THE KINGDOM HERALD

(NB: This is the concluding part of an article begun two weeks ago. I am presenting a stronger case for my vision of the 144,000 saints who, operating in councils of twenty-four, would be the political leaders and overseers of the 6,000 provinces, or language nations , of the promised global kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will pick it up right where we stopped last week. You can click on these links to read the first and second parts of the article.) Yes, Revelation 4:1 means exactly what it says. John was caught up to Heaven to view more scenes in his visionary experience. And talking about being brilliant and creative with the Revelation, the invitation given to him to “come up hither” at that point of his Patmos experience is indicative of an invitation to the individual believer who has accepted Christ’s challenge in the last message to the Gentile Church (a potential member of the Man Child Company?) to mount higher – “rise above the fray” – to receive an insight into

NB: This is in continuation of the article begun last week. We are presenting a stronger case for the vision of the 144,000 saints who, operating in councils of twenty-four, would be the political leaders and overseers of the 6,000 provinces, or language nations , of the promised global kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will pick it up right where we stopped. To read the first part of the article, click here .) Let’s come up to speed with the Sun-clothed Woman who gives birth to the Man Child. It is generally believed that she is symbolic of the nation of Israel. That’s true, for Israel is the only Elect Lady this side of the Millennium that could be identified with a crown. Her crown of twelve stars (pointing to her twelve tribes) indicates her sovereignty at the implied time. Also, her being clothed with the sun, with the moon (a reflection, or “shadow,” of the sun) under her feet, reveals that she has put behind the Law of Moses, “a shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1

In Language Nations , I shared my vision of the 144,000 saints who, operating in councils of twenty-four, would be the political leaders and overseers of the 6,000 provinces, or language nations , of the promised global kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. But as I noted, the case I presented for the vision was vulnerable, considering that an extrabiblical witness was admitted. I followed that short route partly to avoid a long digression from the immediate interest. I had, however, also hoped to revisit the subject and present a more purely biblical explanation, which is what I will do in this article. This would necessitate our consideration of some events that wind up the present Christian dispensation. Some have put the end time Rapture of the Church at the beginning of the fourth chapter of the Revelation: “ After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I