VCO...that is not the way I read the 144,000 Jewish evangelist. They are in Heaven as we will be along with the martyrd and Great tribulation saints.
The ones who live through the GT both gentile and Jew (those who fled to petra) are the ones it appears that will repopulate the earth. However, God will take the sin away from the Israelites forever so the only ones to die (it appears) will be the gentiles. They will have 100 years to make up their mind if they believe in Jesus or not and if not then they will die and await the Great WHite THrone Judgement. Jesus will rule the earth's nations through Israel and the Church will be Kings and Priest. Justice will be swift and accurate. Those who accept Jesus as their LORD will not die a 2nd death but rather live out the 1000 years and then be allowed in Heaven. The final judgement will only include the resurrection of those that did not accept God or Jesus Christ throughout History. WHile it is not clear if they will receive a immortal body, their soul is already immortal and needs nothing to put on just to be thrown into the lake of fire.
Rem.....Satan is bound for 1000 years while the 'antichrist and false profit' are thrown into the lake of fire..... When Satan is also thrown into the lake of fire, they are still there awaiting him. Yes, the lake of fire is forever.
For those out there that laugh at the Lake of Fire, I would be very afraid.
You do understand that
the entire 144,000 are Messianic JEWS, Bloodline Decendants of each of the Twelve Tribes, Chosen by GOD to be sealed from harm in there MORTAL BODIES, to enter the Millennial Kingdom in their Mortal bodies?
THEY ARE CHOSEN TO MAKE SURE ISRAEL SURVIVES the Great Tribulation. They are NOT the Church-age, spiritual gentile children with the Faith of Abraham, as many Pentecostals falsely believe.
SHOW ME THE 144,000 specifically IN HEAVEN. (By the way, it is okay to disagree with me on anything that is NOT directly connected to the Plan of Salvation, or the Deity of Christ, or the inerrancy of the GOD inspired, Original Manuscripts of the Scriptures.) Yes, I totally disagree with you on THOSE 144,000 being with us in Heaven. We are not destined for WRATH, so the RAPTURE is Pre-Wrath, and the WRATH and the Martyrdom of the Tribulation Saints, BOTH HAPPEN IN CHAPTER 6; while the Sealing of the 144,000 happens in Chapter 7. SO WHERE ARE THEY SEALED, in heaven OR on earth:
Revelation 7:1-3 (NKJV)
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1 [/SUP] After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow
on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
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2 [/SUP] Then 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 granted to harm the earth and the sea,
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3 [/SUP] saying, "Do not harm
the earth, the sea, or the trees till
we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
YES, after Seeing them SEALED ON EARTH, John's Vision goes to what is happening IN HEAVEN next.
Revelation 7:9-10 (NKJV)
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9 [/SUP]
After these things I looked, and behold,
a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
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10 [/SUP] and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
THAT IS THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, THE COMBINED TOTAL OF
THE "ASSEMBLY" HE HAS BUILT, O.T. SAINTS, AND N.T. SAINTS INCLUDING THE TRIBULATION SAINTS.
Matthew 16:18 (YLT)
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18 [/SUP]
`And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it;
Here is more information.
John saw the angel
ascending from the rising of the sun. That is a poetic way of saying from the east, the point of the compass in which the sun rises. From John's perspective on the isle of Patmos, the east would be toward the land of Israel, the land where God's promised salvation came through Jesus the Messiah, and from where the twelve tribes of Israel came—members of which are about to be sealed.
The angel had with him
the seal of the living God. Sphragis (
seal) often referred to a signet ring. Kings or other officials would use such rings to stamp into wax on documents or other items, thereby affirming their authenticity and guaranteeing their security (cf.
Gen. 41:42;
Est. 3:10;
8:2,
8;
Dan. 6:17;
Matt. 27:66). A
seal thus denoted ownership and protection (cf.
John 6:27;
2 Cor. 1:22;
Eph. 1:13;
4:30).
. . .
In the Old Testament,
God marked Israel with blood on their doorposts and lintels to spare them when He killed Egypt's firstborn. He marked Rahab with a scarlet cord to keep her and those with her from being killed. But the illustration that most nearly parallels the present passage comes from
Ezekiel 9:3-6:
MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Revelation 1-11.
And I saw another angel ascending from (the) sunrising, having (the) seal of (the) Living God, and he cried with a great voice to the four angels, to whom it had been given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, until we shall have sealed the servants (bond slaves) of our God, in their foreheads.
"Another angel" means this is a fifth angel. He is apparently of a higher rank than the other four because he gives them orders. As we see in the Book of Daniel and also in the Epistle to the Ephesians, there are gradations of orders of angels, both good and bad. Satan has the demon world well organized; he probably has generals, lieutenant colonels, majors, lieutenants, sergeants, and then a great many privates. On the other side, God also has His angels arranged. This angel gives orders to the other four.
"He cried with a great voice." In the Greek this is phone megale. If you turn phone megale around, you can see where we get our English word megaphone. Megal means "great"; phone "noise or voice."
This is an indication that frightful and fearful judgment is getting ready to break upon the earth, and it is therefore necessary to secure the servants of God. If He does not seal them, they are not going to make it through. However, they are going to be preserved in this day of wrath that is coming on the earth. The Lord Jesus Himself mentioned this in
Matthew 24:21-22: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." For the sake of these who have been sealed, this terrible time will be shortened.
. . .
We now have this interlude before the seventh seal is opened. This angel is apparently more than a sergeant; he is probably a lieutenant colonel or a general. He says, "Hold everything! Hold back the winds of judgment, the winds of the Great Tribulation period, because we have to seal these folk so they can make it through." There will be two great companies sealed, one out of the nation Israel and the other out of the Gentiles.
Where is the church? The church is not here; they are with Christ in, I believe, the New Jerusalem. He said that He was going to prepare a place for those who were His, and now that He has taken them off the earth, they are with Him. That city will come down from God a little later on in the Revelation, and we will get a look at it.
The reason, therefore, for the interlude between the sixth and seventh seals is to make sure that these sealed ones are going to make it through the Great Tribulation period. The Lord Jesus made it very clear that they are going to make it through.
Remnant Of Israel Sealed (7:4-8)
When God deals with Israel, I have always noticed that He deals with dates and He deals with numbers. When He is dealing with the church, He does not deal with either dates or numbers. Paul never turned in a report to anybody as to how many were saved. Even when we get to the great company of Gentiles who are saved in the Great Tribulation period, the number is not given.
When God deals with Israel, however, He deals with numbers and He deals with dates. The insistence of some Bible teachers to set dates for these prophetic events has hurt the study of prophecy and has brought it down to a low level, whereas this aspect ought to be kept on as high a level as any other subject of prophecy.
Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee.
THE RAPTURE HAPPENS BEFORE THE 144,000 are SEALED.
Revelation 7:4 (YLT)
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4 [/SUP] And I heard the number of those sealed, (one hundred and forty four thousands were sealed out of all the tribes
of the sons of Israel):
My understanding is that GOD HAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS 144,000 REMNANT OF ISRAEL SURVIVED, BECAUSE OF HIS PROMISE TO ISRAEL,
that forever, their descendants will inherit the land of ISRAEL.
Ezekiel 37:25-28 (NKJV)
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25 [/SUP] Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and
My servant David shall be their prince forever.
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26 [/SUP] Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set
My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
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27 [/SUP] My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
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28 [/SUP]
The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when
My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."
THERE IS THE PURPOSE FOR SEALING THE 144,000 JEWS in their MORTAL BODIES.
Numbers 34:2 (HCSB)
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2 [/SUP] “Command
the Israelites and say to them: When you enter
the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these borders:
1 Chronicles 16:13-18 (NKJV)
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13 [/SUP] O
seed of Israel His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
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14 [/SUP] He
is the LORD our God; His judgments
are in all the earth.
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15 [/SUP] Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded,
for a thousand generations,
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16 [/SUP]
The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,
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17 [/SUP] And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
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18 [/SUP] Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,"
Therefore I believe this verse is describing what happens to the 144,000 when He sets foot on the Mount of Olives.
Zechariah 14:2-5 (HCSB)
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2 [/SUP] I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped.
Half the city will go into exile, but
the rest of the people {the 144,000}will not be removed from the city.
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3 [/SUP] Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.
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4 [/SUP] On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.
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5 [/SUP]
You {the 144,000} will flee by My mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.
THAT IS HOW THEY ESCAPE COMING OUT BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES, THEREBY FLEEING TO PETRA, AS YOU POINTED OUT.