CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html lang="en" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article"> <head> <title>Who are the 144,000? | GotQuestions.org</title> <META name="keywords" itemprop="keywords" content="144000"><META name="description" itemprop="description" property="og:description" content="Who are the 144,000? Is 144,000 a limit to the number of people God will allow into the New Heaven? Are the 144,000 (144.000) end times witnesses for Christ?"> <meta charset="utf-8"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <link rel="image_src" itemprop="image" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><link rel="canonical" itemprop="url mainEntityOfPage" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/144000.html"> <meta itemprop="author" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2007-05-02"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/OG/144000.jpg"> <meta property="og:site_name" content="GotQuestions.org"> <meta property="og:type" content="article"> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/144000.html"> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-M7EVHFDMSZ"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-M7EVHFDMSZ'); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css">  <script type="module" src="/components/header-element-unified.js"></script> <script type="module" src="/components/footer-element-unified.js" defer></script> <script src="/components/unified-script.js" defer></script> <link rel="preload" href="/components/unified-style.css" as="style"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/components/unified-style.css"> </head> <body data-site-theme="light"> <div class="fixed-button settings box-shadow"><img src="img/cogwheel.svg" alt="settings icon" onclick="settingsMenu(this)"></div> <div class="fixed-button sharebutton box-shadow"><img src="img/share.svg" alt="share icon" onclick="shareMenu(this)"></div> <header-element></header-element> <div id="modals"> <ul class="settings-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li> <div class="toggle-wrap"> <span>Light</span><input type="checkbox" checked id="toggle" class="checkbox" onclick="toggleTheme(this)" /><label for="toggle" class="switch"></label><span>Dark</span> </div> </li> <li><div id="bibleRefLinkSettings"><label for="bibleRefLinkVersion">Bible Version</label><select id="bibleRefLinkVersion" name="bibleRefLinkVersion" onchange="changeVersion();BibleRefLink.brlSavePrefs();"><option value="ESV">ESV</option><option value="CSB">CSB</option><option value="KJV">KJV</option><option value="NASB">NASB</option><option value="NIV" selected="selected">NIV</option><option value="NKJV">NKJV</option><option value="NLT">NLT</option></select></div></li> <li><label for="font">Font Family</label><select name="font" id="font" onchange="changeFont()"><option value="system-ui">Default</option><option value="Arial">Arial</option><option value="Verdana">Verdana</option><option value="Helvetica">Helvetica</option><option value="Tahoma">Tahoma</option><option value="Georgia">Georgia</option><option value="Times New Roman">Times New Roman</option></select></li> <li><label for="lineheight">Line Height</label><select name="lineheight" id="lineheight" onchange="changeLineHeight()"><option value="1.4">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> <li><label for="fontsize">Font Size</label><select name="fontsize" id="fontsize" onchange="changeFontSize()"><option value="1">Default</option><option value="1">1.0</option><option value="1.2">1.2</option><option value="1.5">1.5</option><option value="2">2</option></select></li> </ul> <ul class="final-menu modal-menu box-shadow"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="fb"><img src="img/logo-fb-simple.svg" alt="Facebook icon">Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="tw"><img src="img/logo-twitter.svg" alt="Twitter icon">Twitter</a></li> <li><a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.gotquestions.org/" class="pi"><img src="img/logo-pinterest.svg" alt="Pinterest icon">Pinterest</a></li> <li><a class="SendEmail" href=""><img src="img/letter.svg" alt="Email icon">Email</a></li> <li class="mobile-show"><a class="SendSMS" href=""><img src="img/sms-icon.svg" alt="SMS icon">Text/SMS</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="featured gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-featured-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-featured-end)"> <div class="featured-left"> <h5>Find Out</h5> <h4><a href="going-to-heaven.html">How to go to heaven</a></h4> <h4><a href="get-right-with-God.html">How to get right with God</a></h4> </div> <div class="featured-right"> <div class="desktop-hide gq-YT"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/gotquestionsorg" target="_blank"><img src="img/GQ-YT.png"></a></div> </div> </div> <main><div class="breadcrumb-wrapper"> <span class="breadcrumb" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/BreadcrumbList"><span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org"><span itemprop="name"><span class="home-icon"></span>Home</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="1"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/content.html"><span itemprop="name">Content Index</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="2"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/questions-about-books-Bible.html"><span itemprop="name">Books of the Bible</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="3"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> <span itemprop="itemListElement" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ListItem"><a itemprop="item" href="https://www.gotquestions.org/questions-about-Revelation.html"><span itemprop="name">Revelation</span></a><meta itemprop="position" content="4"></span> <span class="chevron-right"></span> 144,000</span></div> <section class="content-wrap gradient-to-b" style="--color-start: var(--bgcolor-content-start); --color-end: var(--bgcolor-content-end);" ><div class="content"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #96445a; --color-end: #6f637e;">Question</div> <div class="sponsor-sidebar"><div class="desktop-show" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder"></div></div></div> <h1><span itemprop="name headline" property="og:title">Who are the 144,000?</span></h1> <div class="actions-wrap"><div class="actions"> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="INTL/144000.html" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'intl'});"><img src="img/translate-icon.svg" alt="translate"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" property="og:video" href="https://youtu.be/e_Yd0oTbR7Q" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'video'});"><img src="img/logo-youtube.svg" alt="video" class="questionInteract"></a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://printer.gotquestions.net/GeneratePF?articleId=1444" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'print'});"><img src="img/print.svg" class="questionInteract" alt="144000"></a> <span class="audio-icon"><img src="img/volume.svg" alt="audio" class="questionInteract"><audio controls preload="none" style="width:300px;height:25px"><source src="audio/144000.mp3" type="audio/mpeg"></audio></span> </div></div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <div class="label gradient-to-tr" style="--color-start: #29a699; --color-end: #749c5a;">Answer</div><br><br> The 144,000 are first mentioned in Revelation 7:4, “Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” This passage comes in an interlude between the judgment of the sixth seal of the tribulation (Revelation 6:12–17) and the opening of the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1).<br><br> <div class="youtube-player" data-id="e_Yd0oTbR7Q"></div><br> How one answers the question “who are the 144,000?” depends on which interpretive approach one takes to the book of Revelation. The <a href="futurist-Revelation.html">futurist approach</a>, which we consider the best, interprets the 144,000 literally. When taken at face value, Revelation 7:4 seems to speak of 144,000 actual people living during the end-times tribulation. Nothing in the passage leads to interpreting the 144,000 as anything but a literal number of Jews—12,000 taken from every tribe of the children of Israel, according to verses 5–8.<br><br> These 144,000 Jews are “sealed,” which means they have the special protection of God. They are kept safe from the divine judgments and from the wrath of the Antichrist. They can freely perform their mission during the <a href="tribulation.html">tribulation</a>. It had been previously prophesied that Israel would repent and turn back to God (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25–27), and the 144,000 Jews seem to be a sort of “first fruits” (Revelation 14:4) of that redeemed Israel. Their mission seems to be to evangelize the post-rapture world and proclaim the gospel during the tribulation period. As a result of their ministry, millions—“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9)—will come to faith in Christ.<br><br> Much of the confusion regarding the 144,000 is a result of the false doctrine of the <a href="Jehovahs-Witnesses-144000.html">Jehovah’s Witnesses</a>. The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that 144,000 is a limit to the number of people who will reign with Christ in heaven and spend eternity with God. The 144,000 have what the Jehovah’s Witnesses call the “heavenly hope.” Those who are not among the 144,000 will enjoy what they call the “earthly hope”—a paradise on earth ruled by Christ and the 144,000. It is true that there will be people ruling in the millennium with Christ. These people will be comprised of the church (believers in Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 6:2), Old Testament saints (believers who died before Christ’s first advent, Daniel 7:27), and tribulation saints (those who accept Christ during the tribulation, Revelation 20:4). Yet the Bible places no numerical limit on this group of people. Furthermore, the millennium is different from the eternal state, which will be established at the completion of the millennial period. At that time, God will dwell with us in the New Jerusalem. He will be our God, and we will be His people (Revelation 21:3). The inheritance promised to us in Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14) will become ours, and we will be co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).<br><br> </div> <section class="homepage-sponsor desktop-hide"> <div class="desktop-hide" align="center"><div class="adManager-placeholder-mobile"></div></div> </section> <div class="related resources"><h4>For Further Study</h4> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'chrbook'});" href="https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1011693&item_no=982702">Israel and the Church: An Israeli Examines God's Unfolding Plans for His Chosen Peoples by Amir Tsarfati</a><br><br> <a target="_blank" rel="sponsored noopener" onClick="gtag('event', 'click', {'event_category':'engagement', 'event_label':'logos'});" href="https://www.logos.com/?utm_campaign=logossubxlaunch-phase1&utm_source=gotquestions&utm_medium=advertising_display&utm_content=logossubxlaunch-phase1-gtlink">More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free!</a> </div> <div class="related topics"><h4>Related Articles</h4> <a href="tribe-Dan-missing-144000.html">Why is the tribe of Dan missing from the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 7?</a><br><br> <a href="two-witnesses.html">Who are the two witnesses in the book of Revelation?</a><br><br> <a href="Jehovahs-Witnesses-144000.html">What do the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe about the 144,000 and a heavenly/earthly hope?</a><br><br> <a href="second-coming-Jesus-Christ.html">What is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?</a><br><br> <a href="signs-end-times.html">What are the signs of the end times?</a> </div> <center><strong class="return">Return to:<br><br> <a class="button-link box-shadow" href="questions_end-times.html">Questions about the End Times</a><br><br> Who are the 144,000?</strong></center> </div> </section> <section class="subscribe gradient-to-br" style="--color-start: #153c59; --color-end: #1b537c"> <div class="grid"> <div class="gradient-to-br box-shadow" style="--color-start: #2c6482; --color-end: #64547b"> <h5>Subscribe to the</h5> <h3>Question of the Week</h3> <p>Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!</p> <iframe src="scommon/qotw.htm" title="question of the week" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%"></iframe> </div></div> </section> </main> <footer-element></footer-element> <center> <div itemprop="dateModified" content="2022-01-04">This page last updated: January 4, 2022</div></center> <script src="scripts-2025.js"></script> <div style="display: none;" itemprop="publisher" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization"><meta itemprop="name" content="GotQuestions.org"><div itemprop="logo" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject"> <img src="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="url" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/GQlogo.png"><meta itemprop="width" content="400"><meta itemprop="height" content="79"> </div></div> <div itemprop="video" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject"><meta itemprop="embedURL" content="https://youtu.be/e_Yd0oTbR7Q"><meta itemprop="name" content="Who are the 144,000?"><meta itemprop="description" content="Who are the 144,000? Is 144,000 a limit to the number of people God will allow into the New Heaven? Are the 144,000 end times witnesses for Christ?"><meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="https://www.gotquestions.org/img/video-thumbnails/144000.jpg"><meta itemprop="uploadDate" content="2021-07-14"> </div> </body> </html>