Long ago, Jesus offered an encouraging statement explaining how nothing is done apart from His Father's will. Jesus referred to the practice of His time of selling two sparrows in the public market for a coin. He boldly stated, "Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will" (Matthew 10:29).

This verse's companion scripture of Luke 12:6 uses different numbers to purposefully crystallize God's great and detailed love. Here in Luke, it speaks of five birds sold for two coins or actually two sparrows per coin. Why then the mention of the fifth sparrow? This was the sparrow of little worth that was thrown in to "seal the deal" so as not to lose a customer. Here Christ defines the incredible attention God places on each member of His creation. Nothing, not even the least of us, escapes His loving attention and personalized care.

Embracing God's promise

What does this reference to our little feathered friends have in common with God's future involvement with the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14? Beyond that, where do you fit within this combined realm of birds and future saints?

Let's bring the past, present and future together as we consider one powerful reality—the promises of God. While we may not fully understand every implication of the 144,000, we can fully embrace one basic premise embedded in the heart of every saint of God: Our Heavenly Master is true to His word and keeps His promises.

With this in mind, we enter the world of the 144,000. That world will be experiencing "great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:21). It is a world that chooses to exist apart from God and is in conflict with the Ruler of the heavens.

But what causes this future disconnect between the Creator and His creation? Revelation 12:7-10 offers a sequence of future activity that portrays Satan as once again striving to seize the Kingdom of Heaven , but he is thwarted and cast down to this earth. Revelation 12:12 triumphantly proclaims, "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

Great news, bad news, good news!

The great news is Satan's assault will be thwarted again. The bad news, at least for humanity, is he is currently down here on earth! The good news is his time is short. But each day will seem unbearable, especially to the saints during this time of tribulation that is given further definition in Revelation 6 as the fifth seal.

It is indeed the time of Satan's wrath, not to be confused with the seventh seal that signifies the time of God's judgment upon a rebellious society that marvels and follows "the beast" and therefore is actually worshipping "the dragon" who gives authority to the Beast (Revelation 13:3-4).

This bestial system is but a pawn for Satan's two-fold purpose:

1) to deceive all humanity and have them marvel at his surrogate, "the beast" (Revelation 13:3), and

2) to eradicate the faithful seed of God's Church "who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17).

Make no mistake, it is war, pure and simple, against the holy seed of God—the saints.

It is with this pending threat that God responds. It is an action by the One who inhabits eternity. Yes, He who alone transcends the worlds of both man and angel. We discover that He is not late in intervening, but right on schedule. He pushes the cosmic doorbell of 12-14, commonly called the heavenly signs, to announce His divine entrance into the human sphere. When hope is quickly fading and both saint and sinner are at wit's end, God enters once and forever!

And then a specific and standalone question is asked as the world and Church reel between life and death: "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17). God is prepared to usher forth the seventh seal, which is His judgment upon sinful man, but take note of what He doesn't allow until this point.

God interrupts the flow of events

Here God interrupts the flow of events by asking that His angels perform specific functions. First, the forces of nature are held back from the earth as four angels at four corners of the earth hold back winds. This signifies the global nature of this activity and appears not to speak of a specific location. The graphic description of "standing at the four corners of the earth" conveys an image of a universal Sovereign multitasking to save His holy people on a global scale (Revelation 7:1).

Likewise, it appears to be time-specific ("after these things") as a future event between the end of the sixth seal and the commencement of the seventh seal. Plainly stated, chapter 7 is a "time-out call" to fulfill God's promises to future saints. Our holy God is going to preserve a holy people for His holy purpose, and He will not allow them to fall without His awareness, anymore than the sparrow of old mentioned by Christ.

Second, an angel approaches from "the east" (verse 2). Just as good news came from the east at Jesus' first coming (Matthew 2:2), likewise, good news is going to travel from the east in preparation for His second coming.

Third, He comes bearing "the seal of the living God" (Revelation 7:2). The term "living God" is the New Testament echo of Joshua 3:10, which proclaims that the "living God is among you."

He is alive, so very real and active among His covenant peoples of each generation, even in the most doubtful and darkest moments that confront them. This should not be lost on us today, and it will once again be proclaimed to a future people about to cross from one age into another under the guidance and protection of "the living God."

Devotion is everything, but to whom?

Fourth, this angel commands the other angels to not harm the earth until a divine seal is applied to these end-time saints (verses 3-4). Revelation 14:1 implies this is symbolically "written on their foreheads." This divine seal of protection stands in stark contrast to another seal known as the "mark of the beast" (Revelation 13:15-18).

We must remember that Revelation is a book of wisdom given to the reader to determine a contrast between two gods (the God of creation vs. the "god of this age"), two trees (the tree of life vs. the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), two ways (the way of give vs. the way of get), two churches (a great worldly church vs. a "little flock"), two cities (Jerusalem above vs. Babylon below) and two outcomes (eternal life, which is the gift of God, vs. eternal death). These two seals or marks personify these contrasting values. This brings us to a graphic reality that there will be no "third option" of doing it our way.

It is noteworthy that baptism in the early Church was considered a form of "sealing," an indication that a convert belonged to God and not himself (Ephesians 1:13). The 144,000 will be converted individuals, who will be spared from God's judgment upon the wicked, even though they will endure persecution in the Great Tribulation. Just as the children of Israel experienced the first three plagues visited on Egypt, likewise these future "children of Israel" will go through some similar challenges.

Just who are the 144,000?

Just who are the 144,000? Revelation 7:4 shows that they come from "all the tribes of the children of Israel." Then it lists all but one of the tribes of that extended biblical family. A specific number is affixed to these future saints. It is noteworthy that the number is made up of 12 times 12, mathematically a perfect square. The number indicates completion, rather than a limit. It initially appears to be a small number. Yet, when considering the incredible circumstances that will be occurring on earth, it is actually quite large.

Remember Abraham's famous countdown before God regarding the potential "righteous" of Sodom (Genesis 18:20-32)? There weren't any besides Lot . As at that time, God will know just where His precious ones are in the Great Tribulation, just as much as He is aware of that little sparrow Jesus referred to. Nothing is done apart from His will, that He, alone, might be glorified.

It is of note that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in Revelation 7. It is impossible to know with certainty why it is excluded. But the overall number of 144,000 offers a sense that this is a group of converted, obedient and contrite people, submissive to God in contrast to ancient Israel, which was known for its idolatrous and rebellious ways. The overriding symbolism is of a spiritually purified people in an evil and immoral society.

In that number

This purity is granted further definition in Revelation 14:3-4. The 144,000 are "redeemed," which means their life has been paid for by Christ's sacrifice, by His blood, shed to pay for their sins. Thus they are a part of the firstfruits and they "follow the Lamb wherever He goes." This signifies a covenant people, completely yielded to God.

They are further described as being without deceit "in their mouth," (Revelation 14:5), meaning they are genuine from the inside out. Nothing phony! They are not seeking the "muddled middle," trying to serve God, while simultaneously entertaining Satan's devices. For them, there is no third option. Thus, they are "without fault before the throne of God." They have access in incredibly horrific times to the only One who can truly step down, step in and reach out—lest they fall like the sparrow of Jesus' day.

While we may not fully understand every nuance of the numbering of the 144,000 until it is fully revealed in "that day," we can plainly determine what it takes to be "in that number." The spiritual qualities of the 144,000 are no mystery. God clearly lists what it takes to "stand" in their day. It is the same list that determines what we need to "stand" in our current society.

Until that time, the sparrow, the sealing of the 144,000 and we have something in common: We exist before the living God who does not forget His promises, who remembers where we are at all times, whether in the steepest of personal falls or the darkest of personal moments. We worship God, who has ultimate control over all elements and entities, be they winds of change, Satan, a Beast or a False Prophet. Therefore, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). The 144,000 reminds us that in His time and way, God cares for people who have spiritual integrity.

It is in the words of Jesus Christ Himself that we hear the echo of "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). It is the simple directive and promise to a sparrow, the 144,000 and us, right here and right now, that grants us the encouraging knowledge that "not one of them [or us] falls to the ground apart from your Father's will."