The Seal of God
When Satan accused
God of not being trustworthy and started the war in God's family, God did not
merely deny the accusations, but went about the long, hard labour of demonstrating
what He is really like (lessons 4 & 5).
God has a special
sign, seal, or mark that identifies those who believe His side of the
Controversy over His character. We are
told in the book of Revelation that at Christ's return, all His people
shall have this special mark. Yet as you
will discover, most people today, including faithful Christians, are totally
unaware of God's sign, and thus ignore it.
Throughout the
entire 66 books of the Bible, this seal is used in connection with times of special demonstration
of the truth about God- the perfection and freedom of creation week, the
freeing of His people from Egyptian bondage, the costly and convincing evidence of crucifixion week, the promise of
peace and freedom in the earth made new.
God's seal is a
monument to freedom. It sums up
the good news about God, and reminds us of the everlasting truth that sets us
free, and will keep us free for eternity.
GOD'S SEAL OF PROTECTION
1. In Revelation 7:1-3,
we notice that a mighty angel has commanded that the final winds of war and
destruction not unleash their fury upon the earth until something very
important has been completed. What is
that important event?
Note: The angel is saying that God will not permit destruction to come
upon the earth until his people have all received his seal or mark. (In symbolic language, "winds" represent
war, strife, and destruction—Jeremiah 25:31-33, 49:36,37,
2. How widely will this
important message about God's sign, seal, or mark be presented?
Revelation 14:6
Note: Seal, sign and mark are used interchangeably in Scripture:
(Romans 4:11
Ezekiel 9:4
Revelation 7:2-3
John 6:27)
3. What was a seal used
for?
I Kings 21:8
Esther 8:8
Daniel 12:4
Note: A seal was used to secure important documents and to show
who wrote or authorized them, especially in the case of a king.
4. Until Satan's rebellion,
everyone in God's family did what was right because it was right. When sin came into the picture, what did God
have to do?
Galatian
(I Timothy 1:8-10
Note: God had to introduce the Law to deal with the emergency.
5. What three things does a
Government seal contain?
Answer: Government seals, which
are used to officially identify national laws and authorize legal documents,
contain the lawgiver's
a) NAME,
b) TITLE, and
c) TERRITORY
of authority
6. When the King of the
Universe wrote out His law, how did He make sure everyone would know that He
was the Author?
Exodus 20:8-11
Note: He sealed it with the Sabbath commandment. The fourth commandment is the only
commandment that states
a) God's name
("the LORD thy God"),
b) His title or office as Creator
("made"), and
c) His dominion ("heaven and
earth").
Without the fourth
commandment, there is nothing else within the commandments
that identifies it as God's law.
But the fourth commandment identifies the Lawgiver as the only true God,
Creator of all things. Thus, the
fourth commandment sets forth in clear language the authority behind the Ten
Commandments.
MEMORIAL OF FREEDOM
7. One of Satan's
accusations against God was that He was a selfish dictator and didn't really
run a free universe. How did God answer
these accusations?
Genesis 1, especially verses 26-28,31
Note: God created our beautiful world.
He did not make mankind "robots" or slaves, but "In
His image;" he gave us
minds and free choice.
Free to love Him or to rebel against him.
God even shared with us, as much as he could with created beings, his
own creative power. He so designed our
unique race that when a man and woman come together in love, they can give life
to other beings—little people formed in the image of their human parents!
8. What was the reaction of
the onlooking universe to God's actions?
Job 38:6,7
Note: They were overwhelmed with love, respect, and admiration for God
and proceeded to celebrate. Evidently,
it lasted a whole 24 hours. Thus God and
his universe celebrated the first seventh-day Sabbath (it was not man's seventh
day; it was only his second). The
Creator called the universe to celebrate with him the meaning of what He had
done, to reflect on the truth that had been revealed and the falseness of
Satan's charges.
9. What did God do as a
memorial of the way he created us so free?
Genesis 2:1-4
(Exodus 20:8-11)
Note: To represent the freedom with which he made us, he created the Sabbath
by resting on the Seventh day. He didn't
need to rest because He was tired (Isaiah 40:28), but rather
"rested his case," as an attorney does (Genesis 2:3).
10. Sadly, we chose to rebel against our
Creator and lost our God-given freedom to Satan. When the Lord set us free from "
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Note: The purpose of the seventh-day Sabbath is to remind us of the
truth about God. He is not only our
Creator but our Saviour and Redeemer as well.
So he told us to keep the Sabbath as a reminder that he rescued us from
bondage and gave us back our freedom.
11. Most of Satan's charges were answered by the end of Creation
week; except for Satan's most serious charge, that God had lied
when he warned his creatures that death is the consequence of sin. The events of Creation week had not dealt
with this accusation, but by Friday of Crucifixion week, all the
questions in the Great Controversy had been fully answered. At the cross, God won the war. Did Jesus resurrect the next day?
Matthew 28:1
Note: Before he died, Christ triumphantly cried, "It is
finished!" But he did not go to
Heaven; He chose to arise sometime early Sunday morning, adding even more
significance to the Sabbath. As the Son
of God lay resting in the tomb, the whole onlooking universe paused to reflect
on the truth that had been revealed during the last week of Jesus' life and to
celebrate the costly victory that had been won on
12.
The Sabbath is the sign that God created us.
What else does it signify?
Exodus
31:13,17
Ezekiel
20:20,12
Note:
It is no less a miracle of creation to restore fallen human beings than it was
to create them perfect in the beginning.
The Sabbath is not only a sign that God created us, but that he "re-creates"
us as new people. When it says he sanctifies
us, it means that he changes us, he sets us right.
Some people try to accomplish this
great change through their own efforts; the Sabbath comes
each week to remind us that only by faith in our Creator can we be healed.
13. What is the purpose of Sabbath keeping?
Exodus 20:8a
Note: The Sabbath commandment begins by saying, "remember." The Sabbath is a reminder of how God has
answered all the charges in the Great Controversy; it represents everything God
has done for us, and our relationship with him.
14. Is there any other truth the Sabbath reminds us of?
Hebrews 4:1,8-11
Note: The Sabbath is a type and foretaste of the final rest and freedom
to come. It represents our rest in
Christ our Saviour.
15. Is everyone who observes the Sabbath sealed?
John 19:31
Note: The unbelieving Jews who caused Christ's crucifixion kept the
Sabbath scrupulously, but they hated Jesus.
Keeping the Sabbath does not make me saved, just as going to church
doesn't necessarily make me a Christian.
16. Being sealed is obviously not just an outward sign or mark
that can be seen. What does it
represent?
Ephesians 4:30
Ephesians 1:13
Note: Being sealed has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit.
17. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us truth. The truth about what?
Ephesians
Note: He will "reveal God" to us, so that we can know him.
John
John 17:3 TEV
18.
Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would convince us of right and wrong. How convinced will God's last-day people
be?
Ephesians
4:13
Hebrews
5:13-6:1
Note:
Being sealed is not merely a superficial acceptance of truth; it means being so
settled into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, that even if an
angel from Heaven came and tried to convince us otherwise, we cannot be moved—Galatians
1:8,9. This is why the seal is placed
on our foreheads, where our mind is (Romans 7:25, Romans 12:1-2).
19. When we are truly "sealed" or "fixed" in
the truth for eternity, will we no longer need the Sabbath to remember what God
has done?
Isaiah 66:22-23
Note: The Sabbath sums up the good news. It reminds us for eternity of the everlasting
truth. Those who love and reverence God
will find it their greatest delight to gather from one Sabbath to another to
give expression to their faith in our infinitely gracious and trustworthy God For all eternity,
we will get together with God each Sabbath to celebrate and remember.
20. The Bible tells us we are saved by grace. Isn't keeping the
Sabbath salvation by works?
Exodus 20:10
Ezekiel 20:12
Note: The word Sabbath means "rest". "Rest" is the exact opposite of
"work". The Sabbath, in a
special way, reminds us that we are not saved by works, but by
resting in Christ's love. (Hebrews
4:1,7-11)
21. What should be my motivation for keeping God's commandments,
including the Sabbath?
John 15:14-15
Note: Once we realize how the Sabbath symbolizes all that God is and
has done for us, it will be a joy to keep.
CONCLUSION
"O come! Let us worship
and bow down! Let us kneel before the
Lord, our Maker. For
He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your heart." Psalm 95:6,7
God made the Sabbath from a 24-hour day—the
Seventh day. It is made of time, and
time is what it takes to develop friendship with the Lord. He offers you 24 hours per week of His
priceless time so that He and you can become warm, close friends. As a
marriage cannot succeed unless the partners spend time together, neither will
our love relationship with the Lord succeed unless we spend time together.
If the president of
the
Do you choose to
take this special time each week to spend with him in a special way?
My response to Christ is:______________________________