Chapter Twenty -The Multitudinous Great Crowd

HAVING described the sealing of the 144,000, John goes on to report one of the most exciting revelations in all Scripture. His heart must have leaped with joy as he reported  it, saying:  "After these things I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man able to number out of all nations and tribes and people and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands." (Revelation 7:9) Yes, the holding back of the four winds allows for the salvation of another group besides the 144,000 members of spiritual Israel:  A multilanguage, international great crowd. -Revelation 7:1. 

Worldly commentators have interpreted this great crowd to be fleshly non-Jews converted to Christianity or to be heaven-bound  Christian martyrs. Even the Bible Students in the past regarded them as a secondary heavenly class, as noted in 1886 in Volume I of Studies in the Scriptures, The Divine Plan of The Ages:  "They lose the prize of the throne and the divine nature, but will finally reach birth  as spirit beings of an order lower than the divine nature. Though these are truly consecrated, they are overcome by the worldly spirit to such an extent that they fail to render  their lives in sacrifice. " And as late as 1930, the thought was expressed  in Light, Book One: "Those who make up this great crowd fail to respond  to the invitation to become the zealous witnesses for the Lord."  They were described as a self-righteous group that had knowledge of the truth but did little about preaching it.  They were to get to heaven as a secondary class that would not share in reigning with Christ.

There were, however, other associates  of the anointed Christians who later became most zealous in the preaching work.  They had no aspirations of going to heaven.  Indeed.  Indeed, their hope  was in line with the title of a public talk featured by Jehovah's people from 1918  to 1922. Originally, this was "The World Has Ended-Millions Now Living Will Never Die."  Soon thereafter, the Watchtower magazine  of October 15, 1923, explained Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats  (Matthew 25:31-46) stating:  "Sheep represent all the peoples of the nations, not spirit-begotten But disposed  toward righteousness, who mentally acknowledges Jesus Christ as the Lord and who are looking for and hoping for a better time under his reign." 

Some years later, in 1931, Vindication, Book One, discussed Ezekiel chapter 9, identifying those persons marked on the forehead for preservation at the world's end as the sheep of the above parable.  Vindication, Book Three, released in 1992, described the upright heart attitude of the non-Israelite man Johonadab, who joined Israel's  anointed King Jehu in his chariot and went along to see Jehus' zeal in executing  false religionists.  (2 Kings 10:15-17)  The book commented: Jehonadab represented or foreshadowed that class of people now on the earth during the time  that the Jehu work  [of declaring Jehovah's judgments] is in progress  who are of good will, are out of harmony with Satan's organization, who take their stand on the side of righteousness, and are the ones whom the Lord will preserve during the time of Armageddon, take them through that trouble, and give them everlasting life on the earth.  These constitute the 'sheep' class."  In 1934 The Watchtower  made it clear that these Christians with earthly hopes should make a dedication to Jehovah and be baptized. The  light regarding this earthly class was shining ever brighter. -Proverbs 4:18.

The understanding of Revelation 7:9-17 was now about to burst forth in all its sparkling brilliance!  (Psalm 97:11) The Watchtower  magazine had repeatedly expressed the hope that a convention scheduled  for May 30 to June 3, 1935, In Washington D.C., U.S.A., would be "a real comfort and benefit" to those  pictured by Jehonadab. That it proved to be!   In a stirring talk on "The Great Multitude," delivered to about 20,000 conventioneers, J.F.Rutherford, president of the Watchtower Society, gave Scriptural proof that the modern-day other sheep are identical with that great crowd of Revelation 7:9. At the climax of his talk, the speaker asked: "Will all those who have the hope of living forever on the earth please stand?"  As a large  part of the audience stood up, the president declared:  'Behold! The great multitude!' There was a hush, followed by thunderous cheering. How elated was the John class-and also the Jehonadab group!   On the following day, 840 new Witnesses were baptized, most of these professing to be of that great crowd.  

Next time: Chapter Twenty -The Multitudinous Great Crowd - Confirming the Identity of the Great Crowd

From the book of Revelation