Apocalypse Chat Corner

Revelation 14:1
And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

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Here's an explanation of this passage from the Apocalypse. (And it's going to be a sad one for haters who think that the mark represents only their religious or national group.) The number 144 is 12 squared. The reason that St. John saw 144 thousand people is that it's a geometric progression to symbolize equal numbers of opportunity for salvation for all the nations of the world. Just as 12 represented the original twelve tribes of Israel, and then the 12 Apostles of Jesus, in the final judgment all "12" of peoples will be represented fairly... in other words, all tribes and all apostles of the Father will be equally in access of salvation. This is also made clear earlier when the heavenly Jerusalem is revealed to have 12 gates. Salvation depends on the name of the Father of the Lamb on the forehead, and the Father is God. As Jesus tirelessly pointed out, all grace and salvation comes from God the Father. Those who believe, obey, and live in honor of God the Father will come from all nations, peoples, and faiths who are true to the God of Abraham, the One God. The Lamb, the sacrifice of Jesus, provides the access, for he is the Way. But there is no sect, cult, independent church, or faith who can claim that their "one" is the Twelve of salvation. And there is no one who can claim that the mark is of Jesus himself, because here it is quite clear that the Lamb stands on Sion, but the people have the "Father's name" written on their foreheads. Jesus will return in the Second Coming, with a sword of discernment extending from his mouth. However, there is dire peril in misreading what St. John wrote as salvation being exclusive to one self congratulatory group. I'm beginning to believe that many people, despite what Jesus repeatedly taught, are forgetting that it is God the Father who is in control, and is the source of all help, salvation and judgment, just as Jesus as the Lamb opened the gate and the way.