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144000 (number)

List of numbers - Integers

100000   144000   1000000

Cardinal144000
Ordinal144000th
Factorization27 × 32 × 53
Binary100011001010000000
Hexadecimal23280

144,000 is a positive whole integer. It has a religious significance for Christians because of its use in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. It is also significant in some New Age religious movements.


Contents

In Christianity

The 144,000 are mentioned three times in the Book of Revelation:

144000 (number):1695 Eretz Israel map in Amsterdam Haggada by Abraham Bar-Jacob
Tribes of Israel
The Tribes
Topics

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144000 (number):144000 (number)
 saying: "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
   
144000 (number):144000 (number)
   
144000 (number):144000 (number)
 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
   
144000 (number):144000 (number)
   
144000 (number):144000 (number)
 And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
   
144000 (number):144000 (number)

The numbers 12,000 and 144,000 are variously interpreted in traditional Christianity. Some, taking the numbers in Revelation to be symbolic,[1] believe it represents all of God's people throughout history in the heavenly Church.[2] Others insist the numbers 12,000 and 144,000 are literal numbers and that the 144,000 people who are descendants of Jacob (also called Israel in the Bible) have a distinct role at the time of the end of the world.[citation needed]

Significance for Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses distinctly believe that only 144,000 people will be born again and will thus spend eternity with God in heaven. They do not believe that this number necessarily comes from descendants of Jacob, but from early Christians, and those of Jehovah's Witnesses who profess to be "anointed" or ("spiritual Israel").[3] Witnesses believe that the 144,000 have been selected by God from the time of Jesus' apostles through to today. They believe that the 144,000 (those having a "heavenly hope") will reign with Christ in heaven, while all other people accepted by God will live forever on a paradise earth (an "earthly hope").

Traditional Christian teachingCorresponding Jehovah’s Witnesses teaching[4]
1) 12,000 and 144,000 are symbolic numbers representing all of God's people; or 2) Literally 144,000 people (12,000 from each tribe) will be chosen from the tribes of Israel. 12,000 is symbolic of balance.[5]Literally 144,000 people will be the "spiritual Israel" (i.e. "anointed" Jehovah's Witnesses). [6]
All Christians are born again and will thus spend eternity with God. Only 144,000 believers are to be born again and will thus spend eternity in heaven with God. [7]
One cannot see God’s Kingdom or enter into it without being born again. Those who are not born again have an "earthly hope" to a paradise earth and have no need to be born again. [8]

Only about 8,500 Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be of the 144,000 today. However, they believe that Jesus is Shepherd and Savior over both those with the "heavenly hope" (the 144,000) and those with the "earthly hope" (to live on a paradise earth).[9]

Significance for Skoptzists

The Christian Skoptzy sect in Russia believe that the Messiah would come when the Skoptsi numbered 144,000, and all their efforts were directed to reaching this total.

In New Age movements

The number 144,000 is also significant in various New Age religious movements.

Other uses of 144,000

References

  1. ^ See "Numbers in the Book of Revelation" as an example of this view.
  2. ^ "144,000 sealed in Apocalypse [Revelation] 7:4ff; 14:1 ff: This is [[12 (number)|]], the number of the tribes of Israel, multiplied by itself and then multiplied by [[1000 (number)|]], the number of a military unit in the ancient Israelite army. The number indicates the fullness of Israel; the Church in the New Testament is conceived as the fullness of Israel, and this is the heavenly Church in its final completion."--Dictionary of the Bible, John L. McKenzie, S.J., p. 621.
  3. ^ What Does the Bible Really Teach? p. 79
  4. ^ For the full table of doctrinal differences or comparisons, please see Controversies regarding Jehovah's Witnesses#Doctrinal differences
  5. ^ "Since natural Israel consisted of 12 tribes, it logically follows that spiritual Israel would be spoken of as having 12 tribes to show that it was a complete spiritual nation, with no part or tribe missing. There is no numerical imbalance within spiritual Israel, for the Bible book of Revelation symbolically reveals that an equal number--12,000--is sealed from every tribe. (Rev. 7:4-8) Commentary on the Letter of James, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (1979), pp. 12,13.
  6. ^ What does the Bible Really Teach?, ch. 8, p. 79
  7. ^ The Watchtower, 2/1/1986, p. 17, ¶ 17 (see also watchtower.org)
  8. ^ The Watchtower, 2/15/1986, p. 14 (see also watchtower.org)
  9. ^ Worldwide Security Under the "Prince of Peace" 1986, p.11 paragraphs 18-20

See also

Categories


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