I’ll admit I don’t like the word, because of its negative connotation to so many. But we need to address the knee-jerk revulsion that festers in many minds to any set order of authority or reward in the spiritual realm. In discussions relative to gender authority in the faith community as well as the debate over Last Generation Theology, this issue often arises.
The Abuse of Hierarchy
Without question, ranked authority—hierarchy, if you will—has suffered terrible abuse in the human story. The authority of husbands, parents, ecclesiastics, police, politicians, business executives, and others has too often been marred by selfish exploitation. It is no wonder so many dislike, even despise, any structured system that embodies ranked authority of any kind.
Some conservative Christians have at times placed great stress on the imperative of obedience to human authority systems, taking this imperative beyond the guardrails of Scripture. One such ministry, long an advocate of excesses along these lines, asks, regarding the question of tithing: “Should a wife tithe if her husband does not want her to?” [##1|Men’s Manual, vol. II (Oak Brook, IL: Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, Inc, 1985), p. 68.##]. The answer: “No. A wife’s spiritual decisions, other than salvation, are under the protection of her husband” [##2|Men.s Manual, vol. II, p. 68.##]. As the Bible declares that man shall live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), one is led to wonder exactly which spiritual decisions this ministry holds to be non-salvational. Moreover, the Bible admonishes wives to “submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord” (Col. 3:18). As with the relation of children to parents, obedience “in the Lord” (Eph. 6:1) is the key.
One painful experience in a church youth group with which I was involved some years ago, bore tragic witness to the abuse of authority even in professedly Christian homes. During one Friday evening discussion someone quoted Ephesians 5:22, which reads, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” One girl in the group spoke up and said she hated that verse, because of the way her father (recently divorced from her mother) had used it to force her mother to submit to his wishes. I responded by saying that no one has the right to quote the above verse without continuing on to verse 25, which admonishes husbands to “love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it.”
Little need exists, to be sure, for the recounting of any number of similar cases in a host of settings. Like so much else that God designed, human authority has been subjected to broad and deep perversion.
Ranked Authority in a Sinless Universe
Many in the spiritual realm acknowledge the need, to an extent, for ranked authority among fallen creatures, but claim that in a sinless context such ranking is not necessary. They will admit, for example, that God commanded Eve to submit to Adam in the wake of the Fall (Gen. 3:16), but that the church’s present goal should be to restore the man-woman relation to the allegedly interchangeable roles which some claim existed before sin.
But what does the inspired text tell us about ranked authority in a sinless context? Let’s consider the evidence.
1. The Godhead. Writing after the Savior’s ascension, the apostle Paul declares that “the head of Christ is God” (I Cor. 11:3). While Scripture describes the Father and the Son as equal in a number of passages (John 1:1-3; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:9), the submission of the Son to the Father is clear from before the beginning of creation. The Father is declared to have created all things through His Son (John 1:3; I Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). It is the Father who has “chosen us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) It is the Father who has predestined us “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
It is the Father who sends the Son into the world to make possible humanity’s salvation (John 3:16-17; 17:18). Before returning from earth to His Father in heaven, Christ declared, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18), this power obviously given by the Father on account of His Son’s triumph over sin and death. The seating of Christ at His Father’s right hand following Christ’s ascension (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:33; 5:31; 7:55-56; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12-13; 12:2; I Peter 3:22) is also indicative of the Father’s supreme authority. To be seated at the right hand of a monarch in the ancient world meant that the one thus honored was second in authority. We see this clarified elsewhere in Jesus’ declaration that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22).
If this authority is committed to the Son by the Father, the ultimate authority is in fact the Father’s. In each of the above passages it is the Father who acts through the Son. We never read that the Son acts through the Father.
Reflecting the teaching of the above verses, Ellen White declares—speaking of Christ before His first advent: “The Son of God was next in authority to the great Lawgiver” [##3|Ellen G. White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 9.##]. Elsewhere she writes, “In His incarnation He (Christ) gained in a new sense the title of the Son of God” [##4|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1114.##]. Both these statements reflect the distribution of authority between the Father and the Son, and give evidence that the Sonship of Christ predated His coming to earth—for indeed, if He became His Father’s Son “in a new sense” when becoming man, He had previously been Son of the Father in a different, older sense.
The following statements likewise indicate Jesus’ Sonship and submission to the Father prior to Lucifer’s rebellion:
There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer’s envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning. Many of the angels were, however, blinded by Lucifer’s deceptions [##5|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 38.##].
The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by Himself that Christ, His Son, should be equal with Himself; so that wherever was the presence of His Son, it was as His own presence. The word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. His Son He had invested with authority to command the heavenly host [##6|——Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp. 17-18.##].
There was contention among the angels. Satan and his sympathizers were striving to reform the government of God. They were discontented and unhappy because they could not look into His unsearchable wisdom and ascertain His purposes in exalting His Son Jesus, and endowing Him with such unlimited power and command. They rebelled against the authority of the Son [##7|——Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 19.##].
Never do we read from the inspired pen that the Son invests the Father with authority. It is always the other way around. Indeed, Ellen White is clear that Christ sought permission from His Father to make the sacrifice for the sins of mankind:
Three times He was shut in by the glorious light about the Father, and the third time He came from the Father we could see His person. His countenance was calm, free from all perplexity and trouble, and shown with a loveliness which words cannot describe. He then made known to the angelic choir that a way of escape had been made for lost man; that He had been pleading with His Father, and had obtained permission to give His own life as a ransom for the race [##8|——Early Writings, p. 126.##].
The relationship of the Holy Spirit to Christ offers further evidence of authoritative order within the Godhead. While the Son is subject to the Father, the Spirit is subject to the Son. Just as the Father sends the Son into the world (John 3:16-17; 17:18), so the Son sends the Spirit into the world from the Father (John 14:26; 15:26). The Spirit “shall not speak of Himself” (John 16:13), but of Christ. While the Son’s mission was to reveal and glorify the Father (John 14:9; 17:4), the Spirit is to reveal and glorify the Son (John 15:26; 16:14).
Thus we see from the inspired writings that among the highest Beings in the universe—co-eternal Persons equal in pre-existence, power, importance, and wisdom—an order of authority and diverse responsibility nevertheless exists.
2. Unfallen created beings. A similar order of authority exists among unfallen created beings. While angels were created with a higher nature than humans (Psalm 8:5; Heb. 2:7), the Bible depicts levels of authority and submission within angelic ranks. The divine, eternally pre-existent Son of God is depicted in Scripture as Commander of the angels—Captain of the Lord’s host (Josh. 5:13-15), as well as Michael the Archangel (I Thess. 4:16; Jude 9). But the inspired pen notes an order within the angelic host itself, and among other unfallen beings as well. Scripture hints at such an order when speaking of thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers existing in heaven as well as on earth (Col. 1:16). Different orders of angels are also different physically. Some have two wings, others four (Eze. 1:6). Some have as many as six wings (Isa. 6:2). Some have four faces (Eze. 1:6).
Ellen White speaks in a number of places of the ordered relationship existing among God’s angels. She describes in the following statement the position Lucifer held before his fall:
Lucifer in heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to God’s dear Son [##9|——The Story of Redemption, p. 13.##].
The following statements tell us who in fact replaced Lucifer in this exalted position, following the latter’s expulsion from heaven. Describing our Lord’s agony in Gethsemane, Ellen White observes:
In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God’s presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ’s hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father’s love [##10|——The Desire of Ages, p. 693.##].
Elsewhere, Ellen White identifies who this angel was:
In the supreme crisis, when heart and soul are breaking under the load of sin, Gabriel is sent to strengthen the divine Sufferer, and brace Him to tread His bloodstained path [##11|——The Truth About Angels, p. 195.##].
Describing the buildup to the original war in heaven, Ellen White declares:
The angels were marshaled in companies, each division with a higher commanding angel at their head [##12|——Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 22.##].
We see this order further described in the inspired portrayal of our Lord’s arrest and trial:
There was no joy in heaven. The angels cast their crows and harps from them and with the deepest interest silently watched Jesus. They wished to surround the Son of God, but the commanding angels suffered them not, lest, as they should behold His betrayal, they should deliver Him; for the plan had been laid, and it must be fulfilled [##13|——Early Writings, p. 167.##].
It was difficult for angels to endure the sight. They would have delivered Jesus, but the commanding angels forbade them, saying that it was a great ransom which was to be paid for man; but it would be complete and would cause the death of him who had the power of death [##14|——Early Writings, p. 170.##].
Describing Jesus’ ascension to His Father, Ellen White observes:
There is the throne, and around it the rainbow of promise. There are cherubim and seraphim. The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled. The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused God and His Son, the representatives of those sinless realms over which Satan had thought to establish his dominion—all are there to welcome the Redeemer. They are eager to celebrate His triumph and to glorify their King [##15|——The Desire of Ages, p. 834.##].
Ellen White is equally clear that individual angels have specific assignments and posts of duty to which they are bound by higher order:
Each angel has his own mission, and is at his post, ready to cooperate with you, and by combining divine power with human effort, make of no effect the opposition of foes [##16|——Southern Watchman, Oct. 24, 1899.##].
Most reassuring is the following statement, indicating the rank of those angels responsible for answering the prayers of God’s saints:
The very highest angels in the heavenly courts are appointed to work out the prayers which ascend to God for the advancement of the cause of God. Each angel has his particular post of duty, which he is not permitted to leave for any other place. If he should leave, the powers of darkness would gain an advantage [##17|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1173.##].
Ellen White even hints that the commanding angels she was shown in vision are taller than those they command. Regarding Jesus’ arrest, she writes:
Many companies of holy angels, each with a tall commanding angel at their head, were sent to witness the scene [##18|——Early Writings, p. 168.##]
Depicting history’s final crisis, when God’s people cry for deliverance, we read the same thing:
Soon after they had commenced their earnest cry, the angels, in sympathy, desired to go to their deliverance. But a tall, commanding angel suffered them not. He said, “The will of God is not yet fulfilled. They must drink of the cup. They must be baptized with the baptism” [##19|——Early Writings, p. 272.##].
The Bible hints at a similar order among the other unfallen created beings when it recounts the story of Job, how the “sons of God” assembled for meetings in heaven with Satan in their midst as representative of Earth (Job 1:6-7; 2:1-2)—a position the great adversary held till he was defeated by Christ at Calvary [##20|——The Desire of Ages, p. 761.##].
What is clear from these statements is that even a sin-free environment is in need of order and authority, and that God’s universe—even the Godhead itself—operates along such lines. It was against this order of authority that Lucifer’s rebellion was first directed [##21|——Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 35-40; Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp. 2-23.##].
3. Pre-Fall Eden. When humanity was created in the beginning, an order of authority was stated from the outset. Humanity was to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Gen. 1:26; see also Psalm 8:6-8; Heb. 2:8). An order of authority was likewise established by God within humanity itself.
The apostle Paul describes this order of authority within the human family, and ties it directly to the Godhead itself: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God” (I Cor. 11:3). The distribution of roles within the Godhead must therefore be kept in mind when we read the pronouncement of the Godhead at creation, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). The order of authority within the Godhead is thus in view when we read in the following verse: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (verse 27).
Like the three Members of the Godhead, men and women possess equal value. God loves His daughters as much as He loves His sons. In Ellen White’s words: “In the creation God had made her (Eve) the equal of Adam” [##22|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 58.##]. But the principle of male headship emerges as we study the creation story as well as the record of the Fall. Adam was formed first, from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7; I Tim. 2:13), while Eve was formed later, from a rib in his side (Gen. 2:21-23). Were the roles of the two identical or interchangeable, we might have expected both Adam and Eve to be formed simultaneously from the dust of the ground. But instead, Eve was taken out of Adam (verse 23). The apostle Paul affirms this when he writes: “Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man” (I Cor. 11:9). Ellen White expounds as follows on the significance of Eve being taken from Adam’s side:
Eve was created from a rib taken from the side of Adam, signifying that she was not to control him as the head, nor to be trampled under his feet as an inferior, but to stand by his side as an equal, to be loved and protected by him [##23|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 46.##].
We have seen how, according to the inspired pen, physical height among the angels denotes lower and higher ranks of leadership. We see Adam’s headship role demonstrated in a similar fashion:
Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble—perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful [##24|——Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 25.##].
Adam’s height was much greater than that of men who now inhabit the earth. Eve was somewhat less in stature; yet her form was noble, and full of beauty [##25|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.##].
The fact that she was to be “protected by him” likewise offers evidence of Adam’s headship role. This is equally evident in the one to whom the initial commands are directed in Eden prior to the fall. It is Adam to whom the dressing and keeping of the Garden is committed (Gen. 2:15). It is Adam to whom the task of naming the animals is given (verses 19-20). It is to Adam that permission to eat of every tree but one is granted (verses 16-17). As with the animals, Adam is responsible for naming Eve, both before and after the Fall, signifying yet again his position of authority (Gen. 2:23; 3:20). Based on this Edenic model, it is the man who is to take the initiative in marriage, leaving his parents and cleaving to his wife (Gen. 2:24).
Ellen White affirms the order of authority existing in heaven with the order divinely established on earth, in the following passage:
The relationship existing in the pure family of God in heaven was to exist in the family of God on earth. Under God, Adam was to stand at the head of the earthly family, to maintain the principles of the heavenly family. This would have brought peace and happiness [##26|——Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 236.##].
Similar statements declare Adam’s role as monarch of the world [##27|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 1082; Confrontation, p. 16; The Truth About Angels, p. 58.##], God’s vicegerent [##28|——The Desire of Ages, p. 129.##], and the representative of the human family [##29|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48.##]. Eve was not uninvolved in this rulership, for the inspired pen declares that “while they remained true to God, Adam and his companion were to bear rule over the earth” [##30|——Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 50.##]. Notice the phrase “Adam and his companion,” meaning both had leadership roles but one was first among equals, to be supported by the companion. This can be compared in today’s language to such roles as king and queen, president and vice president, etc. Both are involved in ruling, not as co-rulers, but as first and second rulers. This was to be the pattern for every family, as well as the whole earth. So the picture of “Adam and his companion” ruling the earth reinforces the inspired portrait of Adam’s pre-Fall headship and Eve’s supporting role, as indicated throughout Scripture and the writings of Ellen White.
The fall of humanity was initiated by the reversal of God’s leadership design in Adam’s relationship with his wife. Eve wanders from her husband’s protective care, and is thus vulnerable to the serpent’s guile. It is she who takes the lead in transgression, and subsequently bears the forbidden fruit to her husband (Gen. 3:6; I Tim. 2:14). In Ellen White’s words:
Eve had been the first in transgression; and she had fallen into temptation by separating from her companion, contrary to the divine direction. . . . Eve had been perfectly happy by her husband’s side in her Eden home; but, like restless modern Eves, she was flattered with the hope of entering a higher sphere than that which God had assigned her [##31|——Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 58-59.##].
Adam’s designed headship is further underscored by the fact that Eve is not described as becoming naked when she ate the forbidden fruit; only after she persuaded Adam to eat is this condition declared as resulting for both of them (Gen. 3:6-7). When “Adam and his wife” hid themselves in the trees of the Garden following their sin (Gen. 3:8), it was Adam to whom God called, asking, “Where art thou?” (verse 9). It is clear from the interview which follows that Adam bears the primary responsibility for transgression, for indeed, Adam’s surrender of his leadership responsibility is declared to be the first misstep: “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree . . . “ (verse 17).
This helps us understand why, despite the fact that Eve was in fact the first to transgress, it is Adam—not Eve—who is held responsible for the fall of the race, and who is thus cited as the one through whom sin and death entered the world, thereby making a Savior necessary (Rom. 5:12-19; I Cor. 15:22).
4. The eternal age to come. The subjection of the Son to the Father within the Godhead, reviewed earlier, will continue—according to the New Testament—throughout eternity.
When the disciples James and John asked Jesus to place them on His right and left in the future kingdom of glory, Jesus answered: “To sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father” (Matt. 20:23). The apostle Paul affirms this same reality: “And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (I Cor. 15:28).
It is interesting to note that the same Greek word used in First Corinthians 15:28, denoting the Son’s subjection to the Father, is the word used in such passages as Ephesians 5:22 and Colossians 3:18 denoting the submission of wives to husbands. Again it becomes clear that the principle of male headship established at creation was divinely intended to illustrate relationships within the Godhead, where equal power and wisdom nevertheless exists within a diversity of roles.
In one of her most graphic and glorious end-time depictions, Ellen White describes the meeting of Adam and Christ—the two Adams—following the arrival of the redeemed in heaven in the wake of Christ’s second coming [##32|——The Great Controversy, pp. 647-648.##]. In this grand reunion of humanity’s progenitor with humanity’s Savior, the father of our race is designated once more as the original monarch and head of the human family. It is he who leads the ransomed throng in praise to their divine-human Redeemer [##33|——The Great Controversy, p. 648.##]. Eve is nowhere mentioned.
Just as we have seen how the inspired pen notes physical height among both angels and the original humans as indicative of order and command [##34|——Early Writings, pp. 168,272; Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 25; Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.##], so Ellen White’s narrative of Christ’s second advent offers similar evidence of the Savior’s rank:
Before entering the city, the saints were arranged in a perfect square, with Jesus in the midst. He stood head and shoulders above the saints and above the angels. His majestic form and lovely countenance could be seen by all in the square [##35|——Early Writings, p. 288.##].
The same narrative again notes the rank and order within the angelic host, with its reference to how “the commanding angels first struck the note” as the saints are given their harps of praise [##36|——Early Writings, p. 288.##]. While human beings were originally created “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5; Heb. 2:7), the inspired writings declare how the redeemed, in their glorified state, will be elevated higher than the unfallen angels:
Those who in the strength of Christ overcome the great enemy of God and man, will occupy a position in the heavenly courts above angels who have never fallen [##37|——Sons and Daughters of God, p. 242.##].
There was to be imparted to the human being striving for conformity to the divine image an outlay of heaven’s treasures, an excellency of power, which would place him higher than the angels who had not fallen [##38|——Sons and Daughters of God, p. 243.##].
5. The 144,000. There are those who aren’t comfortable with Last Generation Theology because it draws a distinction between the 144,000 of the book of Revelation and the rest of the saved. Some have even alleged that this distinction creates a “heavenly aristocracy.”
But the theory that the 144,000 of Revelation include the saved of all ages is plainly contradicted by the testimony of Ellen White. Following are some of the clearest statements from her writings on this point:
With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, “having the harps of God,” they stand, the hundred and forty-four thousand that were redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, “the voice of harpers harping with their harps.” And they sing “a new song” before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty-four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song, for it is the song of their experience—an experience such as no other company have ever had. “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as “the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 15:2,3; 14:1-5. “These are they which came out of great tribulation;” they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” “In their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault” before God. “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them” [##39|——The Great Controversy, pp. 648-649 (italics supplied).##].
This was the time of Jacob’s trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God [##40|——Early Writings, p. 37.##].
And as we were about to enter the holy temple, Jesus raised His lovely voice and said, “Only the 144,000 enter this place,” and we shouted “Alleluia!”
This temple was supported by seven pillars, all of transparent gold, set with pearls most glorious. The wonderful things I there saw I cannot describe. Oh, that I could talk in the language of Canaan, then could I tell a little of the glory of the better world. I saw there tables of stone in which the names of the 144,000 were engraved in letters of gold [##41|——Early Writings, p. 19.##].
Another statement about the 144,000 clearly distinguishes the living saints (the 144,000) from the risen saints:
Soon we heard the voice of God, like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake [##42|——Early Writings, p. 15.##].
The next two paragraphs describe the rage of the wicked at the happy, holy state of the living righteous [##43|——Early Writings, p. 15.##], then the appearance of the small black cloud in the east, betokening the approach of Jesus to the earth with all His angels [##44|——Early Writings, pp. 15-16.##]. The subsequent paragraph reads as follows:
Then Jesus’ silver trumpet sounded, as He descended on the cloud, wrapped in flames of fire. He gazed on the graves of the sleeping saints, then raised His eyes and hands to heaven, and cried, “Awake! awake! awake! ye that sleep in the dust, and arise.” Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted, “Alleluia!” as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air [##45|——Early Writings, p. 16.##].
Quite obviously, the 144,000 do not include the resurrected righteous dead, as the former are described as the “living saints” when the voice of God declares the day and hour of Jesus’ coming [##46|——Early Writings, p. 15.##]. The righteous dead are not raised till Jesus subsequently appears in the clouds [##47|——Early Writings, p. 16.##]. The 144,000 are then described as “[recognizing] their friends who had been torn from them by death” [##48|——Early Writings, p. 16.##]. Clearly, the 144,000 are identified as those who do not experience death, as distinct from those saints who are raised from the dead.
Four points, among others, stand out in the above statements concerning the 144,000:
1. They have an experience no other company of believers have ever had, which is why they alone can sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
2. They endure the great time of trouble “such as never was since there was a nation” (Dan. 12:1), including the time of Jacob’s trouble.
3. They stand without an Intercessor, or Mediator.
4. They are translated without ever seeing death.
Conclusion
Despite frequent, even perverse abuse in our sinful world, hierarchy is not inherently evil. The inspired evidence we have surveyed is clear that ranked authority is a reality within the purity of God’s heaven, that it existed in pre-Fall Eden and will exist again in the eternal age to come. Those who reject spiritual male headship and Last Generation Theology because both embrace and anticipate ranked authority in God’s kingdom, must reject the plain testimony of the inspired text on both counts.
REFERENCES
1. Men’s Manual, vol. II (Oak Brook, IL: Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, Inc, 1985), p. 68.
2. Ibid.
3. Ellen G. White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 9.
4. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1114.
5. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 38.
6. ----Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp. 17-18.
7. Ibid, p. 19.
8. ----Early Writings, p. 126.
9. ----The Story of Redemption, p. 13.
10. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 693.
11. ----The Truth About Angels, p. 195.
12. ----Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 22.
13. ----Early Writings, p. 167.
14. Ibid, p. 170.
15. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 834.
16. ----Southern Watchman, Oct. 24, 1899.
17. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1173.
18. ----Early Writings, p. 168.
19. Ibid, p. 272.
20. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 761.
21. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 35-40; Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp. 2-23.
22. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 58.
23. Ibid, p. 46.
24. ----Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 25.
25. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.
26. ----Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 236.
27. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 1082; Confrontation, p. 16; The Truth About Angels, p. 58.
28. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 129.
29. ----Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48.
30. Ibid, p. 50.
31. Ibid, pp. 58-59.
32. ----The Great Controversy, pp. 647-648.
33. Ibid, p. 648.
34. ----Early Writings, pp. 168,272; Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 25; Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 45.
35. ----Early Writings, p. 288.
36. Ibid.
37. ----Sons and Daughters of God, p. 242.
38. Ibid, p. 243.
39. ----The Great Controversy, pp. 648-649 (italics supplied).
40. ----Early Writings, p. 37.
41. Ibid, p. 19.
42. Ibid, p. 15.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid, pp. 15-16.
45. Ibid, p. 16.
46. Ibid, p. 15.
47. Ibid, p. 16.
48. Ibid.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan