THE 144,000 "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." (Rev 7:4) -- Tomorrow:
Devotion 5 of 26
Earlier in Revelation, the 144,000 are specifically identified. The language is so precise that its meaning cannot be escaped. "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. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand" (Rev 7:4-8). Whatever may be said of figurative language, the fundamental identity of the people cannot be denied.
This is nothing less than the "whole house of Israel" (Ezek 37:11; 39:25). This expression is not a way of saying every single person. Rather, it is a Divine way of saying the majority at a given point in time. Thus God spoke to Ezekiel in this manner. "all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted" (Ezek 3:7). He did not mean every single person was this way. Ezekiel himself was not. Later, God would require the sealing of a number of people that also were not this way (Ezek 9:4-6).
Remember, Israel remains a covenanted people – many theologians notwithstanding. The Spirit affirms their present stubbornness as a people (2 Cor 3:14-16). Such recognition would not be possible if they were not still viewed in the aggregate by God.
PARTIALLY BLIND FOR A TIME
Too, Paul reasoned concerning their present blindness, affirming it to be temporary. "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that BLINDNESS IN PART has happened to Israel UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles has come in," or "until the full number of the Gentiles has come in" (Rom 11:25, (NIV). There is a time coming when "the full number of the Gentiles" will be reached. That occasion is a line of demarcation, at which the partial blindness of Israel will cease.
ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED
"And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom 11:26). While the term "all Israel" can include all saints, when viewed as those possessing faith (Rom 9:6), the focus of this text is the Jewish portion of that body. We know this is the case, for Jesus ("the Deliverer") will ultimately "turn away ungodliness from JACOB" (a term never applied to the church in general). Also, the beginning of the ninth chapter of Romans establishes that Paul is speaking of Paul's "kinsmen according to the flesh – Israelites" (9:3-4). We are seeing the result of that work in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation.
A DIVINE COMMITMENT
"For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins" (Rom 11:27). God Himself testifies in this matter. He will not allow us to denigrate His purpose, His Son, and His people by imagining He is finished with them. He never made a covenant with the Gentiles to take away their sins! The new covenant is clearly said to be "a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jer 31:31). The Spirit affirms in Hebrews 8:8-13 that this is the very covenant currently being administered by the exalted Christ.
God's covenant has not yet been fulfilled toward the whole house of Israel – but it will be! Isaiah is the prophet Paul quotes in the eleventh chapter of Romans. The Spirit spoke resolutely through him. "The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, Says the LORD. As for Me, says the LORD, this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants, says the LORD, from this time and forevermore" (Isa 59:20- 21, NKJV).
Taking up this prophecy, and speaking through the Spirit, Paul affirms the Redeemer will not only "come to Zion," but will "banish ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom 11:26, RSV), and "remove ungodliness from Jacob" (NASB. This is a Divine covenant with Israel. Who is the person who will dare to affirm it is no longer applicable?
When speaking of the New Covenant made with these very people, and in which we Gentiles have been granted grace to enjoy, Jeremiah affirms, "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD" (Jer 31:35-37). It is wrong to adopt a view of the children of Israel that pretends this text does not even exist.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that Your words concerning the house of Israel confirm Your faithfulness, and the reliability and immutability of Your word.