The 144,000 Agents Of The Apocalypse--Jesus Deploys Into The Tribulation

Remember chapter 6? Who can forget the scene: somewhere beyond the starry sky there stands a herald angel with a trumpet in his hand, and by the decree of the Lord God Almighty, there is a day, there is an hour, there is a moment, there is an elected time when the angel shall sound and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ." Thus opens the Tribulation, the first step in Christ's taking back the earth, which is rightfully His. One by one Christ unrolls the seals. As each seal is broken, He takes further possession and control of His inheritance. Here are only a few of the dreadful disasters that take place during the Tribulation:

1. One out of every four people will die (see Rev. 6:8), some through the ravages of war, others by starvation and amazingly many others by the 'beasts of the earth'. One-third of all vegetation will be burned up. All grass, every tree, everything green will be destroyed. The sun and the moon will be darkened as nature goes into revolt. The gates of hell will open and hordes of locusts, the size of horses, will come upon the earth. Those locusts will be allowed to sting men like scorpions and the pain will last for five months. The Bible says men will beg God to let them die but they will not die (see Rev. 9:3-6). There will be worldwide famine, unlike anything the world has ever seen (see Rev. 18:8).

So what is Jesus doing during all this? His heart of love and compassion sends 144,000 missionaries (only 35,000 today). So chapter 7 opens with the LOVE of Jesus. The Lamb standing in triumph on Mount Sion and with him the one hundred and forty-four thousand. They are marked with his name and with the