The generation of Jesus

Devotional for Adults
December 12, 2016

The generation of Jesus: 144,000 - 1

"We know, brothers beloved of God, that he has chosen you." 1 Thessalonians 1: 4.

There has been a simple question, which is answered affirmatively or negatively, with which I have been fighting. Maybe you will too. Does God have a criterion for the last generation of His elect on earth different from the one He had for all previous generations? Is there a criterion of "translation" (for the elect who will go to heaven without experiencing death) that is different from a criterion of "resurrection" (for the elect who will be resurrected when Jesus returns)? You will say: "What gives? How does that change things? " Well, if God, in fact, has two different criteria for his friends, depending on when they lived in the history of salvation, would not you want to know what God's judgment is for this potentially last generation of elect? Well of course! So let's look for the answer.

144,000 now enter the scene. "Then I looked, and I saw that the Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand that had his name and his Father's name written on his forehead" (Revelation 14: 1). Have you ever noticed how countercultural these end-time apocalyptic friends of God are? 1. They have the name of the Lord on their foreheads at a time when the rest of the world has "the mark of the beast" on theirs (16: 2; 13:16). 2. They sing "a new song" (14: 3) at a time when the rest of the world is macerated in the music of fallen Babylon (18:22). 3. Refuse to sleep with the great whore when the rest of the earth has slept with this georeligious-political alliance (18: 3). 4. "Follow the Lamb wherever he goes" (14: 4) when the whole world has followed the "beast," that demonic confederation of the time of the end (13: 3). 5. "No lies were found in their mouths" (14: 5) when deception and subterfuge are the norm of the age (13:14). 6. They are "blameless" (14: 5, NIV) in the midst of a morally fallen and spiritually insolvent society (18: 4, 5).

It is clear that the 144,000 are the generation of Jesus on the eve of his return. But are they subject to a higher divine criterion than all the elect who lived before them? Whatever the answer, it is clear that they are countercultural people with an unwavering passion for Christ. If that were all, would not you want that picture for yourself?