Hi Joel,
This is a very good example of the bible using what we call "paradigms".
The bible refers to this special 7000 as being a holy "remnant" at
Romans 11:5. That particular 7000 individuals that Jehovah said was faithful to him became a
paradigm or picture of the faithful ones who refused to participate in false worship of the Watchtower Society and refused to get the mark of the beast. Revelation 13:16,17 When the Watchtower Society decides to get on the back of the beast, this special group will refuse to get on the back of the beast.
By getting on the back of the beast, the Watchtower Society will willingly receive the mark of the beast along with a 2/3 majority of Jehovah's Witnesses. Zechariah 13:8,9; Revelation 17:3-5
For more details on this topic, please see this link:
www.yorww.com/babylon.html
work4jah