Day 361, or December the 27th. Everyone is precious.
Our thoughts today come from Revelation chapter
7, verse 4. Then I heard the number of those
who were sealed, 144 ,000, from all the tribes
of Israel. And now the big picture surrounding this
verse. John continues his prophecies of tribulation
with the seven trumpets. Of course, to a Jewish
ear, trumpets are very significant. They were
usually made from a ram's horn and go back to
the beginning of time. They were used in times
of war, in religious ceremonies, and vitally
when Matthew records the words of Jesus as he
was teaching about his second coming. This is
what was recorded in Matthew chapter 24 verse
31. And he will send out his angels with the
mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather
his chosen ones from all over the world, from
the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. They
herald the end of time. And now today's action
step. The idea of a crowd of 144 ,000 has proved
a point of fascination ever since Revelation
was written. What exactly did John mean? Jehovah's
Witnesses believe the final number of the heavenly
church will be 144 ,000, with the rest of saved
humanity living on a glorified earth. A segregated
eternity doesn't ring true to me, and I can't
justify it from elsewhere in the Bible. It seems
to me that it simply describes an enormous number
who will get into heaven, that is, twelve tribes
squared and multiplied by a thousand. Personally,
I do not believe that God has a numeric target,
or, as 1 Timothy 2 verse 4 puts it, he, that's
God, wants everyone to be saved and to understand
the truth. There is an important point here,
however, and that is the fact that God doesn't
just talk about multitudes, but he thinks of
them as a vast crowd of counted individuals.
We are all important to God, and each one of
us should live in the light of being that important.
Hold your head high, and no matter what other
people may think of you, or what you think of
yourself, Jesus was dying to meet you before
you ever thought of him.