Who Are the 144,000 in the Book of Revelation?

Among some Roma, there is a belief that - because our purity laws reflect Torah more than Hinduism, that we were among the lost tribes taken by the Assyrians and who moved east as time went on, until converted in India by Thomas, the brother of Jesus (although recent archeology shows that most were converted in Persia). Of the 9 tribes who were carried off, good luck finding 12 thousand celibates from each tribe. 

The view that Israel must be converted is an end times sign is to be ridiculed. What the text actually says is that those of us who are ethnically Israelite will return and convert BACK TO Judaism makes more sense given the text. Then the 12,000 reference might hold up.

Readers of Spinoza, Bill Wilson or Jesus (whose yoke is easy and burden light) as well as those who believe in the testimony of Near Death Experiencers reject this whole strict moral purity stream as both untrue and a reflection of the emotional maladjustment of most religious leaders (they believe G_d is a jerk because they are jerks). The world will advance when forgiveness, love and acceptance are the key virtues - and not going there could lead to universal war and the possible end of the species - where no one survives - although we still all go to heaven.