There is no reason to take the number 144,000 to be anything but exactly that. After all, the number is derived from multiplying the 12 tribes times 12,000 from each tribe: 144,000 Israelites. If taken symbolically, then no number in Revelation could be taken literally.

The 12 tribes of Israel descended from the 12 sons of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Jacob’s sons and their birth order are as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (Gen. 29:31-35); Dan, Naphtali (30:3-8); Gad, Asher (30:9-13); Isaachar, Zebulun (30:16-20); Joseph (30:22-24); and Benjamin (35:16-18). After God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (32:28), his sons became the 12 tribes of Israel, or Jacob. Now of the almost 30 times the tribes are listed in the OT, there are 18 different variations of their order. When God sent the tribes of Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan under Joshua, He excluded Levi and set it apart as the priestly tribe. But since He previously split Joseph into two tribes through his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim, excluding Joseph as a tribe, the land was thus divided 12 ways into the 12 tribes of Israel.

In Revelation 7:5-8 there is another variation of the 12 tribes listed, an order distinct from every other listing in the Bible. God will apparently put His brand, or seal, on 12,000 from each of the following tribes: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The list omits Dan and Ephraim, but it lists Levi and Joseph. Many theories as to why have been put forth, but no reason is given. The important point to draw from the list is that Israel will be regathered in the end-times. They are, after all, not the Church and certainly have not been replaced by the Church in God’s covenantal plan. God’s sealing of the 144,000 from each tribe in the end-times will simply be Him fulfilling His promise to Abraham (Gen. 13:14-17; 15:1-5, 18-21; 17:1-8, 15-19; 18:17-19; 22:15-18; cf. Rom. 11:26).

The Apostle Paul revealed to the Church in Rome what God was doing with Gentile believers in Christ and Israel who had rejected Christ. Israel’s rejection of Christ did not in any way mean that God had abrogated His covenant with Abraham. It simply meant that Israel had been put on hold until the gospel had reached the full number of Gentiles. Paul wrote, “I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob’ ” (Rom. 11:25-26).

Food For Thought

It is of utmost importance that Christians today remind ourselves that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29); so, God must bring Israel back and draw them to the Christ they originally rejected and crucified. And He will. He has to! If God failed to draw Israel to Himself based on their disobedience, replacing them with the Church as some believe, then what would stop God from replacing the Church with some other entity in light of how rebellious Christians have been through the centuries? All believers must trust God and His promises. Israel will indeed come to faith in Jesus of Nazareth, their Messiah and Christ. Revelation 7:1-8 proves this! God, in no uncertain terms, plainly says that 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel will be sealed with His brand, and they will preach the gospel to the world after the Church has been raptured, enduring through the Tribulation (cf. Rev. 14). All of those believers who come to faith in Christ after the Tribulation begins can thank God’s sealed believers from Israel who will preach the gospel to the lost world at that time.