Before we consider the passages of Scripture which defines what the Seal of God
represents, I feel it is important, from Scripture, to see what it does not represent.
I will only quote a few selected passages from the writings I was brought up on and
which was responsible for my understanding that the Seal of God was the keeping of the
Seventh-day Sabbath. There are endless similar passages available and sermons beyond
number which "verifies" and enhances this concept.
The seal of God's law is found in the fourth commandment. This only, of
all the ten, brings to view both the name and title of the Lawgiver... Aside from
this precept, there is nothing in the Decalogue to show by whose authority the law is given.
-- G.C. (Great Controversy) pg. 452.
The enemies of God's law, from the ministers down to the least among them,
have a new conception of truth and duty. Too late they see that the Sabbath of
the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. Too late they see the true
nature of their spurious Sabbath and the sandy foundation upon which they have been
building. They find that they have been fighting against God. --
G.C. 640.
This leaves no room for doubt as to the conviction of this writer that The Seal of God
is stated to be the seventh-day Sabbath. Without the fourth commandment one would be
unaware of the credentials and authority of the author of this important document.
I would like to present a very simple but powerful verse of Scripture which completely
negates this hypothesis. Moses, in his speech to the Israelites shortly before they
went into the promised land, reminded them of the importance for them to remember to keep
the ten commandments and how they were received from God about 40 years earlier.
Deut. 5:4-7 (NRSV) -- The Lord spoke with you
face to face at the mountain out of the fire... and he said:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
From verse 8 through 21 Moses recites to them the rest of the ten commandments.
Then in verse 22 he states:
These words the Lord spoke with a loud voice to your whole assembly at the
mountain, out of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, and he added no more.
He wrote them on two stone tablets, and gave them to me.
The seal of any important document listing its author and his authority is almost
always presented prior to the presentation of the document. Occasionally it is
presented at the conclusion, but most unusual if ever in the center of the document; also
where, in this case, the claim is not explicitly stated. Note the first words that
God spoke to them at the introduction to these commandments:
Deut. 5:6 -- I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
What is wrong with this statement as giving the credentials of the author of these
commandments? These words also were written by the finger of God in the original
tablets of stone. Moses states these words, "the Lord spoke with a loud
voice ... and he added no more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to
me."
I believe this statement by God, which is intimately associated with the first
commandment, could be taken as the seal of the ten commandment law. This, however,
doesn't give us the liberty of calling this seal the seal of the living God.
The covenant that God made with Noah after the flood, where He promised never to
destroy the earth by a flood again, He sealed it by His sign of the rainbow, and all would
agree that this sign of the rainbow is God's seal reassuring us of that promise.
This, also, cannot be categorized as the seal of the living God. Fortunately
God leaves us no room to be in doubt as to what The Seal of the living God represents, as
we will see later in our study.
It is important for us to understand that the entire covenant given at Sinai to the
Israelites was God's plan, in symbols, of His plan of Salvation which would be offered to
the whole world at the coming of Christ. All these animal sacrifices, sacred feast
days including the Sabbath, Passover and Day of Atonement, etc., were only shadows of the
much more important reality which was to come, and that reality was Christ.
Col. 2:16,17 -- Therefore do not let anyone judge you
by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival (Passover, etc.) a
new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things which were
to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The Sabbath day was an important symbol -- a shadow of a thing which was to
come. The shadow (Sabbath) with its weekly rest was pointing forward to Christ the
Creator of the Sabbath. The Sabbath rest in the symbol, which was given only to the
Israelites, was pointing forward to Christ who would offer His rest to all who would
believe in Him and commit their lives to Him.
This rest, God's rest, was the rest that Christ entered into following His finished
work of salvation at the cross. All born again Christians are invited by Him to join
Him in that rest. This rest represents a complete rest from our works to achieve
salvation. That has already been achieved by Christ and offered to those who
believe, as a free gift.
Heb. 4:6,7 -- It still remains that some will enter that rest,
and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their
disobedience.
(These were the unbelieving Jews who heard the gospel preached by Christ but did
not enter this rest that Christ offered. The weekly Sabbath rest they entered into
religiously.)
Therefore God again set a certain day,
calling it Today.
Vss 9,10 --
There remains then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's
rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
Heb. 3:12,13 -- See to it, brothers, that none of you
has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage
one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be
hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
This rest that Christ offers the born again Christian is a continuous rest in Him from
His completed work for our salvation. The seventh-day rest in the shadow now becomes
the continuous rest in Christ; today and every day as long as it is called Today. We
now receive our salvation by faith as a promise by Christ to all those who believe.
Christ places the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee that our inheritance is
assured. This is the seal of the Living God. He takes charge of our
lives and guides us in our every day walk with Christ.
We receive our inheritance when Christ marks us with His own name and welcomes us into
the heavenly family at His Coming.
2 Cor. 1:21,22 -- Now it is God who makes both us and
you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put
his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
This little band of Israelites were also symbolic of that immense band, the inhabitants
of the earth, which would be called out of slavery to sin, following the crucifixion of
Christ. This would apply to everyone who accepted Christ as their Savior and
committed their lives to Him.
Eph. 2:14-16 -- For he himself is our peace, who has made the
two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in
his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to
God through the cross by which he put to death their hostility.
It is important to see that the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and
the entire Sinaitic Covenant, which was their road map to God's plan of salvation, was
symbolic of the real event which was to take place at the cross. The lesson study as
presented by the shadow had come to an end and everything it had been pointing forward to
became reality in Christ.
Now with this in mind notice the words of Moses to the Israelites following his
reciting to them the ten commandments which we have just read.
Deut. 6:5-8 -- Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be
upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit
at home and when you walk along the road...
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them
on your foreheads.
This contemplation of their love for God and His perfect set of rules to regulate their
conduct was pointing them forward to when they would see the Author of those commandments
in person. Before they would meet this God they were to love with all their heart,
soul and strength, they were symbolically to tie them on their hands and bind them on
their foreheads. This was to give evidence that they were in harmony with carrying
out these instructions. It was a sign that they were loyal to the God who gave them
these commandments.
It is fundamental for us to see that the Sinaitic Covenant with all its commandments,
feast days, and regulations all came to an end at the cross. Many refuse to see that
this includes the ten commandments, but note the following:
2 Cor. 3:6-11 -- He has made us competent as
ministers of a New Covenant -- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was
engraved in letters on stone, (10 commandments for sure) came with glory, so that the
Israelites could not look steadily on the face of Moses because of its glory, fading
though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry
that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings
righteousness!...
And if what was fading away came with glory, how
much greater is the glory of that which lasts?
This sets in cement that the ten commandment law came to an end, as law, and was
replaced by the ministry of the Spirit; the ministry that brings righteousness, a ministry
that Christ states is indispensable.
John 3:5 -- Jesus answered, (to Nicodemus) "I tell you the
truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and of the Spirit.
After the cross, by faith we accept Christ as our Savior, commit our lives to Him and
He accepts us as a child of His. But before this:
Ga1. 3:23-25 -- Before this faith came, we were
held prisoners by the law; locked up until faith should be revealed.
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ
that we might be justified by faith.
Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the
supervision of the law.
Vss. 26,27 -- You are all
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Now that faith has come we repent of our sins and are baptized into Christ. Then
we are clothed with Christ. Christ is dwelling in us by way of His personal
representative -- the Holy Spirit. This is the ministry of the Spirit who has
replaced the ministry engraved on stone -- the ministry of righteousness that has
replaced the ministry of death. The ministry that is everlasting for the ministry
that was fading away.
The Holy Spirit is to represent Christ in our lives and to direct us in His
paths. The ten commandments become the basic principles in our lives to live by, but
they are no longer law.
Gal. 5:18 -- But if you are led by the Spirit,
you are not under law.
Peter, in his discussion to the Israelites after the crucifixion, tells why Christ will
be represented by the Holy Spirit until He returns from heaven:
Acts 3:19-21 -- Repent, then, and turn to God, so
that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that
he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you -- even Jesus.
He must remain in heaven until the time
comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
The Holy Spirit will continue to represent Christ in all who through faith have
committed their lives to Christ. This will continue until the time comes for God to
restore everything as He promised long ago through His holy prophets. When you read
the prophetic books of the Old Testament, they are filled with the promises of God to
restore the land of Israel to the Israelites. This now will also include all Gentile
Christians who are in Christ. It is at that time that Christ returns from heaven for
His Second Coming.
Notice how Paul describes the function of the Holy Spirit in our lives and how long
this program is to be in effect:
Eph. 1 :13,14 -- Having believed, you were
marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise
of his glory.
This informs us that a "Born Again Christian" is marked with God's seal,
which is the Holy Spirit. Only those "in Him" (Christ) will be marked with
this seal. It is a deposit guaranteeing the real mark that will be given by Christ
at His Coming.
Paul states here that the Holy Spirit is a deposit, or guarantee, of our inheritance until
the redemption of those who are God's possession.
I want to show from Scripture why this is referring to the 144,000. Remember that
the 144,000 are the first fruits of earth's harvest just prior to Christ's Coming, and as
the first fruits they are Christ's personal possession. They are His slaves and
follow Christ throughout eternity.
Remember in Revelation 5, the presenting of the scroll with the seven seals in God's
right hand, and no one in heaven or earth was found to be worthy to remove the
seals? Christ was then found to be worthy and why:
Rev. 5:9,10 -- You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for
God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to
serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.
These are Christ's possession, they have been purchased by His blood and they will
reign on the earth. These are definitely referring to the 144,000 who will reign
with Christ on the earth after Christ's Second Coming.
Rev. 14:1-5 -- Then I looked, and there before me was
the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's
name written on their foreheads...
And they sang a new song before the throne and
before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except
the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth...
They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were
purchased from among men and offered as first fruits to God and the Lamb.
Note that when John saw this group in heaven they had Christ's name and His Father's
name on their forehead. This is the "mark" that we have been promised, and
until we get that mark we will have the Seal of God -- the Holy Spirit directing
our lives.
The 144,000 receive this mark first because they are God's first fruits. As first
fruits they are offered to God -- symbolized by the wave offering in the Old
Covenant festival, and then given to the high priest who was a representative of
Christ. This offering, then, was to belong only to the high priest.
I believe the 144,000 received this mark which labeled them as Christ's possession when
they were selected and sealed prior to their 1260 days of witnessing.
Rev. 7:2-4 -- Then I saw another angel coming up
from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to
the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
"Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees
until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
Then I heard the number of those who were sealed:
144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
Every born again Christian receives the Holy Spirit as deposit guaranteeing his
inheritance. These specially selected servants of Christ now receive what the
deposit was guaranteeing -- to become the personal property of Christ for eternity.
For the 1260 days following this selection and sealing they witness for Christ by way
of the Word of God (Everlasting Gospel) and the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of
Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev.19:10) These servants are in daily communication with
Christ as mediated through the Holy Spirit with whom they have been filled -- they
are prophets.
Now let us see where they have been redeemed from the earth. Moses and Elijah are
the two prophets who were prototypes of these 144,000 prophets. See my booklet on
the 144,000 for Scriptural proof.
Rev. 11:7-12 -- Now when they have finished
their testimony, the beast from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them...
For three and a half days men from every people,
tribe, language, and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial...
But after the three and a half days a breath of
life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw
them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to
them, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their
enemies looked on.
No question about it, the witnesses for Christ who have finished their 1260 days of
prophesying are redeemed to heaven following their martyrdom.
Immediately after their rapture to heaven in a cloud the seventh angel sounds his
trumpet which announces Christ's reign to begin on this earth.
Rev. 11:15 -- The seventh angel sounded his
trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said.
"The kingdom of the world has become the
kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.
Another item announced by the seventh trumpet is the seven last plagues.
Vss. 16-18 -- "We give thanks to you, Lord God
Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have
begun to reign. The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The wrath of God is not completed until the seven last plagues have ended.
Rev. 15:1 -- I saw in heaven another great and
marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues -- last, because with them God's
wrath is completed.
We can see from the above texts that the 144,000 have been redeemed from the earth and
are in heaven during the pouring out of the seven last plagues.
Immediately following the seventh plague Christ comes in His glory. His first
stop is at Jerusalem where the remnant Israelites from the Land of Israel have been
trampled and brutalized for the preceding three and a half years by forces of this One
World Order. They are now surrounding Jerusalem with the intent of removing them
(the Israelites) from the face of the earth.
I believe that the 144,00 come with Christ when he returns to battle with this
multinational Conglomerate with their ten kings with each his army and led by the
Antichrist -- Satan personified as a man.
Rev. 16:16,17 -- Then they gathered the kings
together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured
out his bowl into the air, (the seventh and last plague) and out of the temple came
a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done."
Rev. 17:12-14 -- The ten horns you saw are ten kings
who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings
along with the beast.
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb
will overcome them (Battle of Armageddon) because he is Lord of lords and King of
Kings -- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.
What a wonderful description of the 144,000. They have been personally selected
by Christ and sealed by Him by having His name and His Father's name on their forehead and
they will follow Him throughout eternity as His personal possession.
I believe we have one more glimpse of this group from Isaiah. This is speaking of
the different backgrounds of those composing the redeemed in the Holy Land after the
Second Coming.
Isa. 44:1-5 -- "but now listen, 0 Jacob, My
servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says -- "...
"For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing
on your descendants.
They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like
poplar trees by flowing streams.
One will say, 'I belong to the Lord;' (sounds like a
Gentile Christian) Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; (obviously
a literal Israelite) Still another will write on his hand, 'The Lord's,' and will
take the name of Israel."
This last group is speaking of the 144,000. He writes on hand "The
Lord's." He is Christ's personal property. He already has Christ's name
and His Father's name on his forehead.
"And will take the name of Israel." He will be selected by God
to take the 12,000 places to represent each of the twelve tribes of
Israel. He will take the name of Israel in place of the literal Israelites who were
scheduled for this honor but were rejected because of their rebellion. If this
represented literal Israelites, they wouldn't need to take the name of Israel as they
already had it.
I believe we now have the material to understand, in context what the Seal of God
represents in His people. When anyone turns to God, repents of his sins and is
baptized into Christ he becomes a born again Christian. Christ dwells within him
initially through the agency of the Holy Spirit -- The Seal of God -- who
acts as a deposit or guarantee until our inheritance when Christ claims us as His own by
writing His name and His Father's name in our foreheads. In addition, the 144,000,
the first fruits of the harvest, will write on their hands "The Lord's."
Now we can see the shadow expressed in symbols by the instructions given to the
children of Israel to show they were loyal followers of the author of the ten commandments
by tying them as symbols on their hands and binding them on their foreheads. (Deut.
6:5-8)
The reality is represented in the 144,000 who, as the first fruits, receive their
inheritance -- Christ's personal property stamped by His name on their foreheads
which the Holy Spirit had guaranteed.
Immediately following the selection and sealing of the 144,000 by Christ's name on
their foreheads, the Great Tribulation begins with the onset of the reign of the
Antichrist -- Satan personified as a man. The 144,000 witness for Christ
during this 1260 day period. They are revealing Christ through the Word of God (The
Everlasting Gospel) and the Testimony of Jesus. Remember that they are the personal
property of Christ and will be in constant communication with Christ through the mediation
of the Holy Spirit; -- they are prophets.
To counteract this strong testimony of the 144,000, the Antichrist, the counterfeit,
will produce a counterfeit of the 144,000. Remember, he claims to be above every
God. He is the lamb-like beast, a counterfeit of the Lamb. He makes every
follower of the beast to have his personal mark identifying them to be a true loyal
believer that he is God. It will be no surprise that this mark of the counterfeit
will be on the forehead and on the hand.
Rev. 13:16,17 -- He also forced everyone, small
and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his
forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of
the beast or the number of his name.
This mark of the beast is the name of the beast on the forehead and hand. It is
the beast's counterfeit of the 144,000. God is selective and selects His subjects to
receive this honor while the counterfeit requires total allegiance by every inhabitant of
the earth.
The actual mark of the Antichrist we know will be his name. We have not been told
what that name will be. We know it will be associated with his number which we have
been given and is 666. By this number we will recognize, by comparing his name as
imposed on his subjects with this identifying number, exactly who we will be dealing with.
This is not a Saturday vs. Sunday stand-off, but a choice the entire world will be
required to make between the Lamb and the lamb-like beast. All the earth's
inhabitants will pledge allegiance to the lamb-like beast and receive his mark, except
those whose names are in the book of life. This will apply to all born again
Christians.
The 144,000 will have the Mark of God -- Christ's name and His Father's name on
their foreheads and "The Lord's" written on their hands.
Christ has written His name and His Father's name on their foreheads. This is to
signify that they have been chosen as Christ's possession, His personal property, His
personal slave to serve Him. The one so selected writes on his hand "The
Lord's" to signify that he accepts this generous offer and pledges his allegiance to
Christ to become His willing slave.
The rest of the believers in Christ will have the invisible Seal of God -- the
Holy Spirit indwelling as the guarantee of the inheritance. They, too, will receive
this inheritance when Christ places His name on their foreheads and welcomes them into the
heavenly family, to live in His presence throughout eternity. This is the
inheritance that had been guaranteed by the deposit that Christ had initially given to all
true believers in Him -- The Holy Spirit -- The seal of the Living God.
It is impossible not to see how important it is for each one us to receive the mark
that Christ gives to each of His followers. For those who receive the mark of the
beast, the rewards will be temporary as to their benefits, but their loss will be
everlasting separation from God. In contrast, those who receive the mark of God will
receive everlasting life in God's presence.