Andy Whitehurst
Timeframe of the Sealing of the 144,000
For me personally when I started studying this and seeing what was taught on this by the three witnesses, which we’re going to look at, a lot of puzzle pieces really started fitting together for me and things started making sense and clicking. And also, it really touched me personally, which I’ll kind of get into a little bit a little further down. Because if I tell you too much right now, then you’ll understand where I’m going. And I don’t want to do that.
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. 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, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 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. Revelation 7:1-4
We’re going to start by opening up in our Bibles in Revelation 7:1-4. And we can’t talk about the 144,000 without talking about this chapter in Revelation. Again, that’s Revelation 7:1-4. And the word of God says: “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.” I want to stop there for just a moment. This is talking about the winds of strife that are going to blow upon the earth. It goes on in verse two: “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 in there were sealed, an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.”
So here in Revelation 7:1-4, we see a brief overview of the 144,000. We see that their sealing happens, prior to this final great battle, or the release of the winds of strife upon the earth. So their sealing happens prior to that point, according to what we see here. And the angels are about to release these winds of strife when this other angel comes along, and essentially says, hold, hold, hold, because the servants of God are not sealed yet, do not release these winds of strife. So these four angels hold back the winds of strife, until the servants of God are sealed in their forehead. And that’s the 144,000. So there again, we see a very clear timeframe that they are sealed prior to the winds of strife being released.
The 144,000 are Sealed
1 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. 2 And 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: 3 And 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. Revelation 14:1-3
Now, let’s go to Revelation 14:1-5. And we will see a little more information on the 144,000 that will help us to determine the timing of the 144,000 a little bit better. Revelation 14:1-5. And Revelation 14:6-12, is the three angels messages. Brothers and sisters, it is no accident, that the 144,000 are intimately connected with the three angels messages and we’ll get into that a little bit further down. But, let’s go ahead and jump into Revelation 14:1 “And I looked and lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an 144,000 having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” So now we see a clearer understanding of the seal in the forehead; It’s the father’s name, and name is representative of character. So the 144,000 are sealed by the Father’s character in the forehead. And we’ll look more at that as well as we go along.
Verse two: “and 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. And 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.” Now we’ll come back to that statement a little bit later as well.
Important Characteristic of the 144,000
These 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. Revelation 14:4
“These are they which were not defiled with women.” So the 144,000 are not a part of apostate churches. They are a part of the true Church. “For they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men.” There’s that statement again, “being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.”
Time When the 144,000 Begins to Form
And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 14:5
We’re going to jump into verse five and we’re going to see a better understanding now of the beginning time of the 144,000. Verse five says: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” Now it doesn’t nail down a specific time period there. But I want to ask some basic questions. When is it possible to stand before God without guile in the mouth, without fault before the throne? Is there a time in history or in any of the word of God from beginning to end of a time period of the earth? Is there a time when men are able to stand before God without guile or fault before the throne? Can we find that information anywhere? Yes, we can. We can find it in Leviticus 16:29-30.
29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. Leviticus 16:29-30
If we want to turn there, Leviticus 16:29-30. And here, this is speaking of the Day of Atonement, the typical day of atonement. In verse 29: “And this shall be a statute for ever unto you” And just by the way, as a side, note, that that that word or the phrase for ever, does not mean without beginning without end. And when you look at it in the Hebrew, it’s talking about a very long period of time, but it can have a beginning and it can have an end. “that in the seventh month of the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls.” So this is the typical day of atonement. “and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day” Verse 30: “shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.”
So here on the typical day of atonement, this is when you are cleansed. Now on the sacrifice of the Lamb, this is the sacrifice of the lamb is when you are forgiven. But the cleansing doesn’t take place until the typical day of atonement. And for greater information on the dual atonement, I’ve got a video up called dual atonement, where I go into greater detail. It’s not real long, showing the difference between the cross and what Jesus is doing now for us, in the atonement now. So I’m not going to go into a whole lot of detail on that, I would refer you back to that video. But what happens in the anti typical day of atonement is the cleansing. Now prior to the anti typical day of atonement, it is not possible to stand before God without guile in the mouth or without fault before the throne of God per se, because your sins have not been cleansed. And I give an example, in the dual atonement video, on the difference between forgiveness and cleansing and sins marring our Father’s house. We cannot stand before the before God without fault if our sins are marring our Father’s house. So therefore, the 144,000 can’t come about prior to the anti typical day of atonement, which began on October 22, 1844.
144,000 and the Ten Commandments
So now we’ve nailed down the timing of the 144,000 sometime between October 22, 1844 and the releasing of the winds of strife which we don’t even know when that’s going to happen. It’s not like I’ve got a date for that because it hasn’t happened yet and God is waiting on us, Matthew 24:14. So very clearly, so far, though, we’ve got a time period that we can see. Now, let’s narrow it down even further by looking at Revelation Chapter 14:12. Remember I said in Revelation 14:1-5 talks about the 144,000. Verses 6 to 12 talk about the three angels messages. And so verse 12, tells us something specific that helps us to understand better the timing of the 144,000.
Here it says in verse 12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Now, can you stand before God without fault or without guile in your mouth if you were breaking one of these ten commandments? No. Even if it’s ignorantly that you are breaking one of these ten commandments, you still cannot stand without guile in your mouth before God. So therefore, the 144,000 must come about after a understanding of all ten commandments. When did that happen? Well, we can look back in history. And obviously this is coming about after October 22, 1844, or October 22 and on. Sometime there or on. So when did an understanding of all ten commandments come about? From that point forward it was around 1848. And we’ll look more at that also, when we go into the third witness.
So you can’t have the 144,000 begin formation without a proper understanding of all ten commandments. The final commandment to be understood by the Advent movement, or those that came about after October 22nd was the fourth commandment. And as we’ll see from the second witness, that is also the seal of God. And so the sealing message began to go forth, around 1848 to 1850. So from the timing we’ve got now they have to begin formation after October 22, 1844 and be finished by the winds of strife being released of Revelation 7. But they also have to have an understanding of all 10 commandments. And that came about around 1848. So they began the sealing sometime around 1848 or after.
Jesus Entering the Most Holy Place
And so we’re going to look at another confirmation in Revelation 3:7-12 that is also extremely powerful. When we understand who this is speaking of in Revelation 3:7, starting in verse seven, this is Jesus speaking to the Philadelphian church. Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth.” Now here very clearly, what we see is this is referring to Jesus. It is Jesus that is speaking to the Philadelphian church. There is no greater authority than Jesus speaking. So keep that in mind. Now we go on to verse eight. And we’re going to find out more information of the timing of this group of people, or this church. “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied My name.”
So here we see in verse eight, there’s a mention of an open door. Now due to time, I’m just going to have to give this information to you, rather than studying it out, at least on this video. But this is referring to the time period when Jesus went from the holy place to the most holy place. So here this group of people is living during the time period of Jesus going from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place, which is October 22, 1844. So you’re seeing some of the timing here lining up with what we’ve looked at already, with the three angels messages, and the sealing of 144,000. And we’re going to see even more here of that language in the Philadelphian Church.
Name Only Seventh-day Adventists
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. Revelation 3:9-12
Going on to verse 9, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee.” I’m not gonna go into this verse. I highly recommend you look up Ellen White’s quote on this verse, and you see that these Jews are nominal or name only Seventh-day Adventists. It’s an interesting thing, but I’m not going to go into that.
Going on to verse 10, “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” So here we’ve got language that is very clearly talking about the time of trouble. Verse 10 is talking about the time of trouble and what happens after the time of trouble? Verse 11, tells us: “Behold I come quickly.” So what happens after the time of trouble? The Second Coming. And that lines up perfectly.
A Peculiar People Counseled to Hold fast
Verse 11 continues, “hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” So here he’s talking about this group of people that are living around October 22, 1844 in that time period. And he’s telling them to hold that fast which thou hast. He’s not admonishing them to change anything. They have the doctrines, they have the character, they have the spirit, they understand who God is, they are understanding the Sabbath. They have what it takes, and Jesus tells them, “hold that fast.”
Verse 12, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.” This is 144,000 language. It continues, “and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Verse 12 makes it so clear. This is Jesus speaking to those that were living in the time of October 22, 1844, the time period of the shut door, the open and shut door there. And Jesus is telling them to hold that fast which thou hast, and then he starts talking about using 144,000 language, with the temple there. And then He says very clearly, I will write upon you the name of my God. That is so clear brothers and sisters. When you compare that to Revelation 7, you find that the 144,000 are sealed in the forehead. And then you compare it to Revelation 14:1, and you find that that seal in the forehead is the name of God. And then you go back to Revelation 3:12, and you find that the sealing time began sometime around the time period of October 22, 1844 and you see that he is sealing people with the name of God. This is clearly the 144,000 terminology. And this is Jesus telling us that 144,000 began in the time period of the Philadelphian Church or the start of the Philadelphia Church. Very, very powerful. All of these things come together and line up so beautifully, and so wonderfully. The word of God is intricate, but yet at the same time, harmonizes and blends perfectly.
Objection: “But Those People Are Dead!”
But you might say, now wait a minute. In Revelation 14, you said we’re going to come back to this phrase. In Revelation 14, it says, “These are redeemed from among men.” How can say James White, who’s dead, or sister Hasting’s as we’re going to see be redeemed from among men when they’re dead. How’s that possible because they’re dead?
Well, let’s go to Daniel 12:1-2. and yet again, we will find answers in the word of God and allowing the word of God to expound and explain itself. Starting in verse one, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” So now, here in chapter 12 and verse 1, we’ve got Michael standing up, this is a close of probation and this is outright stated that this is the time of trouble. So this also connects with Revelation 7:1. This is after the winds of strife are poured out according to Revelation 7:1 which means the 144,000 are already sealed, obviously because this is after probation ends. And we see the same language of Revelation chapter 3:11, 12 right there. 10, 11, 12 Speaking of a second coming and the time of trouble that is the shall come upon the whole earth. These are all paralleling perfectly.
Special Resurrection
And so what happens after the time of probation is closed? What happens after the winds of strife are released? Verse 2 of Daniel 12 tells us and it says, “And many of them.” Notice it does not say all of them. It says, “many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” So here, we’ve got a special resurrection. How do I know it’s a special resurrection? Because this is before the second coming of Christ, and after the plagues begin falling or the time of probation is closed. The winds of strife is released. And it says, “many of them,” it does not say all of them. So this is clearly not the general resurrection, because many of them are resurrected. Point number one.
Point number two. There are two groups that are resurrected. In the general resurrection, there’s only one group that’s resurrected, and that’s the the righteous dead. But here in this resurrection, there are two groups that are resurrected, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. So this is clearly a special resurrection.
So let’s look at these two groups that are resurrected in the special resurrection. We find that group number one in Revelation 1:7 if you want to turn there with me. Revelation chapter one, and verse seven. And the word of God says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” So here we’ve got a group of people that are going to see Jesus coming in the clouds. And we’ve got a special group that’s mentioned here. And it says, “and they also which pierced him.” So those that pierced Him, those that crucified Him, friends, they have been long since dead but yet they see him coming in the clouds. But I want to draw this distinction, the general resurrection, those that are resurrected in the general resurrection, do not see Him coming in the clouds. When they are resurrected, they come forth and see Him and boom, there He is. He’s already there. These people see him coming in the clouds. So they are resurrected some time prior to the Second Coming of Christ so that they get to see him, off in a distance like, the dark cloud, the size of a man’s hand, coming closer and closer to the earth. They get to see that. This is the group that are resurrected to everlasting shame and contempt.
So let’s look at the group that are resurrected to everlasting life in this special resurrection. Revelation 14:13. And this is after the proclamation of the three angels messages in Revelation 14. Verse 13, now clarifies something. It says, “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” It says, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.” From this time period on, these people are blessed in the Lord. From what time period on? What was just proclaimed prior to this? The three angels messages. So from the time period of the first beginning proclamation of the three angels messages, once they have an understanding of the fourth commandment, the final commandment to be understood, blessed are these people that die in the Lord from here on. Why? Because they are a part of the 144,000. The three angels messages, brought these people into an understanding of the character of God, so that they may be sealed in their forehead with the character of Christ, and therefore, are able to go on even though they’ve died, they will be able to come up in the resurrection, the special resurrection, to be able to see Jesus come.
Summary Points from the Bible on the 144,000
So we’ve looked at witness number one, a quick summation of witness number one, we saw that, according to Revelation 7, they are sealed prior to the winds of strife, the close of probation, the final war, Michael standing up so on and so forth. We found in Revelation 14, that these people have no guile in their mouth and when comparing it to Leviticus, we find that the only time period with which man can stand before God without guile in their mouth, begins sometime after October 22, 1844. So we have pinpointed the beginning of the sealing time sometime, October 22, 1844, or after. And then when we look at Revelation 14:12, we see that they have to have an understanding of the 10 commandments. And that understanding of the final commandment, I should say, didn’t begin to happen until around 1848 when you look at history. So the sealing must have begun around 1848, or 1850. And I’m going to say it’s prior to 1850 because we’re going to look at a statement from witness number two here in just a minute that helps to clarify that. So we see that just from witness number one alone.
Witness Number 2
Now let’s go ahead and delve into witness number two, which gives us even clearer information. Early Writings, page 38, “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 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.” Early Writings, page 38 is a clear reference to Revelation chapter 7. And we looked at Revelation 7 earlier. And she makes mention that the remnant were not sealed. And so Jesus raised his hands to the Father and pleaded for more time. Okay, so the context now is the sealing of the remnant on page 38, of Early Writings.
Now, if we jump to page 43, this occurs after chronologically after page 38. Page 43 says, “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver.” I want you to notice, what sealing time is she talking about? Well, the last sealing that she talked about was in page 38 and she’s talking about the sealing of the 144,000. So what is she saying that in this sealing time, the sealing of the 144,000 has already begun. It’s already begun.
So we’ll go on to page 44, “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. I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling.” It is not good enough to have the truth brothers and sisters, we need to stand stiffly for that truth in love, but stiffly for the truth, not wavering.
When the Sealing Ends for the 144,000
She continues, “Satan was trying his every art to hold them where they were, until the sealing was past, 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. God will work in power for His people; and Satan will be permitted to work also.” I want you to notice that she says that the sealing or 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. Why? Because the sealing ends at the end of probation, and at the end of probation, the plagues begin to fall. So the sealing of the 144,000 ends before the plagues begin to fall. And that’s exactly what we saw in Revelation chapter seven.
The 144,000 and the Ten Commandments
The Faith I Live By page 287, “The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.” So now we’re talking about the seal. “As wax takes the impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit of God and retain the image of Christ.” We see in Ephesians that we are sealed with the holy spirit. She continues, “It is obedience to the principles of the commandments of God, that molds the character after the divine similitude. Why? I just want to touch on this. Why is it that the Ten Commandments molds the character after the divine similitude? Because the Ten Commandments are a transcript of God’s character. And when we assimilate those commandments, we are assimilating His character, if you will. We are taking on his character. And so that’s how the character is molded after the divine similitude, by obedience to the principles of the commandments of God.
She continues, “The seal of God’s law is found in the fourth commandment. This only, of all the ten, brings to view both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him to be the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus shows His claim to reverence and worship above all others. Aside from this precept, there is nothing in the Decalogue to show by whose authority the law is given.” So do they need to understand all ten commandments, including the fourth commandment in order to be sealed? Absolutely. We see that yet again, from the second witness now. We saw it from the first witness in Revelation 14:12. Now we’re seeing it from the second witness, as well, perfect harmony.
People who Died in the Faith of the Third Angels Message are Resurrected
Great Controversy 1911, page 637 paragraph one, “Graves are opened, and ‘many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth… awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.’ Daniel 12:2.” Remember we read that earlier, looking at the first witness. She continues now and she says, “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 peace with those who have kept his law, ‘They also which pierced Him.'” Brothers and sisters, this is so crystal clear. Who is it that is resurrected in the special resurrection? She tells us right there. Those that have died in the faith of the third angel’s message are those that are resurrected unto everlasting life. And then she briefly mentions, they also which pierced him. So here is one of the two groups that are resurrected in the special resurrection. It explicitly stated, those who died in the faith of the third angels message. The third angel’s message carried with it an understanding of the fourth commandment. That commandment began to be understood around 1848. So you see why I keep saying around 1848 is the timing of the sealing message beginning to go forth, around 1848 to 1850. So this is Great Controversy 1911, page 637 paragraph one.
What happens chronologically after that in Page 640.2 is the following. She says, “The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and the hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people.” Brothers and sisters, what she was talking about with that special resurrection is clearly some time prior to the Second Coming of Christ, because on page 640, He’s just a now announcing the day and hour that Christ will be coming. So Daniel 12:2 is fulfilled sometime prior to the second coming of Christ and after the plagues begin to fall. And I’m not going to attempt to nail that one down specifically. I’m just going to leave it roughly in that time period. You can read the third witness, you can go into that. They they have a couple of different thoughts on that as to which plague but I’m not going to go into that.
144,000 – A Literal Number
But we’re going to continue here Early Writings, page 14, paragraph one, “soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming.” Remember we just talked about this in Great Controversy, 1911 on page 640, paragraph two, The Everlasting Covenant. So now in Early Writings on page 14.1, she’s going into greater detail about this, “which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake.” So the 144,000 are resurrected some time prior to God giving us the day and the hour of Jesus second coming. And it’s 144,000 in number. Now, I’m not going to go into detail as to what that means other than it is a literal number. Now, the pioneers had some different thoughts on this and the thoughts are very viable. One thought is that the 144,000 make a perfect square on the sea of glass. That means it has to be 144,000 literally no more no less. For that to happen is kind of the thought process there. But Uriah Smith makes an argument that I think is a very interesting argument. He says that biblically speaking, when you number the people, biblically speaking, you always only number the men of fighting age, which was about 20 to 50, as I recall, and you see multiple examples of that; Jesus feeding the multitude; it was only the men that were numbered, and men of fighting age. So his thought process is that 144,000 men of fighting age, that’s not in counting the women and children or men over that fighting age, that are a part of that group. I’m not going to make an argument one way or another. The argument that I’m going to make is that it is 144,000 in number, it’s a literal number. And I’m going to leave it at that, and let you discuss what that means.
She continues though, “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.
Sister Hastings Sealed
Selected Messages book 2, page 263, which is letter 10. And this is 1850. So now you’re gonna see why I say sometime between 1848 and 1850. This is a letter to brother Hastings, his wife was sister Hastings, which was a very, very close friend of Ellen White. So Ellen White writes to brother Hastings, and this is what she has to say, “I hardly know what to say to you. The news of your wife’s death was to me overwhelming. I could hardly believe it and can hardly believe it now. God gave me a view last Sabbath night which I will write.” So I want you to notice that what she is about to write is not her opinion. It is what God gave her, what she’s about to write. And this is what she saw. Again, not her opinion. This is what she saw, that “she” that sister Hastings “was sealed and would come up at the voice of God and stand upon the earth.” Who is it that is sealed? It’s 144,000. Who is it that comes up at the voice of God and stands upon the earth? The 144,000? And so this is how they are brought saved from among men, as Revelation 14 talks about. It’s because they were dead, yes, but they are resurrected before that time. So they are among men to be saved from.
And she goes on “and would be with the 144,000.” Now some people will try to split that up and say, well, she said with the 144,000 not a part of the 144,000. But who is it that sealed? This 144,000? Who is it that come up with the voice of God and stand upon the earth? It’s the 144,000? You just can’t get around that. So therefore when she says she will be with 144,000 she’s saying that’s a part of, that’s with, with as a part of. If I’m standing with a group of people than I am a part of that group of people.
She continues, “I saw we need not mourn for her; she would rest in the time of trouble, and all that we could mourn for was our loss in being deprived of her company. I saw her death would result in good.” So now we’ve looked at the second witness.
Witness Number 3
Now let’s look briefly at the third witness. I’m just going to read a few things and then I’m going to give you some more reading material from the third witness because I don’t want to stand here and read it to you for an hour or more. I will let you read it on your own time. But I do want to read some things from Questions on the Sealing Message from J.N. Loughborough beginning on page 21. He says it was because of these plain statements, that our people and ministers.” And some of these statements are some of the ones that I just read to you. “because of these plain statements that our people and ministers, down to 1894, believed and taught that the sealing work had been going on since 1848, and that the 144,000 were being sealed. I do not see how we could draw any other idea, from the testimonies we have quoted, then that the sealing work had begun in 1848-1850.”
I want to stop there for just a moment. “that our people and ministers, down to 1894”. And now something began to happen in 1894, where this began to change, and he talks about that, and I’m not going to go into it. So read this Questions on the Sealing Message. But he says our people and the ministers believed and taught this. They all taught this. That speaks volumes, but he continues on. “If there is still a doubt of the resurrected Sabbath keepers’ being numbered with the 144,000, consider the following from Sister White’s words in 1909. At the General Conference in 1909, Elder Irwin had a stenographer accompany him in a call upon Sister White. He wished to ask her some questions, and have an exact copy of the words of the questions, and the exact words of the replies.” Now before I read the question and reply, dealing with this topic, I just want to put forth that this is not one of her published works. Bear that in mind, this is not one of her published works. So don’t give it the weight of one of her published works. Just keep that in mind. And if you don’t understand that, then go back to “The Three Witnesses” and I deal with published works in “The Three Witnesses,” the second witness specifically.
But he goes on, “Among other questions was this one: ‘Will those who have died in the message be among the 144,000?’ In reply, Sister White said: ‘Oh, yes, those who have died in the faith will be among the 144,000. I am clear on that matter.’ These were the exact words of question and answer, as Brother Irwin permitted me to copy from his stenographer’s report. Page 31. Some pretty powerful evidence. We’ve seen from the first witness, the timing of the 144,000, we’ve seen from the second witness, and the second witness agrees with the first and then we just saw just a little bit from the third witness, which also agrees with the first and the second witnesses.
Seventh-day Adventist Pioneer Resources on the 144,000
So if you want more to study on this topic from the third witness, I would highly suggest you read the whole pamphlet questions on the sealing message by J.N. Loughborough. It’s not a big book. It’s a fairly small pamphlet. It is very worth reading. Another one that I would highly recommend is The Biblical Institute – Lectures on the Principle Doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists. This is by Uriah Smith and James White. And specifically, it’s lesson 19 that I’m referring to, which is on the 144,000. And this was done during the time period of April 1- 17, of 1877. And what this book is, is a book of the doctrines that James White and Uriah Smith taught all of the pastors. And so lesson 19 is the 144,000. So James White and Uriah Smith, were teaching all of the pastor’s what we just looked at, on the 144,000. So there’s more information in there, I would highly recommend you get that book if you don’t have it. Read the whole book. It’s really good information. And then the other one I would highly recommend is The Great Second Advent Movement by J.N. Loughborough, specifically page 264, where he points out that in July of 1844, began the third angels message. But I would highly recommend you read the whole book, The Great Second Advent Movement. There is another one where it is briefly mentioned, but it’s not gone through in great detail. And that is The Cross in its Shadow by S.N. Haskell. There is a segment towards the back of the book, where he talks about 144,000. And the first time I read the book, I didn’t have the pioneer understanding of the 144,000 so I didn’t catch it. And then when I started studying the 144,000, I was like, wait a minute, S.N. Haskell talked about that. And I went back to his book, and I read that chapter on the 144,000 I believe, it’s towards the end of the book. And I was like, whoa, there it is, right there. It’s plain. It’s clear when you understand it. He just wasn’t in your face about it. But it’s plain and it’s clear.
Pioneers Being Apart of the 144,000 is a Problem for Churches. Why?
So I have some questions. Why is this not taught today? Among many reasons. One reason that it is not taught today is because we know that the 144,000 are united, and they all stand on the same platform of truth. They are not conflicting one with the other. So if the 144,000 began around 1848, with the pioneers, they were non-Trinitarian. They believed differently than the nominal church, which believes in the Trinity. They believe differently than the nominal church does today on the nature of Christ. They believe differently than the nominal church does today on the atonement. They believed in the dual atonement, the nominal church today believes in a single atonement. They believed differently on the definition of sin than the nominal church today. You can’t have them beginning the formation of the 144,000 and believing these errors because that would so totally undermine what the current nominal church is teaching. They’re dead. They can’t change their mind on these doctrines. Therefore, if I’m going to be in harmony with those that started the 144,000, I need to go back and understand what they taught on these things. Because they were sealed with that teaching. And if they were sealed in their forehead with that teaching, then brothers and sisters, I’m good with that teaching as well.
The Church does not want you going back to their teachings. The Church wants you to believe that they were ignorant farmers. That they were ignorant, and their theology was erroneous, to quote the BRI (Biblical Research Institute). Well, I’m sorry to say, but brothers and sisters, their theology was not erroneous. Jesus Himself told them to hold fast that which thou hast. And just to be quite honest, I’ve read not all their writings, but I’ve read quite a bit and I can tell you, those pioneers would mop the floor with any of the modern day BRI people with their understanding of the word of God. They were so deep in the Word, and they came up with these things, by the Spirit of God, but they didn’t have the technology that we do today. They can’t type in a computer and see what did Ellen White say on this topic, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. They had to know it. And they had to go, you know what, I remember reading this, and go back and look for it and find it and compile that way, the old fashioned way. These men were smart, they knew the word of God, and the church does not want us looking back at what they taught.
Let Me Know When the 144,000 Begin to Form
I want to give kind of a personal testimony as to why this means so much to me. I remember I used to pray, Father, when the 144,000 begins its formation because I was taught nominal church teaches that they begin formation sometime off in the distance. Because again, you can’t point back to the pioneers and their erroneous theology. You just couldn’t do that. So therefore, they put them some time off in the distance. And I remember I used to pray and say, Lord, when 144,000 begins to form, please Father, let me know because I want to be a part of that number. And at that point, I will give up my sins. Because you can’t hold on to those sins and be a part of that number. So I will give up my sins then. And when I began studying this, I realized, oh, they began formation long ago. I am living in the time of the sealing now. I don’t need to wait. I shouldn’t wait. I can’t wait to be giving up my sin. I need to do it now because I can be a part of that number now. And so it just brought about a realization of, I’ve got to let go of my sin. I’ve got to give it up because who knows when that last person is sealed into the 144,000. And it’s done, probation is closed, and I’m not on that bus. I don’t know when that will happen. And it’s not off in the future. It’s going on now. The sealing is happening now.
Invitation to get on the 144,000 Bus
So another point is that the 144,000 is a literal number. I was taught that it’s symbolic, and that there’s far more than 144,000 people that are a part of this group. 144,000, the number is simply symbolic. But I’ve learned that that’s not actually the case. That it is a literal number. And there are 144,000 people at that time that are sealed, whether, even if you want to go with Uriah Smith’s thought process that it’s only men of fighting age, that is still a limited number of people. And brothers and sisters, that bus began to fill around 1848. That means there’s not 144,000 seats left on that bus. That means you never know when it’s going to finish being fulfilled, that number. Question is, are you going to be one of them? Are you going to give up sin? Are you going to strive to be a part of that number, and not wait any longer? Do you desire to be a part of the 144,000? I know I do. I want to stand on the same platform that that number began with. And I want to give up sin, that I may be a part of that limited number. So that that bus doesn’t leave me behind. Because I want to be on it.
If you desire to be a part of 144,000, I would ask that you would kneel with me in prayer, kneel where possible.
This transcript has been lightly edited for readability. Additional images have been added for improved readability.