NCCG.ORG, FAQ 395. What is the Difference Between the 900,000, the 144,000 and the Remnant?

A. The 900,000 are the total elect company of men, women and children who constitute the Second, Final or Last Exodus. 9 is the number of judgment so this may have the added symbolism of representing those who have survived, or will survive, the Final Judgment.

The 144,000 are 144,000 men and their families - 12,000 from each of the 12 Tribes of Messianic Israel - the Bride of Messiah, from all generations from, and including Adam, the sons and daughters of the First Resurrection, believed (though we are not certain) to be up to 1,872,000 souls (adult males and females in the ratio 1:12 = 13), depending on the sizes of each family. It is possible this is also (if not purely) a symbolic number, being a mutiple of 12 x 12 x 1000, 12 being the number of governmental perfection or rule. The 144,000 are the rulers of the Millennial world following the Second Coming.

Though scripture speaks of many 'remnants' throughout history, usually survivors of some catastrophe like the destruction of Jerusalem, the term 'Remnant' is used almost exclusively by Messianic Evangelicals to refer to that part of the 144,000 of the Last Generation, of presently unknown number, who are alive at the conclusion of the Last Exodus and the return of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). This Remnant will ascend to meet Messiah and the rest of the 144,000 in the sky upon His return to earth to rule as Regent (See Rapture).

It is not yet clear whether the Final Gathering (the 12 'cities of refuge' of the 12 tribes gathered to weather the Great Tribulation) consists of a fraction of just the Remnant 144,000 on earth or whether it will include some, or all, of the balance of the 900,000 too. The assumption has usually been made that it will only consist of the Remnant which will pick up the balance of the 900,000 on its journey to the Promised Land.

This page was created on 19 April 2021 Last updated on 19 April 2021