The Reformation Herald Online Edition

Jesus Christ Is Jehovah

The Sealing of God’s People (4) - The Sealing Angel and the Seal
A. C. Sas

And 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 given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:2, 3).

This sealing angel is the same one mentioned in Revelation 14, where he not only warns the people against receiving the mark of the beast but also points to the commandments of God, one of which contains the seal. The third angel of Revelation 14, therefore, is the sealing angel. The Spirit of Prophecy confirms this as follows:

“I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, ‘The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.’ ” 1

“I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.’ ” 2

“The mighty angel is seen ascending from the east (or sunrising). This mightiest of angels has in his hand the seal of the living God, or of Him who alone can give life, who can inscribe upon the foreheads the mark or inscription, to whom shall be granted immortality, eternal life.” 3

Elder Uriah Smith states:

“We conclude, that the angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, is a divine messenger in charge of a work of reform to be carried on among men involving the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. . . .

“In Revelation 14 we find the same work again brought to view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of heaven with the most terrible warning that ever fell upon the ears of men. . . . The angel with the seal of the living God is therefore the same as the third angel of chapter 14.” 4

If the sealing angel is the third angel, his work must have begun when he entered in the field of action, and began to warn the people against the mark of the beast. He also inscribes the seal of the living God in the foreheads of God’s people. Without any doubt this work begun in 1844.

“The Sabbath is the great test question. It is the line of demarcation between the loyal and true and the disloyal and transgressor. This Sabbath God has enjoined, and those who claim to be commandment keepers, who believe that they are now under the proclamation of the third angel’s message, will see the important part the Sabbath of the fourth commandment holds in that message. It is the seal of the living God.” 5

“I was shown that the third angel, proclaiming the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, represents the people who receive this message and raise the voice of warning to the world, to keep the commandments of God as the apple of the eye, and that in response to this warning many would embrace the Sabbath of the Lord.” 6

“The third angel’s message calls for the presentation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and this truth must be brought before the world.” 7

“Since 1844, in fulfillment of the prophecy of the third angel’s message, the attention of the world has been called to the true Sabbath, and a constantly increasing number are returning to the observance of God’s holy day.” 8

“The proclamation of the third angel’s message calls for the presentation of the Sabbath truth.” 9

“The third angel’s message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up.” 10

The seal of the living God

In order for a law to be in force it must bear the signature of the lawgiver, otherwise it has no authority. A few examples:

“In the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.”

“For the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse” (Esther 3:12; 8:8).

The law of God must have the seal, or stamp, of the great Lawgiver. In this seal three specific elements must appear: The name, the authority, and the territory of His dominion.

In the time of the great apostasy the “man of sin” attempted to remove the seal from the law; but in these last days it will be restored by the true people of God. The prophet says:

“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16).

Where do we find the seal in the law of God? In the first four commandments we find our duties toward God, and in the last six our duties toward our neighbors. In the first three commandments we do not find the seal. The last six do not reveal it to us either. The only place where we find it is in the fourth commandment. It reads:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8–11).

In the fourth commandment we find:

a) the name: “LORD THY GOD”;

b) His power: CREATOR (“the Lord made”);

c) the territory of His dominion: “HEAVEN AND EARTH, THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IN THEM IS.”

If we take the fourth commandment away, the law has no authority, because there would be no indication of the lawgiver.

The Bible confirms that the fourth commandment is the seal, or sign, of the living God:

“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”

“And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God” (Ezekiel 20:12, 20).

“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations. . . . Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:13, 16, 17).

The Spirit of Prophecy also confirms this very truth:

“The fourth commandment alone of all the ten contains the seal of the great Lawgiver, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Those who obey this commandment take upon themselves His name, and all the blessings it involves are theirs.” 11

“The seal of God’s law is found in the fourth commandment. This only, of all the ten, brings to view both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It declares Him to be the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and thus shows His claim to reverence and worship above all others. Aside from this precept, there is nothing in the Decalogue to show by whose authority the law is given.” 12

“The sign, or seal, of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord’s memorial of creation.” 13

“The keeping of the Sabbath is declared to be a sign of the loyalty of God’s people.” 14

“Too late [the enemies of God’s law] see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God.” 15

“The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God. It points to God as the Creator, and is the sign of His rightful authority over the beings He has made. Those who obey this law will bear the seal of God, for He has set apart this day as a sign of loyalty between Himself and His people.” 16

“What is the seal of the living God, which is placed in the foreheads of His people? It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read; for the destroying angel must see this mark of redemption.” 17

“The Sabbath is a sign of creative and redeeming power; it points to God as the source of life and knowledge; it recalls man’s primeval glory, and thus witnesses to God’s purpose to re-create us in His own image.” 18

“The Sabbath was placed in the decalogue as the seal of the living God, pointing out the Lawgiver, and making known His right to rule. It was a sign between God and His people, a test of their loyalty to Him.” 19

“The sign or seal of God is revealed in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord’s memorial of creation.” 20

References
1 Early Writings, pp. 88, 89. [Emphasis supplied.]
2 Ibid., p. 118. [Emphasis supplied.]
3 Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 444, 445.
4 Uriah Smith, Thoughts From Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 461, 462 [edition 1944].
5 Selected Messages, bk. 3, p. 423. [Emphasis supplied.]
6 Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 77. [Emphasis supplied.]
7 Evangelism, p. 184. [Emphasis supplied.]
8 The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, p. 286. [Emphasis supplied.]
9 Gospel Workers, p. 156. [Emphasis supplied.]
10 Maranatha, p. 61. [Emphasis suuppled.]
11 Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 350.
12 The Great Controversy, p. 452.
13 Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 117.
14 Ibid., vol. 8, p. 94.
15 The Great Controversy, p. 640.
16 The Signs of the Times, March 22, 1910.
17 The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 4, p. 1161.
18 Education, p. 250.
19 The Signs of the Times, May 13, 1886.
20 The Review and Herald, April 27, 1911.