June 22: REAL ISRAEL
And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed. Revelation 7:4
The Bible teaches an unbroken, steadfast continuity in the character of God and His plan of salvation for wayward mankind. “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” (Malachi 3:6a) The history of the world has been a continuous opportunity to compare God’s government to that of Satan’s. It is in distinguishing the difference between the two—in exercising discernment—that men are enabled to make their choice for righteousness. Know this: while He does not in any way coerce us, our gracious God stands ready to move heaven and earth on behalf of every dear soul who chooses Him.
Throughout earth’s history, there is also a continuity in the people of God: a constant remnant whose faithfulness to the LORD has blessed Him, even as He has blessed and guided His people. His love for all people is unconditional, but His promises are generally conditional. This highlights the vital importance of rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Many today erroneously teach that God makes a distinction between the Gentiles of the world and those with Jewish blood (even a drop!) in their veins. Our archenemy would have us believe that God is a racist. Nothing could be further from the truth. The divine purposes of the chosen people of Israel were to be faithful to Him and to spread the gospel to the foreigner (Isaiah 56:6). Paul reminds us: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28-29)
God’s church was born directly from His faithful followers (Jews) and continues to spread to every nation and tongue. The faithful who lived before the birth of Jesus looked forward to the Messiah just as we look back upon His first coming. Do not forget that the name He gave to Jacob, that former deceiver, following his decision to hold on to God, was Israel. And each overcomer in this world will prevail with God, for that is what the name Israel means (Genesis 32:28). Jesus overcame every sort of temptation (John 16:33) and He offers us the grace and power to overcome. (Be sure to revisit the promises to overcomers at the end of each of the seven letters of chapters 2 &3.)
John heard the number of those who were sealed. In this number, we see multiplication of the number symbolizing leadership in the Old and New Testaments (12x12) to equal one hundred and forty-four and another multiplication by a thousand, the number for the usual size of a military unit in ancient Israel’s military system. This symbolic number, 144,000, tells us that we are involved in a war. As Christian soldiers, we are to live a life of obedience and discipline under the flawless commands of our beloved Commander in Chief. In this earthly struggle, we are to take up the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). God’s people are to be cleansed and equipped to stand. The number 144,000 compared to another number that John heard: two hundred million (9:16) arrayed against us, reminds us of Gideon’s troops that were purposefully reduced (Judges 7:1-8) that everyone would know that the Lord brought the victory. Peace and mercy be…upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) …that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel…for the battle is the LORD’s… (1 Samuel 17:46b, 47b)