144000

Hi people, I write after a short break but I have found something rather interesting to share. I am currently reading the book of Ezekiel from the Bible and it made me think on a few things.

You know sometimes I feel we ought to read the New Testament first because it is in the New Testament that we have an invitation through Jesus to be called a people of God and the Old Testament shows how God deals with His people, He is tolerant even when His people are rebellious.

I would like to start with Ezekiel 9:1-11 & 10:1-2, this article may take some time.

Ezekiel 9:1-11 (Old Testament)

1 Then I heard God shout, “Come here, you men who are going to punish the city. Bring your weapons with you.” 2 At once six men came from the outer north gate of the Temple, each one carrying a weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen clothes, carrying something to write with. They all came and stood by the bronze altar.

3 Then the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel rose up from the winged creatures, where it had been, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. The Lord called to the man dressed in linen, 4 “Go through the whole city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is distressed and troubled because of all the disgusting things being done in the city.”

5 And I heard God say to the other men, “Follow him through the city, and kill. Spare no one; have mercy on no one. 6 Kill the old men, young men, young women, mothers, and children. But don’t touch anyone who has the mark on his forehead. Start here at my Temple.” So they began with the leaders who were standing there at the Temple.

7 God said to them, “Defile the Temple. Fill its courtyards with corpses. Get to work!” So they began to kill the people in the city.

8 While the killing was going on, I was there alone. I threw myself face downwards on the ground and shouted, “Sovereign Lord, are you so angry with Jerusalem that you are going to kill everyone left in Israel?”

9 God answered, “The people of Israel and Judah are guilty of terrible sins. They have committed murder all over the land and have filled Jerusalem with crime. They say that I, the Lord, have abandoned their country and that I don’t see them. 10 But I will not have pity on them; I will do to them what they have done to others.”

11 Then the man wearing linen clothes returned and reported to the Lord, “I have carried out your orders.”

Ezekiel 10:1-2 (Old Testament)

1 I looked at the dome over the heads of the living creatures and above them was something that seemed to be a throne made of sapphire. 2 God said to the man wearing linen clothes, “Go between the wheels under the creatures and fill your hands with burning coals. Then scatter the coals over the city.”

I would like to inform you that verse 3 talks about the winged creatures built on the “Arc of the Covenant”, which is a sought of vessel built out of gold to carry God’s commandments. The presence of the Lord often appeared between the winged creatures as bright light.

I would now like to quote the references in regards to the above Old Testament scripture from the New Testament.

Revelation 7:1-8 (New Testament): Ref: Ezekiel 9:3-4

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on the earth or the sea or against any tree. 2 And I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given the power to damage the earth and the sea. 3 The angel said, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” 4 And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God’s seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel, 5-8 twelve thousand from each tribe: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

Revelation 9:4 (New Testament): Ref: Ezekiel 9:3-4

4 They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God’s seal on their foreheads.

Revelation 14:1 (New Testament)

1 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

Revelation 8:5 (New Testament): Ref: Ezekiel 10:2

5 Then the angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. There were rumblings and peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

From Ezekiel 10:2 and Revelation 8:5, we can see God’s fiery wrath being poured out on the disobedient.

In the book of Exodus, God promised His Jewish people that they would never endure the disasters God brought upon the Egyptians, provided they obeyed God.

Exodus 15:25-26

…. There the Lord gave them laws to live by, and there he also tested them. 26 He said, “If you will obey me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord, the one who heals you.”

The book of Revelation has plagues which will afflict the world similar to those described in the book of Exodus which afflicted the Egyptian. I have an example for you: Exodus 10:12-13//Revelation 9:3.

Exodus 10:12-13 (Old Testament)

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts. They will come and eat everything that grows, everything that has survived the hail.” 13 So Moses raised his stick, and the Lord caused a wind from the east to blow on the land all that day and all that night. By morning it had brought the locusts.

Revelation 9:3 (New Testament)

Locusts came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were given the same kind of power that scorpions have.

I would like to tell you that Biblically, something written of a person’s forehead would mean that that what is written is something that is dearest to that person. So you see that the 144000 (Revelations 7:4), Jewish people who are saved, are saved because they believe,  trust & adore the Lamb (Jesus) who was sent by His Father to pay the price of sin. Considering Exodus 15:25-26, we can see that the 144000 saved from the 12 tribes of Israel are those who obey God and put their trust in His Son who was promised to them as the Messiah/Saviour/Deliverer – the One who would save them from their sins.

Acts 13:23,38-39

It was Jesus, a descendant of David, whom God made the Saviour of the people of Israel, as he had promised.

…

38-39 We want you to know, my fellow-Israelites, that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; and that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.

Let’s see what the Bible says about who is a Jew?

Romans 2:28-29 & 3:21-24

28 After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing. 29 Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.

….

21 But now God’s way of putting people right with himself has been revealed. It has nothing to do with law, even though the Law of Moses and the prophets gave their witness to it. 22 God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all: 23 everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence. 24 But by the free gift of God’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.

So to conclude, it is interesting to see that during the end times those form the Israelite tribes who are obedient will have their eyes open to see the God’s saving grace worked out on the cross & these will be marked that disaster would avoid them when it strikes the world.