WHO ARE THEY? THE 144,000. Not something we have to suppose When men pick up this theory and that...
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- Slide 1
- WHO ARE THEY? THE 144,000
- Slide 2
- Not something we have to suppose When men pick up this theory
and that theory, when they are curious to know something it is not
necessary for them to know, God is not leading them. It is not His
plan that His people shall present something which they have to
suppose, which is not taught in the Word. It is not His will that
they shall get into controversy over questions which will not help
them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and
forty-four thousand. This those who are the elect of God will in a
short time know without question. {7BC 978.4}
- Slide 3
- unify upon a true, scriptural basis Our church members see that
there are differences of opinion among the leading men, and they
themselves enter into controversy regarding the subjects under
dispute. Christ calls for unity. But He does not call for us to
unify on wrong practices. The God of heaven draws a sharp contrast
between pure, elevating, ennobling truth and false, misleading
doctrines. He calls sin and impenitence by the right name. He does
not gloss over wrongdoing with a coat of untempered mortar. I urge
our brethren to unify upon a true, scriptural basis.--Manuscript
10, 1905.
- Slide 4
- Line Upon Line.. To understand doctrine, bring all the
scriptures together on the subject you wish to know, then let every
word have its proper influence, and if you can form your theory
without a contradiction, you cannot be in an error.- William
Millers Rules of Bible interpretations No.4
- Slide 5
- Scripture Description-Rev 14. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb
stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four
thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
14:2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of
harpers harping with their harps: 14:3And they sung as it were a
new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the
elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred [and]
forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
14:4These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits
unto God and to the Lamb. 14:5And in their mouth was found no
guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
- Slide 6
- Fathers Name on their forehead The 144,000 were all sealed and
perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, God, New
Jerusalem, and a glorious star containing Jesus' new name. {EW
15.1} Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation
of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be
perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them
as His own. {COL 69.1} Exodus :39:30-31-And they made the plate of
the holy crown [of] pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, [like
to] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And they tied
unto it a lace of blue, to fasten [it] on high upon the mitre; as
the LORD commanded Moses.
- Slide 7
- A new song A new song Rev 14:3 And they sing "a new song"
before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred
and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the
Lamb--a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four
thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their
experience--an experience such as no other company have ever
had.-GC 649
- Slide 8
- The first fruits... These were redeemed from among men, [being]
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.-Rev 14:4 These, having
been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted
as "the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb." Revelation 15:2, 3;
14:1-5.-GC 648.
- Slide 9
- Recognize their friends who had died Then Jesus' silver trumpet
sounded(1 Thes 4:16), as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in
flames of fire. He gazed on the graves of the sleeping saints, then
raised His eyes and hands to heaven, and cried, "Awake! awake!
awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise." Then there was a
mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed
with immortality. The 144,000 shouted, "Alleluia!" as they
recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and
in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them
to meet the Lord in the air. {EW 16.1}
- Slide 10
- No guile And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are
without fault before the throne of God.-Rev 14:5 Jesus saw
Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile!-John 1:47
- Slide 11
- Are they the only ones saved? After this I beheld, and, lo, a
great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and
before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands;-Rev 7:9
- Slide 12
- Are they part of the great multitude? 7:13 And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed
in white robes? and whence came they? 7:14And I said unto him, Sir,
thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of
great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. 7:15Therefore are they before the throne
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 7:16They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. 7:17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains
of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
- Slide 13
- The great multitude vs the 144,000 John did know who the great
multitude were, and from whence they came; inasmuch as he had just
said that they were people - redeemed of course - out of all
nations, kindreds, people, and tongues; and John could have
answered. These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of the
earth. But if a special company in this vast throng were referred
to, distinguished by some special mark or position, then it might
not be so evident who they were, and what had given them their
peculiarity; and the questions, as applied to them, would be
appropriate and pertinent.Attention is called to a special company,
the 144,000. John had indeed seen this company in their mortal
state, as they were receiving the seal of the living God amid the
troublous scenes of the last days; but as they here stand among the
redeemed throng, the transition is so great, and the condition in
which they now appear so different, that he does not recognize them
as the special company which he saw sealed upon the earth.
- Slide 14
- E.G White applies Rev 7:14-17 to the 144,000! None but the
hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the
song of their experience.... "These are they which came out of
great tribulation;" they have passed through the time of trouble
such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the
anguish of the time of Jacob's trouble; they have stood without an
intercessor through the final outpouring of God's judgments. But
they have been delivered, for they have "washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb." "Therefore are they
before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His
temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."
They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence, the sun
having power to scorch men with great heat, and they themselves
have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. But "they shall hunger
no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains
of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
Revelation 7:14-17. {GC 648.3}
- Slide 15
- Two groups at Christs coming? The living saints, 144,000 in
number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it
was thunder and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured
upon us the Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine
with the glory of God, as Moses' did when he came down from Mount
Sinai. {EW 14.1} Then Jesus' silver trumpet sounded(1 Thes 4:16),
as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire..The graves
opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000
shouted, "Alleluia!" as they recognized their friends who had been
torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and
caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air. {EW
16.1}
- Slide 16
- When are they sealed? When the third angel's message closes,
mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The
people of God have accomplished their work. They have received "the
latter rain," "the refreshing from the presence of the Lord," and
they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are
hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth
announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought
upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the
divine precepts have received "the seal of the living God." Then
Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His
hands and with a loud voice says, "It is done;" and all the angelic
host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: "He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy,
let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still."
Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or death.
Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out their
sins. The number of His subjects is made up;-GC 614.
- Slide 17
- The closing work... I saw that the four angels would hold the
four winds until Jesus' work was done in the sanctuary, and then
will come the seven last plagues.-EW 36 Especially in the closing
work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and
forty-four thousand, who are to stand without fault before the
throne of God..., {RH, June 8, 1886 par. 2}
- Slide 18
- Literal or symbolic? The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew
and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder
and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured upon us the
Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine with the
glory of God, as Moses' did when he came down from Mount Sinai. {EW
14.1}
- Slide 19
- Perfect Square.. Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in
a perfect square. Some of them had very bright crowns, others not
so bright. Some crowns appeared heavy with stars, while others had
but few. All were perfectly satisfied with their crowns. {EW
16.2}
- Slide 20
- The gates and the foundations.. Rev 21:12-And had a wall great
and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels,
and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve
tribes of the children of Israel: 21:13On the east three gates; on
the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west
three gates. 21:14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.(Not
symbolic)
- Slide 21
- The usage of the number Why did God chose a number to define
this group? Why not a description like the elect, the redeemed?
etc
- Slide 22
- Only the 144,000 And as we were about to enter the holy temple,
Jesus raised His lovely voice and said, "Only the 144,000 enter
this place," and we shouted, "Alleluia." {EW 18.2} This temple was
supported by seven pillars, all of transparent gold, set with
pearls most glorious. The wonderful things I there saw I cannot
describe. Oh, that I could talk in the language of Canaan, then
could I tell a little of the glory of the better world. I saw there
tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 were engraved in
letters of gold.
- Slide 23
- The Tribes are however symbolic. James, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting.-James 1:1
- Slide 24
- Purpose of the 144,000 To exhibit the mystery of godliness (1
Tim 3:16),that man can live without sinning. Now is reached the
complete fulfillment of the words of the Angel: "Hear now, O Joshua
the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for
they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My
Servant the Branch." Zechariah 3:8. Christ is revealed as the
Redeemer and Deliverer of His people. Now indeed are the remnant
"men wondered at," as the tears and humiliation of their pilgrimage
give place to joy and honor in the presence of God and the Lamb.
"In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and
glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely
for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass,
that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem,
shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the
living in Jerusalem." Isaiah 4:2, 3. {PK 592.1}
- Slide 25
- all the power.. Let us strive with all the power that God has
given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand (RH March
9, 1905). {7BC 970.10}