“Having received the following question, to which I prepared a reply, the thought occurred that the same might be of interest to the readers of the REVIEW, so I forward it for publication.
“For some to see how the one hundred and forty-four thousand could be made up partly of those who have died during the third angel’s message. Such a position seems to be contrary to the teachings of the Spirit of Prophecy. Of this favored number, Sister White has written that they are taken ‘from among the living.’ How could this be if they are taken partly from ‘among the dead?’ Again, she says that they ‘have endured the anguish of Jacob’s trouble,’ passed ‘through the final outpouring of God’s judgments.’ How could all sing a song of such an experience if a part, perhaps hundreds, had never had the experience? How could one hundred and forty-four thousand dear souls sing that they had ‘passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,’ and had endured anguish, hunger, sun heat, and the sight of the seven last plagues, if they were sleeping, or at least a part of them? Would not a part of this company be unable to tell and sing a part of that song?
“It may be said that Sister White, in one of her writings, makes herself one of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, but Ezekiel does also. Speaking of the seven last judgments, he represents himself as present at their pouring out, and says, ‘and I was left.’
“I am a firm believer in the Spirit of Prophecy. I believe what it says. By this I mean, that when it comes across my path, I believe that God, through His prophet, has shown me my error. I have no new light. My message is the old, old doctrines taught in the early days of this truth. But I have not understood the above subject, and so have had nothing to say about it. I write you, knowing the way you look at it, but not knowing the reasons you have for so doing. Perhaps you will help me out. There is no controversy in this field about the subject.
“Before making a direct answer to your questions, it may be of interest to note the facts as to how the Seventh-day Adventists were led to the sealing message of Revelation seven, and how they held the doctrine when they received it. Elder Joseph Bates began teaching the truth of the seventh-day Sabbath, as connected with the third angel’s message of Revelation fourteen, in 1845. But the believers did not discover the light on the sealing message until 1848. They were led to it on this wise:—
“February 22, 1848, France became disorganized, deposed her king, and burned up his throne, and in the twilight of that evening he fled from Paris with his family in a hack, he himself being the hack driver, disguised in the garb of a ‘hackney coachman.’ Following closely on the riot of Paris, the turmoil spread to other countries, until thirty-six kingdoms, principalities, and petty states were involved in the melee. Just at this time the spirit rappings began in the Fox and Fish families, in Hydesville, Wayne Co., N. Y. (This was about seventeen miles from my birthplace, and only a few miles from where Joseph Smith claimed that he found his gold plates of the Book of Mormon.) The First-day Adventists of New England said, ‘This strife among the nations of Europe is the rally of the nations to the battle of the great day of God. The Lord is going to come now. These rapping spirits are the spirits of devils going out to gather the nations to that battle.’
At this time the Seventh-day Adventists received the light on the sealing message. Their reply to the first-day people was, ‘No. This is not the rally to the last great battle. Before that event takes place, one hundred and forty-four thousand are to be sealed with the seal of the living God. There is a message to go forth bearing the seal, and we have discovered that message in the seventh chapter of Revelation, and are going forth to give that message.’
“Elder Bates, in a tract, makes mention of a meeting of a few of those who had accepted the sealing message. The meeting was held November 18, 1848. Of this meeting he says, ‘A small company of brethren and sisters were assembled in meeting in Dorchester, near Boston, Massachusetts. We made the publication of the message [the sealing message] a subject of prayer. The way to publish appeared not sufficiently clear. We resolved unitedly to refer it all to God. After some time spent in earnest prayer for light and instruction, God gave Sister White the following, in vision:—
“Speaking of the Sabbath truth, she said, ‘That truth arises and is on the increase, stronger and stronger. It’s the seal! It’s coming up! It arises, coming from the rising of the sun. Like the sun, first cold, grows warmer, and sends its rays.
“‘The angels are holding the four winds. It is God that restrains the powers. The angels have not let go, for the saints are not all sealed.
“‘The time of trouble has commenced. It is begun. The reason why the four winds have not let it go, is because the saints are not all sealed.
“‘When Michael stands up this trouble will be all over the earth. Why, they [the winds] are just ready to blow. There is a check put on because the saints are not all sealed.’
“You notice that the Testimony said, in 1848, ‘the saints are not all sealed.’ The position of our people then was that the sealing work at that time was going on, and that some of the one hundred and forty-four thousand were then being sealed.
“You will note how this idea was confirmed by other Testimonies that followed soon after. In Early Writings, p. 43, is a vision given March 24, 1849, which reads: ‘Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth, and cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth, and pure in heart, was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty.’ On page 44 of the same volume we read: ‘I saw that Satan was at work in these ways to distract, deceive, and draw away God’s people just now in this sealing time.
“‘Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was passed, until the covering was drawn over God’s people, and they left without a shelter from the burning wrath of God in the seven last plagues. God has begun to draw this covering over His people, and it will soon be drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter.’
“From this you can see some of the reasons why those accepting the original faith on the subject of the one hundred and forty-four thousand believed that some were then being sealed, and that they were to be of those resurrected in the time of trouble, and be of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
“On page 38 of the same book we read, ‘The four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go, but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father, and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels, and bid them to hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.’
“Again we read: ‘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. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. 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 one hundred and forty-four thousand triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God.’ –Life Sketches, p. 117
“Who were included in this company that are to hear the voice of God? We read in Early Writings, p. 285, ‘Dark heavy clouds came up, and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in the faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law.’
“The faith of the Sabbath-keepers from that time until some of the modern ‘lights’ came in, was that those who died in the faith were among the sealed ones, and would constitute a part of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
“Just when this partial resurrection takes place may be seen by comparing Daniel 11:45; 12:1–2, and Revelation 16:12. It is when Michael ‘stands up,’ in the time of trouble; but at that time Turkey comes to his end, with none to help: or, as expressed in Revelation 16, when that power is ‘dried up.’ But when that power is ‘dried up,’ five of the seven plagues have been poured out. The wicked have become enraged by those plagues, and seek to put the saints to death, which brings the living and the resurrected ones into the time of Jacob’s trouble. Jacob’s trouble in olden time was when Esau was coming with four hundred armed men to take his life. The resurrected ones share in this cry for deliverance, and they hear the voice of God that pronounces the everlasting covenant upon those who have honored Him by keeping His Sabbath.
“In Early Writings, p. 34, we read: ‘I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the earth. The wicked thought that we had brought the judgments upon them, and they rose up and took counsel to rid the earth of us, thinking that then the evil would be stayed.
‘In the time of trouble, we all fled from the cities and villages, and were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with the sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke, and fell as powerless as a straw. Then we all cried day and night for deliverance, and the cry came up before God. The sun came up, and the moon stood still. The streams ceased to flow. Dark heavy clouds came up, and clashed against each other, but there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, which shook the heavens and the earth. The sky opened and shut, and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spoke the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivered the everlasting covenant to His people, He spake one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth. The Israel of God stood with their faces fixed upward, listening to the words as they came from the mouth of Jehovah, and rolled through the earth like peals of the loudest thunder. It was awfully solemn. And at the end of every sentence, the saints shouted, Glory! Alleluia! Their countenances were lighted up with the glory of God, and they shone with the glory, as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked could not look upon them for the glory. And when the never-ending blessing was pronounced on those who had honored God, in keeping His Sabbath holy, there was a mighty shout of victory over the beast and over his image.’
“According to Revelation 15:2–3, we see that those who sing the song of victory over the image, etc., sing also the song of Moses. But in chapter 14:3 we learn that none can learn that song but the one hundred and forty-four thousand. In Great Controversy, p. 649, we read: ‘None but the one hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience,—an experience such as none other company has ever had. “These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” These having been translated from the earth, from among the living [those who are raised in the partial resurrection of Daniel 12:1–2 are surely among the living when the final translation comes], are counted as the “first-fruits unto God and the Lamb.” “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 [the climax of that trouble among the nations is when, under the sixth plague, the nations are rallied to the great battle. Surely the resurrected ones see that]. They have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble [let it be remembered that these resurrected ones saw the time of Jacob’s trouble]; they have stood without an intercessor through the final pouring out of God’s judgments, but have been delivered, for they have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [the final of God’s judgments is in the sixth and seventh plagues, and these resurrected ones will see that]. They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence, the sun having power to scorch men with great heat, and themselves have endured sufferings, hunger, and thirst.” They, even the resurrected ones, see the earth, as it has been brought into this condition by the things mentioned, and in fact have actually experienced a part of the very things that are mentioned.
“Of the final translation of God’s people we read in Great Controversy, p. 645, ‘At the voice of God they [the living saints] were glorified; now they are made immortal, and with the risen saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air.’ It was true of the resurrected ones in the time of trouble that at the voice of God they were glorified, but at the actual coming of Christ, they, with those then resurrected, are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So in their final deliverance they are “redeemed from the earth,” and “redeemed from among men.”’
“From the Testimony cited in this writing, we see that in 1849 the sealing work was going on. Persons were then being sealed, and Satan was trying to hinder the work. National troubles commenced there that would soon have brought the final conflict, but the four angels had their commission to ‘hold the winds’ until the servants of God are sealed. How can we reconcile that with the idea (which some have taught) that none would be sealed until the last decree of the image of the beast—that the saints shall be killed—is passed?
“Again the expression connected with the third angel’s message, ‘Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them’ (Revelation 14:13, is something more than ordinary, for it applies especially to those who die in the Lord, under that message. Of the expression, ‘their works do follow them,’ some have said, ‘It means if they have lived a holy life, and sought to do good, the influence of this will be left behind them.’ That has been true of God’s people. But there is a special blessing on those who die under the third angel’s message. Let us inquire, What works have they engaged in? And what has been their hope? Was it not that they might be alive to hail the Master at His coming? If raised in the time of trouble, glorified at the voice of God, and translated with the saints at Christ’s actual coming as living saints, do not their works follow them? Do they not get what they set out for?
“Now as to Sister White’s own case. It is true that she has intimated several times, in her talks in General Conferences, that she might be called to sleep before the end, but let us see what is said of her case as connected with the one hundred and forty-four thousand. In Early Writings, p. 19, we read of her vision of the new earth, etc.: ‘Mount Zion was just before us, and on the mount was a glorious temple, and about it were seven mountains, on which grew roses and lilies. . . . As we were about to enter the temple, Jesus raised His lovely voice and said, “Only the one hundred and forty-four thousand enter this place,” and we shouted alleluia.’ It seems from what follows that she entered the place, for she gave a description of what she saw in it, in these words: ‘This temple was supported by seven pillars, all of transparent gold, set with pearls most glorious. The wonderful things I saw there I can not describe. . . . I saw there two tables of stone in which the names of the one hundred and forty-four thousand were engraved in letters of gold. After we beheld the glory of the temple, we went out, and Jesus left us, and went into the city.’ She ‘went out.’ Then she will, as seen in the vision, ‘go into’ that temple. But recollect, ‘none but the one hundred and forty-four thousand enter that temple.’
“On page 40 of the same volume, while viewing Saturn, she says: ‘I begged of 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 shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds, and viewing the handiwork of God.”’
“I never supposed that the decision of who should constitute the one hundred and forty-four thousand depended upon the possession of the physical vitality sufficient to live without death until the Lord should make His second appearing. It would rather seem more in harmony with the Lord’s dealings with His people that those who sacrificed and earnestly labored in the beginning of the work, such persons as Elders Bates, White, Andrews, and Sister White, whose labors have been interwoven with the very life and progress of the message, should be a part of the company whose works follow them, and who will be a part of that grand triumphal company of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
Taken from The Review and Herald, June 14 & 21, 1906