part 33: The Sealed Servants of the Living God
Puzzled About Revelation, july 28 2022
“History is prophesy of the end of the age.”
main text: revelation 7:1-4
recap:
This is the third message in Revelation chapter 7.
In part one examined the mystery and the message of chapter seven. I believe that there is a great mystery that we need to understand, especially the 144,000. It is so important to spend some time untangling the false teachings and get a good, solid biblical foundation on the mystery of the 144,000 and the mystery of Israel. Mystery, meaning something that was concealed in the Old Testament, partially revealed in the New Testament, and that will be fully revealed in the last days, in conjunction with the timing of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In part two, we looked at the mystery of the four winds, especially in regard to in many references from the Old Testament prophets regarding the scattering and the gathering of God’s people.
tonight:
In tonight’s message, we are going to see a group of people being sealed or marked by God for a purpose. We will be looking at the who, what, where, when and why of the seal/mark.
Rev. 7:1-4: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2 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: 3 “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.”
WHO are sealed? “The servants of our God,” and “144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.”
Servant is the term that John uses of himself in Revelation chapter one, and John also says that Revelation is given to God’s servants. As we read through the book of Revelation, we can see that the word servant is synonymous with the word, saint. So this suggests that it is the saints who are sealed. Then verse four trips us up because we are told that those who are sealed are the 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. We will discuss this in more detail next week.
WHERE are they sealed? On their foreheads.
We will examine why this location is so significant in biblical history and in biblical prophesy. It also the same location that the mark of the beast will be placed, which I believe is a counterfeit to the true “mark” or seal of God in the forehead or in the hand.
Rev. 13:16-17-14:1: “It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark in their right hands or in their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 1 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.”
The mark contains the name and the number. This is significant because the seal of God also has a name and a number attached to it.
There are two “camps” - those who have taken the name and number of the beast, and those who have been sealed with the name and number of God. There will be no middle ground in the last days. People are choosing whom they serve, and are marked accordingly.
WHEN are they sealed? Before the Judgments and plagues of God, and before Antichrist's Great Persecution in the Great Tribulation.
WHY are they sealed? They are sealed in order to have Divine protection from the plagues of God and divine power to be martyr-witnesses of the Gospel to all nations.
As in the book of Exodus, the servants of God are sealed from the plagues of God.
WHAT is the seal of the living God? We will explore this in detail tonight.
I. The Seal of the Living God:
The root word “to seal” (v.) in the Greek is sphragis = “to seal up, to put a mark or seal on an object to show possession, authority, identity, or security.”[1] Sealing carries with it the two concepts of (1) POSSESSION (ownership, identity, authority) and (2) PROTECTION (security)
Whatever is sealed is protected from damage or harm, and only the one who has authority to open the seal can break it. We have seen this previously with Daniel’s sealed scroll (Dan. 12:4) and the seven-sealed scroll (Rev. 5:1-5,9).
The SEAL OF GOD seems to be the TRUE SEAL in relation to the COUNTERFEIT—the MARK OF THE BEAST.
Rev. 14:9-10,12: “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark in their forehead or in their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury…12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who keep God’s commands and remain faithful to Jesus.”
The Seal of God also seems to be related to the NAME of GOD and the CITY of GOD
Rev. 3:12: “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem…and I will also write on them my new name.”
Rev. 22:3-4: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
II. Old Testament Seals:
The root word “to seal” in Hebrew is chatam = “to place a seal, as with a signet ring.”[2] It is often used in relation to the biblical idea of a “SIGN” (Heb. owt) that SIGNIFIES or represents something else in a prophetic sense.
The Sealing of Cain: “But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark (sign) on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.” (Gen. 4:15)
The Sealing of the Devil: “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.” (Rev. 20:1-3)
The Seal of Noah: “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Gen. 9:13)
The Seal of Abraham: “You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.” (Gen. 17:11)
“And (Abraham) received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.” (Rom. 4:11)
The Exodus: “There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” (Ex. 11:6-7)
The Seal of the Blood: “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Ex. 12:12-13)
The Seal of the Bread: “For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a feast to the Lord…9 This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” (Ex. 3:6,9)
The Seal of the Firstborn Son: “When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”” (Ex. 13:15-16)
The Seal of the Sabbath: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” (Ex. 31:16-17)
The Seal of the Sons of Israel: “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.” (Ex. 28:9-12)
The Seal of the High Priest: “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.” (Ex. 28:36-38)
III. The Sealed Servants of God:
Ezekiel prophesied during the Babylonian Exile. The scattering of God’s people during this time period is prophetic of what will happen in the final “mystery Babylon” when God’s people will be scattered once again before the great day of the Lord and our being “gathered” to Him.
Ezekiel 9 follows chapters where Ezekiel had been prophesying about the siege of Jerusalem. In fact, there were multiple sieges and multiple exiles. God said that He would bring four plagues against His people: sword, famine, plague and wild beasts (serpents). These correspond to the first four seals in Revelation. History is prophesy of the end of the age.
Ezekiel 8:3: “He… took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.” There was an abomination (idol) in the temple
Ezekiel chapter 8 goes on to describe many detestable things that the people were doing to provoke God. Finally, God says in Ezekiel 8:18, “Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.”
Ezekiel 9:3-6: “Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side 4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.”
Judgment begins with the household of God! (1 Peter 4:17)
IV. The New Covenant Seal of the Holy Spirit:
John 6:27: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
2 Cor. 1:20-22: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
2 Cor. 5:5: “Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit (seal), guaranteeing what is to come.”
Jesus was sealed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism. He was given an identity, “This is my Son…” and protected Him as he went, immediately after His baptism, to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit and the word of God that He overcame the devil.
V. Sealed Unto the Day of Redemption:
Ephesians 1:11-14: “ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Paul says that when you believed, at that very moment, you were marked with a seal. That seal is the Holy Spirit, which marks you as belonging to God. You are one of His sheep - just as a shepherd marks his sheep - God marked you as belonging to Jesus, Holy to the Lord. That is your IDENTITY. That seal is a guarantee of God’s promised inheritance. What did God promise Abraham? Descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and that he would inherit the land. And how could Abraham do that if he was dead? That implies also a resurrection of Abraham’s body so that he could inherit the promises of God.
This is what Paul means when he says that we are sealed until the redemption. This is a connection to the Day of the Lord, when we will receive our resurrected bodies. Until then, believers are sealed.
The Sealing of Jesus’ Body: “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” (Matt.27:62-66)
When was the seal on the stone broken? Resurrection Sunday! The day of the redemption of our Lord’s body.
Rev. 9:4-6: “They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.”
In Ezekiel 9: 4, those who grieved over the sins of Israel were marked with a “tav”, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In ancient Hebrew, the tav was shaped like two sticks forming a CROSS—God said He would literally mark His people with a cross!
Mal. 3:14-18: “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. 17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30)
Conclusion:
Whom do you serve? “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”
[1] Strong’s NIV Exhaustive Concordance
[2] Ibid.