(tm)The Sealed Remnant
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The sealed remnant, as we understand it, are the Lord’s firstfruits. They are the Lord’s bondslaves. They are totally committed to doing the Lord’s will to the smallest detail. They are the most intense of the disciples, the most diligent in following Jesus. They have confessed their sins while on earth and through the grace of Christ have gained victory over sin and self-will.
All through the tribulation period the sealed remnant will serve as witnesses of God and a place of deliverance for those who turn to God in the hour of trouble. They follow Jesus wherever He goes. They not only refuse to worship Antichrist but in addition are able to overcome the enormous spiritual darkness and to help others. They are God’s "stars" and turn many from lawlessness to the righteous ways of the Lord.
The sealed remnant are distinguished by the fact that they are "the servants of our God" (Revelation 7:3). They have been faithful in serving God and so they are chosen to bear the glory during the last days.
The sealed remnant differ from the "great multitude," whom we shall discuss in a moment, in that they love the Lord now. Before the prodding of torments and tribulations they have given themselves wholly to the Lord. They follow Him wherever He goes. They live in the "waters to swim in," in the fourth and highest level of love and union with God through Christ (Ezekiel 47:5).
The great multitude come "out of (the) great tribulation" (Revelation 7:14). They stand true during the torments of the great tribulation. The sealed remnant cleave to Jesus in love now, not needing an abundance of tribulation to drive them to wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.
The sealed remnant love Jesus for Himself. Only this kind of fiery, intense love is strong enough to carry the saint through the obstacles that stand between man and total union with God, total rest in God, total victory in God. It is intense love, and only intense love, that can bring a believer to perfection and completeness in Christ in God.
The sealed remnant is described in numerous places in the Scriptures.
For example:
Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. (Isaiah 32:1,2)
Some scholars hold that "And a man shall be" (verse 2 above) should be changed to read "And each one of them," indicating it is the King and the princes who are as the hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Again:
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert [hiding place] from storm and from rain. (Isaiah 4:6)
There shall be deliverance in the sealed remnant.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)
Notice carefully that the remnant of Israel, that is, God’s devoted servants, are not immune to the judgments that accompany the history of the world.
Before the trumpets are blown, which are the judgments of the great tribulation as we see it, the angels "to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea" are not allowed to proceed until the remnant have been sealed carefully in their foreheads. That is because it is not necessary for the sealed remnant to be tormented during the fifth trumpet. They have chosen to be one with the Lord without having had to be tormented (Revelation 7:3; 9:4).
It is our opinion that this sealing is taking place today. We are entering the spiritual fulfillment of the Levitical feast of trumpets. There will be great tribulation throughout the earth. Those who truly are serving God are being sealed so the tormentors will not touch them.
We think it may be true that the 144,000 are the same as those who "stood on the mount Sion" with the Lamb. These were sealed by having the Father’s name written in their foreheads.
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)
"Mount Sion" represents the warlike qualities of the sealed remnant, who are the firstfruits of the Bride of the Lamb. They have the Father’s name written in their foreheads because they do the will of God in all instances. They are the Lord’s bondslaves.
They are virgins in that they are married only to the Lord Jesus. They refuse to enter into a relationship with this world, with Satan, with demons, with the antichrist political-economic spirit of the age, with any "special" group of believers, or with the spirit of religious deception. They are clean from all these "marriages." They have chosen to be holy to the Lord. (The virginity of Revelation 14:4 is not referring to physical marriage.)
They follow the Lamb wherever He goes because they love Him intensely.
They are guileless, not having to sell or prove anything to anyone. They are without fault before the throne of God!
Although all those who gain victory over Antichrist, washing their robes and making them white in the blood of the Lamb, will be kings and priests to God and will "reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:10), the 144,000 peculiarly are a "firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb" (Revelation 14:4).
The concept of a firstfruits of the Bride, a firstfruits of the Lord’s elect, is taught in the Scriptures.
Speaking of Abishai, the brother of Joab, a mighty man of valor, the Scripture states:
Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three. (II Samuel 23:19)
The "first three" bring to mind Peter, James, and John who were chosen from among the twelve to be with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration.
There are distinctions of calling and prowess even among the members of the Lord’s royal priesthood.
The concept of a firstfruits of the Bride is presented in the Song of Solomon:
My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.... (Song of Solomon 6:9)
After mentioning two other levels of fruitfulness, the firstfruits exclaims:
I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour. (Song of Solomon 8:10)
Let us see what the symbolism of the sealed remnant indicates:
The number 144,000, being 12x12x1000, portrays a complete remnant, a full representation, of Israel, of the called of the Lord. It probably is not a literal number.
The fact that the tribes of Israel are emphasized indicates that the firstfruits of the Lord will include the most fervent of the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers. The warlike remnant, the bondslaves of the Lord, will be characterized as "Israel," not as the "Christian religion."
The sealed remnant, as we understand it, will include the Christian saints who have fled from the antichrist world system and the elect Jews who have been driven from Jerusalem by the exaltation of Antichrist in the Temple of God. These two remnants will come together in hiding in the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ will reveal Himself to the elect Jews through the Christian remnant. Together the two remnants, now one in Christ, will await His return to earth.
The combining of the Jewish remnant and the Christian remnant will be the spiritual fulfillment of Jacob and his family being forced by famine to join with Joseph and with Asenath, Joseph’s Gentile bride. The family of Israel was reunited in Egypt. So will the Jewish elect and the Gentile elect become one in the last days.
The firstfruits of the Body of Christ was Jewish at the beginning of the Church Age. The firstfruits of the Body of Christ will be largely—perhaps mainly—Jewish at the closing of the Church Age.
As Asenath became an integral part of Israel when she married Joseph, so will it be that the remnant left alive on the earth during the great tribulation will once again be Israel. The sealed remnant, the devoted believers who will be the shadow of a great rock during the deadly storms and fury of the tribulation period, will be God’s Israel.
In the list of the tribes of Israel, Ephraim and Dan are omitted (Revelation 7:5-8). The tribe of Joseph is included. Joseph, the one who married the Gentile bride, represents Ephraim: . . . "then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions" (Ezekiel 37:16).
Joseph represents Ephraim. Ephraim represents the elect of the Gentiles: . . . "his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations" (Genesis 48:19).
The promise to Abraham is that he will be the father of many nations; not just the father of the nation of Israel but of many nations (Genesis 17:4,5). This promise is carried forward in Ephraim, or Joseph. Joseph (through Ephraim) is not just the father of a tribe in Israel but of many nations.
Because of Jacob’s prophecy that Ephraim would become "a multitude of nations," the inclusion of Joseph representing Ephraim (Revelation 7:8), separate from Manasseh (Revelation 7:6) reveals the presence, among the 144,000 sealed remnant, of Gentile saints from many nations.
The absence of the tribe of Dan presents a problem for interpreters of the Scriptures. The absence of Dan may suggest that we are not to take this list literally, confining it to the physical tribes of Israel. It must be taken symbolically. God would never present a literal list of the tribes of Israel and leave out the tribe of Dan.
Dan means judge, or judging. The absence of Dan may be telling us the 144,000 already have been judged by the Lord as being worthy to walk in white with Him. Divine judgment has been accomplished in them and no longer threatens them. The second death no longer has authority over them (Revelation 2:11).
The sealed remnant are associated with war and rulership.
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. (Micah 5:3)
"The remnant of his (Christ’s) brothers."
The context of Micah 5:3 is the coming of the Ruler in Israel to make war against His enemies. The remnant of the brothers of the Ruler will return to the children of Israel when she who travails has brought forth, that is, when Christ has been born in the members of His body, as portrayed symbolically in Revelation, Chapter Twelve.
We think this is taking place today. The Gentile Christians who are being sealed by the Lord are finding in their hearts a yearning to become identified with Israel. The joining of the Gentile remnant to the remnant of Israel will be the creation of a firstfruits—a Bride who is "terrible as an army with banners."
Revelation 14:1 associates the 144,000 with war in that the saints are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Whereas the "great multitude" are standing before the throne with palms in their hands (Revelation 7:9), the sealed remnant are standing on Mount Zion. Mount Zion speaks to us of war, of the Deliverer, and of the Law of God.
Zion was the city of David, the place where David kept the Ark of the Covenant. Spiritual Zion is the part of the heavenly Jerusalem that will be established first and will be the base of operations until all the creation has bowed the knee to Christ.
Revelation 19:8 reveals the Bride in white raiment, ready to ride with the Lord in the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:14).
We are of the opinion, therefore, that the sealed remnant are the firstfruits of the Wife of the Lamb and are warlike, while the great multitude consists of those who were able to keep their salvation during the great tribulation and were slain by the destructive forces of that period. They did not attain to to the ranks of the sealed remnant, but in the hour of danger they stood true to God. Therefore God will bring them up to His throne and comfort them.
There are numerous believers like that today. They are true Christians in the sense they have had a genuine experience with the Lord Jesus. But they do not seem to have the inner calling that enables them to cast aside all for Jesus. They do not know what it means to live by Jesus as He lives by the Father. Their sins have been forgiven but they have not entered fully into the heavenly romance.
Every Christian must follow his or her own calling. Those who are called to a high rank in the Kingdom of God must seek the Lord constantly until they have attained to the mark of their calling. There must be the calling, and then there must be a diligent response to the calling.
There are other believers who do not have as high a calling. Even though they only have been given one talent they must be as faithful as the believer who has been given ten talents.
The believer who is careless, worldly, lukewarm, awaits certain punishment at the hands of Christ. Those who neglect their salvation will not escape. They may forfeit their birthright as did Esau.
When contrasting the sealed remnant and the great multitude we are not comparing the diligent Christian with the careless Christian, for the careless will be punished and suffer eternal loss. Rather we are stating there are some who are called, as were Peter, James, and John, to stand at the side of the Lord in His Kingdom. Others are of lower rank in Israel. Rank in the Kingdom of God is not ours to decide. The Lord exalts whom He will.
None of us can choose a high rank in the Kingdom or a lesser rank. Our task is to grasp that for which we have been grasped. The individual who does not obey the Lord in all matters will be chastised severely.
All things work together for good to those who have been called according to God’s purpose. There is Israel and then there are the "mighty men". All are judged according to that which God the Father has put in their heart to do.
The sealed remnant are the firstfruits of the Church. They follow the Lord wherever He goes. He is their Life. They are experiencing the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles in that the Father and the Son are making Their eternal abode in them (John 14:23). This is what God has put in their heart to do and to become and they have responded with all their strength to their high calling.
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