A 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 was 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 14,000 members of spiritual Israel; a multilanugage 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 regardedd them as secondary heavenly class, as noted in 1886 volume 1 of Studies in the Scriptures, The Divine Plan of the Ages:  "They lose the prize of the throne and the divine nature, 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 made up this great crowd fail to respond to the invitation to become the zealous witnesses for the Lord."  They were described as self-righteous group that  had a knowledge of the truth but did little preaching it.  They  were to get to heaven as secondary class that would not share in reigning with Christ.

There were, however, other associates of the anointed Christian s who later became most zealouse in their preaching work.  They had no aspirations of going to heaven.  Indeedm their hope was in line wiht the title  of a public talk featured by Jehovah's people from 1918 to 1922.  Originally, this as "The World Has Ended-Millions Now Living Will Never Die."  Soon thereafter, the Watch Tower 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 acknowledge 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 abover parable .  Vindication, Book Three, released in 1932, described the upright heart attitude of the non-Israelite man Jehonadab, who joined  Israel's  anointed King Jehu in his chariot and went along to see Jehu's zeal in executin false religionists .  (2 Kings 10:15-17)  The book commented:  "Jehonadab represented or foreshadowed that class of people  now on earth duing the time that 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 timeof Armageddon, take them  through that trouble, and give them everlasting life on earth.  These constitute the 'sheep' class."   In 1934 The Watchtower made it clear that these Christians  with earthly hopes should made 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 tha ta 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 20000 conventioners, J.F. Rutherford, who at that time took the lead in the worldwide preaching work, gave Scriptural proof that the  modern-day other sheep  are identical with the great crowd of Revelation 7:9.  At the climax  of this talk, the speaker asked:  "Will all of those  who have the hope of living forever on the earth, please stand?"  As a large part of the audience stood up, the speaker 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 those professing to be of that great crowd.

Next time: A Multitudinous Great Crowd - Confirming the Identity if the Great Crowd

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