STUDY 9

The Sealing Message

"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. 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, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 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." Rev. 7: !". #e have heard $eo$le say, and the im$ression has even been given in denominational $ublications, that the sealing message is not im$ortant, because %ister #hite wrote: "It is not His &God's( will that they &God's $eo$le( shall get in to controversy over )uestions which will not hel$ them s$iritually, such as, #ho is to com$ose the hundred and forty!four thousand* +his those who are the elect of God will in a short time ,now without )uestion." %- 7". +his statement, if correctly understood, does not say that we do not have to $ay much attention to the sealing message itself, but that we should not s$eculate about certain details which God has not revealed. .or e/am$le: #ho can identify beforehand the individuals that will be saved* 0nly God can. 1ut this does not mean that we should ignore the $lan of salvation. Although we do not ,now the day of 2hrist's return 3-att. 45: 67, for instance, the doctrine of the second coming of 2hrist is still a vital $oint of our faith. +he same is very true as far as the sealing message is concerned. +he sealing wor,!which belongs to the third angel of Revelation "!is one of the main $illars in the +hreefold -essage. Its correct understanding has much to do with the stability of the whole doctrinal system of %8A's. It is, in fact, the very essence of the third angel's message. It is so im$ortant that the 9ord's servant wrote the following warning: "#e have but a little s$ace of time left to wor, for God. :othing should be too dear to sacrifice, for the salvation of the scattered and torn floc, of ;esus.... #e must wor, while the day lasts, for when the dar, night of trouble and anguish comes, it will be too late to wor, for God. ;esus is still in His holy tem$le, and will now acce$t our sacrifices, our $rayers, and our confessions of faults and sins, and will now $ardon all the transgressions of

Israel, that they may be blotted out before He leaves the sanctuary. #hen ;esus leaves the sanctuary, then he that is holy and righteous will be holy and righteous still< for all their sins will be blotted out, and they will be sealed with the seal of the living God. 1ut those that are un=ust and filthy, will be un=ust and filthy still< for then there will be no >riest in the sanctuary to offer their sacrifices, their confessions, and their $rayers before the .ather's throne. +herefore, what is done to rescue souls from the coming storm of wrath, must be done before ;esus leaves the most holy $lace of the heavenly sanctuary. +he 9ord has shown me that $recious souls are starving, and dying for want of the $resent, sealing truth, the meat in due season< and that the swift messengers should s$eed on their way, and feed the floc, with the $resent truth.... +hose only who have the seal of the living God, will be sheltered from the storm of wrath that will soon fall on the heads of those who have re=ected the truth."?Present Truth, %e$t. @"A 3RH vol. , $. 7, &em$hasis su$$lied(. "I then saw the third angel. %aid my accom$anying angel, '.earful is his wor,. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. +hese things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention." B# @ &em$hasis su$$lied(. #hen we read statements li,e these from the %$irit of >ro$hecy, we wonder how some $rofessed believers among the Adventists can say that the sealing message, under which "",CCC are to be sealed with the seal of the living God, is not im$ortant for our salvation. +he early Adventists understood that this message was to lead every soul to decide his case either for life or for death. I-THE ORIGINAL SDA DOCTRINE 0riginally it was the official belief of the %8A 2hurch that the sealing of the "",CCC commenced in @"" and will go on until the close of $robation. ;ust a few statements, )uoted hereunder, are sufficient to confirm the original belief: 1. J. Bates: ":ow all advent believers that have, and do, $artici$ate in the advent messages as given in Rev. ":D! 6, will love and ,ee$ this covenant with God, and es$ecially His Holy %abbath, in this covenant< this is a $art of the "",CCC now to be sealed.

"+he other $art are those who do not yet so well understand the advent doctrine< but are endeavoring to serve God with their whole hearts, and are willing, and will receive this covenant and %abbath as soon as they hear it e/$lained. +hese will constitute the "",CCC now to be sealed with 'a seal of the living God,' which sealing will bear them through this time of trouble."? A Seal of the Living God, $$. D , D4. 2. S. N. Haskell: "After the disa$$ointment of @"", the $eo$le of God saw . . . the binding claim of the fourth commandment as well as the nine other commands of the decalogue. +he %abbath reform commenced at that time< by @"@ it &the %abbath reform( began to be recogniEed as the fulfillment of Revelation 7: ! "."?Bible Hand book, $. @@. 3. U. Smit : "+hose who die after having become identified with the third angel's message, are evidently numbered as a $art of the '"",CCC< for this message is the same as the sealing message of Revelation 7, and by that message only "",CCC were sealed. 1ut there are many who have had their entire religious e/$eriences under this message, but have fallen in death. +hey die in the 9ord, and hence are counted as sealed< for they will be saved. 1ut the message results in the sealing of only "",CCC< therefore these must be included in that number. 1eing raised in the s$ecial resurrection 38an. 4:4< Rev. :77 which occurs when the voice of God is uttered from the tem$le, at the beginning of the seventh and last $lague 3Rev. D: 7< ;oel 6: D< Heb. 4:4D7, they $ass through the $eriod of that $lague, and hence may be said to come 'out of great tribulation' 3Rev. 7: "7, and having been raised from the grave only to mortal life, they ta,e their stand with believers who have not died, and with them receive immortality at the last trum$ 3 2or. 5:547, being then, with the others, changed in a moment, in the twin,ling of an eye. +hus, though they have $assed through the grave, it can be said of them at last, that they are 'redeemed from among men' 3Rev. ":"7, that is, from among the living< for the coming of 2hrist finds them among the living, waiting for the change to immortality, li,e those who have not died, and as if they themselves had never died."?Daniel and the Revelation, $. D6", footnote, AC5 edition. !. J. " ite: "+hose who die under the third angel's message are a $art of the "",CCC< there are not "",CCC in addition to these, but these hel$ ma,e u$ that

number. +hey are raised to mortal life shortly before 2hrist comes, and . . . are changed to immortality when 2hrist a$$ears." RH %e$t. 46, @@C. #. J. N. L$%& '$($%& : "If there is still a doubt of the resurrected %abbath ,ee$ers' being numbered with the "",CCC, consider the following from %ister #hite's words in ACA. At the General 2onference in ACA, Blder Irwin had a stenogra$her accom$any him in a call u$on %ister #hite. He wished to as, her some )uestions, and have an e/act co$y of the words of the )uestions, and the re$lies. Among other )uestions was this one: '#ill those who have died in the message be among the "",CCC*' In re$ly, %ister #hite said: '0h, yes, those who have died in the faith will be among the "",CCC. I am clear on that matter.' +hese were the e/act words of )uestion and answer, as 1rother Irwin $ermitted me to co$y from his stenogra$her's re$ort."?Questions on the Sealing Message, $. 7. ). R. H. J$ *s$*: "Among those who shouted victory over the beast and over his image were those who had come forth from their graves in the s$ecial resurrection, and were seen on the sea of glass. +hey were 'the living saints, "",CCC in number."' RH ;uly 47, AC5. +. L. R. C$*(a,i: "In the same way, some will be resurrected from among the slee$ing righteous who will com$lete the number of Israel according to Revelation 7."?Los Videntes el Porvenir, $. 47 . -. ". C. " ite a'$%t E. G. " ite: ":ow to the )uestion: 8id %ister #hite teach that those who died in the message since @"" and of whom it is said, '1lessed are the dead which die in the 9ord from henceforth,' that they shall be members of the "",CCC* "I can assure you, my brother, that this was the belief and the teaching of Bllen G. #hite. -any times I have heard her ma,e statements to this effect, and I am in $ossession of a letter to 1rother Hastings who is mentioned on $age 467 of 9ife %,etches in which she says $lainly that his wife who had recently died would be a member of the "",CCC. "In a letter recently received from a brother in Reno, :evada, reference is made to a statement in Blder 9oughborough's boo, found on $age 4A in

which it is re$orted that %ister #hite said: '+hose who died in the faith will be among the "",CCC. I am clear on that matter.' "And I testify, my brother, that that is in $erfect harmony with her writings, her sayings and her teachings throughout the years of her ministry." 9etter of #. 2. #hite, dated A$ril @, A4A. .. Sa''at S/ $$l Less$* $0 A%&%st 11 1.2-:

".rom this we may recogniEe that, at the coming of the 9ord, all of the "",CCC, as living saints, will be com$osed of those who have never seen death and those who have died during the $reaching of the last message but have resurrected before the a$$earing of the 9ord."?Retranslated from the German %abbath %chool Fuarterly. 12. SDA E*/3/l$4e,ia: "+he %abbath was identified with the sealing message of Rev elation 7, and as a result the %abbath came to be seen as God's seal. '+he $osition of our $eo$le then,' said 9oughborough, 'was that the sealing wor, at that time was going on, and that some of the "",CCC were then being sealed.' 8uring the ne/t few years, Bllen G. #hite re$eatedly s$o,e of the sealing wor, currently in $rogress 3B# 6D!6@, "", etc.7. "2orollary to the belief that those who acce$ted the third angel's message and the %abbath were being sealed, was the belief that any who died would not in that way forfeit membershi$ in the "",CCC but would come forth in a s$ecial resurrection to =oin their brethren who remained alive to the coming of the 9ord."?SDA !n" "lo#edia, $$. A 5, A D. "Bllen G. #hite identified the seal of God with the %abbath in :ovember, @"@ 3;ose$h 1ates, A Seal of the Living God, $$. 4"!4D7, and 1ates wrote his boo, on the sub=ect in @"A. Also in @"A -rs. #hite wrote that the sealing wor, was then going forward 3Present Truth, :4 , August @"A7."? SDA !n" "lo#edia, $. D6. II - NE" LIGHT5 +he statements =ust )uoted under the $revious subtitle show that it was a well!established belief among the early Adventists that the sealing of the "",CCC began in @"". 1ut this doctrine is not u$held any longer. #e are told that we must leave the door o$en for changes when new light comes. "#e cannot hold that a $osition once ta,en, an idea once advocated, is not, under any circumstances, to be relin)uished. +here is but 0ne who is

infallible ! He who is the way, the truth, and the life." +- C5. And we should not ignore that in the writings of B. G. #hite there are some declarations which seem to subvert the original %8A $osition about the sealing of the "",CCC. -any have ta,en these $assages as a basis for the new belief that the sealing of the "",CCC did not begin in @"", but that they will all be sealed under the latter rain, because they must all meet the following conditions: 3a7 +hey obtain the victory "over the beast, and over his image, and over his mar,, and over the number of his name." 3Rev 5:4< AA 5AC, 5A < G2 D"@7. 3b7 +hey witness the final =udgements of God through the $eriod of the seven last $lagues. "+hey have seen the earth wasted with famine and $estilence, the sun having $ower to scorch men with great heat, and they themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst." G2 D"A. 3c7 "+hey have endured the anguish of the time of ;acob's trouble< they have stood without an intercessor through the final out$ouring of God's =udgments." G2 D"A. 3d7 +hey are "translated from the earth, from among the living." G2 D"A. +his is why they are re$resented by Bli=ah. "Bli=ah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, re$resented those who will be living u$on the earth at 2hrist's second coming." 8A "44. +hese statements are ta,en as strong evidences in behalf of the new belief ! that all the "",CCC are the very last generation of saints, who will be sealed under the latter rain, who will never see death, and "are alive and remain unto the coming of the 9ord" 3 +hess. ": 57. +here is no doubt that the new inter$retation, based es$ecially on G2 D"@, D"A, would stand on its own legs if there were no counter!evidences in the writings of B. G. #hite. Adventists have from the beginning followed an im$ortant e/$ository rule: If the $ro$osed e/egesis of one verse is in harmony with all other verses which refer to that sub=ect, then the e/$lanation should be acce$table. If the e/$osition harmoniEes, or seems to harmoniEe, with one verse, but conflicts with other verses relating to the same to$ic, then it is not acce$table. +his is the $roblem with the new belief grounded on G2 D"@, D"A. It does not harmoniEe with other %$irit of >ro$hecy statements, which clearly su$$ort the original %8A doctrine, that the sealing of the "",CCC actually began in @"". III - DOES E. G. "HITE CONTRADICT HERSEL65

+he sealing of the "",CCC under the threefold message, according to Revelation 7: !" and ": ! 4, is described as a wor, which was going on in the days of %ister #hite. #hen she mentions the sealing wor,, she refers to a s$ecific seal which only the "",CCC can receive, which the third angel $laces only on conscientious %abbath,ee$ers identified with his message, which some of the saints had received already in the early days of the message, and which is a covering 3or $rotection7 against the seven last $lagues. +his is why every Adventist who wants to understand the truth of the sealing message should analyEe both sides of the )uestion and decide for himself, on the weight of evidence, whether he will abide by the old doctrine or acce$t the new inter$retation. In case he endorses the new inter$retation, what will he do with the counter!evidence* #ill he ignore the %$irit of >ro$hecy statements which collide with the modern e/$lanation of G2 D"@, D"A* 0r will he say that %ister #hite was mista,en when whe s$o,e of the sealing of the "",CCC, according to Revelation 7: !", as having begun in @"", and that later on she corrected her $revious declarations when she received more light on the sub=ect* If, however, he holds on to the former Adventist stand, that the wor, described in Revelation 7: !" was started by the third angel in @"", then he needs, for G2 D"@, D"A, an acce$table e/$lanation which will harmoniEe with the old doctrinal $osition. #e, as %8A Reformers, u$hold the original doctrine, and, therefore, e/$lain G2 D"@, D"A, in unison with the old belief. #e do not thin, that %ister #hite contradicted herself. 1. U*,e( t e 4($/lamati$* $0 t e t (ee0$l, messa&e1 7e8e(3 $*e7 $0 G$,9s / il,(e*1 : $ is i,e*ti0ie, :it t e messa&e a*, ;%ali0ies 0$( a 4la/e i* t e ki*&,$m1 (e/ei8es a s4e/i0i/ seal a//$(,i*& t$ Re8elati$* +:1-!1 : i/ is 4la/e, $*l3 $* 1!!1222 sai*ts. T is 'e/$mes e8i,e*t 0($m t e stateme*ts t(a*s/(i'e, e(e%*,e(. 3a7 +he third angel's mission is the sealing wor, of Revelation 7: !" in the antity$ical day of atonement. "+he mighty angel is seen ascending from the east 3or sunrising7. +his mightiest of angels has in his hand the seal of the living God, or of Him who alone can give life, who can inscribe u$on the forehead the mar, of or inscri$tion, to whom shall be granted immortality, eternal life. It is the voice of this highest angel that had authority to command the four angels to ,ee$ in chec, the four winds until this wor, was $erformed, and until he should give the summons to let them loose.... 0nly those who, in their attitude before God, are filling the $osition of those who are re$enting and confessing their sins in the great antity$ical day of atonement, will be recogniEed and mar,ed as worthy of God's $rotection." +- """, ""5.

9et us bear in mind: +he wor, that is attributed to the third angel is the s$ecial sealing of a s$ecific grou$, the "",CCC, according to Revelation 7: ! ". +he third angel does this wor, in the antity$ical day of atonement, which began in @"" 3G2 "667. B. G. #hite testifies: "I then saw the third angel. %aid my accom$anying angel, '.earful is his wor,. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. +hese things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.' " B# @. "#ho are voicing the message of the third angel, calling u$on the world to ma,e ready for the great day of God* +he message we bear has the seal of the living God." 2+ "5A. 3b7 In the early days of the message, the third angel was already doing his wor,, according to Revelation 7: !". "I saw a little com$any traveling a narrow $athway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or com$anies. %aid the angel, '+he third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.' +his little com$any loo,ed careworn, as if they had $assed through severe trials and conflicts." B# @@, @A 3$ublished in @5"7. #e do not ,now how many had already been sealed by @5", but we do ,now that the third angel, whose mission is de$icted in Revelation 7: !", was actively sealing some of the "",CCC at that time. In vision, :ovember @"@, the servant of the 9ord s$o,e the following words with reference to the sealing wor, of Revelation 7: !": "He &God( was well $leased when His law began to come u$ in strength. +hat truth &the %abbath truth( arises, and is on the increase, stronger and stronger. It's the sealG It's coming u$G It arises, coming from the rising of the sun, li,e the sun, first cold, grows warmer, and sends its rays. #hen that truth arose, there was little light in it, but it has been increasing. 0h, the $ower of these raysG "+he angels are holding the winds. It is God that restrains the $owers. +he angels have not let go, for the saints are not all sealed. +he time of trouble has commenced. It has begun. +he reason why the four winds are not let go, is because the saints are not all sealed. It &the trouble( is on the increase more and more< that trouble will never end until the earth is rid of

the wic,ed. #hy, they &the winds( are =ust ready to blow. +here is a chec, $ut on because the saints are not all sealed. Hes, $ublish the things thou hast seen and heard, and the blessing of God will attend." ? A Seal of the Living God, $$ 4"!4D. +he declaration that the saints were "not all sealed," way bac, in @"@, im$lies that some were already sealed. +his fact was confirmed in another vision which was given to the servant of the 9ord on ;anuary 5, @"A. %he wrote: "He &my accom$anying angel( showed me that it was God that restrained the $owers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth, and that the four angels had $ower form God to hold the four wind, and that they were about to let the four winds go, and while they had started on their mission to let them go, the merciful eye of ;esus gaEed on the remnant that were not all sealed< then He raised His hands to the .ather and $lead with Him that He had s$illed His blood for them. +hen another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels, and bid them hold until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads." ?Present Truth, August @"A. Again, the same fact was re$eated?that the saints "were not all sealed"? which im$lies that some were. +he seal of the living God was described as a covering, as a mar, of $rotection, for the coming time of trouble ! a shelter which the 9ord was already drawing over His $eo$le in @"A, as the sealing time had already begun. 8escribing a vision received on -arch 4", @"A, %ister #hite wrote: "%atan is now using every device in this sealing time to ,ee$ the minds of God's $eo$le from the $resent truth and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His $eo$le to $rotect them in the time of trouble< and every soul that was decided on the truth and was $ure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.... I saw that %atan was at wor, in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God's $eo$le, =ust now in this sealing time.... %atan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was $ast, until the covering was drawn over God's $eo$le, and they &the careless( left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God, in the seven last $lagues. God has begun to draw this covering over His $eo$le, and it will soon be drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter." B# "6, "". "+hose only who have the seal of the living God, will be sheltered from the storm of wrath."?Present Truth, %e$tember @"A.

"+he sealing time is very short, and will soon be over." B# 5@. +he early Adventists e/$ected 2hrist to come very soon. And He could have come in the days of the $ioneers 3G2 "5@7. In this case, the faithful believers who received the seal of God would have been the last generation of 2hristians ! those that stayed alive and remained unto the coming of the 9ord 3 +hess. ": 57. +he number of God's sub=ects would have been com$leted in a short time. And 2hrist would have come. It was in this conte/t that B. G. #hite wrote about the sealing wor, of Revelation 7: !" as a $resent evert. 1ut there was a delay, because the Advent $eo$le were not $re$ared to receive the 9ord. %o, what will ha$$en to those who received the seal of God as an initial and $artial fulfillment of Revelation 7: !"* #ill they forfeit the $osition that was already assigned to them ! the right to be among the "",CCC ! only because others, who should have followed their e/am$le, failed to obtain the needed $re$aration* :ot at all. +hey come under a s$ecial $rovision. "1lessed are the dead which die in the 9ord from henceforth." Revelation ": 6. +hey will be brought bac, to life in the s$ecial resurrection 3G2 D677, before the coming of 2hrist, and, together with the other saints, sealed under the latter rain, they will ma,e u$ the com$any of "",CCC. +his is what the statements )uoted hereunder will $rove. 3c7 +he saints who died in the faith of the third angel's message will come u$ in the $artial resurrection, to be among the "",CCC. In @"@ or @"A, %ister #hite was given a vision of other worlds. %he wrote: "I begged my attending angel to let me remain in that $lace. I could not bear the thought of coming bac, to this dar, world again. +hen the angel said, 'Hou must go bac,, and if you are faithful, you, with the "",CCC, shall have the $rivilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwor, of God.'" B# "C. +he ho$e of %ister #hite, based on the assurance given her by the angel of God, was conditional. %he would be with 3or among7 the "",CCC if she remained faithful. %ince she received the $romise of the 9ord 3 @"@ or @"A7, there has been a delay, and she was not sure whether she would live until the coming of the 9ord. 1ut this would not change the $romise, which was still hers, on condition of faithfulness. %he wrote in AC7: "I may live until the coming of the 9ord< but if I should not, I trust it may be said of me: '1lessed are the dead which die in the 9ord from henceforth: Hea, saith the %$irit, that they may rest from their labours< and their wor,s do follow them.'" %- 55, 5D.

8ue to this other $romise of the 9ord ! "1lessed are the dead which die in the 9ord from henceforth" 3Rev. ": 67 ! %ister #hite was sure that, if she remained faithful to the end, she would not forfeit her membershi$ in the com$any of "",CCC saints. +his $romise belongs to all those who are sealed by the third angel 3Rev. 7: !"< ": ! 67. +he numbered grou$ referred to in Revelation 7: !" is the same grou$ that is mentioned in Revelation ": !5, and again in Revelation ": 4, 6, where those among this grou$ who ha$$en to die before the coming of the 9ord, are declared "blessed," because they still retain the seal, the ".ather's name written in their foreheads," and still belong to the same grou$. +his is why B. G. #hite testified about a faithful sister who had been laid to rest and about others who had reached an advanced age: "I saw that she &a certain sister who had died in the 9ord( was sealed and would come u$ at the voice of God and stand u$on the earth, and would be with the "",CCC." 4%- 4D6. "+here are living u$on our earth men who have $assed the age of fourscore and ten. +he natural results of old age are seen in their feebleness. 1ut they believe God, and God loves them. +he seal of God is u$on them, and they will be among the number of whom the 9ord has said, '1lessed are the dead which die in the 9ord.'" 712 A@4. "As he &;ohn( loo,ed with intense interest he beheld the com$any of God's commandment!,ee$ing $eo$le. +hey had u$on their foreheads the seal of the living God, and he said:&Revelation ": 4, 6 )uoted(." D+ 5. +he 1ible te/ts 3Revelation 7: ! "3***7< ": ! 67, as e/$lained by the %$irit of >ro$hecy, according to the )uotations used herein, establish a chain of lin,s as follows: +he third angel, with the seal of the living God 3+- """< B# @, @A7, seals "",CCC servants of God 3Rev. 7: !"< ": 7, whose characteristics are given in the conte/t describing the wor, of this angel 3Rev. ":6!5, 47. +he descri$tion of his wor, includes a s$ecial $romise to those who should be saved through his message but should die before the coming of the 9ord 3Rev. ": 67. +hese scri$tures do not mention ! nor does B. G. #hite in her comments on these scri$tures mention ! any other grou$ of sealed saints besides the "",CCC. +herefore, let us share the blessed ho$e of the servant of the 9ord and her contem$oraries, who are resting in the grave, awaiting the s$ecial resurrection, to integrate the number of living saints at the coming of 2hrist. "9et us strive with all the $ower that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty!for thousand." 712 A7C.

"As the result of the threefold message it is announced, 'Here are they that ,ee$ the commandments of God, and the faith of ;esus.'" G2 "56, "5". "#hen the third angel's message closes, mercy no longer $leads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth.... All who have $roved themselves loyal to the divine $rece$ts have received 'the seal of the living God.' +hen ;esus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above.... +he number of His sub=ects is made u$." G2 D 6, D ". +hose who have died in the faith of the third angel's message will come u$ at the voice of God, before the coming of 2hrist, to hear the covenant of $eace, which will be declared only to "",CCC, when God shall announce the day and hour of 2hrist's coming. "Graves are o$ened, and 'many of them that slee$ in the dust of the earth... awa,e, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contem$t.' 8an. 4:4. All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of $eace with those who have ,e$t His law." G2 D67. "+he voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of ;esus' coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His $eo$le." G2 D"C. "%oon we heard the voice of God li,e many waters, which gave us the day and hour of ;esus's coming. +he living saints, "",CCC in number, ,new and understood the voice, while the wic,ed thought it was thunder and an earth)ua,e." B# 5. #hen the voice of God is heard, declaring the covenant of $eace to the living saints, "",CCC in number, where will those be who have been resurrected to hear the covenant of $eace* If they are not among the living saints, "",CCC in number, where else could they be* +he only other class of $eo$le on earth at that time, according to the $ro$hetic descri$tion 3B# 57, are the wic,ed. 2. T e(e :ill 'e $*l3 1!!1222 sai*ts at t e /$mi*& $0 C (ist. +he fact that, at the coming of 2hrist, there will be only "",CCC living saints, is confirmed by other statements besides B# 5. 3a7 At the voice of God, when "all the saints: are delivered, shortly before the coming of ;esus, only "",CCC re=oice with shouts of trium$h.

"A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. +his was the time of ;acob's trouble. +hen all the saints cried out with anguish of s$irit, and were delivered by the voice of God. +he "",CCC trium$hed." B# 6D, 67. 3b7 At the coming of 2hrist, the "",CCC will recogniEe their friends who were se$arated from them at the beginning of the Advent -ovement. +he early $ioneers, who were identified with the third angel's message, and who are among the "",CCC, will recogniEe 1rethren .itch and %toc,man, and others, immediately, when they wee them. "+he graves o$ened, and the dead came u$ clothed with immortality. +he "",CCC shouted, 'AlleluiaG' as they recogniEed their friends who had been torn from them by death.... Angels were all about us as we marched over the sea of glass to the gate of the city.... #e all went under the tree and sat down to loo, at the glory of the $lace, when 1rethren .itch and %tocman, who had $reached the gos$el of the ,ingdom &in the days of #illiam -iller(, and whom God had laid in the grave to save them, came to us and as,ed us what we had $assed through while they were slee$ing.... -ount Iion was =ust before us, and on the mount was a glorious tem$le.... And as we were about to enter the holy tem$le, ;esus raised His lovely voice and said, '0nly the "",CCC enter this $lace,' and we shouted 'Alleluia'.... +he wonderful things I there saw I cannot describe.... I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the "",CCC were engraved in letters of gold. After we beheld the glory of the tem$le, we went out.... %oon we heard &;esus's( lovely voice again, saying, '2ome -y $eo$le, you have come out of great tribulation, and done -y will< suffered for -e< come in to su$$er, for I will gird -yself, and serve you.' #e shouted, 'AlleluiaG GloryG' and entered into the city." B# D! A. Here B. G. #hite mentions two grou$s of saints ! 3a7 the "",CCC and 3b7 their friends who had been laid in the grave before the coming of the third angel's message. %he even gives the names of two of them. +o which of these two grou$s does %ister #hite belong* +he reader can get the answer from the descri$tion. %he entered the tem$le where no one besides the "",CCC was $ermitted to enter. +hat means she is with 3or among7 the "",CCC, as we read in B# "C and 712 A7C, )uoted before. 9et us beware how we read this last te/t 3B# D! A7. +he very danger that e/ists in a merely literal and grammatical reading of G2 D"@, D"A, also e/ists in B# D! A, if such reading is used. It is =ust as easy to argue, on the basis of G2 D"@, D"A, that all the "",CCC will remain alive through the time of ;acob's trouble, under the seven last $lagues, as it is to contend, on

the ground of B# D! A, that all the "",CCC will recogniEe their friends who died in the time of #illiam -iller. I< - =ORE ON THE NE" INTER>RETATION 0ne of the first difficulties that arises before the new inter$retation based on G2 D"@, D"A, is that the "",CCC scattered universally, are su$$osed to obtain tic,ets, $ass$orts, and visas, to be able to go from $lace to $lace, to see the destruction caused here and there by the $lagues, which are not worldwide. 32om$are -atthew 4":6 < G2 D4@7. +he new theory su$$oses that also the saints who are "held in bondage for their faith," within "$rison walls" 3G2 D47, D677, until the beginning of the seventh $lague, must go from $lace to $lace, during the time of trouble, in order to witness local $lagues, no matter how far these im$risoned saints are from the affected areas. +his should be enough to convince the reader that the new doctrine is inconsistent with facts. +he original %8A teaching offers no difficulty because there are e/am$les ! and the statement that the "",CCC will witness "the sun having $ower to scorch men with great heat" 3G2 D"A7 is an additional e/am$le ! that one whole grou$ may be considered as having e/$erienced that which not all of that grou$, of only some of that grou$, have actually gone through. %ince we are only one body com$osed of many members, that which is e/$erienced by one is regarded as being e/$erienced by all 3 2or. 4: 4, 4D7. %$ace and time do not alter the $rinci$le. +hose who have already died and those who have not yet been born can be regarded as $arta,ers in the actions of a $eo$le ta,en as a body. Here are e/am$les: A long time before his birth, 9evi was considered a tithe $ayer. As a matter of fact, -elchisedec received tithes form 9evi through Abraham 3Heb. 7:A, C7. Iecharias, son of 1arachias, who lived centuries before 2hrist, was slain by the scribes and >harisees who $ersecuted 2hrist 3-att. 46:65< Iech. : 7. 1elonging to the same body, $ossessing the same s$irit, and see,ing to do the same wor,, they were declared as having done the very things that had actually been done by others before them. In the same way, under the third $lague the wic,ed are blamed for shedding the blood of saints and $ro$hets who lived many centuries before 3Rev. D:D7. +his sentence will be $ronounced u$on the enemies of God because of the death decree that they have issued against the saints. "1y condemning the $eo$le of God to death, they &the wic,ed( have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood &the blood of the saints and $ro$hets who lived centuries ago( as if it had been shed by their hands. In li,e manner

2hrist declared the ;ews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel." G2 D4@. A*$t e( e?am4le: +he 1ible mentions heroes 3Gideon, 1ara,, %amson, etc.7, "who through faith subdued ,ingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained $romises, so$$ed the mouths of lions, )uenched the violence of fire, esca$ed the edge of the sword, out of wea,ness were made strong, wa/ed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" 3Heb. :66, 6"7. If we ta,e this scri$ture very literally and grammatically, as many brethren ta,e G2 D"@, D"A, and as they could =ust as easily ta,e B# D! A, then we should come to the conclusion that each one of those heroes fulfilled each one of those s$ecifications. 1ut it was not the intention of the writer of the boo, of Hebrews to convey such an idea. In the light of the $rinci$le announced in 2orinthians 4:4D ! "whether one member suffer, all the members suffer" ! it is as easy to e/$lain Hebrews :66, 6", as to e/$lain G2 D"@, D"A. +here is more: If we do not acce$t this $rinci$le, how could we e/$lain the verse which says that, after His resurrection, our 9ord ;esus 2hrist was seen "of the twelve" 3 2or. 5:57* If this te/t is ta,en literally, grammatically, mathematically, the way that some brethren ta,e G2 D"@, D"A, and if other scri$tures are ignored 3those that show the end of ;udas before the crucifi/ion of ;esus7, the way some believers ignore the statements which show that the sealing wor, of Revelation 7: ! began in @"", then we wonder how 2orinthians 5:5 should be inter$reted. +hose that insist on su$$orting the new inter$retation may argue: If %ister #hite, and that other sister, and many others, will be "with" of "among" the "",CCC 3B# "C< 4%- 4D6< 712 A@4< 712 A7C7, this means that they will not included in that number, but that they will be added to the "",CCC. #e cannot agree with conclusion for two main reasons: 1oth the 1ible and the %$irit of >ro$hecy furnish e/am$les where the $re$ositions "with" and "among" do not necessarily mean "addition to" a certain grou$. In ;ohn 4C:4", +homas with the twelve does not ma,e thirteen. In 8A 7 D, ";udas... among the twelve" does not ma,e thirteen. And, in B# 455, "the fourth commandment among the ten holy $rece$ts" does not ma,e eleven. 0ther e/am$les could be adduced to show that "with" and "among" are commonly used to indicate "inclusion in" a numbered com$any. +he other reason why we cannot agree with the idea that those faithful believers must be "added to" the "",CCC, is that, in a vision, %ister #hite entered a $lace where only "",CCC were $ermitted to enter 3B# A7. 1esides, ;ohn the Revelator saw

on mount Iion a s$ecific number of saints ! "",CCC ! without any addition. +herefore, those dear believers who died in the ho$e of being "with" or "among" the "",CCC must be included in this number. +he fact that the "",CCC will be translated "from among the living" has also been used as an argument against the original doctrine. #e thin, that there is no difficulty with this e/$ression, because those who come u$ in the $artial resurrection 3G2 D677 are counted among the living, not among the dead. %ee e/am$le in 9u,e 4":5. Another statement that has often been used in su$$ort of the new inter$retation is this: ";esus would be honored by translating, without seeing death, the faithful waiting ones who had so long e/$ected Him." B# 4@6. +his $assage refers to the time when "the saints left the cities and villages," under the decree, and "were $ursued by the wic,ed, who sought to slay them" 3B# 4@"7. :ot the whole com$any of "",CCC is meant here only those who are alive at that time and who will be =oined by others at the $artial resurrection when the number of "",CCC will be com$leted 3***7 32f G2 D67< G2 D"C< B# 57. 1esides, the "death" that the saints will be delivered form, in this descri$tion 3B# 4@6, 4@"7, is the death demanded or $ermitted by the decree, which the wic,ed will try to inflict on the $eo$le of God. 0f course, if they have already received the seal of $rotection, they are not sub=ect to death during the time of ;acob's trouble. In conclusion, we abide by the original %8A teaching about the sealing wor, of Revelation 7: !", which, in our thin,ing, is in $erfect harmony with the 1ible and the writings of B. G. #hite. "In the issue of the great contest two $arties are develo$ed: those who 'worshi$ the beast and his image,' and receive his mar,, and those who receive 'the seal of the living God,' who have the '.ather's name written in their foreheads.'" 712 A@C. At the coming of ;esus, besides "the living saints, "",CCC in number" 3B# 57, there will be "a great multitude" who will be ta,en to heaven 3Rev. 7:A< G2 DD57. +his is "the risen throng" ! "the slee$ing saints" who will be called forth from their tombs by the voice of the %on of God at His coming. +hen "the living righteous and the risen saints unite their voices in a long, glad shout of victory" 3G2 D""7. "+he living righteous are changed 'in a moment, in the twin,ling of an eye.' At the voice of God they were glorified< now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught u$ to meet their 9ord in the air." G2 D"5.

"And so shall be ever be with the 9ord."

+hess. ": 7.