The Seal of God
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Welcome to the section «Choices and Destinies»! Let's pray:
Our Father,
Now that we have identified the servants of good and the servants of evil as described by
Your prophetic Word, we wish to know what will determine our belonging to one of these two
groups, so that we may be able to make good choices from now on.
This is why we humbly ask You to guide us through this very important lesson.
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
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Luke 11:23
[Jesus said:] «He who is not with Me is against Me.»
Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.
But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
As we live in the last days, each one of us will have to actively choose to
follow God and to serve Him.
All those who won't make this choice, either by rejecting God, or by wrongly believing
that they can stay neutral, will automatically be numbered among the servants of evil.
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Revelation 14:9,10
If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives
his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the
wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.
Prophecy presents here such a critical choice, as each one of us will have to
choose either to receive or not to receive the mark of the beast.
It is very important to identify this mark, because the punishment meted out upon those
who receive it will be eternal destruction.
But first, we need to understand another essential subject: the seal of God, which is the
subject of this lesson.
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Revelation 7:1-3
After these things I saw four angels standing at the four
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow
on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And
he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and
the sea, saying,
«Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God
on their foreheads.»
The mark of the beast is in direct opposition to the seal of God, because both
must be put on men's foreheads.
By understanding the seal of God, we will discover the nature of the mark of the beast.
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Ezekiel 9:4-6
And the Lord said to him,
«Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the
foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.»
To the others He said in my hearing,
«Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come
near anyone on whom is the mark.»
According to the Bible, the mark of God is put on the foreheads of those who
refuse to take part in abominations, in practices going against the will of God.
But the Bible is even more precise...
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Deuteronomy 6:6,8
And these words which I command you today shall be in
your heart (...).
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your
eyes.
After giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, God clearly indicated that these
commandments must be a mark on the hand and the forehead, thus meaning that we must keep
them in mind (mark on forehead), and put them into practice (mark on hand).
But this mark put on the hand and the forehead also reminds us of another mark...
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Exodus 13:9
It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a
memorial between your eyes, that the Lord's law may be in your mouth.
Revelation 13:16
And [the beast coming up out of the earth] causes all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand
or on their foreheads.
The law of God is placed as a seal on the hands and foreheads of His servants.
The mark of the beast, which we will study soon, is also placed on the hand and the
forehead; it is, therefore, opposed to the commandments of God.
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Hebrews 8:10
«For this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel: After those days,» says the Lord, «I will put My laws in their mind and
write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.»
Under the Old Covenant, God had engraved His Ten Commandments on tablets of
stone.
Under the New Covenant, He engraves them directly on our hearts, as a seal identifying us
as His people. God thus indicates that He gives us the power we need to keep His law.
But how does He grant us this power of obedience?
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Ephesians 1:13
In [Christ] you also trusted, after you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with
the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.
After accepting salvation in Jesus Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
This seal certifies that we belong to God's people.
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2 Corinthians 1:21,22
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has
anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a
deposit.
2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having
this seal: «The Lord knows those who are His», and, «Let everyone who names the name of
Christ depart from iniquity.»
Once sealed, we rely on the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, to «establish us in Christ», and help us to «depart
from iniquity».
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Once sealed, we must remain faithful to God and obey Him:
«Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived,
and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord's anger be aroused
against you (...).
Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind
them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (...)
For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do - to love the
Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him - then the Lord will drive
out all these nations from before you.» (DEUTERONOMY 11:16-18,22,23)
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Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.
Revelation 7:3
Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have
sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
Each servant of God has been sealed by the Holy Spirit (action in the past).
But the faithful believers who live in the last days will receive an additional seal which
will distinguish them from the rest of the world (action still to come).
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Revelation 7:2-4
Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having
the seal of the living God.
And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth
and the sea, saying,
«Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God
on their foreheads.»
And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of
all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed.
In fact, shortly before the release of the destructive winds, the seal of God
will be put on the 144,000.
As we have seen in the lesson «The 144,000 and the
Great Multitude», this group symbolizes the remnant Church, that is, the believers
who will live through the last hours of history.
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Revelation 14:1,12
Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion,
and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on
their foreheads. (...)
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and
the faith of Jesus.
Marked with the seal of God, the 144,000 stand in clear contrast with all other
people, and even more so after the coming of the mark of the beast.
Their foreheads are marked with God's name because they reflect God's character, since
they «keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus».
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1 Kings 21:8
So [Jezebel] wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them
with his seal, and sent the letters.
Esther 8:8
You yourselves write a decree for the Jews, as you
please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring.
A king's seal authenticates a document written by the king or in the king's
name.
Likewise, the seal of God, which will identify His people in the last days, authenticates
a document written by God Himself.
This document is the law of God, His Ten Commandments, written with His own finger.
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Exodus 31:18
When [The Lord] had made an end of speaking with him on
Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with
the finger of God.
Exodus 32:16
Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was
the writing of God engraved on the tablets.
In fact, the Ten Commandments are of such great importance in God's eyes that
He decided to write them Himself, with His own finger!
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Esther 8:8
A letter which is written in the king's name and sealed
with the king's signet ring no one can revoke.
Besides, to be official, a legal document must bear the seal of the legislator.
The three components of a seal are:
(1) the name of the legislator;
(2) the title of the legislator;
(3) the territory covered by his legislation.
Now, what is the seal of God's law? Where can we find it?
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Romans 4:11
[Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, a seal of
the righteousness of the faith which he had.
According to the Word of God, a seal can also be a sign.
Is the fourth commandment - the seal of God's law - also a sign?
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Exodus 31:13,17
Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign
between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies you. (...)
It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever.
Ezekiel 20:12,20
I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them
and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. (...)
Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I
am the Lord your God.
Yes indeed, the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people.
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Revelation 14:9,10,12
If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives
his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the
wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. (...)
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and
the faith of Jesus.
God's final warning clearly confirms our conclusion: it is by keeping the
commandments of God, including the fourth commandment regarding the Sabbath, that we will
avoid receiving the mark of the beast.
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Genesis 2:2,3
On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done,
and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.
Let's look quickly at the importance of the Sabbath in the life of the
believer.
The commandment says: «Remember the Sabbath day...». In
fact, the institution of the seventh day as the day of rest does not date back to Moses,
but rather to Creation, when God blessed the seventh day, the Sabbath.
Now, when God blesses something, for how long is it blessed?
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1 Chronicles 17:27
For You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed
forever.
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.
What God blesses is blessed forever.
So God blessed the seventh day, as early as the Creation of the world, so that we should
keep it as the day of rest forever.
In fact, the Word of God shows us that the Sabbath continues through the ages, from
Creation to the New Earth.
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The Sabbath is celebrated from the garden of Eden to the New Earth!
1. In the garden of Eden, as early as the first week of Creation:
«[God] rested on the seventh day from all His
work.» (GENESIS 2:2)
2. In the days of Moses, after God had said to Israel: «Remember...»
:
«Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep.» (EXODUS
31:13)
3. In the days of Ezekiel, when the traditions of men prevailed over God's will:
«Hallow My Sabbaths.» (EZEKIEL 20:20)
4. In the days of Nehemiah, when the merchants profaned the Sabbath:
«Before the Sabbath, I commanded the gates to be
shut.» (NEHEMIAH 13:19)
5. In the days of Jesus, who gave back to the Sabbath its real meaning, because the many
traditions had made the Sabbath a burden for the people:
«As His custom was, He went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath.» (LUKE 4:16)
«Therefore it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath.» (MATTHEW 12:12)
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The Sabbath is celebrated from the garden of Eden to the New Earth!
6. After Jesus' departure, in the early days of the Apostolic Church:
«On the Sabbath day we went out of the city to
the riverside, where prayer was customarily made.» (ACTS 16:13)
7. At the destruction of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70, as foretold by Jesus:
«Pray that your flight may not be (...) on the
Sabbath.» (MATTHEW 24:20)
8. In the last days, shortly before the return of Jesus Christ:
«My salvation is about to come, and My
righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who
lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath.» (ISAIAH 56:1,2)
9. On the New Earth, and throughout all eternity!
«As the new heavens and the new earth (...).
From one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me.» (ISAIAH
66:22,23)
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Isaiah 58:12,13
Those from among you shall build the old waste places;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the
Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and
call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable (...).
Prophecy announced that, at the end of time, God's people would rediscover the
truth concerning the Sabbath, thus raising «up the foundations of
many generations», since the Sabbath goes back to Creation.
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Isaiah 56:6,7
Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the
Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants - everyone who
keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant - even them I will bring to My
holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house
shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Furthermore, the remnant Church will lead people from all nations, both Jews
and «the sons of the foreigner», to rediscover the Sabbath
and to enjoy its blessings.
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Lévitique 23:32
From evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.
According to the Bible, a day begins at sunset: «So the
evening and the morning were the first day.» (Genesis 1:5)
So, the Sabbath day begins at sundown on Friday night, and ends at sundown on Saturday
night.
God's blessing truly rests on these holy hours. All those who have had the experience of
devoting this time to worshiping God, to learning to know Him better, and to serving Him,
can testify to this very special blessing.
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Deuteronomy 5:29
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would
fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with
their children forever!
1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments.
And His commandments are not burdensome.
In fact, the keeping of the Sabbath, just like the other commandments, does not
aim at making our life on earth unpleasant.
On the contrary, Sabbathkeeping really gives us a foretaste of what eternal life will be.
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Isaiah 58:13,14
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing
your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord
honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure,
nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause
you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your
father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
With such a promise, why wouldn't we want to keep the Sabbath?
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Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor
take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I
command you.
Luke 16:17
[Jesus said:] «It is easier for heaven and earth to pass
away than for one tittle of the law to fail.»
To sum up, the Ten Commandments, including the fourth, express God's will for
each one of us, and will never be changed or abolished.
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Ezekiel 36:27
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in
My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Revelation 7:4
And I heard the number of those who were sealed.
One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were
sealed.
God gives us His Spirit, so that we may be able to keep His law.
In the last days, His Church, spiritual Israel, marked with the seal of God, will obey His
Ten Commandments, including the observance of the Sabbath.
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John 14:15
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
Ecclesiastes 12:15,16
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God
and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is
good or whether it is evil.
As we live in the last days, many people claim to love God.
But the genuine believer will prove his love for God by keeping His commandments, and this
is how he will receive the seal of God.
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Let's pray together:
Lord God,
In the last days, You will put a special seal on Your servants, showing that they belong
to You and obey Your will.
Your seal is in the heart of Your holy Law: it is the fourth commandment, requiring the
observance of the seventh day, the Sabbath, as the day of rest.
We really want to receive this seal, so that we may be numbered with Your people, and,
moreover, enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath.
In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
Source of the Pictures of this Lesson
Screen 1: In: «Photo Gallery 5,000 volume 1» by Media
Graphics International, P081.JPG. Screen 2: In: «The Watchtower»
magazine (May 15, 1990), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, pp.8,9. Composite picture by
Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 3: Advertisement for «Amazing Facts -
Millenium of Prophecy». In: «Adventist Review» (October 1999), Review and Herald
Publishing Association, p.23. Screen 4: MANISCALCO, Joe. In: «Images
from the Bible and Sacred History CD», Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM256.BMP.
Screen 5: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (April 15, 1987), Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society, p.10. Screen 6: HARLAN, Russell. In: «The Bible Story,
volume 2» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1954, p.152.
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Bible Encyclopedia in Story and Pictures, volume 5», New York, H.S. Stuttman Co. Inc.,
1968, p.632-c. Screen 16: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (June 15,
1987), New York, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p.5. Screen 17: BISHOP,
Tom. «Seal of God and mark of the beast 1». In: «New Pictoral Aid For Bible Study»
(BREADEN, Frank), Australian Division of Seventh-Day Adventists, 1970, chart #43.
Screen 18: In: «Revelation Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson #10
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Herald Publishing Association and Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1976, p.142,143.
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Chosen Works, MLI Software, JM221.BMP. Table of Screen 21: First picture:
In: «Revelation Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson #10 («Le sceau de Dieu dans
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C.Mervyn), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1985, p.350. Screen 22: CRUZ,
Nery. In: «La Sentinelle» magazine (August 1984), Pacific Press Publishing Association,
p.14. Screen 23: JUSTINEN, Lars. In: «Questionnaire Adulte de l'Ecole du
Sabbat», Pacific Press Publishing Association, Third Quarter, 1999, front cover.
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Story, volume 6» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1955, p.128.
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Bible Book» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1968, p.43.
Screen 28: In: «The Watchtower» magazine (January 1, 1991), Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society, p.1. Screen 29: In: «Photo Gallery 25,000» par Media
Graphics International, CD #2, DJ028.JPG. Screen 30: JANES, Ralph. In:
«Canadian Adventist Messenger» magazine (July 2001), SDA Church in Canada, front cover.
Screen 31: GREENE, Nathan. «Family Worship». In: «Inspirational Fine Art»,
Hart Classic Editions (www.hartclassics.com). Screen 32: COLLINS, Fred.
In: «Votre Bible et Vous» (MAXWELL, Arthur S.), Press Publishing Association, p.171.
Screen 33: GREENE, Nathan. It Is Written» advertisement. In: «Adventist
Review» (September 1998), Review and Herald Publishing Association, p.32. Composite
picture by Cyberspace Ministry. Screen 34: LEE, Elfred. In: «Revelation
Seminars», Seminars Unlimited, 1986, lesson #11 («L'Observation du Dimanche et
l'Apocalypse»), p.3. Screen 35: In: «Photo Gallery 5,000 volume 1» by
Media Graphics International, 008_184.JPG.
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The test of Lesson 70 is waiting for you!