Revelations how many people go to heaven

We must emphasize the following two points: First, one simply cannot take a symbolic section of scripture and interpret it in such a fashion as to make it contradict other clear, literal portions of the Bible.

Consider the following points. If , is literal, what about other descriptive terms? Are there any Gentiles in the ,? Are the tribes of Ephraim or Dan included in the ,? What about the , mentioned in Revelation 14? Second, there is Mount Zion, a symbol of divine government cf.

If a consistent literal scheme of interpretation is pursued, here is the situation that would obtain: Only men will be in heaven, hence, Hannah, Mary, Dorcus, and women of like faith are without that hope. Only unmarried men who are virgins will gain heaven. This would exclude Abraham, Moses, Peter, and a host of other biblical worthies. These conclusions are utterly ludicrous and thus without any merit whatever.

Who are the ,? The , of Revelation 14 likely signifies the entire body of the redeemed. Will Heaven Be on Earth? Works Cited Hinds, John T. It is said that these , are from every tribe of Israel and then goes on to list 12, from each tribe. However, the list does not include the tribe of Dan and includes the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph but not Ephraim usually these lists would include Ephraiam and Manasseh and omit Levi since the Levites did not inherit land — Levi is on this list — these two tribes not named among the 12 here were linked with idolatry.

This seal seems to be important as Revelation says that those who do not have the seal will be harmed. After this vision, John then sees a great multitude that cannot be counted from every tribe and tongue of the earth This great multitude seems to be in heaven, while the , are on the earth interestingly, John does not see the sealing of the ,, only hears about it, but he does see the multitude that cannot be counted.

The root of the different views on the identity of the , seems to be whether they are a specific group of people who will be revealed in the future or if this group is representative of a larger group. If it is a specific group, this would seem to be a remnant of Jewish male, celibate believers with 12, from most of the tribes of Israel excluding Dan; are those from Joseph the ones through his son Ephraim only or could they include some from Ephraim and some from Manasseh, so Manasseh has over 12, in it?

The identification of them — being sealed by God — precedes the harm that God puts on the earth and also protects them from the harm discussed in Revelation With most types of writing, the reader is to take statements literally unless the context demands a symbolic interpretation. In apocalyptic writing, the reader is to take things fuguratively unless the context demands a literal interpretation.

Therefore, in Revelation, we see Jesus as a lamb and so forth. If we were to take Revelation literally, then only male virgins from the twelve tribes of Israel would be in heaven.

No one believes this, which makes taking the , who were sealed literally to be completely inconsistent. There were twelve tribes and twelve apostles. Also, in Jewish writings, the number represents a great number. Care for the poor and the planet then becomes central, not peripheral, for those who intend to live in faith and hope, by the Spirit, between the resurrection of Jesus and the coming renewal of all things.

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