In reality I think this quotation by EGW is the key to understand this question.

" Those who were resurrected were of different stature and form....Some of those raised were more noble in appearance and form than others. I was informed that those who lived in the days of Noah and Abraham were more like the angels in form, in comeliness and strength."

With this in mind I see no reason why the 24 elders should not be those who were resurrected with Christ, and since some of them looked like angels, there is no discrepancy by EGW also using the term "angel" for the one who comforted John.

My conclusion is therefore still that at least some of the 24 elders were resurrected at the time of the resurrection of Christ.

I always thought the 24 Elders were the the resurrected/translated redeemed, which could include Enoch, Elijah, and Moses.

This is also what I meant to say.

That's what Stephen Haskell and pretty much all the other Adventist pioneers taught. -- the 24 elders were from the group resurrected with Christ who ascended to heaven with Him.

Haskell wrote:

"The Levitical priesthood was divided into twenty-four courses. 3 Each course had its chief or governor of the sanctuary. 4 This continued down to the time of Christ. 6 When the Saviour ascended to heaven, He led a multitude of captives; and when John in vision was shown the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, with its seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God, he saw four and twenty elders seated upon four and twenty seats, and they worshiped the Lamb, saying, "Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests." In this we see the antitype of the twenty-four courses of priests. The chiefs, or elders, of each course have seats of honor, and they are kings and priests after the order of Melchizedek. The remainder of the multitude Christ took into heaven are not mentioned, but it is reasonable to suppose that they constitute the courses of which the four and twenty elders are the chiefs. {1914 SNH, CIS 80.1}

Notice also, 1a2) of one who has strength of soul to sustain the attacks of Satan, strong and therefore exhibiting many excellences

I believe you made a conclusion not supported by the facts.

The statement we have is, "those who lived in the days of Noah and Abraham were more like the angels in form, in comeliness and strength."

Some of the righteous, who lived in the days of Noah and Abraham, happened to be resurrected when Jesus rose. The statement does not imply that the act of resurrection caused them to look more like the angels in form, but that they had lived in the days of Noah and Abraham.

There are other statements says that Adam was created just a little lower than the angels, and that at the second coming, differences are seen through the ages from Adam downwards to present day man. If Adam, and others during Noah and Abraham's day were created more like the angels in form, it would follow that others of the righteous unfallen worlds would also resemble angels in form.

Thanks for the link. I concede it does appear that he just inserted the part about the angels while other parts seemed to oppose it. I kept waiting for him to tie it all together. I only got 13 pages so don't know if there's more. It seemed to suddenly end and I was left hanging. It comes across as someone pointed something out to him, he found a place to insert it, and never bothered fit it in with everything else. It kind of reminded me of the 1850 chart where someone said, oops, made a correction, but failed to ensure everything added up correctly.


But he did give one quote which was interesting from The Desire of Ages, pp. 833-835.

"There are cherubim and seraphim [Revelation 4:6-8]. The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, the representatives of the unfallen worlds [Revelation 4:4], are assembled.
...
The angel host prostrate themselves before Him,"

So we have
cherubim and seraphim
angel hosts
sons of God
representatives of the unfallen worlds

But only the angel host prostrate themselves?

I'm thinking she may at times use angel hosts as a general term for those in heaven which would include cherubim and seraphim, sons of God, and representatives of the unfallen worlds.

"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."

So who are the representatives of those sinless realms?

Do those who were resurrected with Jesus and went to heaven, along with Moses, Elijah, and Enoch, just disappear in the great throng?

Scripture does tell us of other worlds, but the theme throughout is the dealings of the Great Controversy and the connection between the Creator and his fallen created beings on this earth.

Our pioneers understood Rev. 5 as an event in connection with Jesus Christ as the Savior of this world, and who would be better witnesses than the elders who had lived on the earth and had been redeemed and taken to heaven as first fruits of the great atonement?

Of course the modern liberals have to change as much as possible of the understandings we have inherited from our pioneers, and if they can find an excuse for changing our old understanding by applying their understanding of what Ellen White says, then they manage to make their liberal interpretations sound orthodox and conservative.

Am I too old fashioned to stand by the Scriptural interpretation we were taught more than 50 years ago?

The statement we have is, "those who lived in the days of Noah and Abraham were more like the angels in form, in comeliness and strength."

Are you talking about something else?

To me that statement strengthens the view we have had through the pst century.