i'm of the opinion that "144,000" is a symbolic, not a literal number.
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that position explained ((somewhat)) briefly:
the order of the tribes, and the tribes themselves listed in Revelation 7 is very peculiar when compared to every other list of them given in scripture, listed neither by age or prominence, and i don't believe it's in any way accidental, but that it is listed in this way as a symbol that should be interpreted.
the broad construction of the chapter is as follows: John hears a voice saying "put a seal on the servants of our God" and then hears the number of those sealed ((then the list)). then John sees "a great multitude that no man can number, from every nation, tribe, people and language"
this construction is repeated multiple times in Revelation: John hears something, then immediately sees something very different from what he has literally heard. ((ex. he hears that he is about to be shown the Bride of Christ, then sees the New Jerusalem in ch. 21 vv 9-10)). a conclusion easily & rationally drawn is that both what he hears and what he sees is the same thing, and that in the hearing and the seeing he is being shown two aspects of the same wonders, in sign and in symbol, and that both what he hears and what he sees are to be taken together to understand the mystery that is being revealed.
so -- with that principle in mind, it seems to me that the 144,000 is the great multitude that no man can number, which is not ethnic Jews alone, but taken out of every people. an examination of the symbology of the tribes as they are listed in ch. 7 supports this view, and to date i have never heard anyone who believes that the 144,000 are literal offer any alternative explanation of or even indeed take any notice of the order and names of the tribes at all, though i think it should not be dismissed.
the 144,000 are mentioned again in Revelation 14 and called "those who have been redeemed from the earth" and also "purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits" - it should be clear that all of us who are found in Christ fall under the category of "those who have been redeemed" and putting Romans 8:23 together with Romans 11:13-16, it can be argued also that those brought into fellowship with God through Christ, Jew & Goyim alike, grafted in when the native branches were broken off, are referenced as firstfruits of the complete harvest which will be the redemption of all who He calls His own. so, both of these descriptions in chapter 14 fit all believers, not just a special number of thousands of ethnic Jews.
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((waits for Ahwatukee to join thread and tell me how completely wrong i am))
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yes, i know i could be totally off here. i've never claimed to have anything more than the dimmest understanding of eschatology and anyone reading should definitely take everything i've written with a pound of salt.
but it makes sense to me, at this time in my life, anyway.
way more sense than any JW position about the 144,000 at least, lol
feel free to disregard all i've said here -- it's just my opinion about the subject, and this subject in particular seems useless to try to debate over with anyone who has any kind of formed opinion about it. who ever took an alternative view of these things to heart once they'd decided something? don't we have 144,000 posts about it in the forum archives? and how many of those have ever made anyone change their mind?
my mind's not clear on these wonders. this is just the thinking i have about them now.