The 144,000 are 12,000 young Jewish men from each of twelve tribes of Israel, sealed by God in their foreheads and commissioned to preach the gospel of the kingdom during the Tribulation.
Revelation 7:4 explicitly identifies them as 'an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel,' and Revelation 7:5–8 lists 12,000 sealed from each tribe. Les Feldick teaches that these are young Jewish men whose tribal lineage God has providentially preserved, and he notes that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are left out because they were the first to go into idolatry. The seal in their foreheads marks them as servants of God and protects them from the demonic locusts of Revelation 9, while their mission is to take the gospel of the kingdom — that the King is coming — around the world.
Revelation 7:4 — This verse directly identifies the 144,000 as sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 7:3–4 records the sealing of a specific, numbered group. John writes, 'And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel' (Revelation 7:4). The sealing happens in response to the instruction, 'Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads' (Revelation 7:3). Revelation 7:5–8 then lists the twelve tribes from which 12,000 each are sealed. Immediately after this sealing, Revelation 7:9 shows 'a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.' In Revelation 9:4, the demonic locusts are commanded 'that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.'
Les Feldick teaches that the 144,000 are young Jewish men drawn from the tribes of the children of Israel — 'plain as it can be' in Revelation 7:4 — and he explicitly rejects the claim of one prominent cult that says it will be the 144,000 (Clip 1). He explains that God has providentially kept at least 12,000 young Jewish men from each tribe with their tribal lineage intact enough for God to identify them individually (Clip 2). These men are sealed as servants of God in their foreheads (Clips 0, 4) and are commissioned in response to the two witnesses' preaching at the beginning of the Tribulation (Clips 1, 7). Their mission is to take the gospel of the kingdom — the good news that the King is coming — around the world; they are saved on the merit of the cross, but their message is not the gospel of grace (Clips 2, 5, 7). Les also addresses two details of identity. First, the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are left out of the Revelation 7 listing because they were the first to go into idolatry back when the tribes were under Joshua (Clip 3). Second, the 144,000 are not the same as the remnant of Jews saved during the Tribulation — the remnant is 'an admixture of a whole society,' whereas the 144,000 are young Jewish men (Clip 6).
Les Feldick teaches that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are omitted from the listing in Revelation 7. He explains they were left out 'simply because they were the first to go into idolatry back in their origins, back when the tribes were still under Joshua' (Clip 3). The remaining tribes are each sealed with 12,000, making up the 144,000.
Les Feldick teaches that the 144,000 are sealed and commissioned in response to the preaching of the two witnesses at the beginning of the Tribulation. They go out around the world with the gospel of the kingdom — the good news that the King is coming. As Les puts it, they will be 'saved on the merit of the cross, but the message will be, the King is coming' (Clip 7). This is the same message Jesus preached, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Clip 5), rather than the gospel of grace (Clip 2).
In Revelation 7:3, angels are told not to hurt the earth, sea, or trees 'till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.' In Revelation 9:4, the demonic locusts are commanded to hurt 'only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.' Les connects these passages, explaining that the 144,000 are the ones referred to in Revelation 9 — the demonic creatures will not be able to touch them (Clip 4).
Les distinguishes the 144,000 from two other groups. First, he says some think the remnant of Jews who will be saved during the Tribulation is the 144,000, but he explains the remnant is 'an admixture of a whole society,' not 144,000 young Jewish men (Clip 6). Second, after the 144,000 are sealed, John sees 'a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations' in Revelation 7:9 — a distinct group that comes from all nations and kindreds (Clip 3).
Revelation 7 as Distorted Scripture
Les brings his listeners to Revelation 7, describing the passage as 'a fact of Scripture' that 'has been so distorted and has been so completely perverted' — the introduction to his teaching on the 144,000.
144,000 Are Jews from Israel's Tribes
Les stresses that the 144,000 are Jews from all the tribes of the children of Israel, set aside in response to the two witnesses' preaching — contrary to the claim of one cult.
Young Jewish Men with Intact Tribal Lineage
God has preserved the tribal bloodlines of 12,000 young Jewish men from each tribe; these 144,000 will go around the globe preaching the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of grace.
Dan and Ephraim Excluded
Les identifies the tribes of Dan and Ephraim as the ones left out of the listing because they were the first to go into idolatry, back when the tribes were under Joshua.
Seal Protects Them from Locusts
The seal of God in the foreheads of the 144,000 protects them from the demonic locusts of Revelation 9, which can hurt only those without the seal.
Gospel of the Kingdom Mission
The 144,000 young Jews take the gospel of the kingdom — the same message Jesus preached, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Distinct from the Remnant
Les distinguishes the 144,000 young Jewish men from the remnant of Jews saved during the Tribulation, which he describes as an admixture of the whole society.
Sealed and Commissioned After Two Witnesses Preach
Out of the two witnesses' preaching at the beginning of the Tribulation, the 144,000 young Jewish men are sealed and commissioned to take the gospel of the kingdom — that the King is coming — around the world.
Revelation 7:3: Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
The sealing of God's servants in their foreheads is the condition that must be met before the earth, sea, and trees can be hurt.
Revelation 7:4: And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
This verse directly answers the question — the 144,000 are sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Revelation 7:5-8: Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. And of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
The Bible explicitly lists twelve tribes with 12,000 sealed from each — showing the 144,000 are Israelites.
Revelation 7:9: After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Immediately after the sealing of the 144,000, John sees the great multitude from all nations.
Revelation 9:4: And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
The seal of God on the foreheads of the 144,000 protects them from the demonic locusts of Revelation 9.
Matthew 4:17: From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Les connects the 144,000's message — the gospel of the kingdom — to the same message Jesus preached in Matthew.
The 144,000 are Jews — Revelation 7:4 says they are sealed out of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Les Feldick emphasizes this is plain as it can be, and he rejects the claim of a cult that says they are the 144,000. They are specifically young Jewish men from each tribe.
Les Feldick teaches that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim are the ones omitted from the list in Revelation 7. They were left out because they were the first tribes to go into idolatry, going back to their origins under Joshua.
The 144,000 are sealed as servants of God and commissioned to go around the world preaching the gospel of the kingdom — the good news that the King is coming. They are saved on the merit of the cross, but their message is the kingdom of heaven at hand, not the gospel of grace.
The seal marks them as servants of God and is the condition God gave before the earth, sea, and trees could be hurt (Revelation 7:3). In Revelation 9:4, the demonic locusts are permitted to hurt only those who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads — so the 144,000 are protected.
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