The Source of Help

Revelation 7:9-17

GOLDEN TEXT: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”—Revelation 4:8

ASIDE from the special class of overcomers—the “more than conquerors,” as the apostle calls them, those who voluntarily and willingly lay; down their lives, presenting their bodies living sacrifices, and carrying out that consecration to sacrifice—there is a large number of consecrated people of God. We do not know their number, which has not been predestinated, as is shown in our lesson—“whose number no man knoweth.” All are called to the priesthood; all consecrate to be priests, but failing to make their calling and election sure, many of these fall back into the great company class. They made a consecration, and were begotten of the Holy Spirit, and are, therefore, the Lord’s, His children on the spirit plane.

This great company, while failing to go forward voluntarily and gladly to perform their sacrifices, as they covenanted to do, will not be cast away, because they are still faithful at heart; but they will be dealt with in a special manner by the great Redeemer, the Head of the church. In the severe tests He will permit them to experience, they will not renounce the things of the Lord and forsake Him, for they will desire to be faithful to the Lord and to hold fast to Him.

If they will thus hold fast they will be counted of that great company of whom the Revelator says, “After this I beheld and, lo, a great company out of all nations, peoples and kindreds and tongues, stood before the throne.” The angel’s explanation regarding this company is, “These are they which have come up out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple.”

The differentiation, or separation, between these two classes in “the church of the first born” is marked, as indicated by the Lord’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins.

This parable, we see, is applicable in the end of the age. The wise virgins will be found watching with their lamps trimmed and burning, and will be listening to hear the Bridegroom’s call, and will go forth, braving opposition and hostility and darkness of the night through which they must pass, to go with their beloved Bridegroom to His home, and enter in.

When the last one of these wise virgins shall have gone, we are told that the door will be shut. From this we understand that the door or privilege to enter that class will be closed to all the rest of mankind. But we are to remember that the entire ten virgins represent the Kingdom of heaven, or, in other words, the church. Hence a part of that church is shut out when the door is closed. Not merely is the world shut out, but the foolish virgins also, who, however, are not to be counted with the world, because they are virgins who have been associated with the wise virgins, and for a time without any distinction being apparent. But, in the testing time these are not found worthy to be of the bride class.

These foolish virgins, the parable shows us, will finally learn the way. They will get the oil and will trim their lamps. In, other words, they will receive a larger measure of the Holy Spirit, represented by the oil, and will have the Word of God, represented by the clearer enlightenment from the lamp. They will trim their lamps and go forward then, that they, also, may enter into the marriage; but they will find that the wise virgins have all gone in and that the door is shut.

Then they will stand without; saying, “Lord, Lord, open unto us—(Matt. 25:11)—we desire also to also to enter the heavenly glory. The Lord will answer, and say, “I know you not.” I do not recognize you. I recognize only one, the bride. My bride class has already entered in, and I cannot recognize others as the bride. The parable indicates that these shall go away into the time of trouble to wash their soiled robes and make them white.

The same thought we find expressed in Psalm 45, where the end of this age is pictured. There our Lord is shown as the great King in glory. The church, the little flock, is pictured as the bride, and the great company, as her virgin companions, that follow her. We are told that after the bride, adorned in golden raiment and fine linen, is received by the King, the virgins, her companions will also be brought before the King and shall enter into the palace.

This is in perfect agreement with the custom of olden times, that when a wife was taken, the father would present a maid-servant with the wife, who would accompany her mistress and would necessarily be associated with her. Sometimes more than one maid-servant would be presented, as pictured in this Psalm. Now, if a bridegroom were alluding to his family, while he would speak of only the one person as his wife, he would include as part of his family or household, the maid servants. So likewise, in this family of Christ. The bride is to be the body of Christ, His wife and joint-heir; but the virgins, her companions who follow her, will also be members of His general family or household.

QUESTIONS:

Will any besides the bride class receive a spiritual reward?

Why does the great company class need to wash their robes and mare them white in the blood of the Lamb?

How is the great company class described in the 46th Psalm?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |