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12. IS THE NUMBER 144,000 SYMBOLIC?

It is not vital to know that the number 144,000 is a symbolic number, but some feel that they need clarification on this point. Those who believe that the 144,000 win the great multitude naturally feel that they should stress the literalness of that number or otherwise there would be, literally, two unnumbered multitudes. If the 144,000 go out to win the great multitude, who wins the 144,000 multitude? There is confusion only when attempts are made to apply the 144,000 as a literal number. To the present writer there is no doubt, but this is a symbolic number which stands for all church members who are sealed and protected through the time of trouble. Though the number of the remnant may be small in comparison with the number of the lost, yet the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy indicate that there will be, literally, more than 144,000 who will pass through the time of trouble and be preserved until the coming of the King in all His glory.

It would take us beyond the intended scope of this limited outline were we to present the abundant evidence upon which this truth is based, but everything leads to the firmly-established conclusion that this is a symbolic number. The reader is invited to consider a few of the reasons for this conclusion.

Twelve is God’s kingdom number, as many students of Bible numbers agree. In ancient Israel there were 12 tribes; 12 rods; 12 spies; 12 stones gathered from Jordan; 12 stones in the high priest’s breastplate; “Elijah took 12 stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob”, etc. Dr. E. W. Bullinger, in his “Number in Scripture”, says: “There were twelve patriarchs from Seth to Noah and his family, and twelve from Shem to Jacob. The twelve tribes of Israel: Though actually thirteen in number, there are never more than 12 named in any one list. There are about 18 enumerations altogether, but in each list one or other is omitted. Generally it is Levi, but not always. In Revelation 7 both Dan and Ephraim are omitted, but the enumeration is still 12, Levi and Joseph being introduced for this special sealing of the remnant which shall go unscathed through the great tribulation [time of trouble]. Then there were 12 judges or Saviors” (page 253).

The word “King” is employed 12 times in John’s gospel, giving the account of the trial of our Lord, the King of the church see John 18:33, 37 (twice), 39; 19:3, 12, 14, 15 (twice), 19, 21 (twice), the twelfth time using the words “Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews. But that He said, I am the King of the Jews”. Jesus certainly said that He was the King of the church. If Jesus desired protection He could have commanded 12 legions of angels, for He is their King, too. Jesus was twelve years of age when He first appeared in public (Luke 2:42) and uttered His first-recorded words -His purpose to glorify His Father.

The use of 12 as the number of Christ’s kingdom is the same in the Old and the New Testaments. Jesus ordained 12 apostles. There are 12 gates in the New Jerusalem, “and at the gates 12 angels, and the names written thereon, which are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb, he measured the city with the reed,

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12,000 furlongs . . . And he measured the wall thereof, 144 (12 x 12) cubits” (Revelation 21:12-17). After picturing the 12 foundations of the city we read: The twelfth, an amethyst. And the 12 gates were 12 pearls- (v. 20, 21). The tree of life also bears “twelve manner of fruits” (22:2). The word twelve occurs 10 times in John’s description of the New Jerusalem but it is obvious that the 144 is intended to be understood as 12 x 12 and thus make up the 12 times that 12 comes into this picture of the capital city of the kingdom of Christ.

Dr. Bullinger declares: “Twelve is a perfect number, signifying governmental perfection. It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. The sun which ‘rules’ the day, and the moon and the stars which ‘govern’ the night, do so by their passage through the 12 signs of the Zodiac which completes the great circle of the heavens of 360 (12 x 30) degrees or divisions, and thus govern the year” (page 253). The word Israel means “God ruled” and designates an overcomer Jacob received this name after his experience with God - a night of prevailing prayer: The Lord said to him: “As a prince has thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). “By his strength he had power with God: yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed” (Hosea 12:2, 3). The praying Nathanael said to Jesus: “Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:47-51). Jesus had revealed to Nathanael that He saw all who prayed in secret, that He is their King. Those who pray for victory are the overcomers who are designated by the name of Israel (Romans 2:28, 29; Galatians 3:29; 6:15, 16).

That the 144,000 is a symbolic number is further seen by the way it is written in the original language, for this really represents two separate symbolic numbers, 144 and 1,000, for in the Greek it is written in a peculiar manner, the 144 being figures, and the 1,000 in words, as in the English we might write ‘144 thousand”. Obviously the Lord desired to draw attention to the number 144, which [equals] 12 x 12. The numbers 144 and 1,000 are used in a number of places in the Scriptures, the one, 144, to express the perfection of Christ’s kingdom; the other number, 1,000, is the cube of the figure ten, and always expresses the perfection of order. The Most Holy Place in which the perfect Law was deposited measured 10 x 10 x 10. Here in Revelation 7 these two numbers are linked together, expressive of that perfection of Christ’s kingdom with its perfection of order produced by creative power when the believer surrenders his whole being to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The tribes of Israel sealed with the seal of the living God cannot be the literal tribes of Jacob, because two of the original tribes, Ephraim and Dan are not even named. Both were leaders in idolatry. It is obvious that the names given in Revelation 7 and the order in which they are given is because of their spiritual significance; The meaning of Dan indicates “judging”, and Jacob, in Genesis 49:16, 17, pictures Dan as a “serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that the rider shall fall backward”. Dan represents those in the professing church who criticize and “judge” their fellow-believers, back-biting as they pass along life’s highway, causing those they slander to “fall backwards”. The Danites will not be in the kingdom of Christ. Manasseh, meaning “forgetting;” - representing those who forgive and forget - replaces Dan in the list of the tribes of Israel given in Revelation 7. Ephraim represents those who are “joined to idols” (Hosea 4:17): those who have “mixed” (Hosea 7:8) with the world and have not sufficiently valued their eternal life to earnestly seek the things of God (Hosea 6:8-11). His name does not appear in Revelation 7.

The order in which the names of the tribes of the children of Israel are given in Revelation 7 is significant, being placed in such an Order as to proclaim the gospel in the meaning of their names. The reader will find the meanings of the names in the following verses, with their margins, set forth in the order of their birth: Genesis 29:32; 29:33, 34, 35; 30:6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24; 35:18; 41:51, 52. Now observe that the tribes of Israel as enumerated in Revelation 7 are not given in the order of their birth, but in such an order that the meaning of their names preaches the gospel. For instance, Judah was the fourth son, yet his name heads the list, because he, being the kingly tribe, represents Jesus “The King of the Jews”, also because his name means “Praise”. In the days of Jehoshaphat, the people of God were faced with perils. The king of Judah “appointed singers unto the Lord [margin, “praise”] that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, Praise the Lord, and when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord” gave them victory over their enemies (2 Chronicles 20:21-24). Thus at the commencement of these names we are given the secret of victory. The tribe of Judah led the way in the march across the wilderness to the Promised Land, and its standard was the lion. This is the significance of the cheering message of assurance which was given by one of the elders, one who had been resurrected at the time of the resurrection of Christ (Matthew 27:50-53; Revelation 5:9; Ephesians 4:8): “Weep not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed” (Revelation 5:5). For it is Jesus,

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“the King of the [spiritual] Jews” (Revelation 2:9; 3:9) who leads His people through this world to the eternal Canaan.

Setting out the names in the order in which they are given in Revelation 7 we see that, by this arrangement of names according to their meanings and not according to their order of birth, we have God’s message of assurance to those who* are sealed among the tribes of Israel:

Judah: “Praise”

Reuben: “A son”

Gad: “A company” of sons redeemed and Aser: “Happy” after

Nepthalim: “Wrestling” in prayer

Manasses: “Forgetting” self and the past Simeon: “Hearing” God’s Word

Levi: “Joined” to God as

Issachar: “Servants”

Zabulon: “Dwelling” with

Joseph: “Added” joys and special blessings as

Benjamin: “Sons of the right hand”, for In Thy presence is fullness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

We regret that lack of space has compelled us to omit many details which would reveal more fully the fact that this arrangement of the names was done with respect to their meanings. Having briefly commented on Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, who is mentioned first in this list, we comment briefly on the last name given. When dying, Rachel gave her new-born son the name of “Benoni, that is, the son of my sorrow; but his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand” (Genesis 35:18, margin). Benjamin was born in Bethlehem (see vv. 16-19), and is a, type of Jesus Who was also born in Bethlehem. Jesus was born into this world to be “a man of sorrow” (Isaiah 53:3), but later to sit “on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1). Thus both names given to Benjamin the son of sorrow” and “the son of the right hand” - apply to Jesus. All ‘who are redeemed, like their Lord, will know from their own experience What it means to be sons of sorrow; but “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12) and be sons of His right hand. Of all redeemed companies, the remnant church is destined to drink to the dregs the cup of sorrow. Their experiences will more nearly be like to those Jesus had on earth than any others. A good outline showing this is found in “Our Firm Foundation”, volume 2, pages 405-424. For our present purpose we draw attention to 1 Testimonies, page 353: “At the transfiguration, Jesus was glorified by His Father. Thus before His betrayal and crucifixion He was strengthened for His last dreadful sufferings. AS the members of the body of Christ approach the period of their last conflict, ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’, they will grow up into Christ, and will partake largely of His spirit. As the third message swells to a loud cry, and as great power and glory attend the closing work, the faithful people of God will partake of that glory. It is the latter rain which revives and strengthens them to pass through the time of trouble. I saw that God will in a wonderful manner preserve His people through the time of trouble. As Jesus poured out His soul in agony in the garden, they will earnestly cry and agonize day and night for deliverance. See also Early Writings, page 283, 284.

The promise of being sons of Christ’s right hand on His throne is for those who heed the message to the Laodiceans and who endure as Christians through the night of sorrow. Thus the first and last names of the tribes sealed - Judah, the kingly tribe, and Benjamin, the son of sorrow, whose name was changed to the son of the right hand - is written thus to encourage those to be sealed and pass through the time of trouble that they are glorying their King, following Him, obeying Him, and for so doing will suffer with Him, but after the night of weeping, they will sit with Jesus on His throne (Revelation 3:21) as “sons of His right hand”. They will then say: to the King: “At Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

The Lord’s servant says: “It is not His [God’s] plan that His people shall present something which they have to suppose, which is not taught in the word. It is not His will that they shall get into controversy over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and forty four thousand? This those who are the elect of God will in a short time know without question” (Manuscript 26, 1901). “It seems apparent from this statement that Mrs. White did not believe that the matter of who compose the 144,000 had been made absolutely and unmistakably plain” (Our Firm Foundation, volume 2, page 422).

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However, there are some things given in the Spirit of Prophecy which seem quite clear, such as the 144,000 being upon the earth before the general resurrection (Early Writings, page 16), and living at the time God gives “the day and hour of Jesus’ coming” (Early Writings, page 15, 285). They are alive at the time God’s voice (at the commencement of the 7th plague) brings deliverance to His people who are about to be destroyed by the wicked hosts of Babylon, and they endure through the time of Jacob’s trouble (which commences at the close of probation, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 20l): “A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob’s trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, ‘and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed” (Early Writings, page 37). “These [the 144,000] having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as ‘the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb’, ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation’; they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered. They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence, t sun having power to scorch men with great heat” (Great Controversy, Page 649).

The only way those who have died in the message could be included in this number would be by God imputing to them the experiences which they were willing and expecting to endure for His sake, but were prevented from so doing by their death. “God calls those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17).

However, from Early Writings, page 16 we may be certain that the number is symbolic. We read: “Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square.” It is impossible for people numbering literally 144,000 to form a compact “perfect square”. The Book of Revelation is a book of symbols, and much of the spiritual beauty is lost when a strictly literal meaning is given to its symbols. Undoubtedly the 144,000 is a symbolical number representing those who follow their King Jesus, the Head of the spiritual kingdom of love and power. They will be victorious over their foes because their King is Almighty and because they trust in His power to save. 

Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!