God Has Designed a Four-Step Process That Will Separate the Sheep From the Goats During the Great Tribulation

The Setting

A few days before the Great Tribulation begins, Jesus will personally select, seal and empower 144,000 ordinary people of all religious backgrounds. God will use these servants to proclaim the gospel to the world. (Revelation 7:1-4) When the 144,00 are ready to do their work, Jesus will methodically begin to destroy the Earth with enormous manifestations of His wrath. The Book of Revelation predicts global earthquakes, meteoric showers of burning hail, asteroid impacts, darkness, sickness, death and destruction beyond our imagination. These horrific events will affect the whole world and will suddenly cause billions of people to consider the enormity of God and His wrath for the first time. In a setting of death, confusion, conflagration and calamity, billions of people will want some answers. God’s 144,000 servants will explain what God is doing and why.

Currently, because of religious gridlock and religious paradigms, most people will not consider anything about God that disagrees with what they already believe. Therefore, God will empower 144,000 people to speak for Him and after He delivers a series of fatal blows to the ecosystems of Earth, people will be more willing to consider what the 144,000 have to say. The 144,000 will proclaim three messages which are stated in Revelation 14:6-12. The three messages are condensed as follows:

1.   Fear God, worship God and obey His Ten Commandments.  

2.   Have no part in the crisis government that will form to appease God. Reject its laws and false doctrines.  

3.   Do not submit to the Antichrist or receive his mark. If you do, God will severely punish you. 

The 144,000 will present these three messages within the context of fierce opposition. The call to worship God and obey His Ten Commandments will collide “head on” with the religions of the world. The demands of God’s Law will be contrary to the laws and demands of the crisis government that will form. This predicament will produce some very tough choices. (See Daniel 3 for an Old Testament parallel to this story.) These three messages contain the “saving” elements of the everlasting gospel, and as surprising as it may seem, will completely separate the people of Earth. People who allow their carnal nature to reign will reject God’s authority, just as people who allow the Holy Spirit to reign will submit to God’s authority. It is that simple. Notice the four-step process that God has determined for the gospel during the Great Tribulation:

1.   Everyone must hear the gospel.  

2.   Everyone must decide for or against the gospel.  

3.   Everyone must be tested in his or her decision (faith tested).

4.   Depending on the outcome choice, everyone will either receive the seal of God or the mark of the beast.

The first step in the testing process is the proclamation of the terms and conditions of the gospel. The second step is the decision phase. The honest in heart will make the right choices as the Holy Spirit and the Bible directs them, even though they will be threatened with persecution and death. The point is that everyone will make an informed decision about the will of God because the 144,000 will complete their preaching assignments. Everyone will either submit to the gospel or rebel against it. The third step will be the testing phase. This phase will confirm whether our faith in God is firm and loyal. Fourth, God will remove the carnal nature and seal those who pass the test of faith with a spiritual nature that has no propensity toward sin! God will give the sinless nature He originally gave to Adam to the people who pass the test of faith.  

What is the Seal of God?

How can we conclude from Scripture that the sealing process described in Revelation 7 is the change that takes place within the heart when God removes our propensity to sin? There are four steps:

1.      The doctrine of justification and its supporting texts describes a process whereby the righteousness of Christ is imputed to everyone who becomes willing to submit to the dominion of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:16) Because of imputed righteousness, a sinner appears righteous in God’s sight even though he is not righteous in reality. (Ephesians 2:8,9) In other words, when the righteous life of Jesus covers the life of a sinner, God sees the sinner as though he or she never sinned. The imputing of Christ’s righteousness (justification) is God’s gift of grace to every born again person. This is our all-important “ticket” to Heaven which Jesus paid. (Romans 8:1-9)

2.      The doctrine of sanctification and its supporting texts describes a process that every born again person must submit to. (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 12:14) Sanctification is the process of submitting our will to God’s will every day of our lives. Sanctification requires patience and perseverance because the law of sin is relentless. Justification is our “title” to Heaven and sanctification is our “preparation” for Heaven. God has made a way to get man to Heaven through justification and He has made a way to put Heaven’s government within the heart of man through justification. 

3.      The sealing of the 144,000 occurs shortly before the Great tribulation begins. (Revelation 7:1-4) The 144,000 are the first fruits of the great harvest of souls that will come out of the Great Tribulation! (Revelation 14:4; 7:9-14) This means the 144,000 are examples of what the harvest will produce. Because they are first fruits, the 144,000 are sealed first. Believers who receive their testimony and pass the test of faith will be sealed as the 144,000 were sealed during the time-period of the seven trumpets. (The time period of the seven trumpets is 1,260 days in length.)

4.      The mystery of God is finished by the time of the seventh trumpet. “But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:7) What is the mystery of God? The mystery of God that is completed during the Great Tribulation is His plan to transform the carnal nature of every willing sinner into a pure heart! God has not seen a sinner that he did not love. God has not seen a sinner that He could not forgive and God has not seen a problem He cannot solve. The mystery of God that will be announced by His 144,000 servants is God’s generous offer to remove each man’s greatest problem: man’s sinful nature.

 Notice how various mysteries of God unfold over time: Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men of other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit of God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and share together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unreachable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:2-12) 

Now examine these words by Paul to the church in Colosse: “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all my energy, which so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:24-29)

Paul told the Ephesians that the union of Gentiles and Jews into one body of people had been part of God’s plan from the beginning. But, this part of salvation for the human race (the mystery that had been kept secret from ages past) had not been revealed until now. Now that the appointed time had come for this to take place, this mystery was exposed and Paul was empowered to announce this bold new revelation to the world. If you would like to enjoy the fullness of this revelation, read all Ephesians 2 and 3 from your Bible and reflect on Paul’s commission to reveal this “previously unheard” doctrine.

Like wise, Paul told the Colossians that he had become a servant of the gospel, by the commission of God, to present a mystery which had been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to the saints. This mystery is that Jesus lives within the hearts of His followers, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

The mystery that the 144,000 will proclaim has been hidden from previous generations. This mystery is that Jesus will remove the carnal heart with its propensity for sin and He will replace it with a pure heart that has no attraction for sin. If sinners will put their faith in Christ and obediently submit to the gospel call that the Holy Spirit is pressing upon their hearts, Jesus will generously grant this miracle.  

A Pure Heart 

The sealing described in Revelation 7 is the gift of a pure heart. God has promised this gift to the human race for almost 3,000 years! God promised His people while in Babylonian exile, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26,27)  Unfortunately, the people of Israel failed to follow the Holy Spirit. Israel went astray again and again. Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah and the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36 was delayed. But, it is still coming! Six hundred years after Ezekiel’s day, Paul declared this promise again, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, “know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:10-13)

These two texts, one by Ezekiel and the other by Paul, speak about the powerful transformation God has planned. No doubt, both prophets anticipated the fulfillment of this promise in their day, but the mystery is not yet fulfilled until we reach the Great Tribulation. For thousands of years God has looked forward to the day when rebellion will no longer be within His children! His children also long for the day for this to happen because they are sick and tried of having to deal with the law of sin. (Romans 7:23-25) Yes, both Ezekiel and Paul knew the transformation was coming, but they did not know its appointed time. The saints who live during the Great Tribulation will understand the timing and they will see and experience the transformation with their own eyes!

God removes the sinful nature during the Great Tribulation because the intercession of Jesus on behalf of sinners comes to a close at the time of the seventh trumpet. For thousands of years, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed.  During the 1,260 days of sealing, the righteousness of Christ will be imparted to every sinner who passes the test of faith. No longer will the saints be reckoned as sinful, for they will be pure! As individuals pass their personal test of faith, God will do something He has not done since sin began. He will replace the carnal nature of every “faithful filled” saint with a pure heart and seal it within him or her. Therefore, the struggle with sin and the rebellion it causes from within will be finished for all saints by the time the seventh trumpet sounds! 

Summary

It is very important that we learn now to recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He often puts us in difficult situations so that we can see the mighty hand of God move within our lives. We need to experience lessons of faith in the school of sanctification right now in order to prepare for the coming test of faith. Jesus is anxious to prepare us for what lies ahead. Our lack of faith, our failure to do right, our rebellion against God’s will, our selfishness and stubbornness are all due to our carnal nature, but this will not be the case forever. Think of it! A time is coming when God’s children will no longer have a carnal nature. This is what John means when he wrote, “Dear friends, now [in our present condition] we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2,3, insertion and italics mine.)  Did you notice that John said, “We shall be like Him?” Talk about a promise! Remember the words of Jesus: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” The saints are going to be pure in heart.

The Great Tribulation will be a great testing time. It will also be a time of revelation and reward for those who pass the test of faith! The saints will be rewarded with pure hearts and then they will see the grandest revelation to ever take place, Jesus appearing in all His glory! So, do not give up! If you are struggling with sanctification persevere – pray without ceasing and ask God’s grace and strength to overcome. People who learn to depend on God’s strength today will not fall during the persecution that lies ahead. Why not learn to walk by faith now? Everyone who walks with God lives in a constant purification process – this can be compared to washing our dirty clothes each day. Every day, God is working on the stain of sin that is within us. One day soon, at the appointed time, the mystery of God will be revealed. Jesus will eliminate the carnal nature within every saint. This is what the Bible means when it says of the redeemed, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)