Here we have a fascinating list in the Code revealed by the number 144,000 but also in the Code communicated through the various tribes of Israel. The list is unusual, and this is the only place this combination of “tribes” shows up in the Codex.
This number is like the image of the 24 elders (12+12), the collection of Jews and Gentile believers who are even now sitting on their thrones. The list is meant to be understood through the picture which follows (verses 9-17) of the great gathering of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
In the New Testament, Israel(or the “Israel of God”) is Code for the collection of all those who are now believing and now overcoming and who endure to the end—hence, all Israel will be saved. In the tribal list, Ephraim and Dan are deleted. The tribe of Dan is connected to the demonic, to the Beast (being marked on the right hand), so it is obviously deleted. And Ephraim was assimilated into the nations, and has become a multitude of gentile nations, and is marked on the forehead, indicating that those in the household of God will be followers of the Beast.
But there is hope for Ephraim due to the inclusion in this list of Levi and Joseph.
