The Tribulation Described in the Book of Revelation Part 3

The 144,000 in the Book of Revelation

This is a continuation of a series. Click Here for previous posts.

Introduction

The Book of Revelation is a vision about things that would soon come to pass, 2,000 years after it was written, during the “Day of the Lord” of the last days. For those with the eyes to see it, the trumpets of the Book of Revelation represent the Great Tribulation, described by Jesus in Matthew 24. Each trumpet symbolizes a progressive shift in end times events and are like a map that we can now use as a guide to help us navigate through the chaos that we are now facing.

So much has been said about the end times, and so many charts have been given to illustrate it, that I had to make charts of my own, just to keep track of what the Book of Revelation says about it.

As I mentioned in Part 2, there are 15 significant intervening pauses in the narrative, scattered throughout the book, that have come to be known as “Interludes”. I included a chart of them in part 2, but here it is again:

Because there is a sequential order to these interludes, they are a key to understanding this map. And it is important to realize that Jesus gave this map to John to guide us through the threat of World War III, the captivity of the world economic system (Whore of Babylon), and the political deception that we are now facing.

The interludes are not literal. Understanding them seems to be determined by where they appear in the book. If you want to know what they represent, look at what is taking place at the time that they occur in the book.

We will look at an example to illustrate this, but before we do, it is important to look at several other charts to better understand the context under which all 15 interludes occur.

Welcome

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I have written a book about the end times, under the pen name of Zachariah Topstone, entitled Christ Harbor. If you get the book (here), you will understand why I used that pen name. I am not happy with the price of the book because my publisher has greatly increased what I have to pay for both the print and digital versions, which in turn affects the price at which I sell them. Because of this, I am working on a second edition (not available yet), that I hope will improve the message of Christ Harbor, and I plan to offer it for free as a PDF to all paid subscribers who request it by email. This will apply to all new and existing monthly subscribers plus a 10 percent discount for new annual subscriptions.

Please note

I usually quote the King James Version of the Bible but I often change the verses to one degree or another. Some examples are, taking out the thees and thous or changing, for instance, the phrase them which to those who. In some instances, I also paraphrase the KJV wording to make it more understandable.

I have done it so often that I decided to warn my readers by identifying that it is my own paraphrase by including CHV(Christ Harbor Version) instead of KJV (King James Version) after the Bible reference. That way, if you want to, you can check to see what I have changed.

As always, my goal in all my articles is not just to tell you what I think, but to give you enough information so that you can make up your own mind.

The Church Age

As I mapped out the interludes, I also discovered that there is not just one, but three parts to the Church Age. Notice that all three began at the resurrection of Christ and conclude with the beginning of the next age called the Millennium.

The first part is the Transformation Era that covers the last 2,000 years, in which we have been transformed by the renewing of our minds. Although there is no indication as to when it happens, this era transitions to the next two eras called the Day of the Lord. The first covers the Great Tribulation of the seven trumpets and the second covers the seven plagues, where God pours out the vials of his wrath on satan’s kingdom.

World Events

I also noticed that the interludes appear under four world events.

The first event, World Tribulation, is announced in the 7th seal. Even though there is no indication as to when it begins, the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, pictures the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

The second event, World Conflict, happens under the sixth trumpet and is called the 2nd Woe. Again, there is no indication as to when this begins, but loosing the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates, pictures the eventual conflicts on earth that will erupt following the first event of world tribulation. Mention of the great river Euphrates suggests that it will begin in the Middle-East.

The third event, Battle of the Harvest, happens under the seventh trumpet and is called the 3rd Woe. This battle follows the beginning of world conflict, that begins in the Middle-East, but ends with the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.

The final event, The Battle of Armageddon, is the final battle of the age. It follows the Battle of the Harvest and ends with the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

I included the word Remaining in this chart because, after Jesus told His disciples about the destruction of the temple, He said that these events would conclude this age:

Matthew 24:3 (CHV) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be?  And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world (aeon - age)?

There are some who believe that the destruction of the Temple was a fulfillment of Mt. 24. But all the things that Jesus described in that chapter did not happen in 70 A.D., so He was describing what would happen to the generation of the last days that is alive at the time these events occur.

To emphasize this, He referred to the final generation:

Matthew 24:34 (CHV) Truly I say to you, This generation will not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The Seventh Trumpet

No interludes appear in the first five trumpets, only two appear in the sixth trumpet, but seven of them appear in the seventh trumpet. Thus, this trumpet is unique to these articles I am writing. It is under this trumpet that the eighth interlude, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, appears over His Church, during the time of World Government control and deception. Since it happens toward the end of the tribulation, it is a separate event from the Second Coming of Christ. That means that it going to happen during the events of our generation.

One of my favorite worship songs is “All Hail King Jesus” by Jeremy Riddle. There is a phrase in there that says, “For the Earth began to shake and the veil was torn. What sacrifice was made, as the Heavens roared” Of course, these words are not scripture, but they do express something that is true about revelation and, in particular, about this eighth interlude.

It says that when Christ died on the Cross, “the heavens roared”. But did anyone know it at the time? What He did in that moment was the single biggest revelation the world has ever known, but no one knew it. Even those who were responsible for crucifiying Him, were not aware of what they were doing, for the Scripture tells us that, had they known, they would have never done it (1 Cor 2:8).

What was true then, is also true about the revelation of the eighth interlude. His appearing over His Church at the time of World government control and deception comes with, “a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder” Re 14:2). “Great thunder” means revelation that cannot be ignored. But such thunder can only be heard by those who have the ears to hear it.

A great revelation of Christ will happen on earth and, even though most do not perceive it, it will consummate in a harvest of souls that will prepare the way for His Second Coming.

Example of an interlude

All of chapter seven is a pause in the narrative of the first six seals. It is pausing to talk about the 144,000. It begins by describing “four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth.” Chapter eight then continues with the opening of the seventh seal and about half an hour of silence. It explains why the tribulation begins. A censor, filled with the “prayers of the saints”, is thrown to earth (see Four World Events chart).

144,000 servants of God

In order to interpret the interludes, we must understand that they are not literal. So, I am starting with this interlude to show why I do not think that it is referring to the nation of Israel.

Revelation 7:1-3 (CHV) 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.

Notice that the order to seal the servants of God comes before world tribulation begins on earth.

Described as the twelve tribes

Rev 7:4-8 (CHV) And I heard the number of those who were sealed: and there were sealed a 144,000 of all the tribes of the sons of Israel. 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Gad, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Issachar, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 were sealed from the tribe of Benjamin.

Notice that the “servants of God” in verse 3, are referred to here as “all the tribes of the sons of Israel”

On the surface, this sounds like it is referring to the nation of Israel but, as we will see, the list of the twelve tribes cannot be taken literally.

Why it is figurative

If the tribes of Revelation 7 are literal, not a person from either Ephraim or Dan will be sealed, for they are excluded from the list. That includes Biblical hall-of-famers, like Joshua who was from Ephraim and Samson who was from Dan.  The fact is, the mention of the “tribe of Joseph” in verse 8, which was not a tribe at all in a literal sense, is evidence of the symbolism of this context.

If we insist that this same 144,000, also mentioned in Revelation 14, is literal, if consistent, we should argue also that the Lamb was actually standing on Mount Zion with a group of men who had never been intimate with women, hence, they were literal virgins!

This would mean that only men will be sealed because, women of faith like that of Hannah, Esther, Mary, and Dorcas, are not included.  Only unmarried men who are virgins will be sealed.  Married men whose faith is like that of Abraham, Moses, and Peter would not be sealed.

Who these servants of God are

They are identified in the remainder of the interlude:

Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV) After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Then one of the elders in the vision described them more specifically:

Rev 7:14b (CHV) They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The 144,000 are not a symbol for the land of Israel today. They are not from one nation, but many, and from all tribes and peoples and languages, who are righteous by the blood of the Lamb.

Conclusion

Though we are faced with imminent disasters globally, the 8th interlude appears in the middle of this chaos, to reveal that Jesus will appear over His Church. This interlude points to a Noah’s Ark of the Last Days; a place of safety from the coming storm.

With the elections just days away, looming economic collapse and World War III that is threatening our incomes, energy, and food supply across the entire planet, understanding the interludes will bring hope. It can make the difference between feeling lost or finding your way home.

I will save interludes 2 & 3 for later and cover the 4th interlude next in this series. You may be surprised that the Woman Travailing In Birth (Re 12:1-6) is not referring to the Virgin Mary.