I guess the point of interested for me though is, its ok to be amazed that that one of the tribes has over the past 20 years been affirmed by Israeli government.
Definitely.
I don't see the 144k as active until the second half of the tribulation.
Footsteps of the Messiah, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum pg 203
The Events of the First Half of the Tribulation
Revelation 6-18 deals with the tribulation period. Chapters 6-9 and 17 are concerned with the events of the first half, chapters 10-14 with the events of the middle, and chapters 15-16 and 18 with the events of the second half.
Regarding the events of the first half of the tribulation, two things should be noted. First, some events occur in chronological sequence, with one event following the other in order. The seal judgments of chapter 6 and the trumpet judgments of chapters 8-9 fall into this category. Second, other things happen simultaneously with the sequential events. Five such things can be seen as occurring throughout the first half of the tribulation. Two of them begin before the tribulation and continue into and through the first half. One is the ministry of Elijah the prophet. The other is the governmental system of the ten kings and the ten kingdoms. As was stated earlier, after the fall of the one world government before the tribulation, the world is divided into ten kingdoms. This ten-kingdom division continues into and throughout the first half of the tribulation.
The other three things will be discussed later in this chapter. They are the ministry of the 144,000 and the worldwide revival (Rev. 7), the ministry of the two witnesses (Rev. 11), and the rule of the Ecclesiastical Babylon that will control the religious affairs of the world during the first half of the tribulation period (Rev. 17).
Footsteps of the Messiah, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum pgs 219-221
B. The 144,000 Jews and the Worldwide Revival
Revelation 7 deals with the second major purpose of the great tribulation: that of the worldwide revival. The chapter divides itself into two sections.
1. The Means of the Worldwide Revival— Revelation 7:1-8
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”
The 144,000
And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
from the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand, from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand, from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, from the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, from the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand were sealed.
This passage describes the third of the five things happening throughout the first half of the tribulation. It is the ministry of the 144,000, which will occur throughout the entire first half and not merely after the sixth seal judgment. In fact, it is going on during the seal judgments, and it is the means by which the fifth seal saints come to the Messiah. The passage begins with “After this,” which is not chronological, but merely the next vision John sees.
In verses 1-3, the four angels who are commissioned to bring judgment on the earth are commanded to hold off their destruction until a specific number of servants has been sealed. In the Hebrew Scriptures, sealing was done for two reasons: service and protection. Both reasons apply here. The servants are sealed for protection so that they cannot be hurt by the judgments poured out by God nor by the persecutions against believers. But they are also sealed for service, for they are the ones who will proclaim the message of the gospel in the tribulation. The mention of the four winds shows that these 144,000 Jews will come from all parts of the world and not only from Israel.
In verses 4-8, the identification of those who are sealed is specified as 144,000 Jews. To make it even more clear, twelve tribes are listed with the statement that 12,000 are chosen from each of the twelve tribes. Such careful delineation confirms that these 144,000 are Jews and will be nothing else, despite much speculation to the contrary. The emphasis is on the Jewishness of the 144,000.
Looking at the list of tribal names, some have concluded that the tribe of Ephraim is omitted, but this is not the case. In place of the name Ephraim, there is the name of his father, Joseph (v. 8). Such an interchange between Joseph and Ephraim is not unusual and appears elsewhere, as in Ezekiel 37:16. While Ephraim is not omitted, another tribe is indeed left out, the tribe of Dan. No reason is given. A great deal of speculation and guesswork has developed as a result, mainly the idea that the Antichrist will come out of this tribe. This opinion has already been refuted earlier. Others claim that the false prophet will arise out of the tribe of Dan and that is why that tribe is not listed. But this, too, is pure speculation. There is nothing in the context to suggest either of these suppositions. The text itself does not state the reason why the tribe of Dan is left out. However, the actual reason may be deduced from Scripture. When all tribal names are listed, the total comes to thirteen and not twelve because Joseph produced two tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh. In order to maintain the symmetry of twelve, one name must always be dropped. This method may be seen in passages such as Deuteronomy 33, where Moses presented his twelve tribal blessings, as Jacob did in Genesis 49. To maintain the symmetry of twelve, Moses also had to drop one tribe, and that was the tribe of Simeon. Ezekiel 47-48 describes the tribal settlement in the Messianic kingdom, and in order to maintain the symmetry of twelve, Ezekiel dropped the tribe of Levi, putting this tribe in a separate place and category. Just as there was no sinister reason for dropping Simeon or Levi, there is no sinister reason for dropping Dan. In all cases, it was merely to retain the symmetry of twelve. In the book of Revelation, three numbers are prominent: four, seven, and twelve. Hence, the dropping of Dan.
This ministry of the 144,000 Jews preaching the gospel fulfills the prophecy of Matthew 24:14.
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Blessings.
