Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God (Rev. 14:1-5).

With the completion of the resurrection of the dead in Christ, the resurrection of the living in Christ begins. We see the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with one hundred and forty-four thousand virgins with God’s name written on their foreheads. The Lamb is Jesus Christ, Mount Zion is the New Jerusalem, and the one hundred and forty-four thousand virgins with God’s name written on their foreheads are the faithful living members of God’s Church on earth judged worthy to rise in the resurrection. The number of the faithful living is symbolic of fullness (ten times ten times ten) and of God’s Church, (times twelve times twelve). “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven (Mark 13:27).” The physical resurrection of all of the faithful and worthy members of God’s Church, both living and dead, will be accomplished in an instant: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (I Corinthians 15:51-53). That the resurrected living faithful are identified as the first fruits to God and the Lamb, reveals to us that there will be others who will become faithful and be judged worthy to follow in the resurrection; as the harvest of the 1,335 judgement days of the Day of the Lord continues (see Daniel 12:12).

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed: of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed (Revelation 7:1-8).

Before any other angels are allowed to trumpet the judgments that will befall the inhabitants of the earth, an angel having the seal of the living God is sent to seal the servants of God on their foreheads. This sealing is the Holy Spirit’s illumination and spiritual protection for those who will be joined to God’s Church on the earth during the Day of the Lord. That the number of those sealed is one hundred and forty-four thousand is again symbolic of fullness (ten times ten times ten) and the Church, (times twelve times twelve). That the total number is further defined by the names of the tribes of Israel is symbolic of the grafting back into the Church of those who had broken themselves off from the vine of Jesus Christ in the past; the Jews being first among them (see Romans 11:1-36).

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).

As the first human beings died spiritually before experiencing physical death, we are healed and transfigured first spiritually and then physically in God’s Holy Church; the Body of Christ. This healing and transfiguration is a process not unlike the therapies applied by modern medicine. There are three steps necessary for restoration to spiritual or physical health. First we must have a diagnosis of the cause of our illness or injury. This is followed by a treatment or therapy which corrects the cause, thus allowing healing to take place. Finally a change of life choices to help avoid a recurrence of the illness or injury in the future. The Church, as the Ark of Salvation, accomplishes all these things. She has diagnosed the cause of mankind’s terminal condition as sin, an infectious condition contracted from Satan and his demons. This fatal disease kills by disrupting the life giving and sustaining energies of God. First it kills the spirit and then it kills the body. The only known successful treatment for this condition has two vital elements. The first element is repentance, a course change in life that puts distance between the patient and the source of the pathogen of sin – Satan and his demons. This repentance is realized in striving to resist Satan‘s influence upon one’s thoughts and actions: “who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and not received his mark on their forehead or on their hands.” The second element is the Mystery of Baptism into God’s Holy Church, this puts to death the selfish life, and washes away the sins that were disrupting the flow of life giving energies from God. To maintain the patient’s health, they are sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit in the Mystery of Chrismation and given the medicine of immortality in the Mystery of the Eucharist. This insures a continued flow of God’s life giving energies that will increase as they are shared with others through acts of love and mercy. If there is a re-infection, the patient must renew the cleansing of Baptism through the Mystery of Repentance and then resume reception of the Eucharist, continuing to share God’s gifts through acts of love and mercy. If this regimen is maintained until the departure of one’s immortal soul and healed spirit from their mortal body, a condition known as the first resurrection will be realized. This spiritual reality is to live and reign with Jesus Christ in Heaven until the fullness of the symbolic thousand years is complete. When our Lord Jesus Christ inaugurates the Day of the Lord, the final resurrection assures an eternal joyful life in a glorified physical body, living and reigning forever with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the New Jerusalem and on the new earth.

From the beginning of the Church age on Pentecost in A.D. 33 the one holy catholic and apostolic Church has been in spiritual warfare with the evil powers of darkness; Satan, and his demons. That the Church is clearly winning this war is not always appreciated from our earthly perspective. But from a Heavenly perspective, the continued growth of the Church in Heaven is conclusive evidence that our Lord God and Savoir Jesus Christ has indeed vanquished Satan and death.