1/1/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

Who Are The 144,000?

 

The first passage in which the 144,000 are mentioned, gives us the answer to who they are:

 

“And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Revelation 7:4 KJV

 

According to this verse, the 144,000 consist of sealed individuals from “all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Infact, in the succeeding verses, John writes that each of the twelve tribes has 12,000 people. The disputes about this passage come when people do not take the passage as literal. Therefore, the true question that needs to be answered is whether the 144,000 are truly Jews from the 12 tribes or if this passage is merely symbolic.

 

The Jewish nature of the passage does indicate that the jews, not the church, is in view. In the passage, it directly states that these are the children of Israel, and its use of “tribes” denotes Israel. Furthermore, in Revelation 14:4, another passage in which the 144,000 are found, they are described as the “firstfruits,” which is a term used elsewhere in the Bible for Israel (Jeremiah 2:3). There shouldn’t be any question about who the people are in this passage. The symbolic argument is extremely weak and based on many of the verses Replacement Theologians used which have already been critiqued earlier in this study. 

 

Where Do These Individuals Come From?

 

Another hotly debated question concerning the 144,000 is their origin. Some put forth the idea that they are in heaven and will come down from heaven during the tribulation to preach God’s word. However, a better interpretation of this passage is to believe that these individuals are earthly. There is no scripture which points to a heavenly origin for these individuals. That belief is based on mere assumptions. Instead, based on the verse prior to Revelation 7:4, one should conclude that the 144,000 have an earthly origin. 

 

“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Revelation 7:3 KJV

 

Here, an angel is speaking to four other angels (verse 2) telling them not to hurt (destroy) the earth, which is a part of God’s judgment, until the servants of God have been sealed. The sealed in this verse are the 144,000 children of Israel in the succeeding verse. They are to be protected from the harm that is coming on earth. This shows that they are already on earth before the judgment begins as why would they need to be protected in heaven before the judgment comes on earth? Therefore, with no passage indicating a heavenly origin for the 144,000 and, on the contrary, a passage that indicates their earthly origin, one has no reason to believe in a heavenly origin for these individuals. 

 

Aren’t The Ten Tribes Lost?

 

The major objection by those who don’t believe in an earthly origin (or that the 144,000 are jews), is the statement that the ten tribes are lost and therefore can’t have an earthly origin. This idea, however, is false for a few reasons:

 

1. Though genealogies have been lost, a modern Jew can be assured that he belongs to the seed of Abraham; and God knows into which tribe he should be classified. In the book of James there is reference to the twelve tribes of Israel as being in existence at the time our Lord was upon earth (James 1:1; cf. 1 Peter 1:1).

 

2. In Deuteronomy 27-28, Moses promises that the Israelites will never be fully assimilated into other nations. Is such a promise limited to one or two tribes?

 

3. The tribes existed in New Testament times. 

•Judah: Mat. 1:2; Luke 3:26; Heb. 7:14. 

•Levi: Luke 1:5. 

•Asher: Luke 2:36 

•Benjamin: Rom. 11:1; Php. 3:5. 

•All twelve tribes: Mat. 19:28; Luke 22:30; Acts 26:7; Jas. 1:1; Rev. 7:4-8.

 

This shows that the 10 tribes weren’t fully destroyed by the Assyrians as those who state they are lost believe. 

 

Thus, Revelation 7:4 speaks of 144,000 earthly individuals from the different tribes of Israel that are sealed from the divine judgment that will come upon earth during the Tribulation.