A Timely Sealing - Part 2

     Of course we know that God doesn’t make mistakes! So why did God deliberately break the rules of grammar in Rev. 7 to identify the number of people sealed as 144 thousands (plural)? He deliberately used symbolic language to make His point.
     In our English language, when we want to describe a specific number of people, we use a specific numeral with the singular form, such as there were two thousand (singular) people at the concert (2,000 people attended). But if we want to show that there were many, many people in attendance, too many to count, we say there were thousands (plural) of people at the concert. Notice that no specific numeral is used.
     But here God broke these rules for a reason. He wanted to highlight that there is an innumerable company of people and that they have a special identity. Their identity is numerically represented by a perfect square: 12 times 12 = 144.  The number 12 in Scripture speaks of God’s perfect governmental order. We see it in the 12 tribes of Israel and in the 12 foundational disciples. By linking this specific number with the plural form of thousands (as in the original text), God is describing an innumerable company that shall be part of the ruling government of heaven. That is, the Church, the Body of Christ, His Bride.
       But what about the naming of the tribes? Why do this, especially since it has led to a misinterpretation of this pivotal multitude in Heaven? Again, God is calling our attention to another pivotal principle in the New Testament that identifies this innumerable company. It is the true Israel of God, not chosen by natural inheritance but chosen because of faith.
      We have already seen that Jesus has been given the scroll of inheritance as the title deed over the earth. As such, it belongs to the firstborn son, the only begotten son, to rule over the earth as God’s appointed Heir. But He is not alone in this assignment. Because we are in Christ, as begotten sons (Eph. 1:5), we likewise rule with Him as joint-heirs.
     “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:16-18, emphasis added). His suffering included rejection and persecution, and being subject to death.
       Like our Lord, we shall overcome death when we are resurrected at the rapture, when He comes again to gather us to Him and take us back to Father’s House as He promised (John 14:1-3). He doesn’t come because we cannot bear what is to happen. No, He comes so that we can be seated with Him as the immortal government of Heaven, always with Him in the position of all authority both in heaven and on earth. As His Body, we are not appointed to experience this wrath. That is why His name and the name of God’s city is written on us (part of the promises to the overcomers).
       By the way, what would we expect to see, according to Jesus’ teaching on His second coming, after seeing the seals and the signs of this age? We would expect to see the rapture, which is the purpose of His coming again. And this is exactly what John is shown as part of the overview!
        END-TIME LESSON; This isn’t escapism; it’s ruling and reigning! Who is reigning? The true Israel of God by faith (Rom. 9:6). The true Israel of God are those who recognize His Anointed One, Jesus Christ the Messiah. For those who are in Christ, we are no longer Jew nor Gentile nor Greek. We are the redeemed of God.
         The ruling court is now fully in session, the Head and His Body as one new Man. It is the fullness of the New Covenant. God highlights this truth using the twelve tribes of Israel (from the old covenant), yet affirming that they are sealed by the Spirit through Christ’s redemption (through the new and better covenant).
          If this identity is hard for you to accept, don’t take our word for it, take God’s Word for it. “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev. 7:9-10, emphasis added). In short, what we are seeing in this chapter is the overview of the rapture!
          And if that is not enough, God makes sure we will get this right. It is time to raise up a deep valley in our end-time highway that has really caused a lot of casualties. God wisely has an angel ask John who is this multitude. Quick on his feet, John wisely turns the question back to the angel—"Sir, you know.”
          The angel affirms that “these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation [the signs of this age and the seals we just saw], and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them” (Rev. 7:14-15).
            You may recall that these last two facts are part of the promises Jesus gave to His Church in chapters 3 and 4. We are seeing the true Israel of God by faith (Gal. 3). By the way, as a sort of sneak peak, we never see 144,000 Jewish evangelists preaching in the rest of the Revelation. We never see them whenever Jesus is shown. That seals the deal on the identity of the innumerable company—pun intended!