Monday - June 17, 2024
Sealed for Heaven - Sealed on the Foreheads
Revelation 14:12; Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 8:16; Exodus 20:8-11; Romans 4:11; Ezekiel 20:12; Ezekiel 20:20; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 7:1-2; Revelation 14:1; Revelation 13:16-17.
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1)
Every Soul is Precious in His Sight, Sealed by the Lord of Heaven and Earth
The path is so narrow, so holy, that sin cannot be tolerated therein, yet access to the path has been made for all, and not one desponding, doubting, trembling soul needs to say, “God cares nought for me.” Every soul is precious in His sight. . . . When Satan was triumphing as the prince of the world, when he claimed the world as his kingdom, when we were all marred and corrupted with sin, God sent His messenger from heaven, even His only begotten Son, to proclaim to all the inhabitants of the world, “I have found a ransom. I have made a way of escape for all the perishing. I have your emancipation papers provided for you, sealed by the Lord of heaven and earth.” {OFC 92.4} Our Father Cares, 1991
Sealing of God's Servants Before the Four Winds Blow
We should especially seek God for grace and power to be given his people now. God lives; and we do not believe that the time has fully come when he would have our liberties restricted. The prophet saw "four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." Another angel ascending from the east, cried to them, saying, "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." This points out the work we now have to do, which is to cry to God for the angels to hold the four winds until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world, and shall have proclaimed the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah. But every conceivable thing that the enemy can bring against the people of God, to hinder them in their work, will be employed. The Lord, on the other hand, bids all to be awake and to watch; for it was while men slept, that the enemy sowed tares. E. G. White. {RH, December 11, 1888 par. 18} The Review and Herald
Holding the Four Winds to Blow, that the 144,000 will be Sealed
I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, "My blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood!" Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, "Hold! Hold! Hold! Hold! until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads." {EW 38.1}
I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads. {EW 38.2} Early Writings, 1882
For more studies related to sealing, please visit the links below.
Meat In Due Season - 2. The 144,000 (google.com)
Meat In Due Season - 2.1 The Four Winds of Rev. 7 (google.com)
Meat In Due Season - 2.1 The First Fruit and Second Fruit (google.com)
Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 8 144,000: First Fruit of the Living (google.com)
Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 12: How to Obtain the Seal (google.com)
Consider the Following
The seal of God is identified in three different ways:
1. The Holy Spirit. Believers of all ages are sealed with Him (Eph. 4:30).
2. The name, or character of God. All who achieve victory will possess it (Rev. 14:1; 22:4).
3. A recognizable sign (Rev. 9:4; Ez. 9:4). God left his seal on one of the 10 commandments, as a distinctive sign of those who worship him (Ez. 20:20).
The seal, mark or sign can be received in two different ways: on the forehead or on the hand. While the faithful will receive it on their foreheads, the unbelievers will receive it on their foreheads or in their hands (Rev. 13:16). What is the difference?
1. Front: INTELLECTUAL CONVICTION. Believe in the one we adore
2. Hand: INTEREST (obtaining profits). We worship for fear of the consequences
While Satan does not care about the reasons for worship, God only accepts sincere and complete worship (Rom. 12:1)
