In the message on Sunday, I briefly gave my view of Revelation 20. In a nutshell, my view is that the chapter depicts the incarceration of the devil and the reign of Christ extending from the Lord’s first coming to His second coming. Due to time constraints, there was much left unsaid, and I imagine that at least a few were left wondering, “But what about the 1,000 years? It has been far more than 1,000 years since Jesus first coming!” That is absolutely true.
In this article, I’ll attempt to demonstrate that Revelation is intended to be interpreted figuratively as opposed to literally. That is, it should be interpreted with a sensitivity to its genre rather than treating it as we would historical narrative or an epistle. Revelation is apocalyptic literature, and like poetry and prophetic literature, it uses predominantly figurative language.
To show that this is the case with Revelation, let’s use the 144,000 of chapter 7 as an example where a literal reading simply cannot be maintained. The pertinent passage reads:
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
The prevailing view, based upon a literal reading, is that this passage refers to a literal 144,000 Jews sealed after the rapture of the Gentile church—12,000 from each of the twelve tribes. These Jews are converted during tribulation, sealed, and protected until Jesus returns yet again to set up His millennial kingdom. The reason for holding this view is that it seems to be the most straightforward way to read the text. (For the sake of this article, we’ll set aside how 1-2 Thessalonians rendered a pretrib/mid-trib rapture and literal millennial kingdom an impossibility.)
However, a close reading of Rev 7:4-8 shows peculiarities that make a literal reading extremely difficult. Consider the names of the tribes listed: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Does anything stand out about that list? There should be several things.
First, Joseph is on the list. Why is that strange? Joseph was not a tribe. While he was one of Jacob’s twelve sons, Jacob took Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own in Joseph's stead. But that would have made 13 tribes, correct? Not exactly. In Numbers 3:11-13, the LORD took Levi as His own possession in lieu of the firstborn from every womb in Israel. So when it came time to apportion the inheritance of the Promised Land, Levi was not given land. What was Levi’s inheritance or portion? The LORD (Deut 10:9). The Levites were scattered among the twelve territories. That made the number of tribes 12. So it’s strange that Joseph would be called a tribe.
Second, Manasseh is on the list. Why is this strange? Manasseh is a subgroup of Joseph. Therefore, ALL people from Manasseh are from Joseph. So the 12,000 from Manasseh also have to be from Joseph. This means that either Manasseh's 12,000 are identical to Joseph's 12,000, which means there are not really 144,000, but 132,000. OR, they are a different 12,000, in which case there are actually 24,000 from Joseph. Neither option is good if we hold to inerrancy.
Third, Ephraim is not on the list. Why is that strange? Manasseh IS. If there was some way to explain why Manasseh IS on the list, it would be extremely peculiar for Ephraim—the other subgroup of Joseph—not to be on the list.
Fourth, Levi is on the list. Why is this strange? Again, one of the sons of Joseph took Joseph’s place in the inheritance of the land and one took the place of Levi, so that there were twelve tribes. In the OT, whenever a census of the people of Israel was taken, Levi was not included. Why would he be included in this “census”?
Fifth, Dan is not on the list. Why is this strange? Dan is not mixed up in any of confusing stuff with Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Levi. Dan is just a normal tribe. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he is left out of this sealing even though v4 reads, “And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”
This simply is not every tribe. This is extremely problematic for a literal interpretation.
Are there other problems with a literal understanding of the 144,000?
Yes, when we look at a second passage involving the 144,000 in ch14...
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps,
3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
First, all 144,000 are men. In v4, they are described as those who “have not defiled themselves with women.” Remember that these are Jews, unsaved at the beginning of the tribulation (otherwise, they would have been taken in the rapture), but converted at some point during the tribulation. The reason this is strange is that a literal reading would mean that there are no Jewish women converted during the tribulation.
Second, none of the 144,000 have ever had sexual relations. According to v4, among the exclusively male Jews converted during the tribulation, every last one of them is a virgin. (“Virgin” in v4 is a masculine plural.) This is odd, given that they all begin the tribulation as unbelievers. So, in their pre-conversion lives, these Jewish men demonstrate remarkable sexual restraint, uncommon today and almost certainly less common in the future, as sexual mores tend to erode over time. Taken literally, this could only mean one of two things: either the sexual purity of the 144,000 is an amazing coincidence, or it is a condition of their conversion. If it is the former, why mention it? If it is the latter, salvation by grace alone is abandoned during the tribulation.
It seems obvious to me that a literal reading has huge problems. The passages pertaining to the 144,000 should not be interpreted literally. Likewise, there will not be a literal beast with ten literal horns and seven literal heads coming up out of a literal sea (13:1). It was not a woman clothed with the literal sun, with the literal moon under her feet, wearing a crown of twelve literal stars, who gave birth to Christ (12:1, 5).
Revelation is apocalyptic literature, and as such, it is inherently figurative. The passages pertaining to the 144,000—indeed all of Revelation—should be interpreted figuratively. For this reason, I do not find it problematic for 1,000 years in Revelation 20 to be a figurative number.
This article is already lengthy. I would like to offer a figurative interpretation of 144,000 of chs7 & 14 and the 1,000 years of ch20, but it will have to wait until next time!
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