THE GREAT MULTITUDE
--MARCH 26.--REVELATION 7:9-17.--
CHRISTIANS OF THREE KINDS--"TARES," OR FALSE CHRISTIANS--
SAINTS, A LITTLE FLOCK OF SELF-SACRIFICERS--AVERAGE
CHRISTIANS, A GREAT MULTITUDE--THEIR DESTINY SHOWN
IN THIS LESSON--HOW THEY WILL BE CONQUERORS--
THE OTHERS WHO WILL BE "MORE THAN CONQUERORS"--
CONTRASTS OF THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE--PRIESTS
AND LEVITES FOR THE COMING AGE--THE NUMBER OF
THE FORMER KNOWN, THAT OF THE LATTER NOT KNOWN.
"They shall hunger no more;...and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes."--Revelation 7:16,17 .
ACCORDING to the Bible those professing the name of Christ are of three general classes. It is not ours to read their hearts; but it is ours, as Jesus said, to know them by their fruits. Yet even here we might deceive ourselves. The only safe way for us, therefore, in respect to persons who claim to be Christians and who live an upright and moral life is to take them for what they profess to be. One of these classes Jesus styles Tares--"children of the Wicked One"--because their presence in the Church is the result of false doctrines, false teachings, sown by the Adversary, Satan. (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43.) Many tares, we understand, are very talented, very honorable, and very wealthy. They really, however, have neither part nor lot with the true Church of Christ, all of whose members are spirit-begotten through the Word of Truth.
In the sense that the consecrated are all called in the one hope of their calling and all begotten of the one Spirit through the one Word of Truth, they are one class, one Church, under one Lord, one faith, one baptism. (Ephesians 4:4,5.) Their division into two classes is the result of coldness, lukewarmness, fear to perform the sacrifice contracted, fear of death, on the part of some--the "great multitude" referred to in this lesson. The Apostle describes them, saying, "Through fear of death they are all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Hebrews 2:15.) Some of them fear also loss of business or name or fame or social standing. Therefore they compromise with the world and its spirit. They do not deny the Lord. Indeed, many of them would die rather than directly deny Him. Yet by their works they do deny Him--ashamed of the Truth because it is not popular, or ashamed of the Lord's brethren because of their humble position or their unpopularity among the worldly.
While this class do not deny the Lord's name, yet they
fail to walk closely in His footsteps, and therefore will
[R5864 : page 75]
fail to get the glorious prize of this Gospel Age; namely,
glory, honor, immortality, joint-heirship with Jesus in His
Millennial Kingdom, etc. Those great blessings and
favors are to be granted only to the "more than conquerors"--
the Little Flock, to whom it is the Father's
good pleasure to give the Kingdom--those who "follow
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," rejoicing in tribulation,
esteeming it an honor to be counted worthy to suffer
for Christ, His Cause, His Word, His Brethren. And
yet this Little Flock, styled in the Bible the Lord's jewels,
are described by the poet, who says:
"Those whom God makes His kings and priests
THE TWO CLASSES CONTRASTED
The Great Company described in our lesson will be
overcomers; else they would never get any part in the
everlasting blessings which the Lord is about to dispense
now, at His Second Advent, when all of His faithful will
be received to the Heavenly Home, the Father's House.
They will be overcomers, or conquerors, in the end because
the Lord will help them through by forcing those
of this class who will be living in the end of the present
Age to come to a positive decision--to banish their fears
and courageously count not their lives dear unto them in
the great tribulation with which this Age will end. The
fact that when the test does come, when the crisis is
reached, these will die rather than deny the Lord will constitute
them overcomers and secure for them the blessing
described in our text.
Nevertheless, there is a still higher position that will
be attained by some. As it was not necessary for Jesus
to be forced by tribulation either to acknowledge the
Heavenly Father and stand for Truth or else to die the
Second Death, so there is a class in the Church who are
like the Master and who will have similar experiences to
His. These are styled "more than conquerors" because
they not only do the right thing--stand for Truth, righteousness
and the Divine arrangement--but they do it as
Jesus did--voluntarily, with hearty good will, as soon as
it is shown to them.
Here, then, we see the difference between two classes
in the Church, all of whom are spirit-begotten, all of
whom are called with the same High Calling, all of whom
had similar opportunities for attaining the great prize.
The "more than overcomers," copies of God's dear Son,
faithful unto death in their voluntary laying down of their
lives in God's service and in behalf of the brethren--
these will be the Little Flock to inherit the Kingdom--
these will be the Royal Priesthood--these will constitute
the Bride, the Lamb's Wife and Joint-heir.
SCRIPTURES RELATING TO THE SECOND CLASS
The Great Company of this lesson are to be found
everywhere. They fail to become members of the Body
of Christ, fail to get the great reward, fail to become
kings and priests. They will be granted a blessing, however,
but an inferior position, which will correspond to
that of the Levites of old, who were not priests, but of
the priestly tribe--servants to their brethren the priesthood.
Again, they are represented in the Bible as not
being worthy to be of the Bride class, but as being granted
the great honor of being "the virgins, her companions,
who follow her"--bridesmaids.--Psalm 45:14,15.
This class is also represented in the Lord's parable as
the Foolish Virgins. (Matthew 25:1-13.) They were
virgins--pure, justified; hence they were fully consecrated
to the Lord. But they were foolish in that they permitted
the things of the present life to balance against
the things of the life to come, to which they had made a
full consecration. The Wise Virgins go in with the
Bridegroom, become the Bride class, when the marriage
of the Lamb takes place at the Second Coming of Christ.
But the Foolish Virgins do not gain admittance, and they
hear the Master's words, "I do not recognize you." But
although they cannot be recognized as the Bride class, we
praise God for His mercy in indicating that they all belong
to the company of virgins, the Bride's companions who
follow after her.
A beautiful picture of this is given us in Revelation 19:6-9.
There also we are told of the Great Company
who will praise God eventually that the Marriage of the
Lamb is come and His Wife hath made herself ready--
even though they will not be part of that Bride class.
Awakened from their slumber and stupor, and separated
from Babylon the Great by its fire, these finally recognize
[R5865 : page 76]
what they have missed; but they thank God that His Plan,
so full of blessings, will still be carried out, though the
true Bride class have gone before. Then the Lord gives
to them the precious message, "Blessed are they who are
called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb." But they
can go to that Marriage Supper only through much tribulation,
which will test to the last their full devotion to
the Lord--even unto death.
In Psalm 45 we have a picture of the Heavenly Father
as the Great King, the Lord Jesus as the King's Son, the
Church as the Bride, and the Great Company as the
virgins, the Bride's companions, following after her. It
is not only a beautiful picture, but one full of comfort
and encouragement to all.
TWO COMPANIES--TWO REWARDS
In the account of today's lesson these are spoken of as
a "great multitude whom no man can number"--a poor
translation, better rendered, "a great company whose number
no man knows." We do know the number of the
Elect, the "more than conquerors." It is stated to be one
hundred and forty-four thousand of those who follow
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth--a Little Flock indeed,
as compared with the millions of earth for eighteen centuries,
but a very choice company. The Great Company
is not a foreordained number. No one can say what their
number is; for they are castaways from the High Calling,
rescued by the mercy of God through Christ, because they
have not denied His name, because at heart they were
loyal, even though they failed to manifest a sufficiency of
zeal in performing the Covenant of Sacrifice which they
covenanted and on the terms of which they had been accepted
into the Lord's family.
St. John says that theirs is a position of glory and
honor, not in the Throne with the Bride, but before the
Throne, as those who are subject. He sees them not
wearing crowns, the highest insignia of victory, which
goes only to the "more than conquerors." But he sees
them victors, nevertheless, with palm branches. Then he
heard the statement that they were not members of the
Temple class, but servants of the Temple, who serve God
in His Temple. Great will be their blessing. The Lord
will lead them to the waters of life. But they will not be,
like the Bride, possessed of immortality--which the Lord
describes as water of life springing up in His people.
(John 4:14; 7:37-39.) The water of life which Jesus
will give the second class will be everlasting life on the
spirit plane like unto the angels--but not on the Divine
plane, not immortality, not the Divine nature.
Seeing these things set forth so clearly in the Word of
God, shall we not be the more earnest hereafter, the more
loyal, the more faithful, that we may obtain the highest
reward, even that to which the Lord has invited us--to
become members of the Body of Christ, members of the
Royal Priesthood?
====================
Are mean in human eyes."