he Passover, "to slay all the first-born of that nation, the
houses of the Israelites were indicated by the blood of the Paschal Lamb
sprinkled on their lintels and door-posts; and by these the angels
passed," Ex. 12:23. Thus in the present instance, before the descent of
the impending storm, the servants of the Lord are to be indicated by the
seal of the living God in their foreheads, and will be spared the horrible
tempest which will "hurt" all those on whom it shall fall.

The 144,000,--the whole number sealed, is a perfect number,--an appropriate
symbol of all the living righteous on the earth. The twelve tribes, then,
would symbolize all the branches of Christ's mystical body in which the
servants of God are found. The pious dead would need no mark indicative of
their acceptance, having previously, in the white robes given them,
received the symbols of their justification, 6:11. That their resurrection
and the changing of the living, immediately succeeded, is evident from:

The Palm-bearing Multitude.

"After these things I looked, and lo, a great crowd, which no one
could number, out of all nations, and tribes, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palm-branches in their hands; and they cried
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God seated on the
throne, and to the Lamb! And all the angels stood around the
throne, and the elders and the four living beings, and fell before
the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen:
blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and
power, and might, be to our God for ever and ever. Amen! And one
of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these arrayed in
white robes? and whence came they? And I said to him, My Lord,
thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they who came out of
great affliction, and have washed their robes, and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. For this, they are before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and He, who
sitteth on the throne, will dwell among them. They will hunger no
more, and will thirst no more; nor will the sun light on them, nor
any heat. For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will
tend them, and lead them to fountains of living waters: and God
will wipe away every tear from their eyes."--Rev. 7:9-17.

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