Are the 144,000 literal or figurative?
It could be either. There is much symbolism in this passage.
Rev 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Rev 21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Distance from fingers to elbow, estimated at 18 inches for a Biblical cubit
The 144,000 are the “firstfruits” (Revelation 14:4) of God redeemed among men, not the lastfruits as Premillers suggest. The 144,000 could likely be a symbolic representation of those Jews that came to the faith during the first century. These may be the Jews that began the spread of the Gospel, throughout Israel and then to the nations.
James 1:1-2, 18 seems to correlate with Revelation 14:3-4 in regard to these Jewish firstfruits, saying:
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
It is improper to move the 144,000 from their early-church venue and move them forward in time 2000+ years. If these were end-time tribulation saints then they would not be the first-fruit but the last-fruit. They must be redeemed Jews at the start of the great Gospel advance.
Matthew 10:5-7 records,
“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
We see the outworking of this in Matthew 15:22-28, there,
“a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”
Jesus said in Luke 24:47:
“repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Christ confirmed this in Acts 1:8:
“ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 13:46-47 declares,
“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us (referring to Isa. 49:6),
saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”
Romans 1:16 agrees,
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Romans 2:9-10 also says,
“Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.”
If Revelation 4-19 truly reveals a seven-year tribulation period, and the 144,000 are the so-called Jewish evangelists for the entire tribulation period, what are they doing located (in total) around the throne in heaven in Revelation 14 singing “a new song before the throne”? Surely Revelation 15 – 19 has still to come within its supposed 7-year-tribulation-period.
- they have "the seal of the living God" Rev 7:2
- they are "the servants of our God" Rev 7:3
- they have the "Father's name written in their foreheads" Rev 14:1
- they "sung as it were a new song" Rev 14:3
- they are "before the throne" Rev 14:3
- they are "not defiled" Rev 14:4
- they "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth" Rev 14:4
- they are "redeemed from among men" Rev 14:4
- they are "the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb" Rev 14:4
- "in their mouth was found no guile" Rev 14:5
- "they are without fault before the throne of God" Rev 14:5
This is not a command from the angel, but a command from God the Father to the Son. The angel is simply indorsing the fulfilment of that plan. This correlates with other Scripture where Christ is subordinate to His Father’s plan and with Him fulfilling everything required of Him.