Revelation 7:4

“And I heard the number of them which were sealed, etc.] And therefore could be sure of the exact number, which did not depend upon his sight, and telling them, in which some mistake might have been made, but he heard the number expressed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty, [and] four thousand: which is a square number arising from twelve, the square root of it, being just twelve times twelve thousand; and may denote their being the true and genuine offspring of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, holding their doctrine, and being built on their foundation; (see <662114>Revelation 21:14); and these were of all the tribes of the children of Israel; not that these were all Jews in a…”

“Twelve is the number of the tribes, and appropriate to the Church: three by four: three, the divine number, multiplied by four, the number for world-wide extension. Twelve by twelve implies fixity and completeness, which is taken a thousandfold in 144,000. A thousand implies the world perfectly pervaded by the divine; for it is ten, the world number, raised to the power of three, the number of God. of all the tribes--literally, "out of every tribe"; not 144,000 of each tribe, but the aggregate of the twelve thousand from every tribe. children--Greek, "sons of Israel." Rev 3:12; Rev 21:12, are no objection, as ALFORD thinks, to the literal Israel being meant; for, in consummated glory, still…”

“And I heard the number of them which were sealed - He does not say where he heard that, or by whom it was communicated to him, or when it was done. The material point is, that he heard it; he did not see it done. Either by the angel, or by some direct communication from God, he was told of the number that would be sealed, and of the distribution of the whole number into twelve equal parts, represented by the tribes of the children of Israel. And there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel - In regard to this number, the first and the main question is, whether it is meant that this was to be the literal number, or whether it was…”

“Of the children of Israel - To these will afterwards be joined a multitude out of all nations. But it may be observed, this is not the number of all the Israelites who are saved from Abraham or Moses to the end of all things; but only of those who were secured from the plagues which were then ready to fall on the earth. It seems as if this book had, in many places, a special view to the people of Israel. Revelation 7:5”

“7:4-8 Who are the 144,000? This listing of the tribes of Israel does not exactly correlate with the twelve physical tribes. Instead, it communicates that God knows precisely which people on earth belong to him. By the AD 90s, Israel’s twelve tribes no longer existed; ten tribes were dispersed when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 17:1-41). The early Christian church regarded itself symbolically as the Israel of God (Matt 19:28; Rom 2:28-29; 9:6-8; Gal 3:29; 6:16; Phil 3:3). The 144,000 probably represent all faithful Christians (cp. Rev 14:1-5; 21:12-17). The list begins appropriately with Judah (the royal tribe of Jesus) but substitutes Manasseh (one of the two tribes…”

“I heard: Rev 9:16 an: Rev 14:1, Rev 14:3; Gen 15:5; Rom 9:27, Rom 11:5, Rom 11:6 all: Eze 47:13, Eze 48:19, Eze 48:31; Zac 9:1; Mat 19:28; Luk 22:30; Act 26:7; Jam 1:1 Revelation 7:5”