144,000: is there any denomination or group holding this symbolic interpretation? Motivation: We know that a way to express fullness or completion in Hebrew is to double the word, e.g. Isaiah 26:3 speaks of perfect peace as shalom shalom.  And there are clear cases in Revelation where the author uses doubles; in fact, at 5:11 he doubles the double! (Myriad myriad, and thousand thousand angels).

My speculation: When we read of the 144,000 (at 12:4) perhaps this could mean something like a perfect completion of multitudes (?) fitting in with verse 9.  Of course, an obvious counter would be "But he specifies 12,000 coming from each of the tribes of Israel." Got it.

Yet I wonder if there is still a symbolism going on here.  The 12 tribes have corresponding gemstones, as on the high priest's garments -- see Ex 28:21; the gemstones  in turn correspond to zodiacal constellations (see, for example, this link http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2005/12stones.html).  And it does not seem like too big a stretch to also see those constellations as representative of all nations and tribes and so on, since they circle the earth.

My question: Does anyone know of a denomination, school of thought, or theologian holding this symbolic view, or a compatible view?
The Christian theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) holds a compatible view. Here is his interpretation of the 144,000, from his book Apocalypse Revealed #348:


  And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand. (Revelation 7:4) This symbolizes all people who
  acknowledge the Lord [Jesus Christ] as God of heaven and earth and are
  governed by truths of doctrine springing from the goodness of love,
  received from Him through the Word [the Bible].
  
  These are symbolized by the number 144,000 from the twelve tribes of
  Israel because the twelve tribes of Israel symbolize a church that
  consists of people who possess goodness and truth from the Lord and
  acknowledge Him as God of heaven and earth. The number 144,000 means
  all such. For that number has the same symbolism as the number twelve,
  since it is the product of twelve times twelve, which is then
  multiplied by 1000; and any number multiplied by itself and then by
  10, 100, or 1000, has the same symbolism as the original number. Thus
  the number 144,000 has the same symbolism as 144, and this the same
  symbolism as twelve, as 144 is the product of twelve times twelve.
  Similarly, the product of the 12,000 sealed from each tribe times
  twelve is 144,000.
  
  The number twelve means, symbolically, all, and is predicated of
  truths springing from goodness, because twelve is the product of three
  times four, and the number three symbolizes everything connected with
  truth, and the number four, everything connected with good. Thus the
  number twelve here symbolizes everything connected with truth that
  springs from the goodness of love.


You can read the full interpretation in Apocalypse Revealed #348 here.

Swedenborg's interpretation provides the basis for the understanding of the 144,000 among the various denominations of Swedenborgians.

Most Swedenborgians do not interpret Swedenborg's use of "church" here to refer to any specific denomination, including their own. Rather, they follow Swedenborg's cue and think of "the church" as "all people who acknowledge the Lord as God of heaven and earth and are governed by truths of doctrine springing from the goodness of love, received from Him through the Word." In other words, being part of "the church" is based not on denominational affiliation, but on belief in Jesus as God and on living according to divine truth and love as taught in the Bible.

So Swedenborgians—especially the more liberal ones—commonly accept all heartfelt and Bible-believing Christians everywhere as included symbolically in the 144,000.