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Hillside O’Malley SDA Church

David Shin

144,000: Why is Dan’s Tribe Not Included?

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for this opportunity that we have to come apart from the cares of this life this morning to spend a few moments now to meditate on your word.

I need you, I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts this morning as we reflect on the Word.

May you apply the truths that we need to each individual heart, for we ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

This morning I want to invite you to open your Bibles to the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 6 and verse 14.

This is at the sixth seal in the book of Revelation.

And the scene that is presented in Revelation 6, verse 14 is that Jesus is coming.

Won't that be a wonderful day when Jesus comes?

I think I'll be pinching myself because it's actually here.

In verse 14, the Bible describes the reaction of a group of people as Jesus is getting ready to come.

Revelation 6, verse 14, Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand." I've never seen an angry lamb before, have you?

This presents a picture of individuals that do not want to see the face of Jesus.

Now Jesus is not coming with wrath, he's coming to save his people, but the reaction of the people that see Jesus, their perception is that this is a fearful scene when it's really a salvific scene in the book of Revelation.

God is coming to take his people home, but there's a group of individuals that are running from the face of Jesus.

Have you ever seen someone that you wanted to avoid?

Now, I'm kind of an introvert, so sometimes after a weekend on Sabbath, I don't get my energy from people.

Now, I love being around people, but I don't get my energy from being around people.

I need to go after a weekend of Sabbath back to my cave, crawl in there, and recharge, and then I can engage people again.

And there are some times when I just don't want to talk to anyone, especially on Monday morning or Sunday.

And I'm somewhere in public, and I see someone, and I'll be honest, sometimes I've ducked behind some place.

Not that I want to avoid the person, because I just have this thing about me.

What if Jesus were to walk into this room right now?

What would be your immediate emotional reaction?

At Michigan camp meeting I met someone famous in Adventist circles.

I won't tell you his name, a famous evangelist, well-known, well-renowned, and I'd watched this man preach for years and years and years.

And we were at this dinner together, and we met at the juice table.

The juice table and I'm getting my juice and there he is in the flesh, comes up and I'm like, hi.

And of course he didn't need to introduce himself because everybody knows, right?

It was the most awkward thing because I felt like I knew him, but I didn't know him.

And then there's just kind of this awkwardness and then I walked away.

Now is that, I hope that's not our interaction with Jesus.

Jesus in the flesh, he walks in, or you see him at the second coming, and you're like, hi.

I think I know you, or I know about you, but I don't really know you.

This awkward interaction, I don't want that to be my experience.

I want it to be Jesus comes and like, pick up right where you left off.

The intimacy was here and it just continues on in heaven.

And I pray that our immediate connection with him is so a continuation of what has been going on in our day-to-day lives.

I know you, he knows me, and we just continue that intimacy that we've been having here on earth.

Well, anyway, this group of people, just the most curious reaction, they want to hide from the face of Jesus.

They're running away from him because there's something in his face.

Now, 2 Corinthians says, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ.

The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ.

The revelation of who God is, the character of God.

And they look at his face and say we want to hide from the face of Jesus now It's interesting because in Psalm 24 it says Who shall ascend into heaven and who will dwell in the holy hill?

And it says, he that backbiteth not with his tongue.

Now we'll come back to that in a little bit.

He that had clean hands and a pure heart has not lifted up his soul unto vanity.

So this is an interesting dynamic that takes place here.

I want to focus on the last verse of chapter 6, verse 17.

For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?

Who is going to be able to stand in the face of God?

This is a universal question that everyone is asking.

Jesus is coming and who shall be able to stand?

After these things I saw 4 angels standing at the 4 corners of the earth, holding the 4 winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth or on the sea or any tree.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.

And he cried with a loud voice to the 4 angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, do not harm the earth and the sea or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their forehead.

And I heard the number of those who were sealed 144, 000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed.

So the question is asked in chapter 6 who shall be able to stand at the second coming and chapter 7 is the answer the hundred and 44000 are going to be able to stand at the second coming of Jesus.

Now when you look at the group, the 144, 000, you can see In verses 5, 6, 7, and 8, you have the representation from each 1 of the tribes.

Of the tribe of Judah, 12, 000 were sealed.

Of the tribe of Reuben, 12, 000 were sealed.

And it goes through each tribe and describes that there are 12, 000 from each tribe 12 tribes making a hundred and 44000 So the Bible says this group is Going to be able to stand at the second coming of Jesus the answer to the question in chapter 6 now To be very clear These are not literal Jews It's very hard to find a pure-blooded Reubenite today, person from the tribe of Reuben, or from the tribe of Gad.

You remember what happened is that the kingdom of Israel was divided between the 10 tribes in the north and the 2 tribes to the south.

Well, the northern tribes were taken away into captivity and lost their national identity after being assimilated with the surrounding people.

A lot of those individuals, their descendants, became the Samaritans.

They were known as the mixed individuals.

And remember in the New Testament, Samaritans were not accepted by the Jewish people.

And I know a lot of people, especially our evangelical friends, are looking to the Middle East to the reestablishment of Israel because they believe in the Book of Revelation when it talks about the 144, 000 specifically, that this is talking about a reinstatement of the Jewish national identity and greatness as it were before.

But when you look in the New Testament, Paul is very clear in indicating that the New Testament Jew is not 1 that is genetically a Jew.

The New Testament Jew is 1 that has accepted Jesus Christ.

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144,000: Why is Dan’s Tribe Not Included?

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