Revelation 7:4 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. 5. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve
thousand. 6. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. 7. 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. 8. Of the tribe of Zebulon were
sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve
thousand.
Genesis 29: 35 And she conceived
again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called
his name Judah; and left bearing. 32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben:
for she said, surely the Lord hath
looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
Genesis 30: 11 And Leah said, a troop cometh: and she
called his name Gad. 13 And Leah said, Happy
am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his
name Asher. 8 And Rachel said, with
great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and
I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. Genesis 41:51 And Joseph called the
name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God,
said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's
house. Genesis 29:33 And she conceived again, and
bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath
therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now
this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born
him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. Genesis 30: 18 And Leah said, God
hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband:
and she called his name Issachar. 20And Leah said, God
hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with
me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. 23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God
hath taken away my reproach: 24 And she called his name Joseph;
and said, The Lord shall
add to me another son. Genesis 35: 18 And it came to pass,
as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben–oni:
but his father called him Benjamin. Benjamin: that is, The son of the right hand
Notes of interest: #1 Revelation does not put the names in
birth order. #2 The tribe of Dan is
replaced by Manasseh which was actually Joseph’s oldest son. Why isn’t the tribe of Dan there but Manasseh
is? Listen to this verse: Genesis 30:6 “And Rachel said, God
hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son:
therefore called she his name Dan.” God’s judgments aren’t upon the 144,000, even
though every person does go through a
judgment. Revelation 7 gives us the answer in verses 2 and 3. “2And 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, 3Saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the
servants of our God in their foreheads.”
Chapter 8 continues with all of the coming judgments on the world. The 144,000 will be those who wrestled with
going through the things at the end of the world, and came out of it still
clinging to God. Reminding me of the
story of Jacob in Genesis 32:
24 “And Jacob was
left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not
against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's
thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day
breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name?
And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy
name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power
with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him, and said,
Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask
after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God
face to face, and my life is preserved.”
Now will I praise the Lord, surely the Lord hath looked upon my
affliction, a troop cometh: happy am I, With great wrestlings have I wrestled
and I have prevailed: For God, hath made me forget all my toil, because
the Lord hath heard that
I was hated now will my husband be joined unto me, God hath given me my hire,
God hath endued me with a good dowry; God hath taken away my reproach: (and given me) The son of the right hand. =
144,000. Someone else put it a little more succinctly:
