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The
Mystery of God
“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 mentioned in Revelation 10:7? We know that it
will be completed at the seventh trumpet, but
when does it start? The mystery of God is the
sealing and it begins with the 144,000 because
“judgment begins at the house of God.”
(1 Peter 4:17) The mystery of God will be a
mysterious transformation that cannot be seen,
but the results will be seen. During the judgment
of the living, the carnal nature will be removed
from everyone who receives Jesus as their Savior
and passes the test of faith. The 144,000 will be
the first people to experience this amazing
transformation. After they have been severely
tested and transformed, God will place His seal
on their foreheads indicating a secure and
permanent transaction has occurred. Remember the
four uses of seals in the Bible? The seal of God
on the 144,000 indicates a finished
transformation, a secured position. The 144,000
will be delivered from the attraction of sin. The
sinless and bold behavior of the 144,000 will
reflect this stunning transformation. They will
speak the truth without regard to consequences.
The Bible says, “No lie was found in their
mouths; they are blameless!” (Revelation 14:5)
This is why the mystery of God (the
transformation of man’s nature) cannot be
seen, but the results will be seen and heard.
Consider the following
scenario: Because the 144,000 are declared “firstfruits,”
the judgments of the living will begin with the
144,000. After they are tested and judged, their
carnal nature will be mysteriously and miraculously
removed. Then, the 144,000 will be “sealed”
with sinless natures – having no propensity
or attraction toward rebellion against God. In
fact, they will have a distinct repulsiveness
toward sin. The 144,000 will be the first to
receive what Adam and Eve lost when they sinned.
The good news is that each person who receives
the testimony of the 144,000 and passes the test
of faith will also experience ‘the
transforming mystery of God” and receive the
seal of God!
After each person is
sealed, the struggle with the carnal nature will
be over! Sin will be repulsive and unnatural.
Paul knew this transaction was coming, even
though he did not know exactly when. He wrote,
“… The time is coming, declares the
Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the [whole]
house of Israel [the ten tribes that lived in the
north] and with the house of Judah [the two
tribes that lived in the south]. It will not be
like the [bilateral] covenant I made with their
forefathers [in Exodus 19] when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because [of
their carnal hearts] they did not remain faithful
to my covenant, and I turned away from [rejected]
them, declares the Lord. This is the [everlasting]
covenant I will make with the house [twelve
tribes] of Israel after that time [the years
allotted for the duration of sin], declares the
Lord. I will [transform their hearts and minds
and] put my laws in their minds and write them on
their hearts [so there will be no rebellion
toward me within their body]. 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 [personally] 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 [God]
has made the first one obsolete; and what is
obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” (Hebrews
8:8-13, insertions mine)
Demonstration
and Proclamation
The gospel of Jesus is
more than mere words. The gospel of Jesus is a
way of life and love. Jesus will use 144,000
servants to “show and tell” the world
what He wants. From the human perspective, we
will look at the 144,000 as bold people at first.
These ordinary people will prove to be anything
but ordinary after they begin their ministry.
Their testimony and actions will be awesome
because they will be transformed by God’s
power. Not all the money in the world will be
able to buy the seal of God. Jesus will
personally transform and seal one person at a
time as they take hold of His promises and pass
the test of faith. Jesus is a personal Savior, as
well as our Judge, and every soul who embraces
His teachings will experience His transforming
touch.
The 144,000 will be
“perfect” reflections of the love of
Jesus. They will be perfect examples of what
“Christ in you, the hope of glory”
looks like. (Colossians 1:27) Every person who
loves truth, regardless of religious background,
will observe the humble and loving character of
the 144,000. Of course, their truthful speech and
blameless lives will offend and infuriate the
wicked. Jesus warned His disciples, “Remember
the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant
is greater than his master.’ If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If
they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours
also. They will treat you this way because of my
name, for they do not know the One who sent me.”
(John 15:20,21, italics mine)
We have discussed how the
144,000 will be the first among the living to be
judged and mysteriously transformed. We know the
144,000 will be “sealed” a few days before
the Great Tribulation begins. After they are
sealed, the four winds will be released –
the judgments of God will begin to fall. Then,
144,000 prophets of God will boldly and
fearlessly proclaim the terms and conditions for
salvation to a world saturated with ignorance and
blinded by religious arrogance. Without regard
for the wishes of family members or personal
safety, they will speak the Words of Jesus given
them by the Holy Spirit. No lie will be found in
their mouths. The testimony of the 144,000 will
alienate the religious and political leaders of
Earth and all of the wicked. Civil authorities
will severely persecute the 144,000 because their
“testimony” will be regarded as “inflammatory
speech.” The 144,000 will receive the brunt
of persecution and religious hatred, and so will
those people who receive their testimony.
Nevertheless, the whole world will hear “the
testimony of Jesus” through His faithful
“servants the prophets” and the end
result is that everyone on Earth will be tested.
Everyone on Earth will be put through this four-step
process:
- Every
nation, kindred, tongue and people will
hear the terms and conditions of
salvation through the testimony of the
144,000. Everyone will be informed that
Jesus is the Creator and He commands
respect and worship on His holy day.
- Revelation
13 indicates the human race will respond
to God’s wrath by creating a crisis
government that will attempt to appease
God by mandating worship. Because the
laws and penalties enacted by the crisis
government will directly conflict with
the laws and penalties of God, everyone
will be forced into a difficult choice.
The people of Earth will be forced to
make a decision – submit to Jesus’
authority and suffer Babylon’s
persecution or submit to the authority of
Babylon and the devil, and receive God’s
seven last plagues and the loss of
eternal life.
- Everyone
will suffer wrath. Those people who obey
the laws of God will suffer first. Those
who obey the laws of man will suffer
greatest, but both groups will suffer.
Everyone will be tested with persecution
because persecution exposes our highest
allegiance. If we love our lives more
than we love God, persecution will expose
this. If we love God more than life,
persecution will expose this, too. Jesus
said, “For whoever wants to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for me will find it.” (Matthew
16:25)
- Everyone
who submits to the authority of God and
passes the test of faith will be
mysteriously transformed and sealed with
the seal of the living God. All the
people who refuse to obey Jesus will have
no choice but to receive the mark of the
beast.
During the Great
Tribulation, the gospel will be proclaimed with
clarity and power. Everyone will make an informed
and intelligent decision with regard to the
gospel. The gospel of Christ demands submission
to the King of kings. Many will submit twice as
many will rebel. In short, the whole world will
be put through a time of severe testing. (Revelation
3:10)
Paul’s
Comments about the Seal of God
The sealing of the
firstfruits (144,000) and the numberless
multitude that follows occurs during the
appointed time of the end because the sealing
“of the living” is the last phase in
the judgment bar of Christ. In other words, after
a person passes the test of faith, that person
will be mysteriously transformed and
sealed with the seal of God. When the last saint
is sealed, “the mystery of God” will be
completed – just before the seventh trumpet.
(Revelation 10:7)
A certain amount of
knowledge existed during New Testament times
about the sealing, but it was not experienced or
put in its proper context. Paul writes about God’s
seal and “sealing” in various places
and we need to examine Paul’s views and
comments so that his statements can be
prophetically corrected and applied to our day.
Before we examine Paul’s comments on the
seal of God, please review the following texts
from the New Testament so that you can appreciate
the first century A.D. mind set which Paul and
the apostles had with respect to time and timing.
(I understand certain words to emphasize key
points.)
1. The
apostle Peter thought he was living at the end of
the world. Notice these verses. On the day of
Pentecost in A.D.30, Peter stood and said, “These
men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only
nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken
by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days,
God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young
men will see visions, your old men will dream
dreams.’” (Acts 2:15-17) “The
end of all things is near. Therefore be clear
minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”
(1 Peter 4:7)
2. The
apostle James thought he was living at the end of
the world. He wrote, “Be patient, then,
brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how
the farmer waits for the land to yield its
valuable crop and how patient he is for the
autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and
stand firm, Because the Lord’s coming is
near.” (James 5:7,8)
3. The
apostle John thought he was living at the end of
the world. He wrote, “Dear children, this is
the last hour; and as you have heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists
have come. This is how we know it is the last
hour.” (1 John 2:18)
4. The
apostle Paul thought he was living at the end of
the world. He wrote, “What I mean, brothers,
is that the time is short. From now on
those who have wives should live as if they had
none.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)
5. Paul also
wrote, “in the past God spoke to our
forefathers through the prophets at many times
and in various ways, but these last days
he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the
universe.” (Hebrews 1:1,2) “For Christ
is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer
himself often, as the high priest enterth into
the holy place every year with the blood of
others; For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world: but now once
in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself.” (Hebrews 9:24-26, KJV) “The
night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put
on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)
After reviewing these
texts, we find unanimous agreement among the
apostles. They believed they were living at the
end of the world. History also records that most,
if not all of the apostles, had died or been put
to death by the time John wrote the book of
Revelation. My point is the apostles died without
realizing their inaccurate knowledge of God’s
timing. None of them knew the Second Coming would
be 2,000 years into the future. Paul acknowledged
this handicap saying, “For we know in part
and we prophesy in part, but when perfection
comes, the imperfect disappears.” (1
Corinthians 13:9,10)
The subject of the seal
of God specifically applies to Paul’s
statement, “For we know in part and we
prophesy in part…” Paul was martyred
about thirty years before John wrote the book of
Revelation. Paul knew certain things about the
mysterious transformation and the sealing, but he
did not know the timing. Therefore, Paul applied
what he knew about the sealing in his day! In a
similar way, after reading the book of Hebrews a
person could say that Paul certainly knew about
the ministry of Jesus in Heaven’s temple as
our High Priest in the Most Holy Place. The
problem though, is that Paul did not understand
the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, and he did not
know about the time, times, and half a time of
the little horn power in Daniel 7:25. Simple
stated, Paul had no idea that the twenty-first
century A.D. would take place. Paul and the
apostles understood many parts of God’s
plan, but they could not know the timing or
arrangement of these parts because the book of
Daniel was sealed until the appointed time of the
end. (Daniel 12:4-9)
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