Thursday: The Sabbath as the Seal
As we have seen, the seventh-day Sabbath has been a sign of God’s true people throughout history, beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing during the time of Israel. We also see it perpetuated in the New Testament church with the practice of Jesus and the apostles, and as a distinguishing sign of God’s last-day people who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12) .
Why is the Sabbath so important, and what special significance does it have for Christians? Exod. 20:8-11; Heb. 4:9-10 .
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The Sabbath appears in the heart of the Ten Commandments. It was given by the Creator as a sign or seal of His authority. It identifies Him by name, “The LORD your God”. It identifies the realm over which He has jurisdiction, “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them”. It also identifies the basis of His authority, “for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, . . . and rested the seventh day”.
The New Testament identifies Jesus as the One through whom God made all things (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2) . It is Jesus who created our world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, it is highly significant that as Jesus hung on the cross that Friday afternoon, He cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30, NKJV) . Just as He rested on the Sabbath after finishing His work of Creation, so Jesus rested in the tomb over the Sabbath after finishing His sacrificial work by dying in our place for our redemption. So, the Sabbath is doubly blessed, first at Creation and then at the cross. That is why, according to the book of Hebrews, in resting on the Sabbath the Christian shows that he “has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Heb. 4:10, NKJV) . The Sabbath is a perfect symbol of the fact that we cannot save ourselves, that from start to finish it is Christ’s work made possible through faith (compare Heb. 12:2) .
| If the Sabbath symbolizes resting from our works, what does the keeping of Sunday represent, and how does this fit right in with the basic character of Babylon? |
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The Sabbath shows the authoritative power of God on earth and in heaven.
It invites us to enter God's rest and rest from our own works.
Let him be the Lord of your life.
Can someone answer if possible, If the Sabbath is the Seal of God's chosen few. How does this balance with other denomination that keep the Sabbath but don't believe all the truths that we as SDA do?
Shay, the seal spoken of in Revelation 7 will be given at a specific time when the contest of truth and false doctrines clash in the open for the last time. Every living soul will make a choice in that hour and all decisions will be final. Those who follow Christ, no matter where they are found or their previous understanding, will hear His voice and follow Him then as the loud cry will be seen and heard by all. The wicked "shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise will understand". So our focus should be to "get wisdom".
Shay, I believe that the Sabbath is only an outward sign of the inner sealing by the Holy Spirit. Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is not, by itself, the seal of God. See Phil's post for more context on this.
Thus, today the majority of God's people are still in Sunday-keeping churches. They are being sealed by the Holy Spirit. When the issues become clear to all the world, and people will be forced to choose between obeying God or a manmade edict, they will choose God because they are His. That means that at that time, they will have the outward seal of their inner loyalty.
How can you be sealed without a seal ? 🤔🤔 🤣🤣. The seal is the sabbath and therefore how can one be sealed outside the sabbath ?
Kelvin, the Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit does the sealing. See Eph. 1:13 and Eph. 4:30.
Can you show me from the Bible that the Sabbath is, itself, a seal?
(It is from the study of Bible prophecy that we understand that the Sabbath will be the visible sign of the Holy Spirit's sealing in the very last days.)
At the same time, inner loyalty to God is displayed by outward loyalty. You can't be loyal to God in your heart yet not outwardly keep His true Sabbath. Something must be wrong here about your inner loyalty to God Who is not revealing to you His true Sabbath. If you are loyal to God inside you, then God Must reveal to you His true ways.
Kelvin, there are many people today who are loyal to God in all ways they understand. The Holy Spirit has not convicted them of the Sabbath truth - possibly because those who are keeping the Sabbath in their vicinity do not really have that "inner loyalty."
God reveals His truth in His time - not all at once to all people.
The time will soon come when all people in the world will be able to see the difference between those who follow God and keep the seventh-day Sabbath and those who follow the world and do not keep it. At that time all will make their choice. And then the Sabbath will be the visible sign reflecting the inner sealing of the Holy Spirit.
I feel that Ex 31:12-17 is also an important passage for today's portion of the lesson in regard to the first question. This is God speaking to His people in every age, placing the highest importance upon careful observance of the Sabbath while understanding it's meaning and purpose. In this life on this world, the Sabbath is a haven of Rest from the unrest so prevalent around us. There is no amount of worldly prosperity that can take the place of this Holy day appointed by God as a divine gift to man. Few seem able to realize the true blessing of this day, and our great need of it, even among Sabbath "keepers".
But without a personal relationship with Jesus and without the "born again" experience in Jesus the Sabbath Rest means absolutely nothing and is just a legalistic way of being right with God.
Of course Pete, there is no way to keep the Sabbath Holy and benefit from its Rest without this union with Christ. Read those verses in EX 31 and notice what it is saying. Without taking Jesus' yoke upon us, we cannot learn of Him.
Shah,
Our beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists are supported by scripture. Therefore if others are not keeping all of the truths in God's word they are still not studying to show themselves approved. We will only be held accountable for what we know, have been told or could have known. God is our Judge and knows our hearts.
Lenora, they may be studying to show themselves approved but just don't have the same convictions we do. We all grow more or less in different areas of our lives.
The seal is what we receive when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Sabbath is important and a great blessing but keeping it will not seal me. The Holy Spirit is the seal given and He will guide in all truth, including keeping the Lord’s commands with all our heart soul and mind.
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Ephesians 1:13-14
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 4:30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy is a sign of that sealing, but not the seal itself. The Sabbath points to God, who is our Father, and to our Creator and Saviour, who is the second Adam. As Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians, the last Adam is a "life-giving spirit." 1 Corinthians 15:45.
The sanctification of Sunday comes from the Roman church, who believes that what she binds on earth is bound in heaven. It points to her and is the sign of her authority and man-made religion, which purports to manipulate God.
The bible bears witness that Christ's death was followed by his witnessing to the spirits(1pet 4:6, 1Pet 3:18). I am Kinda confused here, if you imply Christ rested on the sabbath, who was it that went preaching? I sought to understand this from the writings of Ellen White (https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1311.450#450) but it only gave me more questions. Even if so, what then shall we say, Jesus rested to save mankind, or died to save mankind?
Also if the intention was to rest on a sabbath day, did he also ressurrect immediately after the sabbath? if not what need was there for a continual rest?
Thank you. stay blessed.
Thank you for supplying the reference which is to a chapter by Uriah Smith, not Ellen White. His argument is worth reviewing. Among other points, he writes:
George, the Bible explains this passage in 1 Peter 3:18,19 if we read it correctly. The key words in verse 19 are "by which" and "when". In verse 18 the last mention is the Holy Spirit, and the first words in verse 19 are "by which", and "which" can also be translated as "who". So if we read back the phrase without the verse numbering, it would say "...but quickened by the Spirit: by which/whom also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah". So now we can understand that Jesus had spoken through the holy spirit in the days of Noah as he preached to those souls that were disobedient while living on the earth, but are now in "prison"(understood to be the grave) in the days of Peter. Jesus himself had taught that once having died, there is no further probation, so if He had gone to preach to the dead, it would have been against His own words, which also tell us the dead can't hear anything.
Many have twisted this passage to mean something contrary to the Word of God and teachings of Jesus, but a correct reading proves otherwise and the Word of God remains consistent throughout.
Also, the wages of sin is death, so Jesus had to die in order to offer propitiation for sinners. Resting is not the wages of sin.
I really struggle to position sabath day as a seal of God which is referred in the book of Revelation, Because such position makes Sabbath observance a Salvation issue. this contradicts John 3:6. We are only saved through faith not by keeping the law.
Jesus said we will be killed for his name Mathew 24:9. It can't be a sabbath day. I think attack will be on believing Jesus as lord and Saviour.
Ephesians 1:12-14 and Eph. 4:30 clearly call out the Seal of God.
Eric, may I suggest that the Sabbath will be an outward sign of inner sealing by the Holy Spirit? When people will have to choose between obeying God by keeping His Sabbath day holy or being persecuted or killed, only those who have been sealed by the Spirit will be keeping God's Sabbath day holy. Thus the Sabbath will become a sign at that time. (It is not now such a sign.)
Daily we are making decisions to prepare us for that time. An intellectual assent to the correctness of the Sabbath teaching will save no one. Neither will worshiping on the correct day save anyone. Only being fully sealed by the Holy Spirit will enable anyone to stand in that day. (Please see my response to John Herscher for an explanation of what I believe it means to be sealed by the Spirit.
Thanks Inge. Agreed. We will be sealed by Holy spirit. We can only defeat the Dragon through the blood of the lamb.
Eric, every commandment of God is a salvation issue isn't it? Adam and Eve lost eternal life from disobeying one small commandment of God. Notice how the Revelation points out clearly that those saved will be keeping the commandments, while those lost are violating them in rebellion against God.
How can it not be a salvation issue? However, salvation is more than just observance of rules, and for those who have sinned, it involves being forgiven, which requires repentance, and then being transformed. Salvation involves being rescued from sin and sinning, to become like God in character and purpose. This is the work of God in all who believe(Rom 1:16). If after all this, one chooses to not observe the Sabbath commandment, can they be saved while in rebellion against God?
Robert, John has clarified the commandments! 1 John 3:22-23 also see Joh 13:34-35.
Robert, what is the "one simple" commandment you think Adam & Eve broke? I tend to think Adam and Eve broke all 10 of Yehovah's commandments when they sinned against Him.
1) their sin forfeited Adam's authority over the earth and made Satan god of this world.
2) their teeth 'carved'(graven: carved or cut) into the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and in so dong they bowed down to Satan.
3) they made Yehovah's name vain or meaningless by their actions.
4) If the 6th day on which they were created was 24 hours, it stands to reasons that their sin would have been committed on the 7th (Sabbath) day. If the creation days were 1000 years long (a day with Yehovah is 1000 years) then I imagine the day that they did eat was a Sabbath.
5) they both dishonored their Father creator.
6) their sin caused the death of an animal and ultimately Yeshua.
7) Eve may well have committed adultery with Satan and when Adam ate it opened the door to him looking lustfully upon his own daughters.
8) the fruit they partook of did not belong to them.
9) they tried to hide and 'lied' about their actions.
10) they coveted God and His Glory and wanted to be like Him.
Allan all of God's commands were summed up in one simple command as Robert said. Just like Paul says in Romans 13:9 "For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Allan, "Do not eat the fruit from THIS tree, but you can eat from all the other trees" is a really simple "commandment".
Yes, in this simple command Sovereignty is established, which Adam and Eve actually set themselves above if we analyze this fully. Still, the command was simple wasn't it?
The greater issue is that Sabbath was given as a method to accept the Everlasting Covenant- that God will be my God and I will be His son or daughter (Isaiah 56:1-8). This was for Jews and Gentiles. Because I choose to acknowledge that only Creator God by entering into worship of Him on the 7th Day Sabbath, that He established at creation as a sign that He is my God.(Exodus 20:8-11). Worship is recognizing as He is Creator that He is greater than I am, when I keep His sign day I acknowledge His position over me and "Worth-ship" as my Creator. The Sabbath is a sign (seal) mark to the world that I recognize God as the one that makes me Holy (Ezekiel 20:12,20),
Worshipping on Sunday after being exposed to and understanding the significance of the Sabbath shows a spirit of rebellion. Like other forms of disobedience it shows a lack of faith in God’s ability to transform us into His likeness.
Nanci, I think there's one more component into which we have no insight. I say this because I've known church members to give up on people because "they know the truth," or something like that.
But we have no insight into whether or not the Holy Spirit convicted them. Thus we need to continue to teach the gospel message whether or not we think that people already "know the truth." It is only when people have totally grieved away the Holy Spirit that their case is hopeless.
I believe it is likely that the Lord allows some people to be in churches that worship on Sunday because they are currently better off there than they would be in the nearest Adventist congregation. (I understand that the majority of God's people are currently in Sunday-keeping churches.) The Sabbath is only a sign of relationship with the Lord whose character is love. It seems to me that if our characters do not reflect His character of love, the sign of Sabbath-keeping is next to meaningless.
Agreed Inge, which is why I wrote this post about spiritual Egypt sometimes being safer than spiritual Israel back in 2015. https://ssnet.org/blog/50143/
My comment was not meant to be one on judgement. I’m sorry it appears to be just that.
The Bible is clear about our loyalties being associated with God’s word or with satanic deception. It is never within our scope of spiritual knowledge to decide anyone’s connection or relationship with God and that was not my intention to describe in any way that we should.
My response has to do with the question posed at the end of the lesson concerning the meaning of Sunday worship in relationship to Babylon...
I will in the future be very careful not to mention what might be misconstrued as a right to judge or decide on one’s standing with God. That is definitely not not what I believe on any spiritual subject nor do I support treating people out of such foolishness.
By the way, I don’t believe by a long stretch that Seventh-day Adventistism is mentioned in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy as a requirement for salvation.
Nanci, your comment above did not come across as being a judgment, but only an observation supported by scripture. I happen to agree with it.
Nanci, there is no specific Christian religion mentioned in scripture, only Truth. Of all the denominations one might find and choose to follow, only the Seventh-day Adventist denomination teaches the fundamental beliefs supported by Scripture. All others fall away on one or more specific truths. Yet, being a "member" does not equal salvation, while some will be saved with their membership being elsewhere. Salvation is about faith and walking according the the truth available to that individual.
Nanci, I did not construe *your* comment to be judgmental. I did mention how some others had judged Sunday keepers. I was trying to add a little more context to the Sunday/Sabbath issue by recognizing that not everyone who keeps Sunday harbors a spirit of rebellion.
I'm so sorry that I caused you pain by my comment.
There is much more to being sealed than ticking the box, "I keep Sabbath". Personally, I am passionate about keeping the Sabbath because it is one of the best things in my life, but I recognize that for the Sabbath to be meaningful in a spiritual sense a whole lot of other things must happen as well.
Here are a couple of things to think about:
Do we keep Sabbath, just to show the Catholics and "apostate Protestants" that they are wrong? I have heard that argument from Seventh-day Adventists too many times. Our Sabbath-keeping is a relationship with God thing, not an, "We got it right, and you are wrong!" statement.
Is Sabbath-keeping just going to church on Saturday instead of Sunday? This is one question that we have not really thought about too much. Sure, we have a list of "don'ts" that we like to argue about but we seldom really venture into the positive of creatively using the Sabbath as a restful experience.
A cake typically comprises the body of the cake and the icing on the top. While the icing might be the nicest part, it is not all that nice by itself. The icing must be supported by a good cake in order to provide a great eating experience (OK health reformers - lay off on this one. I am making a point, not giving a health lesson. Grin). Likewise, The Sabbath is only meaningful when supported by a total relationship that keeps going 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If it does not have that support it is merely decoration.
It is not helpful to discuss the 7th day Shabbat in isolation from the Biblical Decalogue. "Cleansing of the Sanctuary" can also mean the restoration of the Biblical Decalogue back in to the Christian Church.
Replacement of the genuine Ten Commandments with fake Commandments is the cause of abomination, and of desolation.
Law, in any human structure serves to maintain freedom within that structure, the Biblical Decalogue is immutable, so any change to that Law causes Lawlessness.
what is the difference in keeping sunday holy and worshiping on sunday - if ever there is any?
Worshiping on Sunday means just that - going to church on Sunday and then spending the rest of the day in however people please. Lots of people go straight from church to the supermarket, for instance.
The fourth commandments asks us to keep a day holy. The commandment is quite specific, and it specifies the seventh day. As part of keeping the seventh day holy, we gather together to worship on that day. That's quite different from how most people treat Sunday nowadays.
However, there are still some people who keep Sunday just like we keep Sabbath, believing that that's what God asks them to do and not having been convicted differently by the Holy Spirit. And I believe that the Lord accepts the intention of their heart to keep the Sabbath holy, even if it is the wrong day.
I’m a Sabbath keeper but i don’t think it is a seal of God.
A Close look at Revelation 13 shows that the battle will be on worship not Sabbath!
Very clear Saturn wants to be worshiped. Mathew 4:9. And Jesus Said Saints will be killed because of his name Mathew 24:9.
Rev 13:1 Horns with names of Blasphemy.. Meaning claiming to be God or having a power to forgive sin
Rev13:4 Dragon is worshiped instead of Jesus/ God
Rev 13:5- Blasphemy- Claiming to be God
Rev 13:8 Beast is worshiped
13:14 Miracles and claiming to have Divine powers- Anti Christ!
I cant relate any with fourth commandment bur First and Second Commandments and Jesus commandments.
Indeed, the Sabbath day itself is not the seal of God. There's much more to it. Please see https://ssnet.org/blog/mark-of-beast-or-seal-of-god-more-than-we-thought/. It's what the Sabbath symbolizes - perfect rest/trust in the Creator. I believe that at some point in the future, we will all be tested regarding whether we trust and worship our Creator God or whether, either from convenience or conviction, we will trust/worship another power.
I think the lesson author does a reasonable job demonstrating why it is likely that the test will have something to do with the Sabbath. You probably know that there is a religio-political power in the world today that claims to have power to change God's Law and points to the change of the Sabbath as evidence.
It seems to me that the fourth commandment is largely an expansion of the first commandment. Our God asks us to put Him first and worship Him on the day that He specified as an outward evidence of our faith relationship with Him.
Not sure what you mean by your reference to Saturn because I know of no group that currently or prospectively worships Saturn.
Thanks inge. Quite a nice Article you have directed me to read. That is deep. I agree with the author there is more to it. God is love.
I meant satan(Dragon) not Saturn.
Glad you read that post and we seem to be more or less on the same page. 🙂
Ah .. "Satan" instead of "Saturn" makes sense!
Hi, I am not religious but I am a believer in the Son of God as Savior. How does all this tie in with the Bible verse Matthew 12:1-8 and related verses in Mark 2 and Luke 6 when the Savior said 'The Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath..'.
Hi Marg
You have asked a very broad question. To narrow things down a bit and increase the chances that people respond in a more focused manner to what you are wanting, as a start point, would you be able to outline how you see things tying in - and perhaps where you have specific questions?
why do people observe all the other commandments and leave out the fourth? obedience is better than sacrifice;if we violate the fourth commandment,then we are like those who say there is no God, because if He lives then His commandments are true and can be trusted
I just finish reading the discussion thread....do you guys realize that we are talking About God Almighty here , a spirit....do you really belief that a all powerful spirit would make something a physical as a day , his seal .....
The Seal of God , is his Holy Spirit....which is like him and testifies of his means of salvation and reconcilation of a fallen world...Jesus !!...
It is the Holy Spirit that testifies of Jesus and hence is The seal of God....how do we know we have the seal of the Holy Spirit....by our fruits...and proclaiming Jesus as our LORD...meaning we surrender our lives to him....not in observing a day...
It is the Spirit of God that testifies that we are the Children of God....
No man can say Jesus is Lord unless the Holy Spirit is in him....LORD not just saviour ...
If Jesus be lifted up, he will draw all man onto himself....not the sabbath....
How can a day be the seal of an Eternal God ?.who exist outside of time ?...
Bottom line ....the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath...we are not meant to worship the sabbath, but understand that its a gift.....it has nothing to do with our eternal salvation....
If the Sabbath has nothing to do with salvation why did God commands us to Remember and keep it? Why then in the book of Revelation it says , "Blessed are they who do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city?"
" Revelation 22:14
Ashnet, what does affect our eternal salvation as you understand it?
Thank you, Ashnet, for reminding us again that the Sabbath is not the seal of God. I agree with your comment. The Holy Spirit seals God's people in their hearts and minds, so that they cannot be moved from their faithfulness to Him. I believe that, currently, people are being sealed in their hearts and minds - some without knowing of our keeping the Bible Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a sign of resting from our own works and trusting in Christ's salvation, and it is also a means of resting in Him. So it is very much a part of our salvation, but it is not the ground or cause of our salvation. We are not saved by keeping the Sabbath, but we keep the Sabbath because we are in a saving relationship with Christ.
I think some confusion results from Revelation telling us that God's end-time people will "keep the commandments of God," and the only commandment that is under debate is the fourth commandment. Thus when the battle lines are clearly drawn between Christ leading God's sealed people and Satan leading Babylon, a visible distinction between these two groups will be the honoring of God's Sabbath by the one and the honoring of human law by the other. Thus, at that time, the seal of God will be revealed in the keeping of the true Sabbath, and for practical purposes, the seal and the Sabbath will be synonymous. (They are not currently synonymous.)
Does that make sense to you?
Wow! Inge Anderson, I have read all your posts, and I agree with all of them. I’m a Seventh-day Adventist and just recently came to learn that the Holy Spirit is the seal of the living God that is placed on the forehead of all the saints who have ever lived on this planet since Adam to our days according to Ephesians 4:30. The Bible is so clear on this matter.
Additionally, since the Holy Spirit represents God the Father and God the Son, this explains why the saints of God have the name of the Father and the Son written on their foreheads according to Revelation 14:1. The Bible doesn’t say that the redeemed have the fourth commandment written on their foreheads.
Furthermore, if Sabbath is the seal, then all Jews who keep the Sabbath but haven’t accepted Christ as their Savior are all sealed. Obviously we know that this is not true because the Bible in Romans 3:20- clearly states no flesh will be justified by the works of law without having faith in Christ.
According to James 3:2 none of us, even those who claim to keep Sabbath, can keep all the Ten Commandments perfectly without the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us. One may claim to keep Sabbath but may be struggling with pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, anger issues, etc.
That is why we really need Jesus and the double portion of the Holy Spirit in us to really get out of that pride that “we have all the truth“ and stop exalting the Sabbath more than the Sabbath Giver (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) as the Jews did.
From my personal experience and observations I've noticed that some of us Adventists haven’t been putting much emphasis on the Holy Spirit as we should; no wonder that some or most of us are unconverted and always dread the time of Jacob’s trouble and fear the second coming of Christ. This is because most of us are not even sure if we are filled with the Holy Spirit although we claim that we have all the truth (the Bible and the spirit of prophecy).
Additionally, some of us are quick to judge people who leave the church as “shaken out“ rather than praying for them. We need to be careful not to limit God and put him in the “Adventist“ box as the Jews did by putting God in their “special elect nation“ box and thought of themselves more highly than Gentiles.
What am I trying to say is that unless we are filled with the Holy Spirit and reflect the character of Christ in our hearts we are none of His according to Romans 8:9.
Keeping Ten Commandments is the sign of obedience to God, but can never earn us the salvation without the Holy Spirit. Paying tithe and offerings is the sign of obedience to God, but can never earn us the salvation without the Holy Spirit. Preaching the gospel is a sign of obedience to the command of Christ, but can never earn us the salvation without the Holy Spirit .
God bless you, Inge, for your considerate, polite and thoughtful responses to people. I perceive that you have a very kind heart.
Blessings
Hi, Zacharia. I, for one, can certainly resonate with the points you are making. The seal of God, whether for those who go to sleep in Christ, or in the end time, must necessarily be spiritual in nature. However, I see something in your comment that I didn't see in Inge's, that might possibly be the result of, or lead to, a misunderstanding.
She said the Sabbath is not the seal of God, with emphasis on the word "the." This leaves room for the Sabbath to still be the test of those who will or will not receive God's seal, in the right context.
God's law (of ten commandments) is, in my view, a transcript of His character. When properly understood -- particularly in view of the Sermon on the Mount -- it is exceedingly broad (Psalm 119:96) and deeply spiritual.
End-time prophecy appears to be foretelling a time when the true Sabbath will be very difficult to receive and follow, due to persecution, so that those without a deep spiritual connection with Christ will not even be willing to stand by it, much less able. But those who know and love Jesus will see His 7th-day Sabbath as the sign of their loyalty to Him (see Exodus 31:13 and Ezekiel 20, verses 12 and 20), and that will make all the difference.
So, to my mind, this creates a future setting where the Sabbath could be used by God as His seal on His disciples, much as James says Abraham was "justified by works" in a way. (James 2:18-24) However, as you have so aptly pointed out, anyone hoping to "beat the system" by observing the right day as the Sabbath without "entering by the door" (John 10:1) -- a deep relationship with Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit -- will indeed be in for a rude awakening.
Have a blessed day!
Hi R.G. White,
Thanks for your kind and thoughtful comment, and I agree with everything you have shared, and I was and am totally aware of what you are saying.
By the way, not everything I wrote was alluding to Inge's comments. Some of the things I shared were solely based on my personal experience and understanding.
Blessings,
Zacharia
The Holy Spirit is the only One Who will carry us through. Even until the end of time. We seem to always focus on the future event that has not happened. We forget that each, and every day we have to be led by the Spirit . There are people out there who are hungry and thirsty for a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let us not forget those who are lingering for a touch or a word from us to show the love and kindness of Christ The Sabbath is a day of rest for physical work, but not for getting out there and letting the world know who Jesus is. Let us not take a prideful attitude about how we keep the sabbath, but forget the Christ in the Sabbath. we talk about the Sunday worshipers who go home After Sunday services and go shopping. But we have our potluck with our stomachs full go home and could care less about the world that Christ died for. The Sabbath has a purpose, just like God has a purpose for us. Just as Jesus used the day for touching, Reaching out, and healing people we to
need to think about what God’s purpose for us is on that day. Not just to socialize, eat, and discuss religious topics, But to ingratiate ourselves with others, who don’t know Christ
It is worth remembering that during our socialisation is when we often hear the prayers and needs of one another. That does not happen when you are facing the front and listening to the preacher. Take note of the times that the early church came together to “break bread”. Eating together is a very special time for applied theology!
The Bible clearly says the Holy spirit is the seal of God,not keeping the sabbath. Once you are saved you are sealed by the Holy spirit. You are saved by grace through faith not by works, keeping the sabbath is a work, it does not save you.
Thank you for your comment, Timothy, and Welcome to our blog!
Yes, the Bible clearly says that believers are sealed "with the Holy Spirit," but it does not say that the Holy Spirit is "the seal. (See Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30) I believe there's a significant difference.
The word "seal" goes back to ancient times when wax was used to seal a document, then stamped with a metal "seal." I believe the authors had in mind the definition listed at Dictionary.com:
In that sense, the Holy Spirit first of all seals believers to Christ in their hearts, but heart faithfulness is visible in outward harmony with the will of God, as John the Beloved writes that Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15, 21; John 15:10) In Rev. 14:12 we see that, just before the Second Coming of Christ, His "saints" are marked by their obedience to God's commandments and their faith in Jesus.
Currently, it is evident that the main commandment that is almost ignored in our society is the fourth commandment that asks humanity to devote the seventh day to rest, memorializing His work of creation and symbolizing the rest to be found in Christ.
Thus it is reasonable to conclude that the outwardly visible seal of God is the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath, as embedded in the Ten Commandments.
Nowhere does the lesson state that the Sabbath saves us. Quite to the contrary, the lesson author points out:
You might want to read the lesson for this day again, thoughtfully.
Then think about this:
I think William Earnhardt's post, "Why Lucifer Needed to Destroy God’s Perfect Law to Set up his own Government" is also relevant to this subject.