Friday: Further Thought – God’s Seal or the Beast’s Mark?
Further Thought: “Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads — it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved — just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of God are now upon the land, . . . that we may know what is coming”. — Ellen G. White, The Faith I Live By , p. 285.
“The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God”. — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 605.
Discussion Questions:
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I need help in number 1 &2 please
Maxwell please share exactly what you need help with. Thanks.
Question 1
Pray and present the truth. The person listening to the message must have a receptive mind to received the truth. If the person rejects or makes excuse to the truth being presented give time to the person to process the truth. You have planted a seed in their life. God will nurture the seed and will help the seed to germinate to life in his time. Knowing when to walk away is important in presenting the truth.
Question 2
We are inwardly sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Look at the story of Peter in the house of Cornelius.
The gentiles were anointed with the Holy Spirit before their baptism.
Those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit will keep the law holy because
the law is written in their heart prompts obedience including the fourth
commandment.
The Sabbath is the outward sign of the inward transformation.
We were created in the image of God to love, create, and share.
We have failed in loving (agape).
We have failed in sharing (unconditionally).
We have failed in creating (good as in the creation week when God said it is good)
God himself says about the tower Babel, "now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."
Most of the scientific inventions are created to disprove God as creator by the very material provided by God (space, time and matter).
He created Sabbath as a weekly reminder of the creativity of God.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Sabbath is his seal by creation.
Seventh day is God's Seventh Day but man's first day on earth.
If you acknowledge God as creator, we will worship him on the day He created holy.
Moses, the place you are standing is holy ground.
My people, the time you are spending is holy.
Amen . Let us pray earnestly for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that we can finish the job that is before us .
I sometimes wonder with this world being so secular why would they worry about which day we go to church? (main visible aspect of which day we worship)
Is it possible that the test will be - being forced to work on Saturday (economic pressure) - this would affect everyone irrespective of their religion and only those who believe that the Sabbath is holy would not go to work and thus be set apart.
What does it mean to get settled in to the truth, enough to not be moved? Let me pick on Inge today. Based on her writings she is grounded in the truth. Hypothetically if I were to try to convence her that it was no longer necessary to keep the Seventh day Sabbath, she would say, "no John you are wrong. The Bible says that God hallowed the 7th day, set it aside as a special day of rest made for me. Exodus 20:11. Hebrews 4:4-5,9. Mark 2:27. I like David do set the Lord my God before me. I will not be moved, I am happy all the day. Psalms 16:7-11." Wouldn't you say Pete and NewBegin, Inge is settled spiritually and intelectually into the truth? Are we ready for Jesus to come can we look up and say this is our God? I am reminded that we can if we choose to be those that keep the commandments of God, therefore we love Christ and keep them all. Revelation 14:12. John 14:15." JC Said: "The most important thing for me is to be prepared for heaven! Earthly things have to be managed wisely, but much more important is my connection with Jesus, because from it I get the true sense of existence, that I was created to live in harmony and in love and peace with the rest of the Universe! Not against the Creator! But in favor. To this, I need to choose Him everyday!" I do believe JC is settled in too. Me too.
I appreciate your confidence in me, John, but I would like to suggest that in a discussion like this the most that we can possibly judge is the intellectual aspect of being "settled into the truth" and even that not very well. (Only God can judge accurately.)
I believe that the spiritual aspect goes much deeper. It means that the Holy Spirit has full control of our being, and I'm on a journey like everyone else likely reading this. If we submit to the Spirit's leading day by day, we can be confident that He will seal us to Himself for eternity.
The test of the spiritual sealing would be whether or not we consistently love as Jesus loved, whether we continually practice His self-renouncing love so that in all our doings self is not seen. When put that way, I have a long way to go! Looking at myself, I would be utterly discouraged, but looking to Christ, I know that He is able to save me as long as I depend on Him. And that is the same confidence that all who read this may have.
I really appreciate this passage which, I believe, this tells us something of what it means to be sealed by the Holy Spirit:
Thank-you Inge, you are right we are all vulnerable. It is by the grace of God that here we go. One thing we can do is pray for each other. I pray we all will ask for baptism by the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Thank-you for the MB passage.
Yes, indeed, John, we need to pray for each other. And, yes, we need to ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. As Jesus pointed out, the Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them who ask than parents are willing to give food to their children. (Luke 11:13) But we need to ask!
I particularly feel the need of prayer for me in guiding this online ministry. So please do pray for me, as I pray for you as a participant on this blog.
We cannot accomplish anything without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives, which cannot take place unless we repent and believe the Gospel. It is the sanctified life that is the witness, not merely having "correct doctrine". We need more than the name of Christ, but must be thoroughly converted, faithful servants. I believe that agitating the subject of the mark of the beast is not as important as seeking wisdom from above and walking in the light of truth. Only when empowered by the Holy Spirit(who cannot abide where sin abides) can we then have power as witness for truth, whatever the topic. When the question comes, only faithful servants will be able to reveal the truth to those searching for it. To stir up this subject beforehand will only harden many against it. In the meanwhile we must study to show ourselves approved unto God, who will then bring about the opportunities to witness with power and effectiveness.
Keep in mind, this event will not take place until God's servants are sealed in preparation for it, then the great and terrible winds will blow. In mercy, God holds back these winds until His true people are ready to meet them, having their robes made white in the blood of the Lamb. This takes place when we "repent and believe the Gospel"(Mark 1:15). Until then, our efforts will only be like sounding brass. We are not "saved" until sin has no more dominion over us. Our true preparation is to "seek righteousness, seek meekness:"(Zeph 2:3).
While the final contest will be openly centered on true or false worship, this is only to reveal those who are saved by grace through faith, or are unrepentant, rejecting God through unbelief, though claiming to serve Him while sin reigns in their life.
The issue is actually more accurately defined in Mal 3:18 isn't it? So it's not as much about which day, but is more importantly about who is enthroned in the heart which will be revealed by our choice of which day we worship on.
I couldn't find the term "False Worship" anywhere in the Bible. The term "Worship" has only one method of communicating with God. The question is when, where and how. To be concerned about future events being required, doesn't seem make an immediate need, applicable. How are the ways that we worship on a regular basis, acceptable to God? Some may wonder where do we fit in the Three Angels Message? Many have asked the same questions and gone to their rest. The images in Daniel and Revelation have been the subject of discussion for hundreds of years that I am aware of. Who knows what tomorrow may bring?
Paul, the term "False Worship" does not appear in the Bible, but the idea certainly does, in many forms.
Can I also suggest that "worship" in the wider sense is about all of the communication and expression of the relationship between us and God, not just a set of formal activities?
False worship is any worship that is done while harboring sin in the life. How can true worship exist where rebellion is in progress? I believe this is clearly established in the Word of God.
The term and or the definition seems a bit different due to an abbreviated or shortened commentary. Be that as it may, the thought is understood. If the expression is used in a life of intentional devotion to God, their is what appears to be a serious problem. Worshiping God should be first and for-most in all that we do. The term as applied to another deity is then applicable.