the story flow of the book
of Revelation, we find the Tribulation occurring in chapter 6, then the
heavenly signs (Rev.6:12-17), and THEN the "Day of the Lord" is held
back UNTIL the 144,000 are "sealed." This proves that they are sealed
AFTER the Great Tribulation and heavenly signs!
Therefore, they must be ALIVE after that time, and could not have
died during the Great Tribulation!
What does it mean to be
"sealed"? This seal is put on
their foreheads -- the part of the mind where we think, determine, choose, make
decisions (Rev.7:3). A "seal" is a mark which sets one apart from
others. This seal is not the Holy Spirit
in this case, because these men and women are already called "THE SERVANTS
OF OUR GOD" (Rev.7:3). This means they are converted BEFORE they receive
this particular seal. They are already
God's servants. Very likely these are
people who turn to God, and repent, DURING the Great Tribulation. And, having passed THROUGH the Great
Tribulation, and still being alive, by God's mercy, at this time they are
"sealed" before the "Day of the Lord" begins, when God will
vent His own wrath and fury upon the earth, upon the disobedient and
wicked! Therefore, they will be
protected from the wrath of God which will be poured out during the final
"day" or "year" of His wrath (a "day" often
equals a year in being fulfilled (Num.14:34; Ezek.4:6).
These 144,000 are from the 12 tribes
of physical Israel! They are NOT THE
JEWS! Only ONE TRIBE among them is of
the tribe of JUDAH! And ONE tribe is the
tribe of LEVI! The other ten tribes are
from the remnants of the so-called LOST TEN TRIBES of Israel -- those peoples
who migrated into northwestern Europe, the British Isles, Ireland, and North
America! If you have not read them, I
urge you to read the books LOST ISRAELITE IDENTITY and EPHRAIM, by
the Jewish scholar Yair Davidy, and the book THE LOST TEN TRIBES . . .
FOUND!, by Steven Collins.
It appears that these people, 12,000
from each of the tribes of Israel, will be physical human beings, who will then
be the CONVERTED LEADERS of the nations IN THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD! They will constitute the foundational,
physical GOVERNMENT LEADERS in the World Tomorrow! They are not the same as the Church of God
members, who either go through the tribulation, or who are protected from
it. Rather, they constitute those people
who turn to God in full repentance DURING the tribulation, so they will be
protected during the Day of the Lord, and then become the leaders of the world
in the coming Kingdom of God -- that is, the physical leaders!
What, then, is this particular
"seal" that they are sealed with?
It is simply an identifying sign, or sign
of protection! We find the same kind of
mentioned in Ezekiel. Notice!
"Then I heard him call out in a loud
voice, 'Brings the guards [angels] of the city here, each with a weapon in his
hand.' And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which
faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had
a WRITING KIT at his side. They came in
and stood beside the bronze altar.
"Now the glory of the God of Israel
went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold
of the temple. The the Lord called to
the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him,
'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and PUT A MARK on the FOREHEADS of those
who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.'
"As I listened, he said to the
others, 'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or
compassion. Slaughter old men, young men
and maidens, women and children, but DO NOT TOUCH ANYONE WHO HAS THE MARK"
(Ezekiel 9:1-6).
These 144,000, therefore, all from
different tribes of Israel, will be physical Israelites who turn to the
Messiah, during the Great Tribulation.
They have repented of their sins during the Great Tribulation. But they
are not members of the true Church of God which have the Spirit of God as a
begettal, prior to the Great Tribulation.
Therefore, they are not present-day members of all the branches of the
Church of God extant during the End Time.
Their number their number does not include Philadelphians,
repentant Laodiceans, surviving members
of the Sardis Church (Church of God Seventh Day -- Rev.3:1-6), survivors among
the Thyatira Church (Seventh Day Adventist Church -- Rev.2:18-29), survivors
among the Pergamum Church (Rev.2:12-17 -- Seventh Day Baptists), as well as
survivors among the Jewish Messianic groups (Rev.2:1-7) -- and others. All these Churches, to one extent or another,
keep the Commandments of God, including the Sabbath day, and are converted PRIOR
to the Great Tribulation!
These new converts, these 144,000
servants of God, who turn to Him during the Great Tribulation, will be SEALED
and MARKED, and therefore PROTECTED from the plagues of God which will be
poured out immediately afterward, during the wrath of God which will fall on rebellious
mankind in the "Day of the Lord," that great and terrible day
mentioned in so many of the Old Testament prophets!
Only the "survivors" of the
Great Tribulation need to be "sealed" for protection during the
"Day of the Lord." Dead people
don't need to be "sealed."
Therefore, Flurry's idea that the 144,000 constitute "dead
Laodiceans," who are sealed by "death," is pure nonsense-- the
dead need no further "sealing." You can only kill a person once. No matter what happens to their bodies afterwards,
whether burned, butchered, or cremated, they are already dead. No matter how many times you shoot a corpse,
it cannot die again. Therefore, there is
no need for God to "seal" those who have already died.
The 144,
000 and the Lamb of God
Another group of 144,000 is also
mentioned in Revelation 14. Here John
says:
"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 [a type of false Churches, but also literal, who did not commit
sexual sins, adultery, fornication and the like after they repented], for they
kept themselves pure. They follow the
Lamb wherever he goes. They were
purchased from among men and offered as FIRSTFRUITS to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are
blameless" (Rev.14:1-5).
Notice that these 144,000 will be
with Christ at His coming. They will
stand with Him on Mount Zion, at the southeastern tip of Jerusalem. They are called "firstfruits." Those
of us who receive God's Spirit during this present age are the "firstfruits"
of God. As the apostle James wrote,
'He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind
of FIRST'FRUITS of all he created" (James 1:18). Also, the apostle Paul wrote of true
Christians, "but ourselves also, which have the FIRSTFRUITS of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves" (Rom.8:23).
Those of us in God's spiritual
Church, from the apostles till now, including the patriarchs and prophets of
the Old Testament, are God's "firstfruits." All who have a part in
the first resurrection when Christ returns, are "firstfruits." We are
compared in the Scriptures to the first or spring harvest, which culminated
with "Pentecost." However, the vast majority of mankind will not be
saved until AFTER the Messiah returns.
They are compared to the "fall harvest" which is always
greater in numbers than the smaller spring harvest. This group is not made up of physical
Israelites alone, as is the group in Revelation 7. This group is composed of ALL races of men,
who have believed and obeyed the gospel of the truth of God, from the time of
Adam till the present time! As Paul
wrote, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all ONE in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and HEIRS according to the promise" (Gal.2:28-29).
It is fascinating to observe that
this group who constitute the "firstfruits" -- that is, those who
will be in the first resurrection -- from the time of Adam to now -- number
precisely 144,000 men and women! That
is, from Adam till now there have been 150 generations of mankind (40 years to
a generation divided into 6,000 years = 150 generations). Thus when all is said and done, God has been
saving roughly 1,000 individuals out of each generation since Adam -- that is
all -- who will be in the first resurrection!
In some generations there have been far fewer than that! In the first century, after the Church began,
thousands were saved -- and tens of thousands were converted, the apostle James
tells us (Acts 21;20). But before the
end of that century, most of them had apostatized, and fallen away -- had
become deceived by the false ministers of Satan the devil (II Cor.11:1-4,
13-15; Acts 21:28-31; Gal.1:6-9; II Thess.2:7; II Tim.4:3-4, 10-11; II
Tim.1:15; II Pet.2:1-4; I John 4:3; II John 7; Jude 4).
How truly blessed it is to be one of
the "firstfruits" to God, during this time -- one of the truly
called, and "chosen" few! The
vast, overwhelming majority of so-called "Christians" have been
deceived and seduced and misled by the minions and ministers of Satan the
devil, who disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness!
We ought to truly pray that we might
be counted worthy to be among this special group who are the
"firstfruits" to the Lamb, those who will reign with Him, from Mount
Zion!
Notice what reward the
"firstfruits" will receive from Christ!"
John writes, in the book of Revelation: "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second