THE 144,000

Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:18, "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming (future), even now many antichrists have come (present), by which we know that it is the last hour."

As we near the end of the age, physical darkness in the world is only increasing, however those sealed by God are shining brighter each day. And all things hidden are being revealed to those living and walking with God. Hallelujah!

A few weeks ago, I shared a vision of workers in the field preparing the soil and I heard within my soul,”they are preparing the soil for a magnitude is coming who have been watering unprepared soil.” 

So who are these two groups; the soil preparer’s and those watering unprepared soil? 

I prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide me in this message and was prompted to return to scripture. The answer to this question is found in the John’s visions contained in chapter 7 of Revelation. 

I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne, and in front of the Lamb, Rev. 7:9.

John sees two groups of people who will come through the Tribulation with flying colors. The first is a group of 144,000 people who are “sealed.” This group are Spiritually connected to The Lord. Their inner man is not ruled by their soul. When we understand the meaning of the seal, and whom these people represent, we will have another piece of the end-times puzzle in place. 

This word “to seal” is used thirty-two times in the New Testament, and twenty-two of those are found here in the Revelation. The first group who have been sealed by God and bear the mark of the living God.

The sealing has many meanings. God sealing his people pictures protection, security, ownership, and preservation. As we return to Revelation 7 we must consider which aspect of God’s sealing is being emphasized. 

Could the sealing mean that the people of God would not suffer physical harm or death during these judgments? 

And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. Ezekiel 9:4–6 ESV

The sealed group could also be the remnant mentioned in Joel 2:31-32. I felt drawn to the words of verse 32, “and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” ​

The entire verse is, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” 

I wondered, how does “and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” connect with “Take heed, that no one deceives you." 

Then I had a check in my spirit, the remnant will only be the remnant if they are not deceived…. Could deception be “the watering of unprepared soil?”

Deliverance is available for “whosoever” calls on the name of the Lord, but the focus here is the Lord will have a remnant. All those who believe and call upon the name of the Lord are grafted in, thus joining spiritual Israel (Romans 11:24). 

Remnant status is acquired through faith in Jesus Christ.

The word remnant means “remaining, alive, survivor, that which is left." ​The word deceive means “to roam from safety, truth, or virtue, to go astray, to seduce, to lead away from the truth, to lead into error and sin.” ​Deceiver is the title of the devil. Revelation 12:9 says, “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.”

So in order to avoid watering unprepared soil, we must be on the look out for deceptive schemes. As I am seeking the Lord I heard, “the deception will be so subtle, even for my elect.” 

A little later in the week, I was led to a death experience given on YouTube by a nurse, the link is here. As I listened, I felt a check in my spirit as she shares the exact same words, “the deception will be so subtle, even for my elect.” I have shared the link on my telegram channel too. 

The 144,000 and the Great Multitude could be the same group, viewed two different ways. The 144,000 represent the church on earth, sealed by God at the beginning of the tribulation; the Great Multitude also His Remnant represents all believers standing before the throne of God at the end of the age. 

The 144,000 represent the church militant; sealed and protected from God’s wrath. 

The great multitude “remnant” represents the church triumphant: victorious over Antichrist’s persecution. The message of Revelation is that if we do suffer martyrdom, we will be victors, because of the Lamb. We will ultimately stand before Him, clothed in white, welcomed in His presence. In the end of the beginning, all will be well.

What we need to notice about the sealing of the 144,000 is that they are sealed for protection in the final three and a half years of “great tribulation,” not for removal from “great tribulation.”

When we look to the days of Noah, the wicked unbelievers were “taken away” by the flood. Thus those “left behind” were the righteous!

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:37-39 KJV

I hope we see that picture.To use another word found in the scriptures, this is the picture of the remnant. 

“So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5). 

“And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay'” (Romans 9:27-28).  

The book of Revelation is showing the fulfillment of these teachings and prophecies. We are seeing the total number of God’s servants being sealed. None of God’s servants are left out. The picture is the fullness of the church composed of Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. All of them are marked for ownership and spiritual protection as the judgments of God are about to be unleashed on the earth. These are the new Israel of God. 

This message is a cry to the remnant to get into the Word! Know the Word, speak the Word, pray the Word. 

We must get rid of the self-help books, stop relying on messages from “spiritual” leaders, prophets, apostles and those in the media. We are to Worship Jesus Christ in SPIRIT and in TRUTH (John 4:24). This is how we become transformed and sealed. Separate yourself FROM the world and the your soulish desires. The world feeds our flesh and Jesus feeds are spirit when we spend time in the secret place. Cry out to the Lord for your deliverance, salvation for your families, and pray for a burden for the lost and our dying world. Test every spirit to see if it is of God 1 John 1:4. Those who are deceived will not be a part of the remnant. Take heed, that no one deceives you!

We are in this privileged position by grace (Romans 11:5). We are not deserving of being sealed by God but have been given a privileged position through Christ. By being in Christ we are spiritually protected and no one can harm or destroy our salvation.

Believe this today, you can also be part of the remnant. 

“But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God” (Romans 2:29). 

Being part of the remnant is about changing the heart to follow Jesus, seeking the praise of God and not the world or our soulish desires.

Shalom,

🦋Angela