Originally posted: 12/16/2021
And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads,” (7:2-3).
There is a brief pause after the first six seals are broken, and God’s angels hold back the forceful winds of His destructive judgment until His own have been Sealed.
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree, (7:1).
And for a time, the devastation is delayed as the Seal of the Living God marks those who belong to Him and are to be protected.
“Ancient documents were folded and tied, and a lump of clay was pressed over the knot. The sender would then stamp the hardening clay with his signet ring or roll it with a cylinder seal, which authenticated and protected its contents. The sealing in ch. 7 results in the name of the Lord being stamped on the forehead of his followers,” NIV Study Bible.
“The word sealed in the New Testament comes from a Greek word that means “to stamp with a private mark” in the interest of keeping something secret or protecting or preserving the sealed object. Seals were used for official business: a Roman centurion, for instance, might have sealed a document that was meant only for the eyes of his superior. If the seal were broken, the one receiving the document would know that the letter had been tampered with or read by someone other than the sealer,” https://www.gotquestions.org/seal-of-God.html
God’s people would be prominently marked and known as those who belong to Him. There is much debate on the number of 144,000 whether it is symbolic or not. But our goal is not to debate, but to see Him increase in this book of prophecy, the Revelation of Jesus Christ Who Reveals What We Need to Overcome and Be Victorious.
But what is not up for debate is the Need to come to faith in Him Who Is Holy, Holy, Holy, believing that as we trust in Him, the Lamb Who Was Slain, we will be spared the Wrath of the Lamb.
And because He has given us His pledge, we can rest in confidence; and though there may be tribulation all around, when we belong to Him, we know we cannot be tampered with, for we are eternally preserved and protected by the Seal of the Living God, His Holy Spirit.
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory, (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, (2 Corinthians 1:22).
Consider the Seal of the Living God
- The Living God Seals us from the harm of His Wrath.
- And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads,” (7:2-3).
- The Living God Seals us in His Purity.
- After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands, (7:9).
- The Living God Seals us in His Salvation.
- and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,” (7:10).
- The Living God Seals us by the Blood of the Lamb.
- Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” (7:13-14).
- The Living God Seals us in His Presence.
- “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them,” (7:15).
- The Living God Seals us in His Eternal Protection and Provision.
- “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life…” (7:16-17).
- The Living God Seals us in His Eternal Comfort.
- “…and God will wipe every tear from their eyes,” (7:17).
How do we respond to the Seal of the Living God?
Yes, we will certainly have our questions about end times prophecy, but may we never question His Truth: when we trust the sacrifice of the Lamb Who Was Slain, we are forever preserved, protected, and secure, for we have been marked and authenticated by the Seal of the Living God, His Holy Spirit.
And when trials and tribulations come, great or small, may we never question His purpose. He did not promise to spare us from trouble or tribulations, but to keep us and conform us through it all until That Day when we are glorified with Him around His Throne.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified, (Romans 8:28-30).
He marks us as His own, that we would be recognized as one who is conformed to the image of His Son, Whose Life Work was authenticated by the Seal the Father God had set on Him.
Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” (John 6:27).
Oh, may we trust His conforming work in our lives, that we would be strengthened in His Eternal Truth, that others would recognize us as one who is marked with the Seal of the Living God.
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus, (Acts 4:13).
We are not promised freedom from pain, worry, sickness, or death in this life. But we know That Day is coming when we will be gathered together with the angels and all those who have been marked with the Seal of the Living God, His Holy Spirit, to worship Him perfectly and completely for all of eternity.
and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (7:10-12).
Until That Day, let us be diligent to guard the firm foundation we have in His Word of Truth. How desperately we need His God-Breathed Word to strengthen us in the days ahead. When the voice of the enemy comes to upset our faith, let us stand on His Truth as we proclaim: We have been Sealed by the Seal of the Living God, and we will live as those who belong to Him.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness,” (2 Timothy 2:15-19).
And may we diligently live to please Him, as those who are conformed to the image of the Lamb Who Was Slain. Oh, that we would live each day as those who been Sealed by the Seal of the Living God, that we would extend His kindness, His tenderness, and His forgiveness to others until That Day, when we are gathered together around His Throne for all of eternity.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you, (Ephesians 4:30-32).