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Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Revelation 7:2-3
Have you ever signed your name on an official document (like a contract)? I’m sure you have if you’ve ever applied for a loan application, banking documents, or some other important slip of paper. When we sign our names on those types of documents, it’s different from autographing a friend’s high school yearbook or some photo. When we sign our names, we are certifying that we will abide by and keep whatever terms we’re agreeing to.
In the past, people would have a seal or stamp with their name, family name, or coat-of-arms, and would seal letters and important documents in wax.
(Google images)
Even today, you might find wedding invitations closed with a wax seal over it. In other areas of the world, like in Korea or Japan for example, people still use a stamp with their name or family name for official documents.
(Google images)
If you look closely at these stamps or seals, they aren’t just a flat surface. They have been engraved with whatever character the client wanted. They began as flat pieces of wax or metal, and then were cut and shaved down to the desired look.
You may be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with the Bible? Why are we reading about stamps and seals?” Well, it’s extremely important to understand because God talks about His people who are sealed.
God’s Name = God’s Seal
God goes by many names in the Bible: Jehovah, Yahweh, LORD, Father, etc., and these are all true. God is all those things, but we must remember that God is the Word first.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
Have you ever realized that? When we are reading God’s Word, we are coming before God. When God gives His Word to someone, like Jesus for example, that person receives God’s seal.
“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
John 6:27
Jesus, the Son of Man, is the one who gives us the “food of eternal life” – meaning God’s Word (John 6:63). In John 1:1 it says God is the Word. Matthew 3, when Jesus was baptized, he received God’s spirit, and if God is the Word, then Jesus also received God’s Word. In John 17:8, Jesus says he gave them (his disciples) the word God gave him. In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist speaks of Jesus testifying what he’s seen and heard, and when we believe Jesus’s words, we are saying God is true. We are spiritually signing our names on the line – saying we believe in God and in the one He sent.
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
John 3:31-33
Receiving God’s word is also receiving God’s name. In Revelation 7, we read about those who are sealed with God’s name on their foreheads. Does God physically stamp His name on their foreheads? No. Revelation is a prophecy and thus written in figurative language. So, what does it mean?
Well, if we look at the first coming, Jesus who received God’s Word, testified to it, and gave it to his disciples. Jesus spiritually “stamped” God’s Word, God’s name, on their hearts and minds. They received salvation because they had God’s word and believed in the one God sent.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
John 17:3
What does that mean for us today?
Jesus made a new covenant with believers (i.e., Christians today) in his blood on the night of Passover.
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Luke 22:14-20
What is that “new covenant”? In the Bible, God makes a covenant with His chosen people.
You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant
Psalms 89:3
A covenant is like an agreement we make with God. God promises to be with His people and will make them a holy nation (bless them) if they keep His commands (Exodus 19:5-6). Unfortunately, the chosen people of the past, the Israelites, couldn’t keep God’s covenant.
As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.
Hosea 6:7
So, God promised to make a new one (Jeremiah 31:31). But would God make a new promise with the people who kept breaking their promises with God? Would you make a new promise with someone who would keep breaking it? At the time of the first coming, Jesus came and fulfilled that prophecy. That new covenant is God’s Word we must write on our hearts and minds today as Christians.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”Hebrews 8:10-12
While the author of Hebrews is quoting from Jeremiah 31 in the Old Testament, we are not living in the times of the Old Testament. We are living in the time of the New Testament. So, in this passage, God isn’t talking about the physical Judah and Jerusalem, but a new group of people who become God’s new chosen people through the word given by Jesus. Jesus prophesied to send a messenger in his name at the time of the second coming, and would explain the parables plainly (John 16:25, Revelation 22:16). This messenger brings Jesus’s word at that time and seals God’s people once again.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.”
John 16:25
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Revelation 22:16
This messenger appears and does the work of sealing God’s people, but where is this messenger and the people? According to Revelation 14, they’re on Mount Zion – but it’s not a physical mountain. If we apply our spiritual “ears”, we should understand a “mountain” in the Bible is a gathering of God’s people in one place (1 Cor. 3:9-> “you”= “God’s field (dirt)”, many people together (lots of “dirt”) = spiritual mountain).
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Revelation 14:1
These 144,000 who are sealed in Revelation 7 are those who have written God’s Word on their hearts and minds. They’re not the only ones who receive salvation, mind you. (Click here to read more about those who receive salvation) Revelation 7:14 also talks about the great white multitude who wash their robes (hearts) in the blood of the Lamb (Jesus’s words) and are freed from sin. They also receive salvation.
We must also remember that the devil also has his seal.
Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
Revelation 13:16
If God’s seal is God’s word, then the devil’s seal must be the devil’s word. What do you think the devil’s words sound like? Are they some demonic chanting or bizarre things often seen in horror movies? Are they the gibberish people would claim to hear if they played some rock record backwards? Let’s look to the Bible:
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So, it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15
The devil is a copycat. He was once an angel God created, but then fell away. He betrayed God and then stole God’s creation from Him. Whatever God has created the devil mimics. The devil’s words aren’t some obvious messages like “I AM SATAN, WORSHIP ME!” but much more subtle. Even in Genesis 3, when he deceived Adam and Eve, the devil made his words sound like God’s, and Adam and Eve fell for his trap. There are plenty of preachers and pastors out there who twist God’s Word and misleading believers. Those false teachings about God’s Word are the devil’s words.
So, do you know if you’ve been sealed with God’s Word or the devil’s words? If you don’t know, then what should you do? It’s important to be sealed with the true word of God so we can receive salvation. We can become sealed through studying God’s Word. I hope and pray you can have the heart and mind to be sealed and receive salvation.
Written by Kenny
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