144,000
By Richard P. Joseph
I have been listening to Pastor David Curtis going through the book of Romans and enjoy his cunning insight. Paul uses several chapters to describe what true Israel really is. It appears that true Israel are all those who are in Christ regardless of whether they are Jew or Gentile. Paul makes it clear that not all Israel is Israel. The true Jewish Israelites are those that have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is only a remnant, not the entire Jewish nation.
The nation of Israel as a whole rejected the messiah. In Matthew 23 Jesus pairs the current Jewish leadership with all the past leaders who murdered the messengers of God.
Mat 31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
Jesus told them plainly that their house would be left to them desolate. As AD70 approached, every word of Christ came true. The Jews continued murdering the apostles and followers of Chrst and then they brought on their own demise by taking on the Roman army. But what about the faithful Jews.
John tells us in the book of Revelation that the remnant was indeed saved.
Rev 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, [a]a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, [b]having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
I believe that this 144,000 is the assurance of what Paul was telling us about “all Israel shall be saved”. This number is obviously 12,000 X 12. Twelve is the number of Jewish tribes and to multiply it gives it a fulfilled number of sorts. This is reminiscent of when Jesus told the apostles to forgive 70 X 7 times. It is not a real number but a meaningful number. In other words there is no limit to forgiveness. I believe John here is telling us that the faithful remnant of Israel is saved (in a continuing effect). They are singing a new song that the unfaithful cannot learn. They have received the promise that God gave to Israel that the others will not receive. They are the first fruits of Israel in the new kingdom. There is no real pure national ethnic Israel today. The church is the real Israel.
