WHO ARE THE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND?

Just when I think I will not write any more on the book of Revelation, I am captivated by another of the Apostle John’s Revelation snapshots. John wrote down what he saw in the Spirit and it became for us a type of picture album called the Book of Revelation.

In chapter 14 John is given a glimpse of the Lamb (the Lord Jesus) and with Him the hundred forty-four thousand. Who were the hundred forty-four thousand? Well, there is a lot of conjecture about this among the prophecy teachers. I think it’s safe to assume that whoever this group is, they represent all those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ and will be with Him in eternity.

What captured my attention so strongly is what is contained in two of the verses describing the hundred forty-four thousand:

“It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless” (Revelation 14:4-5, ESV). Three things jump out at me from this passage:

1.     “It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.”

     

At this moment in the life of the Church one of the fundamentals of the faith has been largely forgotten. We are constantly being told through advertising, books, etc. that “God wants you to be a leader.” Leadership is continually being overstressed and the Church has lost sight of a very simple fact: “You cannot be a leader until you first have learned to be a follower and a disciple.”

When Jesus began calling His disciples into His service, in almost every case the invitation was, “Follow Me.” Often there was no other enticement offered. Once, in almost an overstatement, Jesus said, “Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). The words “make you become” indicate a progressive, discipling process and that does not happen overnight.

I believe there is a reason why the Lord calls us to “follow Him” in such an abrupt manner. I know this was certainly true when the Lord first spoke to me about following His call. I knew it was the Lord speaking to me. His voice was clear, strong, loving and captivating but if He had said much more than “Follow Me” at that time, I would have been unable to process it. I knew I must follow and follow I did! I responded to the initial “Follow Me” direction, and focus came step by step as I pursued Him.

Fifty-two years later, I am still a follower and He is still my shepherd/leader. I will always be a follower—who cares about being a leader?

2.     “These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb.”

As I said above, there is a lot of speculation about the identity of the hundred forty-four thousand. I simply will not join in on the conversation on this. Are they all Jews? Perhaps! Are they a representative group of all those who have been redeemed from all time? Perhaps! 

What we do know is that this group is depicted in the words of Jesus as a type of firstfruits.

At the ancient Jewish harvest time, the first sheaf of the crop was offered to the Lord as the “firstfruits,” signifying the expectation of a much larger harvest. The firstfruits offering also communicated thankfulness and indicated that the entire harvest belonged to God.

This verse in Revelation tells us that whoever the hundred forty-four thousand are, as “firstfruits” they represent an immense body of followers of Jesus Christ that will make up the population of heaven. It is safe to say that all those we will join in heaven will number in the billions . . . and, indeed, I said billions!

I was talking with my wife about heaven’s population becoming so huge and she said, “Yes, there will be a lot of people there but it will never be crowded.” Well said, Babe, well said!

3.     “And in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.”

One of the fundamental issues being hotly debated even as I write this article is over the inerrancy of Scripture. Well-meaning, but misguided, highly popular Christian musicians suggest that Scripture has no relevant teaching on important issues of morality; that it needs to be reinterpreted in light of contemporary life and issues. Because they are well known, their statements quickly go viral and before others can restore sanity, great damage is done. Hundreds of thousands of young people and adults buy the unfortunate mistruth and for many of them their personal morality takes another step . . . downward and away from truth and away from victorious living.

Who is the father of lies, the progenitor of this deception? Who was it who brought the first issue of deception into the Garden of Eden? Satan is the father of lies and lying is his native language (see John 8:44 and Genesis 3:13). It is Satan’s goal to deceive and mislead God’s children, to get them to fill their mouth with lies.

I believe the hundred forty-four thousand will be battle-tested children of God. Tested by the enemy, they have found their triumph through Jesus Christ and have refused to “bite the apple of the enemy’s lie.” If they did slip and bite the apple, they spit out the mouthful, repented and continued to walk in the victory of the Lord. Because of the humility of the hundred forty-four thousand and because of their dependence upon Jesus Christ, they are declared “blameless.”

All I can tell you is to spit out the lies of the enemy, ask God to forgive and restore you in those areas that were broken down and then, with the confidence of heaven, walk on in victory. When you do so, God declares you “blameless.”