We are glad to do so. The following is a very brief summary and only relates, in passing, a few pieces of the Biblical, historical or archeological evidence, to raise interest and curiosity:

The ancient tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, is dominant in the United States of America. Ephraim, another son of Joseph, basically constitutes the English-speaking, Anglo-Saxon member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly known as the British Commonwealth). This includes modern countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, as well as part of South Africa. There are actually many proofs which establish these facts. We read in the Bible that a descendant of the house of David would always rule over the house of Israel, throughout all generations, until the return of Jesus Christ (who will then, as a descendant of David, rule over the house of Israel forever). In Ireland, tradition marks the arrival in the first half of the sixth century B.C. of a small group of people led by a white-haired prophet, known as Ollamh Fodhla. Irish tradition identifies this man as the prophet Jeremiah. The traditional belief of the kings of Scotland and England is that the house of David was transferred, through Jeremiah, to northwestern Europe from Palestine. When Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah brought with him the daughter of the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, who then became queen of Ireland. Today, the throne of David can be found in England.

Much has been speculated as to the identity of the 144,000. However, if we let the Bible speak for itself, the answer becomes rather obvious.

Let us begin our analysis by quoting from a letter of the Worldwide Church of God, dated November 1987:

“In verse 1 [of Revelation 7] we find that the Day of the Lord — the time of terrible plagues — is to be delayed temporarily UNTIL the servants of God have been sealed. According to the sequence of prophesied events, this sealing is yet IN THE FUTURE. It will occur AFTER THE COMING GREAT TRIBULATION AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE HEAVENLY SIGNS, but just BEFORE THE PLAGUES of God’s judgments are poured out.

“Next, notice Jesus’ own explanation of the 144,000. They are 144,000 of the TRIBES OF ISRAEL, 12,000 of each tribe. The tribe of Dan is not mentioned — perhaps because they went to idolatry anciently, and will thus have to WAIT for God’s salvation (Gen. 49:1, 18). The 144,000 are to be given SPECIAL PROTECTION DURING THE DAY OF THE LORD.

The term “key of David” is only mentioned once in the New Testament, in Revelation 3:7, and a deviation of the term, i.e., “key of the house of David,” is only mentioned once in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 22:22.

Before analyzing the meaning of the phrase, “key of David,” or, “key of the house of David,” let us review Scriptures first which use the term, “key.” In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “key” (in the phrase, “key of the house of David”), is “maphteach” It is defined by Young’s Analytical Concordance of the Bible, as, “key, opener” or “opening.” In addition to Isaiah 22:22, the word is only used two more times, in Judges 3:25, and in 1 Chronicles 9:27. In both cases, the word describes a literal key that opens a literal door to a literal building or room.

Matthew 24:44 reads, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Although this passage clearly tells us that we do not know the exact time of Christ’s return, many have engaged in vain attempts to “calculate” the day or month or year of Christ’s return. They have justified this by saying that Christ was only talking about “the hour” of His coming, but not the “day” or the “month” or the “year.” However, this is NOT what Christ was saying. Please notice that a prophetic “hour” may include a longer time span than just 60 minutes. Revelation 17:12 tells us that ten European leaders will rule with a political leader, “the beast,” for “one hour.” Daniel 7:25 SEEMS to indicate that, in that case, the term “one hour” could mean “three-and-a-half years.”

In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Christ three questions: “‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the SIGN of Your coming, and of the end of the age?'”

Christ had just spoken about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (vv. 1-2). The disciples wanted to know more about the destruction of the temple, erroneously believing that that event would coincide with Christ’s return. As it turned out, the temple was destroyed in 70A.D., but Christ would not return for many years. Christ explained to them that there would have to occur first numerous significant events, before He would return.

In Mark 13:4, the disciples are quoted as asking, “‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the SIGN when all these things will be fulfilled?'”