The 144,000.... Are they the only ones that will go to heaven?

From what I've read and been taught, all believers go to heaven. In the rapture, which is what you're referring to, all believers immediately go to heaven. Then, immediately after that, 144,000 people will be converted to belief. They will remain on earth to spread God's word and salvation to those left. Many will recieve Christ after the rapture and will be saved. They are God's witnesses to those 'left behind'.

I've read and studied the book of revelation for many years and I've come to the understanding that, yes, that the Bible only speaks of 144,000 humans having the privilege of going to heaven. This does not mean that the rest of the humans are doomed, but this means that the rest get to stay on the earth as God intended humans to do in the first place. The reason for the 144,000 humans to be going to heaven is because they've been chosen to part of God's heavenly kindom. If you read the book of Revelation, you'll notice that the anointed, 144,000, are indeed kings and priests with Christ who is also now King. They'll will rule with Christ, in the heavens. A kingdom needs to rule over something, right? So they'll rule over the earth and its people. The reson God has chosen these 144,000 humans and has not chosen angels to serve as heirs with Christ, is that, as humans, they'll be better understanding towards humans during the time of judgment. They will help Christ bring an end to the wicked of this world and help restore it to its original purpose. As the word "Revelation" says itself, this book is filled with details about how God will use Christ Jesus and his heavenly government to bring peace on earth and to govern this earth the way it was meant to be governed in the first place; by him (God himself). What better government could we ask for? No human, although well intentioned as some may be, can bring real peace to this world. God is the only one and will be the only one to prevail. The Bible has not been written and salvaged up to our day for nothing; it contains important information and instructions about our future. We should really take the time to learn about how to please God and do what he asks of us.

I would also like to know where the whole concept of the rapture comes from. I have read the Bible many times and can find no reference to it. Am I missing something?

I just don't believe that Second Coming is only for 144,000 people. John elsewhere says that he saw a great multitude of believers in heaven. I believe the number 144,000 is symbolical. I have a big problem in believing rapture as some people have explained. Rapture is 'parousia' in Greek, and if we have to take the meaning in its context when it was used by the Roman empire it means to denote the whole process when the Roman citizens would go out of the city to welcome the Caesar who is on his way to Rome. So even if Paul wanted to convey the whole idea of parousia it should not be believers going up to the clouds and the rest of the people on earth torture by the antichrist. The whole idea of believers taken up to the sky and the others being tortured by the antichrist for the next seven years and then Christ coming down with believers to rule for thousand years is a very very recent theory. No early Church fathers had such idea. When we compare different viewpoints regarding eschatology dispensational premillennialism is the weakest one, and it has to make lot of hermeneutical blunders to defend it's position. Proponents of this view, I believe, also loves Jesus as much as many others do. But their position is very difficult to justicy theologically and biblically.