Much mystery surrounds the 144,000 sealed servants of God in Revelation Chapters 7 and 14. There is also much wrong teaching about them; even certain groups alive today claim to be part of that number! I wish to examine this collection of tribulation saints from a different perspective based on a cryptic statement made by John the Baptist near the Jordan River. Could the 144,000 emerge from the stones that Joshua placed at Gilgal?
And after these things I saw four angels standing on 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 angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve
thousand. - Revelation 7:1-8
The Bible states that God seals 144,000 men for a particular purpose and ministry. This ministry does not begin until the time of Jacob’s Trouble. As we shall see, these saints have a specific message directed to Israel when God again turns
His face toward them. We know the 144,000 are adult men, and in particular, they are virgins, based on Revelation 14:
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. - Revelation 14:1-8
Let's trace the unique anointing of these individuals. In Revelation 14, they are no longer on earth but in heaven with Christ. They were redeemed from among men, and they were not defiled by women, being virgins. They are not at all like ordinary men! Their ministry of preaching to Israel began after the rapture of the Church and after they were sealed. They only preached three and a half years before they appeared to stand on Mount Zion in heaven with the Lamb. The timeline of events is intriguing; how did they come to acquire their doctrine, their training, and their anointing? Were they alive during the dispensation of grace but unaware of the gospel of grace? If they had been living believers in Christ during this time, would they not have been caught up with the Church and delivered from
the wrath to come? The answers to these questions will help us better understand the unique role of these servants.
Let’s start by turning to the ministry of John the Baptist. This prophet of God began preaching in the wilderness to Israel only.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. - Matthew 3:1-3
Notice John preaches, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ”His message has a time element, meaning the kingdom was near, close by, or imminent. It is the same message preached by Jesus and the 12 Disciples:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. - Matthew 4:17
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.- Matthew 10:5-7
John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and His disciples preached a national salvation message to Israel. Jesus and His message were rejected by Israel, and He was crucified. After Jesus rose from the dead, the message changed to the gospel of the grace of God. It was no longer directed at Israel but to all men. However, the kingdom message will be preached again:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. - Matthew 24:14
Many Christians do not realize that we are not preaching the same gospel that Christ preached to Israel; we preach a mystery hidden in God before it was revealed to the Apostle Paul. Christ Himself gave this revelation to Paul. This revelation ushered in the age of grace, and for 2,000 years, this grace has been preached to all men. Soon the age will come to a close with the rapture of the Church, and the gospel of grace will go out with it. Currently, the message of salvation is not the gospel of the kingdom. However, somebody will preach the kingdom message again. When will this be?
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. - Hosea 5:15
God awaits the national confession of Israel. Only then will He turn His face back to them as a nation. They must confess and acknowledge their offense of rejecting Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah. Israel will be oppressed and afflicted before this happens, and it will begin the time of Jacob’s Trouble:
And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. - Jeremiah 30:4-7
During the time of Jacob’s Trouble Israel will be tried, afflicted, and ultimately restored as a nation with those who come to believe in Christ. Jesus will return to those who turn from transgression in Jacob (Isaiah 59:20) What will bring about this change? How will a Christ-rejecting Israel come to know that Jesus is the Messiah? Enter the 144,000!
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. - Isaiah 66:7-9
There are two “births” mentioned in this passage in Isaiah. The first is a man child born before she (Israel) travailed. The second birth involves children born as soon as Zion travailed. Travail is a reference to Israel in tribulation. Over and over again, this reference likens the time of Jacob’s Trouble to a woman in labor to give birth. The Man Child is Jesus Christ, who was born of the tribe of Judah by Mary. He arrived before the tribulation or travail. Two thousand years later, Israel will travail and give birth immediately to a nation, i.e., the children. This will not be a long labor but an immediate birth upon labor pains. How is an entire nation born in a day? Twelve tribes make up the nation Israel. These “children" aren’t born over several decades through political action and repatriation; they are born in a day.
Let’s go back to John the Baptist:
Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say
within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. - Matthew 3:5-9
What an unusual statement John made to the serpent Pharisees: “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” What could that possibly mean? Was he being sarcastic or using hyperbole? God does not make throwaway statements. Every word of God has a purpose and a meaning. Notice John baptized in the wilderness at the Jordan River. Specifically, John baptized at
Bethabara:
These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. - John 1:28
The location of Bethabara beyond Jordan is at Gilgal, where Joshua placed an extraordinary monument of stones nearly 1500 years earlier. This monument contains the stones John referred to as “these stones.” Consider the story from the
book of Joshua:
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst
of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man: And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. - Joshua 4:1-7
Notice that one man from each of the twelve tribes was prepared to take a stone from the Jordan River and place it as a memorial forever. This happened while the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood in the river, which parted like the Red Sea to allow the children of Israel to pass over into Canaan. That is a very unique and specific command to Joshua from God. There must have been a reason for it, but was it only to erect a stone memorial?
And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. - Joshua 4:19-24
The place where the stones were placed, Gilgal, was the exact location, later called Bethabara, where John baptized in the wilderness of Jordan. These are the stones that John referred to when he said that God was able to raise up children to Abraham. It is uncertain where the stones are today, but God said it would be a memorial forever. The monument was to all the earth so they would know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and that the children of Israel might fear Him. How can this be so if we don’t know where the stones are? What if the memorial would last forever as a sign in the bodies of the 144,000 sealed servants of God raised from these stones?
Before we dismiss this idea as absurd, consider a few points:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. - Genesis 2:7
If God can create a living human being from dust, He can certainly do so with a stone. But can a stone preach the gospel? Perhaps the gospel of Luke gives us an answer. As Jesus descends Mt. Olivet to Jerusalem, He rode a colt as the crowd gathered.
And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. - Luke 19:37-40
What a fascinating verse! If the disciples had not shouted praises unto God as Jesus arrived, He said the very stones would immediately cry out. When was the last time you heard a stone cry out? Ignoring the music of the Rolling Stones, the answer is never. Jesus was not speaking metaphorically. There is every reason to believe He meant precisely what He said.
In several ways stones are connected to Israel, but especially when it pertains to the priesthood. Examine this passage that describes the ephod that was worn by the Levitical high priest:
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. - Exodus 28:6-12
Once again we see stones being used as a memorial, only this time on the garment worn by the priest. Even the breastplate of the ephod was to have twelve stones for each of the twelve tribes of Israel:
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their in closings. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. - Exodus 28:17-21
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. - Revelation 14:1-7
At some point, the 144,000 preachers appear in heaven with the Lamb. They are the first fruits unto God and the Lamb. It is the middle of the week, or three and a half years into the time of Jacob’s Trouble. They will have finished their course and now stand with the Lord, having been redeemed from the earth. Their mission was
accomplished, and they proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom to Israel in order that the remnant of her seed could believe and be saved. They were likely killed by the antichrist for their testimony, and now those in Israel who repented at their message have fled into the wilderness to hide from the beast as well. (Revelation 12)
Now that they are gone, the gospel being preached on earth is called the everlasting gospel. It is preached by an angel who flies in heaven, and it is to all men, not just to Israel. This is mankind’s last chance to repent before God's wrath falls and the Lord returns!
Finally, consider Elijah and the prophets of Baal. In a contest to prove whether the false gods or God was supreme, the prophets of Baal offered a sacrifice and prayed all day long to the devils that they would burn and accept the sacrifice. Not a word was heard or a spark was lit. Then Elijah built an alter and drenched both it and the sacrifice upon it with water.
And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. - 1 Kings 18:31-39
Once again, we see stones identified with Israel, this time in a miraculous display of God’s power and might. Elijah is one of the two witnesses who appear during the time of Jacob’s Trouble in Revelation 11. At that time, he will also call for fire to come down from heaven to display God’s power.
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. - Revelation 11:3-5
The two witnesses will signify to Israel that the Lord is acknowledging them again. Their time on earth will also be three and a half years, just as the ministry of the 144,000. If the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah, as II would argue is true, then they appear suddenly in Jerusalem. It would be no problem for the Lord to cause the stones of Gilgal to give birth to a nation of sealed servants in an instant, and they will run their course while signs and wonders are shown to Israel by the two olive trees. God’s ways are not ours; His ways are past finding out!
How the Lord brings the 144,000 saints into this world may remain a mystery, but perhaps the stones at Gilgal give us at least a clue. Regardless of how God chooses to present them, the time of their appearance seems to be fast approaching. Global events are unfolding in such a way that I believe we are in the last days. There is not much time left; believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from the wrath to come.
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