A voice from elsewhere in heaven mentioned the number of persons that the fifth angel and his assistants (see Revelation 7:3) marked with a seal. The number itself does not appear elsewhere in Scripture, so we cannot deduce its significance that way. We may note, though, that 144 is the product of multiplying 12 by itself. The number 12 is highly significant in Scripture, being the number of the sons God gave to the patriarch Jacob and thus the number of the tribes of Israel. The number 12, then, represents all Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ appointed 12 disciples to serve as the foundation of his New Testament church (see Mark 3:13–19; Ephesians 2:20). We are to notice, though, that the number John hears is not 24(000), i.e., 12 plus 12—Old Testament Israel plus New Testament church. The number is 144(000), i.e., 12 times 12. The point of the multiplication of 12 by itself would be to give expression to the Lord fulfilling his promise to Abram that his descendent would be as many as the stars of heaven (Genesis 15:5). The addition of the thousands to the number points in the same direction. 1000 is 10 multiplied by itself, not two but three times! Such is the generosity of the Lord’s mercy; he is not stingy so as to save only a few from Satan’s bondage. The total number 144,000, of course, is symbolic; it does not mean that only 144,000 persons will be saved (see also Revelation 7:9).
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: