TRAC Bible Matters ¢ The Rev Anthony Lee has been a TRAC pastor since 2009 and is currently serving as as Pastor-in charge at Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church. Pastor Anthony loves wrestling with God in the pages of Scripture, with the help of other saints of course.
Should we take numbers in Revelation literally? Are there only 144,000 saints?
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OVID-19, for all its menace, serendipitously uncovered the presence of South Korean cult Shincheonji in Singapore.1 Shincheonji proclaims its founder Lee Man-hee has donned the mantle of Jesus Christ and will take 144,000 people with him to heaven on the day of judgement. Rather ironically, it reached a point when Shincheonji members exceeded the available places. As a result, members are made to vie for a slot and pursue converts to earn their rightful place among the 144,000.2
If only Shincheonji’s members knew that the 144,000 in Revelation is not to be taken literally and being counted among the number is not the main purpose of John’s Revelation.
Revelation 7:4 To see why we cannot read the numbers in Revelation literally, let us look at Rev 7:4 and its immediate context. After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
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METHODIST MESSAGE March 2021
Verses 5–8 then list 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes (Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin) to total 144,000. Firstly, if the passage is to be taken literally, may I humbly enquire where the four corners of the earth are located? Sure, I acknowledge the discovery that the earth is a sphere was long after God’s revelation to John but surely a God who knows all could well have revealed a different reality to John? Rather—and this is how I believe God worked in inspiring Scripture—I believe God chose to work with John’s understanding of a flat earth and the “four corners” was never meant to be understood literally. Secondly, if taken literally, the 12 tribes include only the sons of Israel. That means you and I are NOT included. And neither are the adherents of Shincheonji.
Revelation 14 Our hope of being included as God’s redeemed people is not the driving force behind why we cannot read the 144,000 literally. Let’s look at Revelation 14, where there is another mention of the 144,000: Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures
and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. (Rev 14:1–5) Putting aside the scholarly dispute whether the 144,000 here are the same as the 144,000 listed in 7:4, we must not miss the difficulty presented here. If the 144,000 is taken literally, only men who are virgins are included! Oops, a thousand apologies to women and married men (including those among Shincheonji adherents)!
Genre of Revelation— Apocalyptic literature Since rightly interpreting Scripture is of utmost importance, every believer needs to understand that sound biblical interpretation begins with identifying and respecting the genre of the book. According to renowned New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham, Revelation contains three genres of literature— apocalyptic, prophecy and letter.3 Since the verses that mention 144,000 occur in what scholars regard to be the apocalyptic sections of Revelation, we will concern ourselves here primarily with apocalyptic literature, a genre most of us are unfamiliar with. Symbolic language is the chief characteristic of apocalyptic literature.
