誰是十四萬四千人─啟示錄
任何相信耶穌十架贖罪的人已蒙救贖，將得著永生。然而，我們的呼召遠勝過得著救恩。大使命不單是帶人信主而已，乃是要帶出門徒。當我們讀到主教導關於祂門徒的特性時，我們可能納悶自己是否知道有哪些。成為基督的門徒並不是一個容易的生活，卻是通往我們可以活出最滿足生活的道路。這是『凡事長進，連於元首基督』的生活（參考以弗所書4:15）。
一個門徒將察覺僕人的呼召。忠心的僕人可以晉升為神的朋友，而忠心的朋友可以晉升為神的兒女，祂家中的永遠成員。
在啟示錄七章關於祂僕人的印記意味著，人數過多以致於主必須停止地上的風，直到他們全都被印上印為止。這代表許多人正在長大成熟，成為保羅在羅馬書所說的神的兒女─全世界都在切望等候神的眾子顯出來。這使啟示錄七章4-8節容易瞭解：
我聽見以色列人各支派中受印的數目有十四萬四千。
猶大支派中受印的有一萬二千；流便支派中有一萬二千；迦得支派中有一萬二千；
亞設支派中有一萬二千；拿弗他利支派中有一萬二千；瑪拿西支派中有一萬二千；
西緬支派中有一萬二千；利未支派中有一萬二千；以薩迦支派中有一萬二千；
西布倫支派中有一萬二千；約瑟支派中有一萬二千；便雅憫支派中受印的有一萬二千。
有許多關於誰是十四萬四千人的說法，每個教導末世論的學校都有不同的見解。很可能不是按照字面上講的猶太人，因為十個支派不見了，連猶太人都很難知道自己是哪個支派。當然，只有神知道一切，所以我們不能完全排除其可能性，但聖經的支派更可能是預言性的模型。
在更深挖掘其意義前，我們需要簡短提到二個廣為流傳的教義，其成為瞭解猶太團體的絆腳石。第一是取代神學，此教導是教會取代了神對以色列的所有應許。第二個教義的興起似乎是要反對取代神學，我稱其為『取代，取代神學』。此教義聲稱再次重生的以色列國將取代神對教會的所有應許。兩種教義都不正確，使我們轉離新約的終極啟示。
在亞伯拉罕與耶穌基督之間約有二千年，在這段時間神專門在處理猶太人。從耶穌基督時期直到現在也將近二千年，我們處在『外邦人的時期』，神專門在處理外邦人。在外邦人時期的末了，我們不會進入另一個猶太人時期，而是進入『一個新人』的啟示─猶太人與外邦人合而為一，正如以弗所書二章15節所預言的。
這與十四萬四千人有什麼關係呢？有沒有可能這些人不是猶太人或外邦人，而是『一個新人』呢！若是，這要如何適用於啟示錄七章的內容呢？我們稍晚再來檢視。
有一些團體相信他們就是啟示錄七章的十四萬四千人，例如耶和華見證者。這不太合理，因為耶和華見證人有好幾百萬信徒。我和一些耶和華見證人談及此，沒有人相信他們就是啟示錄七章的這群人。他們所相信的是，這些人應該是在末世會被興起的聖徒，行在主在地上期間所行的大能和權柄中，因為他們全然順服主。和我一起討論此的耶和華見證人認為，他們的工作是為這群人預備道路。
在浸信會教友中間對這樣的事可能會有許多不同的意見，天主教徒或其他團體可能也是一樣，所以我不想以我交談的耶和華見證人代表他們全都相信此，值得注意的是，我發現的確有許多人這麼認為。當我告訴他們我個人所見證的神蹟，有越來越多人經歷神蹟奇事隨著他們，我所交談的耶和華見證人非常興奮，認為這偉大的一群很快會顯現出來。
我也在一些我所交談的摩門教徒中發現類似的信念，就像耶和華見證人一樣，我不知道如此相信的摩門教徒有多少，但似乎還不少。這使我確信在我初信之時主所讓我看見的，主告訴我就像撒瑪利亞人，他們的信仰有許多錯誤，但當主來時，他們卻是最回應主的一群。當腓利將福音傳到他們中間時，這團體就像今日的耶和華見證人和摩門教徒帶著摻雜的福音，卻要在這世代末了經歷極大的復興與救恩。
儘管如此，因著對十四萬四千人的看法分歧，我們將花另一週來建立聖經象徵符號的根源，以便更清楚知道究竟誰是十四萬四千人，因為他們非常重要。
(摘自喬納 word for the week,Week24, 2017)
中譯：國度禱告網
轉載/轉寄，請註明出處：國度禱告網
Who Are the 144,000? The Book of Revelation
Week 24, 2017
Rick Joyner
Anyone who believes in the atonement of the cross of Jesus is redeemed and will have eternal life. However, there is far more to our calling than just securing salvation. The Great Commission is to make disciples, not just converts. When we study the Lord’s teachings about the characteristics of His disciples, we may wonder if we know any. Being a disciple of Christ is not an easy life, but it is the path to the most fulfilling life we can live. This is a life of “growing up in all things into Him” (see Ephesians 4:15).
A disciple will discern the calling of the bondservant. Faithful servants can be elevated to being friends of God. Faithful friends can be elevated to being sons (and daughters) of God, eternal members of His household.
The sealing of His bondservants in Revelation 7 implies that there are so many that the Lord must hold back the winds of the earth until they are all sealed. This indicates that many are maturing and on the path to becoming the sons of God that Paul wrote about to the Romans—the whole world groans and travails for their manifestation. This makes the verses in Revelation 7:4-8 understandable:
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.
There are many theories about who the 144,000 are, and just about every school of eschatology has a different opinion. They are not likely to be literal Jews because all but two tribes disappeared, and there is hardly a Jew that knows what tribe they are from. Of course, God knows so we can’t totally rule this out, but it is more likely that the biblical tribes were prophetic models of these ones.
Before digging down into the meaning of this, we need to briefly address two somewhat popular doctrines that are stumbling blocks to understanding this group. The first is Replacement Theology. This teaching has the church replacing and assuming all of the promises made to the nation of Israel. The second doctrine seems to have risen to counter Replacement Theology. I call it “Replacement, Replacement Theology.” This doctrine asserts that the re-born nation of Israel will replace the church and assume the promises made to the church. Both teachings are erroneous and divert us from the ultimate revelation foretold in the New Testament.
The time between Abraham and Christ was about two thousand years. God dealt almost exclusively with the Jewish people during this time. From the time of Christ until now, almost two thousand years, we have had “the times of the Gentiles,” in which God has dealt almost exclusively through the Gentiles. At the end of the time of the Gentiles, we will not enter another time of the Jews, but rather the revelation of “the one new man”—the Jews and Gentiles united, as foretold in Ephesians 2:15.
What does this have to do with the 144,000? Could it be that these are not Jews or Gentiles but the “one new man?” If so, how does this fit with the narrative in Revelation 7? We will examine later in this study.
Some groups, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they are the 144,000 in Revelation Seven. That doesn’t make much sense because there are millions of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I discussed this with a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses and did not find any that believed that they were a part of this company in Revelation Seven. What they claimed to believe was that they expected were that these were the saints who arose at the end of the age who would walk in the power and authority that The Lord did when He walked the earth because they would so fully abide in Him. The Jehovah’s Witnesses that I discussed this with thought that their job as Jehovah’s Witnesses were to prepare the way for this great company.
Now Baptists can have many different opinions about such things among themselves, as can Catholics, or any other group, so I do not take the Jehovah’s Witnesses that I talked to as a reflection of what they all believe about this, but it was noteworthy to me that there were as many as I did find. When I told them about the miracles I had personally witnessed, and the growing number of people who now have signs and wonders following them, the Jehovah’s Witnesses I talked to got very excited, thinking that they great company was about to become manifest.
I also found similar beliefs among some Mormons I talked to. Like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I have no idea what percentage of Mormons hold to this belief, but it seemed that it could be many. This confirmed in me what I had been shown as a young believer. I was told that as the Samaritans, who had errors in their beliefs, but were the most responsive to the Lord when He came, and to His gospel when preached to them as Philip did, that the groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons that today have a mixture are going to experience great revival and salvation at the end of the age.
Even so, because there are so many different opinions about this 144,000 we will take another week to establish the roots of the biblical symbolism that can establish more clearly who this group is because of their great importance.