Have sealed the servants of our God.—See Rev. 19:20; 14:1. Satan is a diligent student of time prophecy (Luke 12:39); but not having the Holy Spirit he is unable to reach accurate conclusions. Seeing a definite Plan, and a definite time for every important feature of that Plan, his aim has ever been to thwart the purposes of the Almighty. This attempt to destroy the Seed began with the death of Abel and still continues. No doubt Satan believed the Millennial Kingdom was due to be set up in 1915; and no doubt, also, he knew that seven years prior to the time of the setting up of that kingdom the restraints upon the evil spirits would be lifted. Be that as it may, there is evidence that the establishment of the Kingdom in Palestine will probably be in 1925, ten years later than we once calculated. The 70 jubilees, reckoned as 50 years each, expire October, 1925. (B. 186.) Gen. 15:1-16:3, read connectedly, indicates that Abraham's vision as to when he would receive the Kingdom was not granted until ten years after the Covenant was made, or 2035 B. C. The ages of the animals offered aggregated eleven years, which, applied prophetically, on the scale of a year for a day, equal 3960 years, the length of time from the date of the visions to A. D. 1925 (Z. '07-79). It seems conclusive that the hour of Nominal Zion's travail is fixed for the Passover of 1918. (See Rev. 3:14.) That will be 7 years prior to 1925. At that time there is every reason to believe the fallen angels will invade the minds of many of the Nominal Church people, driving them to exceedingly unwise conduct and leading to their destruction at the hands of the enraged masses, who will later be dragged to the same fate. The great war now raging is most certainly the work of evil spirits, and the Kaiser is not the only clever ruler who has been deceived by evil spirits, as history will sometime show.—Lu. 12:56.
If our reasoning is correct, we inquire whether there was any indication of a move on Satan's part 7 years prior to 1915, showing that he expected the restraints to be removed from the evil spirits at that time; and we answer that there was something very definite indicated at that time. In the Vow, advised by Pastor Russell in that year, and in the experiences of many, for and against it, it is plain that the Enemy then attempted to come in like a flood, but was held back—restrained until the sealing work is done. (Matt. 10:25; Luke 22:42-44; Heb. 12:4; Isa. 63:3.) After the demons have been turned loose on the swine class, we shall see what happens. (Matt. 7:6; 8:31-34.) Those now fearful that they might learn something will be terror-stricken then for a different reason.
In their foreheads.—“The storm is held in check until the faithful servants of God are ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (Exod. 13:9; 28:36, 38. Deut. 6:8; Ezek. 9:4-6; Rev. 14:1), i. e., until such are given an intellectual appreciation which will not only comfort them, and shield them, but also be a mark, seal or evidence of their sonship, as indicated by our Lord when He promised that the Holy Spirit should show to the faithful ‘things to come.’ (John 16:13.)” (B. 169.) When the demon test comes, those who have the mark of sonship (Ezek. 9:2-4) will know it and will stand the test, while all others will surely fail. A letter from one of the Bethel workers, written shortly after Pastor Russell's death, says: “About three months ago I asked several questions at the table, the last one being as follows, ‘Since I now see that the Jewish Time of Trouble did not end until the year 73 A. D., as I fully proved to myself by consulting the historians, what then are we to expect in the parallel year 1918?’ Brother Russell put the question to three prominent brethren, all of whom replied that they did not know, but were willing to wait and see. When he called upon me I said, ‘Since the year 73 A. D. saw the complete overthrow of nominal Natural Israel in Palestine, so in the parallel year 1918, I infer we should look for the complete overthrow of nominal Spiritual Israel; i. e., the fall of Babylon. (Rev. 18.)’ Brother Russell replied: ‘Exactly. That is exactly the inference to draw.’ ” The conclusion of the Church's career comes first. (Rev. 3:14.)
“If you see the ‘door’ of opportunity for sacrifice and service open before you, enter in. But enter quickly; for the night of darkness and of intense opposition to the truth will ere long be upon us and will hinder you from engaging in the service. ‘The morning cometh, and also the night.’ ‘The night cometh in which no man can work.’ When that is true, you may know that ‘the door is shut.’ that all the wise virgins have entered in, that all have been proved, and that all vacancies have been acceptably filled. All the special ‘servants of God’ having by that time been ‘sealed in their foreheads’ (given an intellectual appreciation of God's Plan), the four winds will be loosed and will produce the great ‘whirlwind’ of trouble in the midst of which the remnant of the Elijah class will be ‘changed,’ and exalted to Kingdom glory.”—C. 225.
7:4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed.—“We have every reason to believe that the definite, fixed number of the Elect is that several times stated in Revelation, namely, 144,000 ‘redeemed from amongst men.’ ” (F. 179; Rev. 14:1.) This is the equivalent of one saint fully developed for each five days of the Age.
And there were sealed 144,000.—On this point one of Pastor Russell's coworkers has well said: “That this is not a symbolical, but an exact number, seems certain from the fact that, in the same chapter reference is made to another company, also spirit-begotten. In the 9th verse we read: ‘I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number.’ It is not probable that this multitude is so great that no one could actually count them, but rather that none can state their number, God having left it indefinite.”
Of all the tribes of the children of Israel.—“As a name, Israel signified ‘The people blessed of the Lord,’ ‘The people of God,’ ‘The Lord's people.’—2 Chron. 7:14.” (D. 654; Gal. 6:16; Rom. 9:6-8.) Each of the saints is reckoned as belonging to one of the twelve tribes of “Israelites indeed,” which tribes bear the names of the twelve patriarchs of natural Israel. In every family each child is beloved for some characteristic peculiarly its own; and in the meaning of the names of the children of Israel we may recognize certain of the qualities which make each overcomer precious in the Father's sight.
7:5. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand.—Juda signifies Celebrated, lauded, praised. Nothing is more praiseworthy than justice, noble-mindedness, the doing to everybody as one would wish to be done by. Our Lord was the Just One of the tribe of Juda. All who knew Pastor Russell intimately, recognized that justice was the foundation principle of his character. The mention of the Lord's tribe first shows that there is a Divine order in the arrangement of the names, inasmuch as that order is different from the order of the birth of Jacob's sons. Doubtless the brightest crowns will be worn by those that are wholly without self-love, either in heart or in life.—Gen. 38:12-26; 43:3-10; 44:14, 34; 46:28.
Of the tribe of Reuben [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Reuben's name signifying “See ye, a son, provided in my affliction” or The Pity of God, seems to refer to the five-talented brethren who make their calling and election sure. To be possessed of ability and means to get the fullest enjoyment out of life, and to sacrifice it all gladly, requires a standard of character so high that the Lord expressly states that not many attain it. (1 Cor. 1:26; Gen. 37:21, 22, 29, 30; 42:22, 37.) A taint of love of the world (spiritual uncleanness) is all that prevents from attaining the very highest place.—Gen. 35:22; 49:3, 4; 2 Cor. 7:1.
Of the tribe of Gad [were sealed] twelve thousand.—Gad's name, signifying A troop of children cometh, seems to give the third highest honor to those faithful men and women who have been blessed of God in bringing many [pg 131] of their own descendants into the Divine family. Instances are on record where as many as twelve children in one family have all come into the light of Present Truth and consecrated, as a result of the life and teachings of a noble father and mother. There is a family interest on the part of the Heavenly Father in every family that rightly seeks His face. Not a crown is available for others, so long as even one child of one of the consecrated is ready to run for that crown. “The promise is unto you [first], and to your children [next], and [after that] to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord your God shall call.” (Acts 2:39; 1 Cor. 7:14.) “Of the childhood and life of the patriarch Gad nothing is preserved. At the time of the descent into Egypt, seven sons are ascribed to him, remarkable from the fact that a majority of their names have plural terminations, as if those of families rather than persons.” (McC.)—Gen. 46:16; Num. 26:15-18.