The 144000
What is this magic number in Revelation all about? Who are they and what is the larger context?
The sealing
After the sixth seal there is an interlock that already connects to the trumpets, even the seventh seal not happening.
The angel is called to seal the servants of God before the trumpets begin. This reminds of the sealing of the righteous in the prophet Ezekiel, where the angel was to mark all the people who mourned over the unrighteousness that had taken place. After they were all sealed, another angel came and struck down those without a seal, starting at the temple of God.
This scene is not only a protection, but also a reminder not to compromise with what God sees as evil. The protection of the seals will only be active during the fifth trumpet when people are so desperate that they want to die.
The army of God
Next, the 144,000 are introduced. They are described as 12,000 from each tribe of Israel. But there are actually 14 tribes. This is because not only the 12 sons of Jacob are counted, but also the two sons of Joseph who were adopted by Jacob. That is why the list of tribes in the Old Testament is different.
The interesting point here is the first tribe that leads them. This is Judah, where Jesus comes from. Now when the church became part of Israel, this is a description of Israel as the church because they are now a multitude that no one can count.
The presentation here is also interesting because the way the counting is presented is reminiscent of the counting of the men ready to be part of the army during the Exodus. Here the same people who are sealed are presented as an army.
But there is a twist like in chapter 5 where the lion of Judah is identified as a lamb being slaughtered. Here we have the same thing: The 144.000 people counted as soldiers is what John hears, but what John sees is an uncountable number from all nations who worship God.
There is a connection to the fifth seal, where the souls under the altar cry out and receive white robes like these people here. They appear to be the same people: They come from the Great Tribulation and are now comforted by God. They are living “already in the not yet”. We need to look at this more closely in chapter 14, when the 144.000 appear again.