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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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 2 |
The Seal of God |
Luke 11:23 |
Comments |
| [Jesus said:] «He who is not with Me is against Me.» | 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. |
Joshua 24:15 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 3 |
The Seal of God |
Revelation 14:9,10 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 4 |
The Seal of God |
Revelation 7:1-3 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 5 |
The Seal of God |
Ezekiel 9:4-6 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 6 |
The Seal of God |
Deuteronomy 6:6,8 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 7 |
The Seal of God |
Exodus 13:9 |
Comments |
| 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. | 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. |
Revelation 13:16 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 8 |
The Seal of God |
Hebrews 8:10 |
Comments |
| «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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 9 |
The Seal of God |
Ephesians 1:13 |
Comments |
| 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. | After accepting salvation in Jesus Christ,
we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. This seal certifies that we belong to God's people. |
Ephesians 4:30 |
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| Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 10 |
The Seal of God |
2 Corinthians 1:21,22 |
Comments |
| 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. | 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». |
2 Timothy 2:19 |
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| 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.» |
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Lesson 70 |
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The Seal of God |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 12 |
The Seal of God |
Ephesians 4:30 |
Comments |
| Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. | 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). |
Revelation 7:3 |
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| Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 13 |
The Seal of God |
Revelation 7:2-4 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 14 |
The Seal of God |
Revelation 14:1,12 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 15 |
The Seal of God |
1 Kings 21:8 |
Comments |
| So [Jezebel] wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters. | 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. |
Esther 8:8 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 16 |
The Seal of God |
Exodus 31:18 |
Comments |
| 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. | 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! |
Exodus 32:16 |
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| Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 17 |
The Seal of God |
Esther 8:8 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 18 |
The Seal of God |
| Among the Ten Commandments, the 4th contains a seal's three components: |
| «Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. || (1) The name of the Le- Six days you shall labor and do all your || gislator: «the Lord». work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of || the Lord your God. In it you shall do no || (2) The title of the work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, || Legislator: Creator, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, || «the Lord made». nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is || within your gates. For in six days the Lord || (3) The territory covered made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and || by His legislation: all that is in them, and rested the seventh || «The heavens and the day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath || earth, the sea, and day and hallowed it.» (EXODUS 20:8-11) || all that is in them». |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 19 |
The Seal of God |
Romans 4:11 |
Comments |
| [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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 20 |
The Seal of God |
Exodus 31:13,17 |
Comments |
| 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. |
Yes indeed, the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people. |
Ezekiel 20:12,20 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 21 |
The Seal of God |
| Notice the similarity between God's fourth commandment and His warning: |
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The fourth commandment of God
| The warning of God =======================================+=============================== EXODUS 20:10,11 | REVELATION 14:7 ---------------------------------------+------------------------------- The seventh day is the Sabbath of the | Fear God, and give glory to Lord your God. In it you shall do no | Him, for the hour of His judg- work (...). For in six days the Lord | ment has come; and worship Him made the heavens and the earth, the | who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them. | sea and springs of water. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 22 |
The Seal of God |
Revelation 14:9,10,12 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 23 |
The Seal of God |
Genesis 2:2,3 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 24 |
The Seal of God |
1 Chronicles 17:27 |
Comments |
| For You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever. | 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. |
Ecclesiastes 3:14 |
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| I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 25 |
The Seal of God |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 26 |
The Seal of God |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 27 |
The Seal of God |
Isaiah 58:12,13 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 28 |
The Seal of God |
Isaiah 56:6,7 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 29 |
The Seal of God |
Lévitique 23:32 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 30 |
The Seal of God |
Deuteronomy 5:29 |
Comments |
| 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! | 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. |
1 John 5:3 |
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| For this is the love of God, that
we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 31 |
The Seal of God |
Isaiah 58:13,14 |
Comments |
| 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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Lesson 70 |
Screen 32 |
The Seal of God |
Deuteronomy 4:2 |
Comments |
| 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. | 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. |
Luke 16:17 |
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| [Jesus said:] «It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.» |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 33 |
The Seal of God |
Ezekiel 36:27 |
Comments |
| I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. | 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. |
Revelation 7:4 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 34 |
The Seal of God |
John 14:15 |
Comments |
| If you love Me, keep My commandments. | 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. |
Ecclesiastes 12:15,16 |
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| 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. |
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Lesson 70 |
Screen 35 |
The Seal of God |
| 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. |
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The Seal of God