Characteristics of the Twelve Tribes Composing the 144,000
Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5
(Selected from a series of sermons by Pr. John Thiel – Sabbath Conference, 2017)
“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads – it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved, just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, i...
Genesis 49:1 – “I will tell you what shall befall you in the last days .
The first tribe listed in Revelation 7 is the tribe from which Jesus came.
Read Genesis 29:30-35
These are the circumstances into which 12 boys were to be born. They were born in a polygamous family rent by heartbreak, envy, hatred, and strife. Leah was not loved by the husband and father. Rachel was. How does a woman feel in this situation? What sort of a genetical chemistry is going to be passed...
‘the beginning of my strength’
Genesis 49:3
Jacob was very proud of his son. The beginning of my strength, he said of Reuben, the excellency of dignity, the excellency of power – this is how much he revered him.
Although Reuben suffered from his mother’s agony of spirit and envy from before and after he was born, yet, like Judah, when his brothers manifested their murderous hatred and envy toward Joseph, he was repulsed.
Read Genesis ...
Background
Read Genesis 30:1-9
Here is real rivalry. Because Leah had four sons, Rachel was bereft, so she said, ‘Well then, I will have a child through Bilhah.’ Why didn’t Jacob suggest to his disappointed and embittered wife that she seek help in prayer, as his own parents had done after 20 years of waiting? Jacob’s acceptance of Rachel’s proposal was sinful, especially as he had the experience of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar before him.
Leah, accus...
The 144,000 are people who may have come from the worst-case scenarios, such as the polygamous circumstances of Jacob’s household. These people who will be standing without fault before the throne of God are a people who were not like that in the beginning. They were born into very sinful circumstances, just like David was. Like all of us are.
Psalm 51:5-7 - Behold, I was shapen (brought forth ) in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inw...
Revelation 7:13 - And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The 144,000 are a people whose beginnings were far from holy. But they are going to finally stand pure and holy. How do they get there? They come out of great trib...
Another Tale of Two Brothers.
Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph, but only one of these tribes is found amongst the 144,000. Dan and Naphtali were also blood brothers, but only one name will appear on the gates of the New Jerusalem.
Read Rev. 7:1-4 . This is a subject that especially pertains to us who are living during the closing work of the sealing angel. The angels are holding the four wings of strife. In 1848 a war was on the point of breaking out in Europe. It lo...
Revelation 7:13-14 - And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The 144,000 are here described as a people who are going through great tribulation. Why is this their experience? So that they would wash their robes of character...
We are learning that the 144,000 are without sin, without fault, and undefiled. This is how they are described in Revelation. They are like that, not because they began that way, not because they were always like that, but that they were purified by going through some very tough times. This is vividly illustrated by the tribe of Levi. And remarkably the purification process of the tribe of Levi is expressed in the book of Malachi:
Malachi 3:3 – “ And He shall sit as a refine...
Issachar gives us an example of a good early influence despite his odd beginnings. Among the negative influences we inherit, there are also some that work for our good. Observe the very strange beginning of Issachar. The Lord came to the help of Leah. She had stopped giving birth, but then along came Issachar.
Read Genesis 30:14-16
Leah actually hired her husband that evening, in exchange for giving Rachel her mandrakes. The competitiveness between the two sisters was bitter and real.&n...