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Statements Reflecting Biblical Passages: Ellen G. White's Comments on the 144,000

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Samuel Smith
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LESSON 6

STATEMENTS REFLECTING BIBLICAL PASSAGES: ELLEN G. WHITE'S COMMENTS ON THE 144,000

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible study programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on Heaven. The topic for this study is: Statements Reflecting Biblical Passages: Ellen G. White's Comments on the 144,000.

In our previous study, we considered from Scripture various questions in relation to the 144,000 saints. Even though this topic is not a fundamental doctrine, it seems to have generated a lot of interest and debate among several of God’s end-time people. Thus in this study, I want us to go to the Spirit of Prophecy and find out what Ellen White has to say on the 144,000 people. This approach, I believe will help to settle the various questions in relation to the 144,000 people in the hearts of many.

We will be following the same outline of questions in our previous Bible study and try to ascertain whether Ellen White’s comments on the 144,000 synchronise with the contents of our previous study. Here are the questions we seek to consider from the perspective of Ellen White:

1) Who are the 144,000 saints?

2) Are the 144,000 literal Jews or they represent the entire body of Christ?

3) Do the 144,000 represent a literal number of the saints or the number is just symbolic?

4) Are the 144,000 the only ones who will go to heaven?

5) Can we know the identity of the people who will make up the 144,000 now?

6) What are the characteristics of the 144,000?

7) Why the number 144,000?

Friends, Ellen White's comments to these questions are going to form the content of this study. I will however provide short commentaries on her comments to bring out certain vital points. We will now take these questions one after the other and allow the pen of inspiration to lead us as we strive to uncover some of the amazing truths about the 144,000:

1. WHO ARE THE 144,000 SAINTS?

A) "A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob's trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God." EW 36-37

B) "The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake." "The 144,000 were all sealed, and perfectly united." EW 15

C) "Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted 'Alleluai!' 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

S.O.P. FACT: The 144,000 saints are the people of God who will live to witness the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16).

2) ARE THE 144,000 LITERAL JEWS OR THEY REPRESENT THE ENTIRE BODY OF CHRIST?

A) Ellen G. White wrote a letter to a certain brother, who held: "... that the 144,000 will be Jews who will acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah." She responded saying among other things: "We must beware lest, under the cover of searching for new truth, Satan shall divert our minds from Christ and the special truths for this time. I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to lead minds to dwell upon some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to our salvation. This is made the absorbing theme, the 'present truth,' when all their investigations and suppositions only serve to make matters more obscure than before, and to confuse the minds of some who ought to be seeking for oneness through sanctification of the truth. Your ideas of the two subjects you mention do not harmonize with the light which God has given me." 14MR

S.O.P. FACT: The 144,000 are not literal Jews but rather part of the spiritual Israel of God.

3) DO THE 144,000 REPRESENT A LITERAL NUMBER OF THE SAINTS OR THE NUMBER IS JUST SYMBOLIC?

A) "The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake." "The 144,000 were all sealed, and perfectly united." EW 15

B) "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.'" 1T 68

C) "Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square." EW 16

D) "I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 were engraved in letters of gold." 1T 68

S.O.P. FACT: The 144,000 represent a literal number of the saints who will live to witness the second coming of Christ. Ellen White was clear; The living saints, 144,000 in number The 144,000 are differentiated from the resurrected saints on earth as well as in heaven. According to Ellen White, they are the only ones who will enter the temple in heaven (see Revelation 7:15).

4) ARE THE 144,000 THE ONLY ONES WHO WILL GO TO HEAVEN?

A) "Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted 'Alleluai!' 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

B) "I saw that she [referring to Mrs. Hastings, a wife and mother, who had passed away] was sealed and would come up at the voice of God and stand upon the earth, and will be with the 144,000." 2SM 263

S.O.P. FACT: Both the living saints (the 144,000) and the resurrected saints will be taken to heaven at the second coming of Christ. At the last trump, the dead in Christ will be resurrected to join the living saints (the 144,000) before they are all gathered together by angels (Matthew 24:30-31) to meet the Lord in the air. It is important to note that Ellen White never said Mrs. Hastings was part of the 144,000. She only made the point that she will be with the 144,000, obviously at the last trump when the dead in Christ resurrect (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Revelation 20:4, 6).

5) CAN WE KNOW THE IDENTITY OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL MAKE UP THE 144,000 NOW?

A) "When There Was No Light: I have no light on the subject [as to just who would constitute the 144,000]...." 3SM 51

B) "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." 1SM 174 (1901)

S.O.P. FACT: From Ellen White, the people of God should not get into controversy over this question. She was clear that she had no light on this issue but that the elect of God will in a short time know without question. Among the people of God today, it is clear that the 144,000 will live to witness the outpouring of the seven last plagues on the wicked just prior to the second coming of Christ. Since this event is yet future, it is not safe for us to get into controversy over the question as to who is to compose the 144,000 people.

6) WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE 144,000?

A) "The 144,000 Without Guile. One of the marked features in the representation of the 144,000 is that in their mouth was found no guile. The Lord has said, 'Blessed is the man ... in whose spirit there is no guile.' They profess to be children of God, and are represented as following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. They are prefigured before us as standing on Mount Zion, girt for holy service, clothed in white linen, which is the righteousness of the saints. But all who follow the Lamb in heaven will first have followed Him on earth, in trustful, loving, willing obedience, followed Him not fretfully and capriciously, but confidently, truthfully, as the flock follows the shepherd...." 3SM 424

B) "The Signet of Heaven. John saw a Lamb on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 having His Father's name written in their foreheads. They bore the signet of heaven. They reflected the image of God. They were full of the light and the glory of the Holy One. If we would have the image and superscription of God upon us, we must separate ourselves from all iniquity. We must forsake every evil way, and then we must trust our cases in the hands of Christ. While we are working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, God will work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure (RH March 19, 1889)." 7BC 978

C) "The 144,000. 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. 'These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.' These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as 'the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb' (Rev. 15:2, 3; 14:1-5.) '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." GC 648-649 (1911)

D) "Strive to Be Among the 144,000. [Rev. 7:9-17 quoted.] Those whom the Lamb will lead by the fountains of living waters, and from whose eyes He will wipe away all tears, will be those now receiving the knowledge and understanding revealed in the Bible, the Word of God.... 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

S.O.P. FACTS:

i) The 144,000 are without guile. They are clothed in white linen which symbolizes the righteousness of the saints (see Revelation 14:5; Revelation 7:14).

ii) The 144,000 have the Father’s name or seal written in their foreheads (see Revelation 14:1; Revelation 7:1-4).

iii) The 144,000 sing the song of Moses and the Lamb a song of deliverance. According to Ellen White, this is the same song which no man is able to learn except the 144,000 (see Revelation 14:3). Thus, from Ellen Whites perspective, the passage of Revelation 15:2-4 is also about the 144,000 people.

iv) The 144,000 are translated from the earth among the living.

v) The 144,000 go through the great tribulation. They stand without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments (see Revelation 7:14; Revelation 15:1-8; Revelation 16:1-21).

vi) From quote 6D above; that is, Strive to Be Among the 144,000 Ellen White first quotes Revelation 7:9-17 and then makes a statement in relation to the 144,000 later on in her sermon. This seems to confirm that Ellen White saw the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7:4 and the great multitude in Revelation 7:9 as the same group. Ekkehardt Mueller captures this point in the following words: Ellen White affirms that the 144,000 are those that are alive at Jesus Second Coming. They have been sealed and went through the great tribulation. Thus, Ellen White seems to confirm that the 144,000 and the great multitude are the same group."

vii) Ellen White encourages us to strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand.

7) WHY THE NUMBER 144,000?

A) "Why were they [the 144,000] so specially singled out? Because they had to stand with a wonderful truth right before the whole world, and receive their opposition and while receiving this opposition they were to remember that they were sons and daughters of God that they must have Christ formed within them the hope of glory. They were ever keeping in view the great and blessed hope that is before them." 1SAT 72-73

S.O.P. FACT: This wonderful truth that Ellen White speaks about is obviously the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12. Just like the time of the early apostles; the 144,000, inspired by the Holy Spirit will boldly lead out the people of God in proclaiming the solemn messages of the three angels to the inhabitants of the world. It is this message that will bring the greatest opposition and persecution upon the people of God.

Exhortation: "The Lord has given me a view of other worlds. Wings were given me, and an angel attended me from the city to a place that was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was living green, and the birds there warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes; they were noble, majestic, and lovely. They bore the express image of Jesus, and their countenances beamed with holy joy, expressive of the freedom and happiness of the place. I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth. The reply was, "We have lived in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and have not fallen by disobedience, like those on the earth.... Then I was taken to a world which had seven moons.... I begged my attending angel to let me remain in that place. I could not bear the thought of coming back to this dark world again. Then the angel said, "You must go back, and if you are faithful, you, with the 144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwork of God." - EW 39-40

NB: S.O.P. denotes Spirit of Prophecy.

REFERENCE: E. G. White quotes utilised in this study were taken from the article "The 144,000 and the Great Multitude" by Ekkehardt Mueller.

In our next study, we will consider from Scripture the topic: Who are the 24 elders before the throne of God? The Bible study references for this study are Revelation chapters 4 and 5. Please do well to go through these passages before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!

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