The 144,000 Bond Servants
Comprised of 12,000 men from the 12 sons of Israel, the 144,000 Bond Servants are virgin Jewish men who "follow Jesus
wherever He goes" (Rev 14:4).
The 12 sons of Israel are: 1) Judah, 2. R)uben, 3) Gad, 4) Asher, 5) Naphtali, 6) Manasseh, 7)
Simeon, 8) Levi, 9) Issachar, 10) Zebulan, 11) Joseph, and 12) Benjamin.
There are at least two observations that can be made of the above list:
1. The original sons that Jacob blessed were (Gen 49:3-28):
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Comparing the 144,000 bond servants to the original twelve sons of Jacob, the tribe of Dan is missing and
in its place is Manasseh who was the oldest and most prominent son of Joseph (Gen 46:20;
Num 26:28-37; Josh 17:1). Although Manasseh was
his grandson, Jacob accepted him as his son.
Then Jacob went on to say: Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I
accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their
inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. (Gen 48:5-6)
2. There are many hypotheses for Dan's omission, for Joseph's inclusion instead of his other son Ephraim
(who Jacob recognized as greater than Manasseh [Gen 48:8-20]!), and the difference in
the presentation order; but, there is no clear explanation found in the Bible.
For Messianic Jews, this information is of particular interest, because it defines special a role God has for them in this
period of judgment. And it seems apparent that Joseph had additional sons after Manasseh and Ephraim from which 12,000 sealed
bond servants would come.