A Question
of Timing

To (every thing there is) a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

    The book of Revelation reveals that the 144,000 are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit to identify them as His own, mark them as genuine, and protect them from the Almighty’s end time wrath. This sealing clearly identifies these people as true Christians who will be in the resurrection which occurs at Christ’s return. They are also marked as individuals who are destined to rule with the Messiah during the millennium and beyond.
Many Students of the Bible have misunderstood this vital truth, however, assuming that the entire 144,000 are sealed all at one time. Why has there been so much confusion regarding this subject, and why has it continued so long?
    The answer is primarily found in the timing of the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation. Complex as it is, this chapter sometimes seems to purposely obscure the actual sequence of events. Consequently, readers commonly make the mistake of assuming that the entirety of the 144,000 are sealed at the same time—just prior to the trumpet plagues, and the execution of God’s wrath.

Revelation Chapter Seven contains an Inset Section
    While many have concluded that the 144,000 are all sealed at the same time, the book of Revelation nowhere states this. We must read these verses carefully, and when we do, it becomes clear that in verse three, the angel only speaks of God’s servants who are to be sealed, without any reference to a specific number. The angel says:

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads (Revelation 7:3).

    It is important to realize that in verse three, the apostle never sees the 144,000 stand together, nor does he witness the act of their sealing. In fact, the 144,000 are not shown standing together in one place until Revelation, chapter fourteen, where they are depicted as all assembled together only after the resurrection has already taken place.
    Subsequent to hearing the angel proclaim, in verse three, that God’s servants must be sealed, a time gap occurs before the events contained in the next verse. Then, in verse four, John only hears the total number, after all who will be chosen have been sealed. At this point, the apostle explains:

I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand (Revelation 7:4).

Verse four begins an “inset” section that continues through the end of the chapter. In these verses, John no longer focuses on the trumpet plagues. He next depicts hearing the total number of God’s servants who have been sealed, and learns that they are chosen out from spiritual Israel. Finally he sees the great multitude stand before God’s throne.

Understanding Insets
    At this point, it is vital to understand God’s use of “insets” throughout the book of Revelation. This knowledge can help readers grasp what He is revealing in chapter seven, where the 144,000 and the great multitude are introduced.
    The book of Revelation is a fascinating series of chronologies focusing on future events. However, as each time-line unfolds, there are often inset portions within the chronology. These insets interrupt the normal flow of events by inserting a different theme into the text. They serve to look at something specific from a different perspective, or skip ahead to reveal the result of a specific occurrence.
    Notice how these insets occur in Revelation as it progresses to chapter seven. Chapter one introduces Jesus Christ, and the seven Churches. In the second and third chapters, there are letters to each Church. In addition to bearing specific messages to each Church, these letters also serve as a prophetic history of God’s Church from John’s time to the end of the age.
    Revelation four begins by introducing the first inset showing the throne of God, the activity surrounding His throne, and the awe-inspiring beings that accompany Him there. Revelation five through six then begin a new chronology, showing the opening of the seven prophetic seals which commence in John’s time and continue to the day of the Lord.
    This chronology is interrupted just before the seventh seal is opened. This break in the flow of events actually occurs in chapter seven after only three verses. At this point, another inset begins by introducing readers to the 144,000 and the great multitude.
    The original Bible manuscripts were written without chapter or verse divisions. These breaks were created centuries later by the English speaking translators. While their decision to end chapter six, at the point they chose, may have had a logical basis, it can also mislead readers. Confusion can occur because while chapter seven speaks of the 144,000 and great multitude, the first three verses are actually a continuation of events recorded in chapter six which describe occurrences leading up to the trumpet plagues. As the apostle John writes:

I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads (Revelation 7:1-3).

    After the events pertaining to the trumpet plagues in the above three verses, the chronological flow stops, and an inset section begins, describing the 144,000 and the great multitude. The fantastic story of these two groups continues until the account of the trumpet plagues begins again in chapter eight.
    This inset actually begins in verse four where the perspective changes entirely. The vision suddenly moves from a time looking forward to when the servants of God need to be sealed, to a time after the act of sealing has taken place. The inset begins by revealing the total number only after they have all been sealed. As John writes:

And I heard the number of them which WERE sealed: (and there WERE) sealed an hundred (and) forty (and) four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel (Revelation 7:4).

    Understanding the timing revealed in these verses is vital. There is a time gap between verses three and four. Verse three speaks of events that WILL occur—the future. Verse four speaks of that which HAS occurred—the past. In verse three the sealing needs to occur. Verse four reverses perspective, looking at a time after they have been sealed. Only then does John hear how many were sealed.

The 144,000 are not Sealed Simultaneously
    If the reader is not careful to note this dramatic change of focus, it is possible to assume that the 144,000 are all sealed at once. It is vital that we are careful in our study of what God reveals in Scripture, however, not making assumptions.
    Could it be that God has sealed the vast majority of the 144,000 down through the ages? It is possible that there are an unspecified number existing at the end of the age that must be sealed before His wrath begins? The parable of the laborers in the field, with some being hired to do God’s works at the very end certainly demonstrates such a scenario (Matthew 20:1-16).
    The Scriptures state that the 144,000 are sealed with God’s Spirit. They are later described as servants of God, and the firstfruits. From this alone, it is clear that they are the first resurrection. There is only one conclusion that is reasonable. In fact, it is inescapable—the 144,000 are not sealed all at once!
    In Revelation seven, verse three, the angel stops the flow of events so that the servants of God who are alive during the end-time can be sealed. They are then seals them to bring the total number sealed to God’s predestined number of exactly 144,000.
    Could it be that the exact number of those who will be sealed at the end time was not revealed to John for a specific reason? Perhaps that number could not be known when John wrote the book of Revelation.
    Those who are sealed are chosen for their position by Jesus Christ, but their election is based on their obedience. Like Abraham, each person must be tested, and proven, to insure that he or she is qualified.
    After the father of the faithful showed His willingness to sacrifice his own son, God then said, “Now I know.” At that point, Abraham was chosen. He was assured a place of high authority and responsibility among the elect of God.
    As with Abraham, God must know each Christian. He must test each person to see what he will do, and where his loyalty lies. In the same way that He worked with the ancient patriarch, God works with every person He has called down through the ages. He tests and proves His believers. Only a comparative few will be accepted. Many run the race, but not all receive the prize (I Corinthians 9:24).
    For this reason, the number of available positions left to be filled within the 144,000 at the end of the age could not have been a set number. It could not be predetermined because not all who are called are chosen. Some fail to respond to the calling, others neglect it, and some actually reject it.
    Further, some of those who will be sealed may be converted near the very end of the age (Matthew 20:6,9). All of God’s servants who are alive before the trumpet plagues occur will be sealed, and included as part of the firstfruits. As will be demonstrated in the following chapters, the total will then be 144,000, twelve thousand of each of the tribes of spiritual Israel.
    When God speaks of the 144,000 being sealed, some of those He refers to were not yet born. He includes those who have been sealed from past history with those who will be sealed at a future time. God can do this because He speaks of things that have not yet occurred as though they had already happened (Romans 4:17). To Him it is just as good as reality. It absolutely will transpire—God has the power to make it happen (Matthew 22:32).
    In Revelation 7:3, God reveals that He will seal the remainder of His servants before unleashing His terrifying plagues. Then, in Revelation 7:4, He switches the time frame, telling readers the total number who have been sealed from the beginning of time. The Almighty has limited that number. It is those who will be in the first resurrection—an exact aggregate, comprised of only those who marry Christ and rule with Him. Each of these will have been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit in their own time, and after the last have been included, there will be a total of 144,000 who “were sealed” as the servants of God.