Jesus chose 12 men the first time, for a small chunk of real estate in the ME.
The second time there will be 144k men of Israel from all over the world.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, accompanied by all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him."
Jesus will preside over all the Nations from Jerusalem.
The 144k are his Second Coming disciples to administrate like the first 12 disciples did at the first coming.
Were the first 12 disciples literal or just symbolic that all the Jews became Christians in the first century?
This describes the 144k:
"They were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living beings and the elders, and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who have been ransomed from the world.
(edit by canadyjd for emphasis)
These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins;......
....they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been ransomed from among humanity as firstfruits for God and the Lamb; on their lips no lie was found — they are without defect.
Firstfruits for what?
The only thing left at this point is the 1000 year reign of Christ.
This is not the church.
The firstfruits of the church happened in the first century, on the Cross.
This group of people are Paul's third group mentioned in
1 Corinthians 15:24, after the Second Coming:
"then the culmination, when he hands over the Kingdom to God the Father, after having put an end to every rulership, yes, to every authority and power."
Christ reigns on earth after the Second Coming when He sets up His glorious throne at the Second Coming.
According to
Matthew 25, His kingdom is on earth over the nations. His disciples are 144k male virgins.
They will range in age from 12 to 100.
(Well how ever old the oldest living virgin is today.)
The Second Coming could happen at any time.
God will not let earth be punished from Adam's disobedience much longer.
We are 5991 years into the command:
"You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a
Shabbat for
Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work."
"For in six days,
Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why
Adonai blessed the day,
Shabbat, and separated it for himself."
Only 9 years left.
John claims Satan gets 42 months.
Only about 4 years left.
The Millennium is the literal reign symbolically represented by the command and prophecy found in the 4th Commandment. 1000 was hard to count, evidently.
God set it up so each day would equal 1000 years.
They would only have to Remember the day, not the years.
Obviously they chose not to Remember either and were scattered all over the earth and many ended up in Babylon.
Then God used Daniel to sort things out.
2500 years later, humans still have not sorted it out.
Well time is up. Jesus Christ the Lamb will sort it out at the Second Coming,
prepared or not.
Jesus is bringing the stars with Him.
They are just angels and will land as gently as a fig tree shaken by the wind.
"Then I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, the sun turned black as sackcloth worn in mourning, and the full moon became blood-red. The stars fell from heaven to earth just as a fig tree drops its figs when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the earth’s kings, the rulers, the generals, the rich and the mighty — indeed, everyone, slave and free — hid himself in caves and among the rocks in the mountains,
and said to the mountains and rocks, “
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne and from the fury of the Lamb! For the Great Day of their fury has come, and who can stand?”
Yes, Jesus is coming with the Lord on the throne as well.
"Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool."
When the sky of Satan's virtual reality is rolled back like a movie screen, all will see what David and other OT prophets saw, when spiritual blindness is gone.
“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,
all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power and glory.
He will send out his angels
with a great shofar; and they will gather together his chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Jesus is bringing the Trump of God.
So the Second Coming is before the 7 Trumpet sounds and the 7 Thunders.
The church is going to be removed.
Jesus Christ will be gathering the culmination for His 1000 year reign on earth.
Or a day for those to whom 1000 years is too big for their patience.
Of course some will spend it in Paradise.
Some will be on earth, and the rest still hanging out in sheol.
Now those who refuse to see there has been 5991 years since Adam disobeyed God, when Satan's virtual universe is rolled back, understanding will be as instant as the second Adam ate, and realized he had died instantly.
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