What then do the two numbers (144,000 and "a great multitude that no one could count") stand for? No doubt, they are the 'saved', with the former referring to the "Jewish" believers the latter "Gentile" believers. And latter came out of the former, just as it is written: "[Y]ou do not support the root; the root supports you!" Romans 11:17
The 144k then refers to the governmental number applicable to the Jewish nation - government in the sense of organizational control. The number 12 is a governmental number. So is the case with the multiples of the same number like 24 (12 x2) or 72 (12 x 6) or 120 (12 x 10) or 144 (12 x 12). It was recorded in the Bible that the Jewish nation began with one person Abraham. Out of Jacob came out the 12 tribes. By the time his family went down to Egypt, the number grew to 72. After coming of Egypt, by the time Moses finished his journey, he said, "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel." Deuteronomy 32:8Then Jesus came and by the time he left for His Father's house, "about" 120 'disciples' were ready to go for the evangelical purposes. And thanks to these Jewish believers the gospel spread to the Gentile world, that a countless number of Gentile believers came to be added to the family. Indeed salvation is from the Jews. John 4:22 The 144k refer to the Israelites as a nation, whereas the great multitude of people with white robes refer to the saints from among the Gentile world. This chapter can be called the chapter of 'separation' - separation in the sense that he sets apart his children from those who are not. In the Bible we see this being God's practice all the time. The primary example comes from the way He dealt the Israelites from the Egyptians in the book of Exodus. The point of separation is the blood of the lamb. On the night the Lord granted the exodus to the Israelites, He first set apart the chosen people from those who are to be left out. Only after segregating them, the Lord brought about his wrath upon the unbelieving nation. Other examples include the distinction between weeds and wheat in Jesus' parable of weeds and wheat in Matthew 13:30. Speaking of the same practice, the Apostle Paul says "The Lord knows who are his." We should not regard the Lord's practice like this as something strange, for this is what human parents always do. For example, which mother does not regard her own son as someone special, and therefore treat her child accordingly? In the Book of Revelation, the 144k plus the countless multitude represent the members of the family of God. The Apostle Paul calls them collectively "one new man out of the two" (Ephesians 2:15). The Apostle John's vocabulary for them is "24 elders". (By the way one should not be thrown away by the expression 'came out of the great tribulation' in 7:14, for it simply refers to what Jesus said we will have trouble in this world. John 16:33)How does God tell his children from the rest? We know the answer: He places His Spirit in his child - the Spirit who guarantees for them what is to come. 2Co 1:22
No comments:
Post a Comment