Who Are the 144,000? | LDS Doctrine on Revelation, the Temple & the Gathering

Send us Fan MailWho are the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation? In this LDS (Latter-day Saint) episode, Tia Smith reads from retired BYU professor Richard Draper's article "Exalted Lord" (from Shedding Light on the New Testament), which divides Revelation into four visions of the Savior that John saw on the Isle of Patmos. Focusing on the third vision, the episode unpacks why the number 144,000 need not be taken literally — 12 representing the priesthood, 144 (12 squared) a fullness of priesthood authority, multiplied by 1,000 for completeness — and why Joseph Smith connected the 144,000 to the temple and to those sealed up unto eternal life.It explores the Savior appearing not as a warrior king but as the Lamb on Mount Zion, the "new song" that only the sealed can sing, and the harvest of the earth: the Saints as sickles in the Lord's hands, gathering the wheat before the tares are bound. Rather than an elitist club, the 144,000 are shown as the kings and priests, queens and priestesses — covenant keepers who receive the ordinances of the house of the Lord and help bring about the immortality and eternal life of God's children on both sides of the veil. Their work is our work, and it all comes back to the gathering of Israel — and to understanding who the 144,000 really are.Q: Who are the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation, according to LDS teaching?A: In Latter-day Saint doctrine they represent those the Savior has sealed up unto eternal life — high priests (and by covenant, queens and priestesses) ordained to administer the everlasting gospel and gather as many as will come to the church of the firstborn. As retired BYU professor Richard Draper explains in "Exalted Lord" (Shedding Light on the New Testament), the number need not be literal, and Joseph Smith connected the 144,000 to the temple.Q: What does the number 144,000 actually symbolize in Revelation?A: Draper reads it as symbolic math: 12 represents the priesthood, 144 (12 squared) a fullness of priesthood authority, and multiplying by 1,000 signals completeness. Together it shows the full strength and breadth of the priesthood in the dispensation of the fullness of times — not a literal head count.Q: What does it mean that the Saints are "sickles in the Lord's hands"?A: In Revelation's third vision the harvest of the earth is ripe, and the Lord's people become his sickle — gathering the wheat, those who will come to Zion, during the ingathering before the tares are bound. Tia Smith frames this as the work of the gathering of Israel: reaping while there is still time, and preparing the way for the 144,000.▶️ WATCH & LISTEN🎬 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinningoftheveil🌐 Website: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinning-of-the-veil/id1753511394🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jWCfMHkZXwnSwy2b98J4M🎵 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0a45561-d4c2-46d3-af8d-a1e967a21a25📖 BOOKPatterns of Revelation — Spiritual Foundations for Hearing God's Voice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW36MG9B📱 CONNECTInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinning.of.the.veilFacebook Group (Gathering of the Gatherers): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1429562078443774Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thinningoftheveil💛 SUPPORT THE SHOWVenmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/thinningoftheveilPayPal: https://paypal.me/thinningoftheveil✉️ Have you had a thinning of the veil experience? Email [email protected] — your testimony may be exactly what someone needs to hear.#ThinningOfTheVeil #SpiritWorld #TempleWork #FamilyHistory #LDS #LatterDaySaints #GatheringOfIsrael #MinisteringAngels #FamilySearch #PersonalRevelationCITATIONS:Richard D. Draper, “The Exalted Lord,” Shedding Light on the New Testament: Acts–Revelation, ed. Ray L. Huntington, Frank F. Judd Jr., and David M. Whitchurch (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009), 290–317: https://rsc.byu.edu/shedding-light-new-testament/exalted-lordSupport the show