The 144,000 In Revelation: Literal or Symbolic? - Adventist Pastor Stephen Bohr

http://adventistsermons.blogspot.co.uk/ The 144,000. Stephen Bohr preaches on the 144, 000 found in the Bible in the book of Revelation.

The number 144,000 occurs only twice in Scripture—both times in the book of Revelation, and in significant contexts. We find it first between the sixth and the seventh seals, prior to the Second Coming envisaged as the day of wrath, which is the demise of those who have opposed God (Rev. 7:4). The second occurrence in Revelation 14 is prior to the message of the three angels and the second coming of Christ. Consequently, it does make sense to suppose that the number designates an end-time entity—God’s people during the last phase of world history.

The issue is this: Are the 144,000 a special subgroup of God’s people, or is this number a symbolic representation of the totality of God’s people? Lurking beneath these questions are the concepts of the accessibility of sealing and salvation after the number 144,000 is reached, and the deeper issue of the arbitrariness of God’s decrees or even the moral nature of His character.