Do you recall what Jesus told Martha that day? He spoke of the dead in Christ as
well as the 144,000 in the same breath. Notice what He said in John 11:25,26

The Dead in Christ that rise:

The 144,000 that never die:

John 11:25, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"

John 11:26, "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
 

Revelation 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

The only “firstfruits” of the redeemed = the 144,000.

Below is a response to an email asking who are the 144,000. It's a brief rundown on what's shared below in 4 audio clips.

This is speaking of the people that will be standing in the "Time of Jacob's trouble" after the plagues start. The Bible calls them the 144,000. You may have heard me call them the "Gideon band" on occasion. They are trusted by God to be able to stand during the plagues perfectly, wherein the other Christians that were too weak to stand in such a trying time, but are still worthy of Heaven, they will have to die a martyrs death. Reason being is, they are not strong enough to handle the way the people of the world will treat them or their loved ones during the plagues. They would fall into sin for a multitude of reasons we as Christians cannot comprehend clearly enough to comment on. But the Lord. does know exactly what will happen. He loves them so much, He actually allows them to die before that day comes so they will not be destroyed by Satan. They will resurrect when Jesus returns to gain their eternal reward. Many of these dear souls die via the guillotines of course.

By the way, there are already 30,000 guillotines on U.S. soil right now! When the plagues start, judgment is DONE. This is why Jesus says at that exact time in Heaven just before He returns to earth, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." (Revelation 22:11) In other words, those that are without Christ and wicked, (unjust / filthy) these will remain that way when Jesus speaks these final words. However, those that are true Christians and capable of proving to the Universe that God can and has created a people that will trust in Him even in intense times, (the 144,000) these will remain holy and without sin from this day forward. (righteous / holy) Satan will not be able to tempt them anymore. They proved themselves worthy in their loves leading up to this day. Therefore their faith is blessed to allow them to stand during the plagues when God's wrath falls upon mankind. If I am called to stand during these days it will be at this time that I stop preaching to try and get people to find Jesus. Once the plagues start, no one will be able to be saved anymore and no one that is saved will be lost. Whoever is unjust remains that way, and whoever is holy remains that way. Reason being, judgment ended on that day and now the "reward" for their sins is upon the wicked in the way of plagues, and finally death. Our reward will be at the end of the plagues when Jesus gives us new bodies and eternal life.  

It is now that we can strive to be sinless. But only in the way we trust Christ for our righteousness. When we sin, we must confess and then repent of the sin. The Word says in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." In other words, when He forgives us He removes all the sins we committed as if we never did them. We are then made totally clean as we were the day we accepted Him as our Saviour. Like Joshua of old where God took off his filthy robes and put on white ones. The basic truth is, Joshua didn't deserve it. But Joshua did have faith to receive it.  

Robes, raiment, or clothing in prophecy = your walk. That's what it means when it says we are cleansed from all unrighteousness in 1 John 1:9. In fact, He forgives us so perfectly that He even forgets what we sinned. It says in Micah 7:19, "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."  

This still begs the question, "what if I keep committing the same sin over and over again after I confessed it?" The Lord understands how weak the flesh is, in fact Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." In other words, we need to be watchful not to fall for Satan's temptations. Reading the Bible daily helps increase the faith needed to do this. Without understanding the Word of God, Satan can easily trick us in areas he knows we are weak. So, stay in your Bible daily.  For it is written in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." 

If you know you're weak in a certain area, try your best to avoid walking towards that area in life. Yes, on occasion you may be lured there and fall into sin again. Will the Lord forgive you again after you already confessed? If you're TRULY honest about being sorry, YES. It says in Matthew 18:21-22, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." In other words, He will never stop forgiving us, BUT He cannot forgive us unless we actually ask and are honest about trying our best. This is one of the fruits of God's children. They are honestly sorry for making His Spirit grieve. If we do this, then one of two things will eventually happen. The child of God will grow a bit stronger so that if an occasion arises wherein they are tempted to sin in the same area, the Holy Spirit will grieve in them more-so and they will be even stronger to avoid the sin. However, if they ignore the grieving of His Holy Spirit to the point it gets easier and easier to commit the same sin where guilt and grieving is gone, they eventually become lost and if that person dies during this careless state, they will not gain Heaven. After all, it is written in Genesis 6:3, "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man..." So, we need to do our part, so that He will do His.

One amazing thing about the Gideon band is, they will not experience the Armageddon violence against them UNTIL they have a perfect faith. If you are one that trusts the Spirit of prophecy, here is what it says about that day and that number...

Prayer of the Gideon Band in the very near future:

2 Chronicles 14:11  And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

Then during Plague # 6 they will pray:

Jeremiah 18:19-23  Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.  (20)  Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.  (21)  Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.  (22)  Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.  (23)  Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger. 

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UPDATES:

For those seeking more info on the 144,000, see the sermons, videos and studies below.

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The Presents of God ministry