A. The 144:000 Jewish Witnesses of Revelation 7:1-8.

A. The 144,000 Jewish Witnesses of Revelation 7:1-8.
These are revealed to us only in Revelation, Chapters 7 and 14. The following is not an exposition on all of Chapters Seven and Fourteen. At this time I am only going to extract and deal with the verses that pertain to the 144,000 of God’s witnesses during the Seven-Year Tribulation. No matter what dispensation of time we are in, the LORD always has His witnesses to the truth of His Word in exposing the lies of Satan and his followers. In Chapter 7, we will give Revelation 7:1-8 in their entirety.
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. (Revelation 7:1)
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, (Revelation 7:2)
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. (Revelation 7:3)
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Revelation 7:4)
Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:5)
Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:6)
Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:7)
Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.” (Revelation 7:1-8)
1. The Lord Controls the Weather. ( Revelation 7:1-3)
The Lord makes it clear that he controls the weather. He withholds these judgments until He seals his 144,000 Witnesses, so they are not effected by His judgments upon the ungodly. “Sealed” means ownership and protection from Satan. (Read Job, Chapter 37, where the Lord amplifies in detail His complete control over all of our weather.
These 144,000 godly men are saved after the Rapture, just as the Two Witnesses are. Had they been saved before the Rapture, they would go up with the Rapture. Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye stirred up a multitude of people with their Left Behind series of books concerning the Rapture.
The 144,000 and the Two Witnesses apparently will be saved almost immediately after the Rapture. Scripture supporting this is the following:
2. The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREESCORE DAYS, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:3
A thousand, two hundred and sixty days is 42 months which, when divided by 12, is 3 ½ years and they die. To witness the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, they would have to be saved almost immediately after the Rapture.