By John Thiel, First Angel’s Message, study 25, mp3

The Godhead has provided facilities that we may appreciate the atonement of Jesus as he has become one with us.  By engaging with Jesus we engage in an apprenticeship with him learning the trade of salvation. This process of sanctification is meant to bring us to what an apprentice finally achieves, to gain mastery over this whole exercise.

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The apprentice ultimately will gain skill at the hand of the Master.  That is what an apprentice is ultimately meant to gain.  Those who have been justified finally approach to the full glory of that justification.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Sanctification brings us to a conclusion.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We are changed from glory to glory.  The purpose of apprenticeship is that some time in the history of the planet those under Christ’s tuition will finally be seen a perfect and holy people reflecting the perfection of Jesus.  We expect at sometime there will be such a people otherwise what is the purpose of entering into an apprentice?  The master tradesman is waiting for such a people to come into existence.

Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. COL 69

Jesus will not return until his people reflect his image perfectly.  That gives us a bit of an indication why it has been delayed for so long.  It tells us he will not come until his image is perfectly rejected.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

We are already the sons of God, when there are a people like Him, He will return.  There is an illusion to that point that he is able to bring us to that point;

Jude 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

God is able to present a people faultless.  I like these statements for people who say you can never be perfect. The bible says God is able to produce such a people.  Those who are apprentices to him, he will bring them there.  That is where our confidence lies.  He is able to keep us from falling, he is able to present us faultless.  When he comes, he will have finished that work.  Can we find in the scriptures, a people that are so positioned?  The very chapter that deals with the three angels messages.  The messages we have already studied, fear God, the hour of his judgment is come, the true preaching of the gospel is actually part of the production of these people;

Revelation 14:1 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. 5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

Here are a people who have finally been presented as the product of Christ’s apprenticeship of these people.  They have been sanctified from glory to glory until finally they stand there as Jesus in perfection. There is the number.  There were with him, AN hundred and forty and four thousand.  How many?  An hundred and forty four thousand.  That number is those who reach in their lifetime a condition before he comes.  What were the circumstances and timing of their development?  What is written as he is taking them through this apprenticeship, the timing and the circumstances?  There are the description and the circumstances where in history these people are derived from.

Revelation 7:1 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.

Here you have it again, an hundred and forty and four thousand.  Where did they come from?  From what period of time?  From what circumstances?  Just as the angels are holding the four winds of the earth and could have let them go but the angel comes and says hold, don’t let go until we have sealed the servants in their foreheads. The description of this time of God’s wrath is to be poured out is depicted in Jeremiah.  You can see the time the angels are being told not to let go just yet.  This is speaking of the cup of Gods fury being poured out, the plagues about;

Jeremiah 25:17 Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Then it goes into the description of the destruction of all the nations that is the winds.

Jeremiah 25:31 A noise shall come [even] to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them [that are] wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

How big a whirlwind was this?  From the coasts of the earth.  You can see the angels holding the four winds, east, west, north south.

Jeremiah 25:33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Here is the reference of revelation 7 where the four winds, the four angels are told not to let go of the four winds.  When?  Just prior to the destruction of the planet by the four winds. The angels are told, don’t hurt yet wait until we have sealed the servants of God in their forehead.

I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, My blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood! Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, Hold! Hold! Hold! Hold! until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. EW 38.1

I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that 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 hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads. {EW 38.2}

This is the period of time from which the 144,000 were to be derived.  A period of time just before the destruction of this planet and a people who are going through the work of the first angel, the everlasting gospel, the hour of Gods judgment is come.  The thing that is prolonging his return is that he is waiting for the apprenticeship graduation.  Those who are the sons of God under the tuition of the Father and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to reach the same exercise that Jesus reached until he was totally made perfect just like we should be. Until they have graduated without fault.  The experience of this is found in Malachi.

The Work of the High Priest Jesus Christ in the Temple

What is he doing in the second apartment under the three angel’s messages?

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Jesus is the messenger of the covenant who comes to his temple during this period of time.  He is in the most holy place as a refiner at work purifying and taking his people through his apprenticeship until finally they master pure living.  He is purging them.  It is a period of time just prior to the destructive forces of the plagues being poured out.  It is a period of time when the High Priest is in the most holy place of doing his work of purifying a people.  It concludes when finally the people are all perfected and they are sealed in their forehead.

What Is Involved To Be Sealed In Our Forehead?

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the Lord.

What did we learn that is God’s glory?  We are going to be changed into his glory.  What is involved with the seal in our foreheads?  Moses spoke to God.

Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

What was involved in the glory?  His goodness, His name.

Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

This is very important language if we want to understand the seal of God.  Remember that the 144,000 have the name of the Lord in their forehead.

Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation].

That was when Moses saw Gods glory.  When we are changed from glory to glory, what are we changed from?  From character to character to the full glory of His character. That means his name.  the 144,000 in revelation 14:1 were with Christ and the lamb and stood there with his name in their foreheads.  Their foreheads just like the high priest on earth had something in his forehead.

Exodus 28:36 And thou shalt make a plate [of] pure gold, and grave upon it, [like] the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

In the Hebrew sanctuary the high priest was to wear upon his forehead holiness to the LORD. This is the 144,000.  They are to stand like their master with holiness on their forehead.  They are taken through a process that brings that holiness unto God in their forehead.  The process of sanctification with Jesus until the holiness of God is actuating their practice.

Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

Where Do These People Come From?

Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

God wants to dwell among them.  He has produced a people that he can dwell among.  He has brought about a condition in their lives.  He came to his temple and he sits as a refiner of silver and gold.  These are they which come out of great tribulation and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb.  All these different symbolisms are the same as going through the sanctification experience until the apprenticeship has produced the perfect master in the skill of righteousness.  The process of developing in the forehead Gods character is summarised;

2 Corinthians 3:3 [Forasmuch as ye are] manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

In those tables of stone were written the Ten Commandments. Through the work of the purification exercise of sanctification in the apprenticeship, we are to come to the point where in our heart in the part where as a man thinketh in his heart so is he, that is closely connected with the frontal lobe. There in the forehead is written the character of God, in the forehead.  Hold the winds of strife until we have sealed the servants of God in their forehead, until Jesus is perfectly reflected in their character.  The Ten Commandments are not only written on tables of stone but in the mind, the spiritual brain.

Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The work of sanctification is when a person is set aside for holy use.  The Sabbath has been set aside for holy use, it is sanctified.  That is the fourth commandment.  If you are looking for the seal of God in the Ten Commandments you will find it in the Sabbath, nowhere else.  The rest of the laws have no identity of who is speaking but in the Sabbath commandment you have the king’s domain, his name, and his jurisdiction and his authority.  His position.  The seal of God is in the commandments of God and it is directly related with sanctification.  The very things we read in Genesis are now reiterated in the commandments;

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God:

There is the name of the LORD in capitals which means Jehovah.

Exodus 20:10 [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: 11 For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Can you see his seal?  His name, the dominion that was his the heaven, earth and sea and who was he?  He was creator.  There you have the seal of the law giver, the Ten Commandments. That is what is written about Gods people who he sanctifies.  The bible declares the Sabbath to be the mark, sign and seal of those who he sanctifies.  It is all a part of the sealing work of the sanctification process that ultimately the law, the character of God is written in the foreheads and it is sealed by the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it [is] a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I [am] the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Vividly we can see that the people whom God is training to be perfect before him by the sanctification exercise is signified by the Sabbath.  That is the sign, the seal.

Exodus 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, [for] a perpetual covenant. 17 It [is] a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

The Children of Israel

Here they were as we read in revelation 7:1-4.  How many were sealed and from where?  In verse 4 – 144,000 are from the Twelve tribes of Israel.  They are not the actual literal ones as Joseph was never a tribe and Dan was left out.  These are none others but James 1:1, the twelve tribes.  Who James was writing to? He is an Israelite who is a true seed of Abraham through Jesus Christ.

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

The children of Israel are the people of God and they are sealed out of them 144,000 in the period of time just prior to the destruction. In the last days the law of God is indeed sealed among his disciples;

His Disciples

Isaiah 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

Seal the law among my disciples just at a time when the churches of Israel, both the houses of Israel are stumbling and going into apostasy, just before there is a sealing of those who are faithful.  That is what is spoken of in Revelation.  Here they are just before the coming of Jesus;

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

They are going through the same exercise that Jesus went through.  They have patiently worked as apprentices and they are the keepers of Gods commandments.

Revelation 14:13 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 labours; and their works do follow them. 14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

These people who have come just out of that period when the angels have to hold the winds some more while the angel is coming with the seal of God, are finally produced with the works they have been working toward.  As they complete their apprenticeship then Jesus can come.

Their Works Do Follow Them

Along the way there are people in that period of time since the judgment hour commences in the sifting who die and others keep on going and haven’t died.  They are blessed, they will see Jesus coming in the clouds.  The work of these angels is to identify these people.  The first, second and third angel and another angel.  Under this other angel there are a people that are called to constitute these 144,000.

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Remember the four winds that destroy the planet?  Don’t be partakers of them.  Come out under the three angel’s messages and under the Revelation 18 angel. They are being called out so they will not be partakers of that destruction.

Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

The fury of Gods wrath is going to be poured out.  The angels are holding the four winds until these people are protected from the four winds.  Under the messages of these three angels, there is a sealing going on so Gods people will be sealed and protected from this destruction.

What are the chambers in which they are to hide? They are the protection of Christ and holy angels. The people of God are not at this time all in one place. They are in different companies, and in all parts of the earth; and they will be tried singly, not in groups. Every one must stand the test for himself.  4BC 1143

The 144,000 are hiding under the protection of Christ and the holy angels.

Oh, that all could get a view of it as God revealed it to me, that they might know more of the wiles of Satan and be on their guard! 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. 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.  EW 44

Notice how the sealing, covering and protection are synonymous?  God has begun as per the writings of EG White to draw this covering over his people and it will be soon drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter.  The angels are holding back the winds of slaughter until the servants of God are sealed.  How long has this sealing process been going on for?  Since the proclamation of the first angels message.  It commenced back there in the period of 1844 onwards.

The third angel closes his message thus: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers. As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man.  {EW 254.1}

The third angel is doing this work and here the third angel is revealing to the world the warning so the people can be saved from these destructions.

I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner. EW 89

I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, Fearful is his work. 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. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.  EW 118

This is the same angel that delivered the message to the four angels that are holding the winds of strife.

Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads–it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved–just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is coming.  4 BC 1161

That was written back then, how do we stand now?  What is the seal?  It is the Sabbath, the commandments of God in the forehead.  It is a settling into the truth both spiritually and intellectually so they cannot be moved.  They are a people that have gone through an apprenticeship that consolidates them so they are now secure in the apprenticeship of Jesus Christ.  They can’t be moved anymore.  This is why a period was required.  Sanctification is a period of time.  It is a changing and that period of time has been going on since 1844 when the first, second and third angels message were taking their work.

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 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 labours; and their works do follow them.

They are a people who have settled into the truth and their works follow them.  When Jesus comes, they will see him coming.  They will be there who have died under the three angels messages who have been sealed before and died in their process, they will be there when Jesus comes because they want to see him coming.  Jesus is in the sanctuary and purifying his people.  When he is finished, what will he do?

Daniel 12:1 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. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

Do you notice here that Jesus has finished his work and what happens?  The plagues.  A time of trouble such as never was.  As these plagues take place, what happens?

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.

Here is a resurrection so that those who have been working and settling into the truth so they can be ready for Jesus to come and see him as he is as they will be like him, they will be raised to meet him.   Others will also be raised who have to see him.

What Did Jesus Say To Caiaphas?

Mark 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

How is Caiaphas going to see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven and others like him?  They are going to have to be resurrected like the people who have died under the message of the sealing to see him coming, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting contempt.

Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” Verses 17, 18. The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. {GC 636.3}

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. 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” (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided Christ’s dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor placed upon the loyal and obedient.  {GC 637.1}

The voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening, with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked cannot look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.  {GC 640.2}

They shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.  Then comes the small black cloud in the east and the coming of Jesus.  Here is a resurrection that includes the people who have died under the sealing message.  Who are they?  They hear the voice of God giving the day and hour of Jesus coming.  They are the Israel of God.  They were raised to hear the voice of God making the covenant of Israel.

Soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, 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. 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.  {EW 14.1}

The 144,000 were all sealed and perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, God, New Jerusalem, and a glorious star containing Jesus’ new name. At our happy, holy state the wicked were enraged, and would rush violently up to lay hands on us to thrust us into prison, when we would stretch forth the hand in the name of the Lord, and they would fall helpless to the ground. Then it was that the synagogue of Satan knew that God had loved us who could wash one another’s feet and salute the brethren with a holy kiss, and they worshiped at our feet.  {EW 15.1}

How were the 144,000 to hear the voice of God?  They included the people who were resurrected , the living saints, who then see Jesus coming in the clouds after they received the covenant and the day and hour of his coming.  They heard it.  There we have an in-depth research of the 144,000 as a company of people who have concluded their apprenticeship and there is the day of graduation of the apprenticeship.  The 144,000 meeting Jesus, hearing the voice of God.  Blessed are they who died that they may resurrect and meet that graduation.

Amen.