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This is going to be a numbers game, and the Lost series 2 people are going to feel right at home with that.
Certain numbers appear a LOT in scripture and usually have more than their literal number behind them.
144000 / 12 = 12000. (Where've you heard the number 12 before? Apostles, tribes...)
40 = 2 score, = 2 x the number of fingers and toes a person had (usually) and it is used a lot to refer to a time period where people weren't sure exactly how long, but 'it was a long time' - Noah in the Ark, Christ in the wilderness, etc.
Isreal: Don't use these words in a western sense.
The context is 'Children of Isreal'. How many children did the original Isreal (Jacob) have? 12
What does the phrase 'Children of Isreal' refer to? Not Jews, nor Hebrews, but those who accept the gospel. (according to the bible)
If to be with a woman and lose your virginity is to be defiled, then what of the other apostles who had wives? Will they be amongst the 144000? Moses? Abraham?
With this in ming the 144000 starts to sound like a chosen group, set apart for a specific task, and not the simply number who will be in heaven.
The 'firstfruits' was also a word used to represent the tithe, particularly for farmers and owners of livestock. Again, this seems to imply a chosen few who are 'dedicated' to the service of God, in this case to 'learn a new song'. Why a song? Could that represent a new task or message?
The 4 angels. Where else do you read of 4 beings in Revelations? The 4 horsemen. But death, pestilence, war & famine? They surely can't be angels?
The devil, Lucifer, was once referred to as the Angel of the Morning. Why can't they?
There's an angel of death in the O.T.
You didn't include it in this section you quoted, but the 7 seals are widely believed to be the 7 1000 year periods since the biblical record began with Adam. The 7th seal being the last 1000 year period before a huge change is to take place and a final judgement, hence the number of doomsayers around the year 2000.
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