Bible Numbers 2.0

The 144,000 From Israel

Two groups of 144,000 are mentioned in the book of Revelation. There are many who say the two groups are the same just because of the number. And because of this initial idea, they join the descriptions of the two groups into one. Are these assumptions in interpretation? Is there a way to prove they are the same? Is there a way to prove the groups are different? This article follows the latter understanding. The two groups are not the same.

The Apostle John gives very little detail concerning the 144,000 from Israel in the book of Revelation. They are only called servants of God. They are sealed, but nothing is said about what comprises this seal of the living God. This contrasts with the group chosen to walk with Jesus (Revelation 14:1-5). There is a location. They stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. They have the Lamb's name. They have the Father's name. These names are written on their foreheads. It is not sealed or stamped. They are redeemed as first fruits from the earth. Only they can sing a special song before God’s throne. Even their relationship with women is pure. They do not lie and are spotless.

What can be said of the 144,000 from Israel? There are at least three prophecies of Israel being purged again and again (Isaiah 10:22; Jeremiah 6:9; Ezekiel 5:1-4). Ezekiel gives a fourth prophecy, in chapter 20, where events match those in the book of Revelation.

Ezekiel 20:33 mentions God’s mighty hand, outstretched arm, and wrath poured out. Some of this is repeated in verse 34 to ensure the reader cannot miss these details. This is how God becomes king over Israel. There is a rod under which Israel must pass, and their rebels will be purged (37-38).

The bowls of wrath in Revelation 15:7 are acts of God corresponding to Ezekiel 20:33-34. The pouring out of wrath is common to both passages. The King of Kings is clearly implementing God’s rulership on earth. He also has an iron rod to rule nations (Revelation 19:15). These common elements place Ezekiel 20 with the book of Revelation. Thus the 144,000 are the remnant that survives the purging.

Clearly, the process continues until Israel is purified. Is Israel purified by the events in Revelation? This is not clear. Ezekiel 20:43 states the survivors will loathe themselves for the evil they did. This is repeated in Ezekiel 36:31. Thus the 144,000 cannot be the same as the second group who are spotless. This remnant is not perfect. By God’s mercy they now have the opportunity to do better.

Revelation is a book of contrasts. The divorce between the Beast and Babylon is contrasted to the marriage of the Lamb and his bride (Revelation 18:1-19:8). Thus the two groups of 144,000 are also contrasted. John gives the calibre of the group with Jesus. (It is very high.) They are deserving of special status because they are spotless. They have no regrets. The contrast would be that the 144,000 from Israel lack this special standing. The 144,000 from Israel are not spotless. Their relationship with women is not pure. These people have regrets. This 144,000 are chosen out of Israel by God’s mercy.

Ezekiel chapter 20 is the prophecy. Revelation 7:1-8 is the fulfillment. For this case, there are two ways (Part A, Part B) of joining the verses of the prophecy and fulfillment together that produces numeric features. This is like having two witnesses.

(There is even a third witness. Joining Ezekiel chapter 20 to the other group of 144,000 [Revelation 14:1-5], results in an incomplete picture of the 144,000 and the loss of the most important verse from Ezekiel. This shows the difference between the two groups.)

8 But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not every man cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they dwelt, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live. 12 Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I the LORD sanctify them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not walk in my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness. 18 "And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I the LORD am your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, 20 and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I the LORD am your God. 21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live; they profaned my sabbaths. "Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. 25 Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life; 26 and I defiled them through their very gifts in making them offer by fire all their first-born, that I might horrify them; I did it that they might know that I am the LORD. 27 "Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In this again your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their soothing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Bamah to this day.) 30 Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things? 31 When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. 32 "What is in your mind shall never happen -- the thought, `Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.' 33 "As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. (Ezekiel 20:8-35)¹

Ezekiel's prophecy recounts the history of Israel's rebellion against God. They wanted to be like all the other nations (verse 32). God said He would be king over Israel no matter what they did. He would do it with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out (verse 33). God would judge Israel in the wilderness of the peoples. These phrases tie Ezekiel's prophecy to the events in Revelation.

There are 461 words in Ezekiel's prophecy, 1837 letters and a numeric total of 125421. None of these numbers is divisible by 7 or 13.

This prophecy's fulfillment is seen in the 144,000 chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in Revelation 7:3-4.

3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads." 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel, (Revelation 7:3-4)

The English translation makes it sound as if verse 3 is an incomplete sentence or partial thought. The original Greek, with verbs agreeing with nouns in terms of person and gender, has less of this problem. The opening word in Greek is λεγων, which is masculine and singular, carrying the sense he is saying. This provides the subject of the sentence that is missing in English.

This first group of 144,000 is from Israel. They have the seal of God on their foreheads. All the tribes are said to be represented and there is no breakdown of how many come from each.

This passage has 38 words, 208 letters and a numeric total of 16708. (Only the number of letters is divisible by 13.)

When Ezekiel 20:8-35 and Revelation 7:3-4 are put together, something wonderful happens. (There are 499 words, 2045 letters, and a numeric total of 142129.)

As will be seen, the many times the number 13 appears in these features confirms this is God’s sovereign will. He has signed His name to the prophecy and its fulfillment.

Primary Features

(Derived from Revelation 1:8 and grouped for easy reference.)

I Am (Present tense - living through it) Add up everything.

A.1Numeric total: 142129 = 13² x 29². (See feature 1.)

Is, Was, Is To Come (Second present tense - skipping sequentially through it) Add up every other occurrance.

B.3Every other word (odd): 74802 = 2 x 3 x 7 x 13 x 137. (See feature 2.4.1.)

B.3.2Every other word (even): 67327 = 13 x 5179. (See feature 2.4.2.)

B.4Every other letter (odd): 70408 = 2³ x 13 x 677. (See feature 7.3.1.)

B.4.2Every other letter (even): 71721 = 3² x 13 x 613. (See feature 7.3.2.)

Alpha & Omega (The first and last) Add up the first item with the last item.

C.3.2First and last letter of each word: 55895 = 5 x 7 x 1597. (See feature 3.)

Alpha (The first) Add up the first item.

D.3.3First letter of each word: 18011 = 7 x 31 x 83. (See feature 4.)

Omega (The last) Add up the last item.

E.3.3Last letter of each word: 37884 = 2² x 3 x 7 x 11 x 41. (See feature 5.)

The Verses

List of verses:
6601 4920 1197 4699 4691 8196 2939 5504 3847 3134 4212 2996 3336 8879 4489 4125 4171 1898 4258 4288 8988 2621 4307 5840 5049 1579 5283 3374 9394 7314

1Total of the thirty verses: 142129 = 13² x 29². SF: 84 = 2² x 3 x 7. SF: 14 = 2 x 7. The total is perfect square of 13 and 29. The two factors of 13 link this with God’s name in Hebrew, which has a value of 26. The sum of the factors leads to another number divisible by 7, and a third level of factors is also a multiple of 7.

1.1The first and last verses total 13915. Although this is not a multiple of 7 or 13, it emphasizes the previous feature with squares in its factors: 13915 = 5 x 11² x 23. There is a square in the sum of these factors: 50 = 2 x 5². And there is a square in the third level of factors: 12 = 2² x 3.

1.2.115 verses are odd valued. There is no equivalent feature with the even valued verses since the total is a multiple of 13.

6601 1197 4699 4691 2939 3847 8879 4489 4125 4171 2621 4307 5049 1579 5283

Total: 64477 = 7 x 61 x 151.

1.2.213 verses have a first digit that is odd valued. In this case, there is a square in the factors.

1197 5504 3847 3134 3336 1898 5840 5049 1579 5283 3374 9394 7314

Total: 56749 = 7 x 11² x 67.

1.3Three pairs of verse groups are positioned Nth and Nth last, each together and individually divisible by 7.

a) Start position of group: 9     10    13
b) End position of group:   11    13    14
c) Total of both groups:    27090 33110 18284

[a) and b) are from the beginning or from the end.]

Total of the starting and ending positions (a + b): 70 = 2 x 5 x 7. SF: 14 = 2 x 7.

1.4Every 7th verse:

Verse position: 7    14   21   28
Verse value:    2939 8879 8988 3374

Total of the verses: 24180 = 2² x 3 x 5 x 13 x 31. SF: 56 = 2³ x 7. SF: 13.

1.5Divide the verses into four groups.

A) Odd valued & odd positioned.
B) Odd valued & even positioned.
C) Even valued & odd positioned.
D) Even valued & even positioned.

1.5.1Odd position & odd valued (group A):

1 3 5 7 9 15 17 23 25 27
6601 1197 4691 2939 3847 4489 4171 4307 5049 5283

Total: 42574 = 2 x 7 x 3041.

1.5.2Odd position & even valued (group B):

11 13 19 21 29
4212 3336 4258 8988 9394

Total: 30188.

1.5.3Even position & odd valued (group C):

4 14 16 22 26
4699 8879 4125 2621 1579

Total: 21903 = 3 x 7² x 149. (Two of the four categories are multiples of 7.)

1.5.4Even position & even valued (group D):

2 6 8 10 12 18 20 24 28 30
4920 8196 5504 3134 2996 1898 4288 5840 3374 7314