Who Are the 144,000?

# 295 - Today's Living Word comes from Mr 3:13,14, And he went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted, And they came to Him. Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

Have you ever wondered, “Why twelve?” Where have we heard that number before in Scripture? The first thing that comes to mind are the twelve tribes of Israel. Simply put these tribes represent the Old Testament church The twelve Apostles then, would represent the New Testament Church.

In Revelation 14:3 we read of the 144,000 who are redeemed from the earth. Much has been written and speculated about concerning the identity of these 144,000. But if you multiply the 12 tribes by the 12 apostles you get 144, and if you multiply 144 times one thousand (which is a symbolic number for the greatest completeness) you get 144,000. This number then symbolizes every last redeemed soul that will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus. This number is the sum total of all believers of all time.

The song says, “Lord, I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.” Are you in that number? Have you bowed your knee to Jesus and in faith received Him as your Lord and Savior?

(See the September Archive and the blog entitled (“What Does It Mean To Believe?”)

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.