No. 144,000 is the number of saints or the bride of Christ. Revelation 14:1, 4, (NKJV) “one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. …not defiled with women, … are virgins…. the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” In this present life, only the saints have obediently followed Jesus.
Are the rest of mankind redeemed? Yes!
“Who (Jesus) gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” – 1 Timothy 2:6 (KJV) A ransom is a “corresponding price.” It is the price paid in place of the one to be released. Hence, it is of equal value to the prisoner. Recall 1 Corinthians 15:22, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Jesus was the price of equal value corresponding to Adam.
How was Jesus considered equal to Adam?
Adam was a perfect man created in God’s image. (See Genesis 1:27 and Deuteronomy 32:4.) None of Adam’s offspring could redeem Adam because we are all imperfect – “… a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.” – Psalm 51:5 (NET) God’s justice, declared in the Law, requires a life for a life, an equal payment (Exodus 21:23). In the special case of Adam, a perfect human life was plunged into death and required a perfect human life to ransom him from death. Thus, as 1 Timothy 2:6 states, Jesus was that perfect human life.
To further explain, Adam had a perfect human race within his loins. Jesus also had a perfect human race within himself. When Jesus redeemed Adam, the corresponding price for Adam’s unborn, sinful race was Jesus’s unborn, perfect human race. God’s Law of a life for a life was upheld.
1 Timothy 2:6 also states that this truth will be made known “in due time.” What is the due time? Today, the high calling to follow in Jesus’s sacrificial footsteps is open. The purpose is to call out the church class. These are the first fruits (Revelation 4:4). They receive the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) with the heavenly reward of sitting with Jesus on thrones in heaven (Revelation 20:3, Luke 22:30). These are the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14.
However, a great number of redeemed, spirit-begotten Christians are not willingly faithful to their covenant to sacrifice their wills and flesh (Romans 12:1) to do only God’s will. These need tribulation to wash their robes (Revelation 7:9). While they do receive a heavenly resurrection, they do not receive the divine nature. They stand before Christ’s throne to serve God.
The due time for mankind to receive redemption will be during the general human resurrection when Christ reigns on Earth. Then, “…I (God) will put my law within them (starting with Israel and spreading to all), and I will write it upon their hearts; … I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jeremiah 31:33-34 RSV
Jesus redeemed ALL!
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast Episode 1248: “What Will We Be Doing When We Get to Heaven? (Part I)”
Examining the privilege of heaven, why it is open and how to get there
Preview Video CQ Rewind Show Notes
Christian Questions Blog: Who is part of the 144,000 in Revelation?