Is 144,000 A Literal Number?

144,000 is it a literal number

It is mentioned just twice in the Bible.

Revelation 7:3,4 – “”Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.”

Is 144,000 a literal numbers?

–Does This means that 144,000 are still on Earth. Until after Armageddon?

Revelation 14:1, 4-5 – “And I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. …
These are the ones that did not defile themselves with women; in fact, they are virgins. These are the ones that keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and no falsehood was found in their mouths; they are without blemish.”

The Watchtower makes the claim that in these Scriptures the number 144,000 is literal, but all other descriptors of them are figurative, saying that they are not literally:

1—–from the tribes of Israel
2—-having the name of Lamb and Father on their foreheads
3—-virgins
4—-holding no falsehood on their mouths
5—-without blemish
6—-they did not defied themselves with women
In such a figurative passage there is no strong reason to believe that the number 144,000 is any less figurative.

Closer inspection of Revelation also shows that this group are not collected over a two thousand year period, but rather the entire group reside on earth at the time of the great tribulation. Revelation 7:4 says that the winds are held back, not to seal the remnant, but rather to seal a 144,000 sons of Israel.

Eisegesis interpretation

The term “little flock of 144,000″ never appears in the Bible
As discussed at the section on paradise, the Bible consistently shows that the resurrection hope is a heavenly one held out to all Christians. In an effort to make the number that go to heaven appear small, the Watchtower refers to a heavenly class that is described as a “Little Flock of 144,000″.

“One aspect of that secret involved Jehovah’s selecting a “little flock” of 144,000 humans to be associated with his Son as part of the seed, to reign with him in heaven.” Examining the Scriptures Daily 2007 p.117 Nov 28.

These terms do not appear together in the Bible, and there is no reason to believe they refer to the same group. Yet Watchtower publications group “little flock” and “144,000″ together over 300 times over the last 5 decades.

The 144,000 (hundred and forty-four thousand) are described only twice in the Bible at Revelation 7 and 14, and the term Little Flock appears only once:

Luke 12:32 “Have no fear, little flock, because YOUR Father has approved of giving YOU the kingdom.

To group these terms and claim heaven will be limited to a little flock results from an eisegesis doctrinal approach, as the context of Revelation and the gospels contain no such arbitrary links. As shown at Great Crowd, the other sheep (gentiles) actually become part of the little flock (Jews) and the great crowd is a heavenly group.

OtherSheep in John 10:7-9, 16 are the Gentiles

The Lost Sheep’s are the Jews.
Mathews. 15: 22-24 , Matthew 10:5-6 ,

The Jews are little flocks when compared to Gentile Nations.
Luke 12:32
But they are one flock and one shepherd.

Acts 15:7-9 God put no difference btw the JEWS AND THE GENTILE

Acts 15: 7 Now when much disputing had taken place, Peter rose and said to them: “Men, brothers, YOU well know that from early days God made the choice among YOU that through my mouth people of the nations should hear the word of the good news and believe; 8 and God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving them the holy spirit, just as he did to us also. 9 And he made no distinction at all between us and them, but purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are YOU making a test of God by imposing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our forefathers nor we were capable of bearing? 11 On the contrary, we trust to get saved through the undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus in the same way as those people also.”

Roman 11:16-26. Paul was talking about the Jews and the Gentiles

Revelation 19:1. Rev. 7:4, 9-15 The great crowd and the figurative 144,000 will be in heaven after the great tribulation.

In fact, it is prematurely and misleading to use the book of REVELATION which was prophesy about future plan of Jehovah and apply it before the great Tribulation comes.

Faithful Men of Old have Heavenly Hope.

Hebrew 11:13-19
13 In faith all these died, although they did not get the [fulfillment of the] promises, but they saw them afar off and welcomed them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in the land. 14 For those who say such things give evidence that they are earnestly seeking a place of their own. 15 And yet, if they had indeed kept remembering that [place] from which they had gone forth, they would have had opportunity to return.
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16 But now they are reaching out for a better [place], that is, one belonging to HEAVEN. Hence God is not ashamed of them, to be called upon as their God, for he has made a city ready for them.
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17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, as good as offered up Isaac, and the man that had gladly received the promises attempted to offer up [his] only-begotten [son], 18 although it had been said to him: “What will be called ‘your seed’ will be through Isaac.” 19 But he reckoned that God was able to raise him up even from the dead; and from there he did receive him also in an illustrative way.

Matthew 11:11
I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John. (Matthew 11:11 GNBDK). What does this means?

Early church members are more than 144,000.

Act 2:41. 3.000
Act. 4:4. 5,000
Act. 9:42. Many became believers
Act. 17:4. Great multitude
Act. 19:18 Many became believers
Act. 13:44-48. All the city gathered and became believers
Act. 21:20. Thousand of believers

Early Local Churches

Rome 1:7. Rome
1 Corinthian. 1:2. Corinthian
Galatians 1:2. Galatia
Philip 1:1. Philippians
Ephesians 1:1. Ephesians
Colosse1:2. Colossians
1Thessalonians 1:1. Thessalonians
Titus 1:5. Crete ,
Revelation 2:8. Smyrna.
Revelation 2:18 Tyatira
Revelation 3:7 Philadelphia
Revelation 3:14 Laodicea
Revelation 2:12 Pergamum
Revelation 3:1. Sardis
Pontus
Cappadocia
Asia
And Bithynia

What is the total population of these churches?

The book of revelation was written in 96 AD
Jerusalem temple was destroyed in. 70 AD

That was 26 years of church growth was more than 144,000 people.

The total numbers of those myrtires from the early Apostles to the 18th Centuries are more than 144,000 people.

If the criteria’s of those who are going to rule with Jesus in Heaven is been killed like Jesus among other qualifications, then the number of 144,000 must be a symbolic number just as their descriptions is Revelation 14:1-3. Those who died for the love Christ exceeded 144,000 people.

If the interpretation of the Watchtower Society based on 144,000 as a literal numbers is correct, then, the number of 144,000 would have been sealed before the birth of Pastor C.T. Russell, the founder of Watchtower Organization.

Heavens is Home for All Believers.

Philippians 3:20-21
20 As for us, our citizenship exists in the heavens, from which place also we are eagerly waiting for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will refashion our humiliated body to be conformed to his glorious body according to the operation of the power that he has, even to subject all things to himself.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
13 Moreover, brothers, we do not want YOU to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping [in death]; that YOU may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope. 14 For if our faith is that Jesus died and rose again, so, too, those who have fallen asleep [in death] through Jesus God will bring with him. 15 For this is what we tell YOU by Jehovah’s word, that we the living who survive to the presence of the Lord shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep [in death]; 16 because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. 17 Afterward we the living who are surviving will, together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall always be with [the] Lord. 18 Consequently keep comforting one another with these words.

John 1:12-13
12 However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; 13 and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.

I John 5:1-2
1 Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God, and everyone who loves the one that caused to be born loves him who has been born from that one. 2 By this we gain the knowledge that we are loving the children of God, when we are loving God and doing his commandments.

I Peter 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
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4 to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for YOU,
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5 who are being safeguarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last period of time.

Matthew 8:11
11 But I tell YOU that many from eastern parts and western parts will come and recline at the table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens;

If we rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us without religious bias then the Bible is sufficient to lead us to Christ Jesus for external life.