I find this verse to be rather mysterious... I will go over it point by point and then end with a little summary.
"1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads."
-Ok, so there were 144,000. Thats clear.
No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
-Ok. This is clear as well.
4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins.
- Curious how "virginity", and not "accepting the sacrifice of Jesus" is a factor establishing the "chosen-ness" of the 144,000. Does it mean that non-virgins are defiled?
They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
-Im guessing "lamb" is interpreted to be Jesus... so of all the christians throughout the ages, only these 144,000 follow the lamb??
5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
Here is where it starts getting mysterious...Given the doctrine of "original sin", doesnt it mean every one is born a sinner? So then how can anyone be blameless?
Even if I say they are redeemed by Jesus sacrifice, these verses say nothing hinting towards the 144,000 accepting the sacrifice of Jesus.
So...Who are these 144,000?
Rev 7:3-8, describes them as being 12,000 each from the Israelite tribes (mentioned by name), meaning its established they need to be Israelite in origin and be genetically related to the tribe leaders ( Judah, Reuben, Gad, Levi etc) and NOT non-israelite christians.
What are your thoughts?
These are God's chosen people such as the prophets, Jesus and us saints. Here's a few scriptures to show that we were created together in Christ.
Romans 9:
28: We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are calledaccording to his purpose.
29: For those whom he foreknew he also predestinedto be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.
30: And those whom he predestinedhe also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Psalm 33:
12: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
Revelation 17
13: These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast;
14: they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."
144,000 is only a symbolic number as this is one of God's ways of keeping thing hidden for only us saints to understand. The number 12 stands for heavenly kingdom so the 12,000 from each tribe of Israel, which is symbolic for all God's created people, is a number describing the prophets, Jesus and us saints. Jesus was the only man in the flesh to be born sinless so he could receive the knowledge of God before he died for the forgiveness of all sins. This made it possible for us saints to be made sinless so we could receive the knowledge of God, too.
The prophets had to die as sinners so they didn't get the knowledge of God but they will in paradise when we get new immortal bodies to live forever. So those of us who are the 144,000 will be the reign with Christ, the Word, over all God's people who weren't a part of this group. They will be eternally separated from the knowledge of God but they will speak the language of truth so everyone will know who God is and who they are in God.