A Broken Promise?

A Broken Promise can be Devastating

Broken Promises?

What good is a promise if it’s broken? How does such action affect your relationship with that person who broke their promise? Life is tough enough. We need people we can depend on. Without that assurance, we are left alone facing the world by ourselves. Yet, the big challenge in life is: Who can you trust? If you pick wrong, only disappointment awaits. This principle also applies to God. So, what happens if you decide you cannot trust God? Many have made that decision because they feel He has disappointed them. I’d contend that, with God, you are not seeing the whole picture because God keeps His promises! This blog is about seeing the “whole picture” on one of the biggest promises God ever made!

The Second Most Significant Promise in History!

As I’ve confessed before, I am a firm believer that the Bible is the holy, infallible word of God. And, if you want to boil the Bible down into just two things God promises us, it would be these:

• God will take care of His Chosen People, the Jews (Old Testament).
• God will send His Son, Jesus, to save us all (New Testament).

As a Christian, the greater of these two promises is Jesus. But for many, God’s promises to the Jews have been all but forgotten. We claim that “the Jews blew it!” They disobeyed God in the Old Testament, and they crucified Jesus in the New. Why would God keep His promise to such a people? The answer is simple: Because when God makes a promise, He must keep it! If He does not, then how can we trust Him? When we make a promise, do we typically put all sorts of conditions on it? No, we either do what we say, or we don’t. If we fail to keep our promise, we lose the trust of others, and our reputation falters. If God fails to keep even one promise, how can we trust Him with any others? Thus, we cannot ignore God’s promises to the Jews because what He does with them will reflect what we can rely on Him to do for us. Thus, we cannot excuse God from keeping His promises just because the Jews appeared not worthy to us. “Worthiness” is not a prerequisite for God to be faithful (See my blog on forgiveness). God saw something in the Jews when He made His promises, and He will be faithful to them because of what He saw (and because He is God).

So what did God promise the Jews? [Note: If you’re expecting an argument about certain covenants (promises) God made to Noah, Abraham, Moses, or King David, that’s not the route I’m taking today. The promises below are foundational promises God made to the Jews as a whole, not just to one person.]

• The Jews are a chosen people:  God Himself said, “You are holy people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth to be his very own.” Deuteronomy 7:6 NCV  God claimed the Jews to be His “very own” from all the people of the Earth. It is from this statement that we refer to the Jews as “God’s Chosen People.”
• The Jews are God’s firstborn son:  God spoke these words to Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son…” Exodus 4:22 ESV  The term “Israel” refers to all descendants of Jacob, whom God renamed “Israel.” Thus, God is establishing Israel as a new line of descendants coming exclusively from Him. The only other person to whom God referred as “firstborn” was Jesus. In Colossians 1:15 (ESV), Paul wrote, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” So, Israel is the firstborn son of the family of God, and Jesus is the firstborn of all creation. Some would confuse Adam as being in this category, but Adam can only claim to be the firstborn of God’s image and the natural father to humanity. But Israel is the chosen, adopted line of God’s children. As we shall see in the next promise, Israel will also be a holy line with a special calling — to save the whole of humanity (basically, to get them out of the trouble Adam got them into).
• The Jews will be a Kingdom of Priests, a Holy Nation:  Here are more words God spoke to Moses: “If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you’ll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, but you’re special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.“ Exodus 19:5-6 MSG  You should note that this promise is conditioned upon the Jews “listening to,” “being obedient,” and “keeping God’s covenant.” They weren’t very good at that, but (as we shall see), God will be faithful to them nonetheless because the “fate of the world” will depend on it, and their “worthiness” does not.

The role God has for the Jews is clearly special. Out of “all the people on earth,” God chose them for a special mission. Yet, many write them off from any hope of salvation because they (as a group) rejected Jesus, and passed the torch of preaching the Gospel over to the Gentiles (all non-Jews). I would submit to you today that, IF the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God, THEN we cannot ignore that God’s promises to the Jews must be fulfilled! But how? What is God’s endgame for the Jews? One thing I know for sure is that they will not be ignored nor excluded from God’s holy and eternal Kingdom!

The Beginning of the End

I have made the case (both in my book and in several blogs) that the key to seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises to the Jews lies in Revelation 7. In that one chapter, God introduces 144,000 Jews into the Endtime prophecies, but their role has been unclear since the Apostle John wrote them into that scene.  If you read almost any book on Revelation, the author generally doesn’t know what to make of this introduction. They conclude the Jews are either a mythical vision or they are a mystery yet to be solved. As I revealed in my book, I think both conclusions miss the point. In this blog, I only want to focus on why this miraculous group of Jews is a clear fulfillment of God’s promises to them. There are a lot more details behind what’s happening, but you’ll need to read my book to find out.

Let’s start by examining WHO makes up this group of 144,000. If you just skip over the list John provides, you’ll miss a vital clue. Many just assume that, because there are twelve tribes mentioned, they are just the regular list of Jacob’s (Israel’s) twelve sons. Sorry, but that is not the case here! Thus, the first key to understanding HOW God will fulfill His promise to the Jews is in understanding WHO this group is.

The IDENTITY of the 144,000

The list provided in Revelation 7 speaks to the calling of the 144,000, but only if you catch their IDENTITY. If we look closely, we’ll notice in Revelation 7:7 that the tribe of Levi is in this list.  This is significant because Levi has been excluded from all official lists since the Jews left Egypt. Moses, on God’s instructions, gave Joseph’s two sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) a double share and made them official tribes of Israel, so that the tribe of Levi could be set aside as the priestly tribe. Doing this preserved the number of tribes at twelve. But by including Levi in this list of the 144,000, it is clear that this group’s mission must require a priestly role. Then, if we look for who’s missing, we notice that the tribe of Dan is missing. I believe that this is another clue because the name “Dan” means “Judge” or “Judgment.” By removing “Judgment” (Dan) and inserting the priestly tribe of Levi, the list symbolizes that its mission is a holy one of mercy, not judgment. Historically, Dan was the first tribe to fall into state-sponsored idolatry (Judges 18). Replacing them with Levi reaffirms a standard of covenant holiness. Therefore, the IDENTITY of this group of 144,000 is to fulfill a priestly role for God, where mercy will triumph over judgment!

The PURPOSE of the 144,000

Based on their IDENTITY, the PURPOSE of this group must be one that is clearly set aside for a sacrificial offering. Read how John described them in Revelation 14:4-5 (TLB): ⁴ For they are spiritually undefiled, pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the men on the earth as a consecrated offering to God and the Lamb. ⁵ No falsehood can be charged against them; they are blameless.  The use of the word “blameless” (Amōmos) in Revelation 14:5 is the same word used in the Septuagint for sacrificial animals that must be “without blemish” in order to qualify for their sacrifice. But the question that we must ask is: For WHAT PURPOSE will this group sacrifice themselves? How will God use them to apply mercy over judgment? How will this action fulfill God’s promises to His Chosen People?

So far, we’ve covered the easy part of God’s plan. The 144,000 are starting to look like they might belong in the Endtime scenario of Revelation. The hard part is in understanding their MISSION and how they will accomplish it.

The MISSION of the 144,000

I believe that this amazing group of Jews has three distinct missions:

• They will preach the Gospel message to those who are left behind after the Rapture: Remember, after all Christians are taken from the earth by Jesus during the Rapture, no one will be left to preach the Gospel for the remaining 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. These 144,000 will, by virtue of having been raised from the dead by Jesus (read my book for details), become instant advocates for Jesus and preach His Gospel. This action will not be appreciated by the Antichrist because it denies his claim to being god (See below)!
• They will avenge the desecration of the Temple by the Antichrist. In 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (EASY), the Apostle Paul writes: “This man (the Antichrist) will be God’s great enemy. He will say that he is greater than everything that people call their gods. He will say that he is greater than everything that people worship. As a result, he will even go into the temple (the Jewish Temple). He will sit down there like a king. He will tell everyone that he himself is God.” What greater insult could someone do that would make the blood of every Jew boil? This insult is specifically targeted by the Antichrist toward the Jews and their God! Only 144,000 Jews called for a holy purpose can avenge such an insult!
• They will become a scapegoat sacrifice to redeem all their people who denied Christ. THIS is the most difficult part of their mission to explain. Yet, it is the part where God’s most important promises to His people are kept. If you miss what happens here, two-thirds of the Bible won’t make sense. We must understand how God keeps His promise to His people if we’re to truly understand the whole Bible. In order to understand this part of the mission of the 144,000, we must unlock three key concepts:
  • The Blindness of the Jews (Since Jesus’ resurrection):  In Romans 11:11,25, Paul says that God specifically blinded the Jews to facilitate the Gospel going to the Gentiles. This is not meant to be a permanent condition, but only a temporary, strategic hardening “until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” It is a mystery what is meant by “the full number of the Gentiles,” but we assume that God has a number in mind. Paul says the blindness was a strategic act of God to save the world (Rom 11:11). Many struggle with the “fairness” of this action, arguing, “How can God judge those He purposefully blinded?” The answer is: He won’t need to because He has a plan to save them.
  • The Salvation of those Blinded: This is where you need to ask yourself one question: Will God just let all the Jews who rejected Jesus (because of their blindness) go to hell? If He did, wouldn’t that be a major break in His promises? The Jews are His Chosen People, the firstborn of His family, a royal priesthood among those who worship Him. If God blinded them for the sake of the Gentiles, then the 144,000 (as His chosen remnant) “pay it forward” by acting as a sacrifice that covers that period of blindness. I believe that because God’s gifts and call are “irrevocable,” God will save His people! In Rom 11:29 NCV it says, “God never changes his mind about the people he calls and the things he gives them.” God will eventually bring the Jewish people into a saving relationship with the Messiah. The only question is: How?
  • The Sacrifice that makes it Right:  According to my book, Jesus is the one who brings the 144,000 back to life. He raises them from the dead as their High Priest. When they see Jesus in the sky, as they ascend to Him, they recognize Him as the Messiah. He is the one they have looked for all their lives. As their High Priest, Jesus is the only one who can lay His hands on their heads and perform the rites of atonement by doing a scapegoat sacrifice as prescribed in Leviticus 16. Jesus does this to erase the sin of rejection from their blinded ancestors. In this act, the 144,000 assume the role of Azazel/Scapegoat, taking on the sins of all their people.  Jesus provides the source of grace, and the 144,000 provide the “vessel” to bring that grace back to their blinded ancestors. After the 144,000 accept Him, Jesus (as their High Priest) can “transfer” the collective guilt of the “blinded” ancestors onto the 144,000. Because they are now in Christ (having accepted Him), they are “clean” enough to carry the burden, but because they are of Israel, they are the “fit” representatives to take that burden away. In the Old Testament, the scapegoat was led into the wilderness by a “fit man” to be lost forever, symbolizing that the sins were not just forgiven, but removed (Psalm 103:12). This creates a powerful narrative arc. The 144,000 don’t just “die” again—they are martyred by the Antichrist; as such, they “carry away” the blindness and rejection of their forefathers. It provides a legal “out” for their ancestors: their rejection wasn’t a final rebellion, but a debt that the 144,000—acting as the scapegoat—settle under Jesus’s priestly direction. Scholars often talk about the “Remnant” (the few) saving the “Lump” (the whole) in Romans 11:16 (NIV) (“If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy“). By literalizing this “Firstfruits” concept, the 144,000 become the holy “firstfruits” (Rev 14:4) whose sacrifice “sanctifies the whole batch” for those Jews who died in blindness. In the Levitical ritual, once the scapegoat was sent into the wilderness, it was never seen again. It took the sins away to a “solitary place” (Leviticus 16:22). The final death of the 144,000 serves this purpose perfectly. They don’t just “carry away” the sins; they extinguish them through their death. This “cleans the slate” for the entire nation of Israel, allowing the resurrected ancestors to enter the Millennium without the “stain” of having rejected the Messiah during their earthly lives. They are now washed clean and saved by the ritual Jesus performed. In the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) ritual, the High Priest’s actions were the only thing standing between the people’s survival and their judgment. Here, Jesus is (once again) the key to the survival (and salvation) of His Jewish brothers.

Some argue that the 144,000 cannot sacrifice themselves because they were sealed with the mark of the Father and the Lamb (Revelation 14:1 NIV). My take is that this seal only serves to make them more holy, since God put His own seal of approval on them. Most scholars agree that the seal in Revelation 7:3 primarily protects the 144,000 from the divine judgments (the “war from heaven“). This seal is a seal of spiritual protection—it keeps their souls secure for God, but it does not protect them from being physically killed by the Antichrist. After Jesus performs the scapegoat sacrifice ritual on the 144,000, He sends them down to earth (the wilderness) where they will each shed their blood in holy atonement for their blinded ancestors, thus completing the sacrifice of atonement.

The REWARD of the 144,000

Revelation 14 records a victory celebration taking place in heaven after Satan and the Antichrist have been defeated:

14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb (Jesus), standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.³ And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. Revelation 14: 1-3 NIV

In this chapter, John records the 144,000 rejoicing in heaven with Jesus, a heavenly orchestra, and the elders. They sing a song “no one could learn” except the 144,000. In Revelation 15, John reveals the song that was sung: “They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb.” It is significant that they would sing the Song of Moses because this song was first sung by Moses after God defeated Pharaoh and led the Jews out of Egypt. Since that time, the Jews have sung that song in remembrance every Passover. No Gentile would know the words to this song! But it is THE PERFECT song to be sung after the defeat of Satan! Then, John adds another song — the song of the Lamb (Jesus). This is a new song to celebrate the finality of the victory over evil!

For those who still don’t see God doing all this for the Jews, there is one last reward given to them. In Revelation 21, John describes the new heaven:

¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. ¹¹ It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. ¹² It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Revelation 21:10-12 NIV

Note that Jerusalem, the ancestral home of the Jews, will be the Holy City of God. And, note that this city will have twelve gates leading into it — all named after a Tribe of Israel! Could there be any stronger evidence that God has redeemed His Chosen People by the time this event takes place?

The Catalyst of the 144,000

Finally, after all that happens during the Tribulation, God’s people are ready to be united as one! Ephesians 2:15 (EASY) says: “When his body died on the cross, Christ took away the power of the Jewish laws and rules. In that way, he made the two groups (Jews and Gentiles) join together as one new group of people. As a result, he caused them to have peace.” THAT is what the Millennium is all about! Both Jew and Gentile are fused into a single body in Christ. Rather than seeing themselves as two separate groups, the Gentiles enter the Millennium with a ‘marriage-like’ partnership of interdependence. They will finally see what it means to be grafted onto the vine (which begins with Jesus and ends with the Jews). They will also understand that their own salvation was strategically linked to Israel’s blindness, and now Israel’s restoration is linked to the 144,000’s death. This creates a state of mutual humbling in which both groups realize they stand only by grace. Under Jesus’s direct tutelage, the “blindness” is replaced with clarity. The ancestors will learn how their temporary hardening allowed the “fullness of the Gentiles” to enter, and the Gentiles will learn how the sacrifice of the 144,000 paved the way for their ancestors’ restoration. By the end of the 1,000 years, both Jew and Gentile will have reached a state of unified maturity under Jesus’ teaching. This ensures that when the “former things pass away,” the people of God enter eternity not as strangers or rivals, but as a fully integrated family. The 144,000’s sacrifice serves as the foundation stone of this peace, a constant reminder of the cost of their unity.

But I think that there’s one more mystery solved under this interpretation. In Ezekiel 43, a Millennial Temple is built. In Ezekiel 44, the Levitical priesthood is restored, and in Ezekiel 46, a “Prince” is introduced who offers sacrifices on the altar of the Millennial Temple. What is this all about? It has confused scholars for years.  I think there is a simple explanation. Just as Jesus introduced communion as a way for Christians to remember His sacrifice, I think the Prince serves a similar role. His sacrifices aren’t meant to cleanse anyone or anything; they are simply offered as a means of remembering what was once done to bring us closer to God. In fact, I have a perfect candidate to serve in the role of the Prince. I assume that each one of the 12,000 members of each Tribe had an appointed leader consistent with how it was done under Moses. So, it seems appropriate that the person chosen to lead the Tribe of Levi from the 144,000 would be the perfect candidate to be the Prince. This person would not be in competition with Jesus because they sacrificed themselves for Jesus during the Tribulation.

After the 1,000 years are up, Jesus will have brought us all together into a full understanding of our role in the family of God. What a joy that will be! What a glorious promise fulfilled! Can I hear an AMEN?

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