Kwabena Donkor
The idea that God’s people will be sealed during the end time has been a part of Adventist thought from the beginning. In the wake of the Millerite disappointment of October 22, 1844, the Sabbatarian Adventists developed an eschatological theology that sought to make biblical sense of the Millerite experience. Gradually, there developed a new understanding of the doctrines of the sanctuary and seventh-day Sabbath among the Sabbatarian Adventists. Beginning with Joseph Bates, there dawned on our pioneers an appreciation of the prophetic significance of the statement in Revelation 12:17, where “… the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
In the context of Revelation 13, the war had to relate to the conflict between the beast powers in their attempt to overcome God’s commandment-keeping people, leading to the issuing of a death decree in verse 15. It was with this new background that Bates subsequently developed the concepts of the seal of God and the mark of the beast in the context of allegiance to God or the beast. This view continues to be a part of the Seventh-day Adventist teaching, and we wish to provide a brief overview of it in this short paper.
The concept of a seal and sealing was known in the ancient world in Mesopotamia, where a seal took the form of either a stamp or cylinder. The surface of a seal could have either a design or an inscription. When the surface was a design, a seal could include scenes of everyday life, warfare, sports, gods, legends, and myth, while inscriptions most commonly referred to the owner’s name, office or profession, political allegiance, and religious affiliation.1 A seal’s impressions on a document or object not only protected the document or object’s integrity, but it also served to identify the sealer as the legitimate actor.2
This basic conception of a seal or sealing is evident in the Bible, although it had other significance. First, the marking or sealing of an object, an animal, or a person indicated ownership. For example, a servant’s ear was pierced to indicate that his master owned him forever (Exod. 21:6); circumcision was the ultimate mark that Israel belonged to Yahweh (Gen. 17:9-12).3
Second, in the Bible, sealing is also an indication of protection. Whatever or whoever came under the imprint of a person’s seal or mark also came under the protection of that person. A classic case is the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of the children of Israel the night the destroying angel passed through the land of Egypt (Exod. 12:7-13). Similarly, in Ezekiel’s judgment vision, those who sighed and moaned over abominations being committed among God’s people were to be marked by the writer with the inkhorn as a sign of protection from the executioner (Ezek. 9:4-5).
Third, sealing marked something or a person as genuine. For a person, it was evidence of constant, unflinching loyalty and commitment. Thus, the overcomers in the church of Philadelphia have the name of God written on them, and they become pillars in the temple of God, and will not go out of it anymore (Rev. 3:12).
Fourth, the symbolic marking or sealing of persons on the forehead and the hand is significant. The symbolism (presented in Deut. 6:8) is connected with Moses’ admonition on observing the commandments of God in Deuteronomy 6:1ff. In that context, it indicated a total response of thought and action— “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5). Thus, for those who are sealed in acknowledgment of the ownership of God in their lives, His law takes a central place. It is all the more so because, in the Bible, the sealing of God’s name on one’s forehead indicates the likeness of His character (Rev. 14:1, 4-5). In the Bible, God’s name signifies His character (Ps. 124:8).
Based on the general understanding of the concept of sealing given above, the sealing of God’s people must involve the process by which they are made secure, authentic, and protected by the God who sets His seal on them. Two main types of sealing are discernible in the Bible: the sealing that accompanies a person’s reception of the gospel of Christ, and the sealing that occurs towards the close of probation before the Second Coming of Christ.4 However, due to the particular interest of the present work, our primary focus will be on the latter type of sealing. Nevertheless, a brief discussion of the first type of sealing will be needed since it is a necessary foundation for the second.
From the perspective of the new covenant, God’s people have always had His seal (e. g. John 6:27; 2 Cor. 1:22). However, two key passages in the book of Ephesians help us to understand more clearly the sealing of God’s people at the reception of the gospel—Ephesians 1:13-14 and 4:30. Ephesians 1:13-14 sets up a precise sequence in the experience of salvation. The Ephesians heard the word of truth, namely, the gospel of salvation, then they believed, upon which they were sealed with the Holy Spirit, and the sealing would function to secure their inheritance as those who have been redeemed to be the possession of God. The passage comes as a climax to a series of blessings (vv. 4-14), which results from God the Father choosing them. The choice, which implies possession, is neither arbitrary nor irrevocable. It is God and humans working together.
From the foundation of the world, God has put in place a plan of redemption, which is based in Christ (v. 4). God intends that those who decide to be part of this redemption will become His possession, and to make this a reality, the Holy Spirit plays a decisive role. He acts as a seal or mark on them, indicating that they belong to God. The Holy Spirit, however, is not a lifeless seal, but an active Agent who indwells those who believe, and He works to secure their inheritance.
Ephesians 4:30 adds an important dimension to the sealing process. It reads, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Here, Paul may be alluding to Isaiah 63:9-11 to make the following point. Yes, God has sealed believers for the day of redemption, and they belong to Him. Nevertheless, since the Holy Spirit has taken on the responsibility of maintaining them as God’s own, “Christians are responsible for living in a way that pleases their Owner and Guardian.”5 Living contrary to Him, whose ownership seal we wear could place our eternal destiny in jeopardy.6
Since all people who hear and believe the gospel are sealed, the question arises as to why some other sealing would be needed, specifically in the end time. In discussing such questions about the sealing of God’s people in the end time, we will be guided by the following questions: (i) Why are they sealed? (ii) Who are sealed? (iii) When are they sealed? (iv) what conditions must be met to be sealed?
The central passage that will frame our discussion on the sealing of God’s end-time people will be Revelation 7. The sealing of God’s end-time people in Revelation 7 comes under the sixth seal. However, since the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and Revelation 12 offer three parallel accounts of the entire Christian era, it should be expected that materials outside Revelation 7 may shed further light on the subject. Similarly, since Revelation 13–19 are concerned with end-time events, they may also contribute to the discussion.
Revelation 6:16-17 ends with a terror-stricken world crying out, asking, “for the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” The vision of chapter 7 answers the question. The first part of the vision (Rev. 7:1-8) demonstrates that only those who are sealed will be able to stand in the day of wrath, and the second part (vv. 9-17) shows that indeed those who were sealed do come out of the wrath or tribulation. Revelation 7:1-3 uses the symbolism of winds to depict the trouble about to break on the earth, depicting angels stationed at the four corners of the earth holding back the winds until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. It should be noted that those who are to be sealed are already described as “servants of our God.”
In the context of Ezekiel 9:6 and Revelation 16:1-2 then, their sealing in chapter 7 must be at least to “secure them from the destructive force of the seven last plagues,”7 and have them “protected from apostasy.”8 Although those who are to be sealed are already servants of God, the unique circumstances of the end time requires God to work on their behalf to keep them “from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Rev. 3:10). This work of God is to ensure that these servants would not compromise with the antichrist powers of Revelation 13:15-17. The same powers working against God and His end-time people are depicted in Revelation 16:13-16.9
The people of God who are sealed in the end time are described as the 144,000. Revelation 7 does not give us much about this group beyond this description. To fully understand its identity, we need to look at Revelation 14, where the same group is presented and see which interpretation is the most coherent.
Those who are sealed cannot be literal Jews—to be distinguished from Gentile Christians. Apart from the fact that Revelation does not draw this distinction anywhere else, the 144,000 are labeled as those who follow the Lamb (Rev. 14:1, 4). This label has to include all the faithful.
The 144,000 cannot also be the end-time saints in distinction from the redeemed of all ages. It must be remembered that Revelation 7, being part of the sixth seal, concerns those who “can stand” at the Second Coming of Christ. Thus, when in Revelation 7, the elder asks about these who are in white robes (v. 13), the answer given is that they are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (v. 14). Verse 14 provides the reason why they are before the throne of God (v. 15). So, not only the 144,000 but also the great multitude have come out of the great tribulation, washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and are before the throne of God. This great tribulation needs to be distinguished from the tribulations of Revelation 2:10 and 2:22.
There is another option that seems to provide an answer that best fits the text. “Numerous scholars have concluded that the 144,000 and the great multitude are the same, the former being the end-time church militant engaged in struggle on earth, while the great multitude are the same group triumphant after they safely reach heaven. They reason that in the first segment (vv. 1-8), John hears the number of the sealed, but in the second (vv. 9-17), he sees who they actually are: a great multitude whom no one can number. The number 144,000 is symbolic of the vastness of the innumerable multitude.”10 By avoiding problems associated with a literal interpretation of the 144,000, this option rightly interprets Israel as the church.
Both Revelation 7 and 14 help us answer this question. As noted earlier, the sixth seal draws attention to the heavenly signs of Jesus’ second coming (Rev. 6:12-14), describing it in ways reminiscent of the “Day of Lord” (Rev. 6:14-16). Revelation 7 describes the sealed as those who are able to stand. Conversely, those who are not sealed are the ones who face the calamities inaugurated by the seven trumpets, which are described from the opening of the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1). The seven seals, however, run throughout history. Therefore, the sealing of the end-time people of God must occur just before the end of the seven trumpets.
Significantly, near the close of the seven trumpets, when the seventh angel is about to sound, “the mystery of God would be finished” (Rev. 10:7). The finishing of the mystery of God is connected with events in Revelation 15. “‘The mystery of God’ represents the gospel, which will be proclaimed throughout the earth until just before the Second Coming of Jesus (Matt. 24:14). The sounding of the seventh trumpet, therefore, occurs at the same time as the emptying of the temple in Revelation 15. This means that all seven bowls are part of the seventh trumpet. They are located within the final period of earth’s history, after the close of probation.”11
Similarly, “the cup of wrath” of Revelation 14:10, and bowls of wrath in Revelation 15, “are one and the same.”12 In Revelation 14, the 144,000 seem to have been involved in the “proclamation of the three angels’ messages.”13 On her part, Ellen G. White connects the conclusion of the third angel’s message, the reception of “the seal of the living God,” and the cessation of Jesus’ intercession in the heavenly sanctuary.14
On the one hand, Revelation speaks of the moral qualities of the sealed, either as the 144,000 or the great multitude. “No lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless” (Rev. 14:5, NASB). Unlike the antichrist powers who are deceitful, the sealed are truthful, loyal, and faithful to God. Nevertheless, their status as spotless is secured only through the merits of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14).
On the other hand, in describing their victory in the spiritual struggle of the end time, John notes that the sealed had not been “defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4, NASB). Here is brought to view the struggle of those who are sealed against harlot Babylon and her daughters who represent apostate religion. It is the war against the remnant (Rev. 12:17), against those who refuse to go along with Babylon’s program (Rev. 13:15-17). Indeed, those who are sealed warn the world against the dire consequences of following Babylon (Rev. 14:6-12).
Obedience to the commandments of God, including the seventh-day Sabbath, will be “a defining difference between the followers of the true gospel and those of the counterfeit.”15 It will be the final test that will determine the destiny of every human being.16 In this context, Ellen G. White speaks about commandment keepers being misrepresented and condemned in legislative halls and courts of justice. She then adds that “In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: ‘The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ’ (Rev. 12:17).”17 It is important to add, however, that the obedience in view is not legalism. Having the name of God sealed on their foreheads, the sealed reflect God in character, for they have a faith relationship with Christ (Rev. 14:12) and follow the Lamb (Rev. 14:4).
What does all of this mean? The portrayal of the sealing of God’s end-time people is filled with messages of warning, preparation, and assurance from God. While we are given a view of a “time of trouble, such as never was” that is soon to open upon us, the prospect of receiving God’s seal is good news because it guarantees the security of the saints.
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1 Bonnie S. Magness-Gardiner, “Seals, Mesopotamia,” in D. N. Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, vol. 5 (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1062.
2 Ibid.
3 For a brief discussion on sealing in the Bible, see, Beatrice S. Neall, “Sealed Saints and the Tribulation,” in Frank B. Holbrook (ed.) Symposium on Revelation—Book 1, DARCOM Series, vol. 6 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 1992), 254-259.
4 Ji
i Moskala, “God’s Two Seals,” Ministry Magazine, December 2017.
5 W. L. Liefeld, Ephesians, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, vol. 10 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997).
6 Moskala, “God’s Two Seals.”
7 Neall, “Sealed Saints and the Tribulation,” in Frank B. Holbrook (ed.), 261.
8 Ekkehardt Mueller, “The 144,000 and the Great Multitude,” 1, at https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/sites/default/files/pdf/144%2C000greatmultitude.pdf, Accessed, August 3, 2020
9 For a detailed discussion on these movements see, Jon Paulien, Armageddon at the Door (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2008), especially pages 134-183.
10 Neall, “Sealed Saints and the Tribulation,” 269. See also, Mueller, “The 144,000 and the Great Multitude,” 2-3. On the nature of the composition of the 144,000, Ellen G. White has the following counsel, “It is not His [God’s] plan that His people shall present something which they have to suppose, which is not taught in the Word. It is not His will that they shall get into controversy over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as who is to compose the hundred and forty-four thousand,” Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1 (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Assoc., 1958), 174, 175.
11 Paulien, Armageddon, 87.
12 Ibid., 86.
13 Mueller, “The 144,000 and the Great Multitude,” 1.
14 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, 613. “When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work… . and they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above.”
15 Paulien, Armageddon, 163.
16 Neall, “Sealed Saints and the Tribulation,” 258.
17 White, The Great Controversy, 592.