Revelation 7:4-8

And I heard the number of those who were sealed.  One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;

Of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

·        We are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a down payment of our eventual total redemption. (DG)

·        Ethnically, they are Jewish, and there are 144,000 of these chosen ones.  (DG)

·        It is best to see the 144,000 as specifically chosen Jewish believers in Jesus, protectively sealed throughout the tribulation as a sign.  (DG)

Song 4;12  A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Genesis 49:28  All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them.  And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing