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Study # 3 This is the third study in a series of presentations designed to reveal how God will purify the SDA church and empower it for the finishing of the Gospel work in all the world.
Thought for Prayer
Counsels on Sabbath School Work
There is yet much precious truth to be revealed to the people in this time of peril and darkness, but it is Satan’s determined purpose to prevent the light of truth from shining into the hearts of men. If we would have the light that has been provided for us, we should show our desire for it by diligently searching the word of God. Precious truths that have long been in obscurity are to be revealed in a light that will make manifest their sacred worth; for God will glorify His word, that it may appear in a light in which we have never before beheld it. But those who profess to love the truth must put to the stretch their powers, that they may comprehend the deep things of the word, that God may be glorified and His people may be blessed and enlightened. With humble hearts, subdued by the grace of God, you should come to the task of searching the Scriptures, prepared to accept every ray of divine light, and to walk in the way of holiness. {CSW 25.1}
Rev.7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
7:3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
- Four symbolic winds are being held by four angels. These
winds are against the saints.
- An angel from the east with the seal of God cries to four other angels to whom it is given to hurt the earth, sea, and trees. This hurting is to be done against the wicked. (Gentiles)
- Therefore, God is restraining both the blowing of the winds and His hurting the wicked until the 144,000 are sealed.
What do the four Winds represent?
Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 152
“The time is coming when we cannot sell at any price. The decree will soon go forth prohibiting men to buy or sell of any man save him that hath the mark of the beast. We came near having this realized in California a short time since; but this was only the threatening of the blowing of the four winds. As yet they are held by the four angels. We are not just ready. There is a work yet to be done, and then the angels will be bidden to let go, that the four winds may blow upon the earth. That will be a decisive time for God’s children, a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Now is our opportunity to work.” {5T 152.2}
Points to Note
The 144,000 have to be sealed before the mark of the beast, which is just ahead of us, indicating that they are being sealed today.
The four winds do not symbolize the usual wars or turmoil because we have always had these and the 144,000 are not yet sealed
Four is used to show that the mark of the beast and the hurting by the angels are worldwide (four points of the compass), but it begins in the church.
Where are the 144,000 Sealed From?
- They are sealed from “all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Rev. 7: 4
- This could not be ancient Israel, because we are dealing with the time just prior to the mark of the beast – our time. The 144,000 must therefore be found in modern Israel, the SDA church
- “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}
Testimonies Vol. 9 p. 164
“In order to be purified and to remain pure, Seventh-day Adventists must have the Holy Spirit in their hearts and in their homes. The Lord has given me light that when the Israel of today humble themselves before Him, and cleanse the soul-temple from all defilement, He will hear their prayers in behalf of the sick and will bless in the use of His remedies for disease…” {9T 164.1}
Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 94
“…The sin of ancient Israel was in disregarding the expressed will of God and following their own way according to the leadings of unsanctified hearts. Modern Israel are fast following in their footsteps, and the displeasure of the Lord is as surely resting upon them.” {5T 93.3} See also PK 713-714, EW 38.
What Special Characteristics do the 144,000 possess
Rev. 14: 1, 4, 5
1. They have God’s name written in their foreheads;
2. They are not defiled with women (churches of the world); “They are called virgins because they profess a pure faith…” COL 406.3. See also Jer. 6:2; GC 381.1
3. They are followers of the Lamb;
4. They are the first-fruits;
5. They are guileless and faultless.
Is the Number (144,000) Literal or
Symbolic?
In Rev. 7: 5-8, John heard the number and delineates specifically 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes.
Sr. White saw “The living saints, 144,000 in number,…sealed and perfectly united.” {EW 14.1} She urged us to “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}
The number is literal, exactly 144,000.
What is the seal of the living God?
- Ephesians 1: 13 “In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
- Ephesians 4: 30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
- SDA Bible Commentary Vol. 4. 1161
“It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read; for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption (Letter 126, 1898). {4BC 1161.4}
“The angel with the writer’s ink horn is to place a mark upon the foreheads of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel follows this angel (Letter 12, 1886). {4BC 1161.5}
“Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads–it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved–just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. (MS 173, 1902).” {4BC 1161.6}
What are the requirements for receiving the seal?
- Testimonies To Ministers p. 445
“This sealing of the servants of God is the same that was shown to Ezekiel in vision. John also had been a witness of this most startling revelation…” {TM 445.2}
- John and Ezekiel saw the sealing of the 144,000. It is only in Ezekiel 9 that an account is given of a sealing.
Ezekiel 9: 1-9
Six men or angels (angels are sometimes called men – see Dan. 9: 21, DA 99) came from the “higher gate which lieth toward the north,” representing heaven, where God’s throne is located. See Ps. 48:1; Isa. 14:13.
Those who sigh and cry for the sins in the church (Jerusalem) are sealed or marked by the marking angel.
Those who do not receive the seal are slain by the other five angels, who begin their destruction with the ancient men (leaders) in the church.
God is not to have pity because the sins in the church are “exceeding great” and the leaders and members are saying that “the Lord …seeth not.”
Note: There is no such thing as a spiritual slaughter. Ezek. 9: 7 says “fill the courts with the slain.”
Manuscript Releases Vol. 1 p. 260 “Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the people are asleep…” {1MR 260.1}
Commenting further on Ezek 9, Inspiration says:
“When God was about to smite the first-born of Egypt, He commanded the Israelites to gather their children from among the Egyptians into their own dwellings and strike their door posts with blood, that the destroying angel might see it and pass over their homes. It was the work of parents to gather in their children. This is your work, this is my work, and the work of every mother who believes the truth. The angel is to place a mark upon the forehead of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel will follow, to slay utterly both old and young.” {5T 505.2}
Testimonies Vol. 3 pp. 266-267
“The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. 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, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet’s illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. “And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”{3T 266.2}
“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.” {3T 267.1}
1. The true people of God who recognize sin and separate from it are the 144,000.
2. The sealing of the 144,000 is the closing work for the church.
3. This sealing work is described in the Bible with men having slaughter weapons and one among them who seals those who sigh and cry for the evils taking place within the church.
4. The servant of the Lord admonishes us to read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.
Note:
The term “general destruction of the wicked” refers to the destruction of the wicked in the church. The context in which it is used shows clearly that it does not refer to the wicked in the church and the world being destroyed generally. In GC 26, the term “general destruction” is used in the same restrictive manner to refer to the destruction in Jerusalem in AD 70.
Testimonies Vol. 5 p. 211
“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: “Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” {5T 211.1}
“Here we see that the church–the Lord’s sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus “Peace and safety” is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.” {5T 211.2}
Points of Emphasis
1. Those who do not mourn over their own sins (sigh) or the sins of others (cry) will not receive the seal.
2. The church is the first to be struck
3. Our leaders (the ancient men) have been unfaithful-betrayed their trust. They do not warn the members of the coming doom.
4. They do not believe God will bring judgment on His people. They think God is too merciful.
5. Because of their unfaithfulness, they will never preach again.
6. They are likened to ‘dumb dogs’, a symbol used in Isaiah 56:10 to describe ministers who fail to warn the members of danger.
- We can conclude that the 144,000 are to be sealed and spared from this destruction or slaughter in the SDA church because they sighed and cried for the abominations.
- Since they are the “First fruits”, the first to be spiritually harvested from among the living, there must be a “Second fruits”, for ‘first’ necessitate ‘second’. For example ‘the first resurrection’ of Rev. 20: 5 or ‘the second death’ of Rev. 20: 14. This second fruits, the Great Multitude is gathered by the 144,000.
End of Lecture