Who are the 144,000?

Twelve thousand sealed from each tribe of Israel

by R. Douglass Mahaffey

      I once had a man of Hispanic decent knock on my door and asked me if I had ever heard of the prophesy of the Revelation of God. I told him that I had, that I was a child of God and I had given my heart to him in 1992. He asked me if that was when I joined the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness. I told him that I had not, that I made Jesus Lord of my life and was a Christian who, at the time, went to a Baptist church.
      He then proceeded to tell me that unless I was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness, I would not be one of the 144,000 that would make it into heaven. I then did what every non-Jehovah's Witness in America would do. I bid him good day and closed the door. I missed an opportunity to utilize scripture to show this man where he had been misled.
      Revelation 7 tells us that John sees four angels in a vision, standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth so that no wind blows anywhere on the earth. Then he saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. The angel cried with a loud voice to the four angels, who were there to hurt the earth and sea.
      The fifth angel told the other four angels not to hurt the earth, the sea or the trees until they had sealed the servants of God on their foreheads. John then heard the number of them which were sealed was one-hundred-forty-four thousand of all the tribes of Is'-ra-el; the tribe of Ju'-da, Reu'-ben, Gad, A'ser, Nep'-tha-lim, Ma-nas'-ses, Sim'-e-on, Le'-vi, Is'-sa-char, Za-bu'-lon, Jo'-seph and Ben'-ja-min were all sealed, twelve-thousand from each tribe.
      Had I had the knowledge then, that I have now about the 144,000 sealed, I could have gotten my Bible and showed this gentleman where the church that he had put his faith in had misled him. First of all, our faith should never be put in a church or a preacher, but in the God who established His church and called the preacher to send the message. How else will people hear, unless God calls someone (a preacher) to tell them.
      This man was not Israeli descent, he was Hispanic. I later found out that these men will also be virgins, who pure in heart, will be the last people after the rapture, during the tribulation, who will tell the people in the deepest, darkest parts of the earth, who haven't heard the gospel. These will all be males too. This man was married, had three children with him. He was not a virgin, Jewish male. He had been lied to. The Bible tells us that there will be people in the last days who will twist and pervert the gospel and try to pass off a lie to lead others astray. The Bible says not to let them darken your door-step, neither bid them God's speed. II John 1:10.
      In the case of the new Christian, this is very important to adhere to, which, at the time, I was. When we are babes in Christ and the grace of salvation is new to us, it is easy to get confused and mix words that won't help the matter. God has equipped those who are mature in their Christianity and their growth in the spirit, who can handle such a situation. The best thing to do is ground yourself in the word and make sure you know the difference between false teachings and teachings that are Holy Ghost inspired.
     On the other side of that, I have also been approached by people in spirit filled services and was told (before being Baptized in the Holy Ghost) that if I didn't have the gift of speaking in tongues, that I wasn't a Christian. That man was obviously misled as well. That's probably the reason why that church didn't last. It's foundation was not based on grace through faith, but rather works. Salvation comes first, to the accepting heart. Then the gifts of the Holy Ghost follow afterwards.
      It is best to stay grounded in the Word or God and have a good prayer life. The best way to tell that a Christian doesn't have a good, strong prayer life is if they transplant from one church to the other due to doctrine. I should know, I have been guilty of that in the past. The Word of God is the cornerstone as to which growth in our knowledge and discernment of the truth comes from. The truth is in there and it is up to us to seek after it. When inspiration comes to us by way of the Holy Ghost, the truth will be seen in our daily walk. We won't have to walk around touting that we are Christians. Others will see in in our witness and example we set.
       So, if someone comes and knocks on your door talking about being the 144,000, ask them if they are virgin, Jewish males. If not, break open your Bible to Revelation 7 and lead them in the right direction. Then take them to Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the grace of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
      If a Jehovah's Witness works (or any man's works) could save them then God would have never had to leave His perfect heaven and come down to the earth and be crucified for our sins. That salvation is free. Grace paid the price and became the sacrificial lamb to cover our sins completely with His blood. We have no other way unto heaven, but through Jesus.

R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative.