PART ONE: By Doug Batchelor An Amazing Fact During the Gulf War, a small team of U.S. Navy SEALS created a diversion so convincing that it completely fooled the Iraqi army. About a dozen SEALS stormed the beaches of Kuwait and created such havoc that Iraqi generals believed the U.S.-led attack was coming from the sea. Iraq sent the majority of their army to repel this fake attack—only to find they had been duped as the main U.S. force came through the Saudi Arabian desert! Within hours the war was over, and it all started with less than 20 soldiers! Each branch of the U.S. armed services has one or more elite teams of commandos that fight using covert guerrilla warfare tactics during special combat situations. To serve in one of these select units, a soldier must be highly disciplined and pass through incredibly difficult physical and mental training. Only those who demonstrate unflinching self control and perfect obedience qualify. These Special Forces commandos are given dangerous and complex missions; they rapidly attack enemy troops and raid behind enemy lines to clear the way for the main attacking force. Even a small team of these commandos, because of their intense training, can achieve great victories—defeating entire columns in short time. God’s Special Forces The 12 Apostles were a type of Special Forces during the time of Jesus’ first coming. After three-and-a-half years of intensive personal training with Jesus, the Lord was able to use them to achieve great victories. They penetrated Satan’s dominion to spearhead a great revival and expansion of the Christian faith. But the book of Revelation tells us of another Special Forces unit, a vast “army” of 144,000. They have a special relationship with the Lamb, and they are sealed with a special name. They also sing a special song. Why are the 144,000 so important? It’s because they are commissioned with the greatest missions in the last days: to prepare the world for Jesus’ return. Yet many are bewildered by obvious questions; who exactly is this holy army and who will fill its ranks before the end? Though it may not be critical to one’s salvation to understand all the specific details of this prophetic subject, the study of God’s Word is always accompanied with great blessings. I should add that when we study these themes, we venture onto holy ground. Though I share this topic with great confidence, I also realize and respect that others may have a different understanding. So I would encourage you to pause now and pray for understanding as we begin this adventure in mining for truth. Where to Begin? To really understand the identity of the 144,000, we must first consider them from the two primary pillars of truth in Scripture that describe this grand assembly. The first passage is found in Revelation 7:1–4:“After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel asending 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed” (NKJV). The Scripture then explains that this distinctive sealed body is comprised of exactly 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, which are; Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. It should be carefully noted here that this listing of tribes is unique, because it is the only time in Scripture that the catalog of tribes appears in this particular order (but more on that later). The second main passage comes in Revelation 14:1–5: “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Fathers name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.” The Samaritans & Ten Lost Tribes Perhaps our first concern should be to determine whether or not this 144,000 are actually 12,000 literal Israelites from their 12 respective tribes. Even though this belief is common in many Christian circles, after a closer look it becomes obvious that this is simply impossible. Even a casual look at the Old Testament reveals this important clue. Because the 10 northern tribes gave themselves completely over to idolatry, God allowed the Assyrians to carry them away in 722 BC. “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes” (2 Kings 17:6). When the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were later carried off to Babylon, after spending 70 years in captivity, thousands returned. But with the 10 tribes, history never records any mass exodus from Assyria back to Israel. Instead, the King of Assyria transplanted an assortment of people from pagan nations in the land of Israel in the region of Samaria. “And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof” (2 Kings 17:24). The King of Assyria did send one Hebrew priest back from Assyria to teach these transplanted pagans about the God of Israel, but not from the exiled 10 tribes (2 Kings 17:27). They eventually became known as the infamous Samaritans. As is evident even in the New Testament, the Jews detested this group. Why? They were no longer pure Israelites in blood or religion. History also records that long before the time of Jesus, the 10 exiled tribes intermarried with the Assyrians, therefore losing their distinct identity. Today, a genealogist would be hard pressed to find even one vaguely pure descendant from the tribe of Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, or Simeon—much less 12,000! In fact, because these tribes were so thoroughly scattered around the world and assimilated by their host nations, it is very possible even you have traces of Abraham in your bloodline! “And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries” (Ezekiel 12:15). Who Is a True Israelite? On the surface, it still might be easy enough for one to believe that the 144,000 are from the 12 tribes listed in Revelation 7. But a closer reading quickly reveals that from the time of Jesus, most of the prophecies speaking of Israel are focused on the children of faith—or spiritual Israel regardless of whether they were Jew or Gentile by blood. Here is a small sample of the many texts that establish this truth. “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit” (Romans 2:28,29). “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). The Lord told the ancient Israelites, “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Notice in the New Testament, Peter applies that title to spiritual Israel or the church: “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people” (1 Peter 2:9).James gives one of the most convincing Scriptures that proves that the Apostles viewed the tribes in a spiritual sense. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings” (James 1:1). The content of James’ letter is clearly addressed to Christians, and yet he plainly refers to them as spiritual Jews from 12 spiritual tribes. How Many Tribes? I do not want to be tedious—but to really understand this subject, a short lesson on the Old Testament tribes might be necessary for clarity. In reality, did you know there were actually 13 tribes—that’s right! You see, the 12 original tribes all came from the 12 sons of Jacob, whom the Lord had later renamed Israel. When Joseph’s older brothers sold him into slavery, it was the beginning of a long and painful separation from his family. After reuniting with his father, Jacob promised to compensate for Joseph’s years of separation by adopting two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own to be numbered with his sons in place of Joseph. “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine” (Genesis 48:5). Let’s do the math. When Joseph’s two sons were counted as tribes in the place of their father, you now have 13 tribes, technically. One reason that you still continue to hear of only 12 tribes through the Bible is because after the Levites were chosen to be the priests for all Israel, they were excluded from receiving any specific territory as inheritance. Instead, they were to defuse among all the tribes as teachers and priests. “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel” (Numbers 1:49). As a connected point of interest, we can also ask how many were seated at the Last Supper. The answer is 13—the 12 Apostles, and Jesus sat among them as their high priest. During the Passover, 13 tribes presented themselves: the “regular” 12 tribes and then the Levites serving as the priests. Also, if it were important to the Lord to only use the 12 different literal tribes in equal numbers to comprise the 144,000, wouldn’t we expect Jesus to choose His Apostles in a similar fashion? But it does not appear to have mattered to Jesus that his apostles were from the 12 different tribes of Israel, for most of His apostles were from the tribe of Judah. The exceptions are Matthew-Levi, who was probably from the tribe Levi, and Paul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1). Additionally, the 12 tribes in the Old Testament were very unequal in population size. Judah was very large, while Benjamin was very small. Indeed, God divided the Promised Land amongst the tribe according to the proportion of their population needs. Yet with the 144,000, it’s exactly 12,000 per tribe across the board. This is another strong clue that it is not speaking of the literal tribes of Israel. https://facebook/groups/1455897377989176/
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 17:16:57 +0000
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