SEALING OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD.
By Elder R. F. Cottrell
Text: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 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.” Rev. 7:1–3. Leading events of history may be given in chronological order; but to write out every event of the history of the world, or of any country, so that everything shall be recorded in the exact order of time in which it occurred, has never been, nor ever will be, attempted. So it is in prophecy, which is history given before the events occur. In the opening of the seven seals of Rev. 6–8, is given a regular succession of events to transpire in connection with the church during the whole age, from the days of the primitive Christian church down to the close of probation, the day of wrath, and the second coming of Christ. The events to take place under the opening of the sixth seal are the great earthquake of 1755, which destroyed the city of Lisbon, the darkening of the sun and moon in 1780, the falling of the stars in 1833, and the great day of wrath which follows immediately upon the close of probation and reaches to the second advent of Christ. Rev. 6:12–17. The regular succession of events under this seal begins with the signs of Christ’s coming at hand, and ends with the day of wrath. With the description of this day of wrath the chapter closes. But something of importance in connection with these events remains to be told, and consequently chapter 7 intervenes between the description of the events under the sixth seal and the opening of the seventh. This chapter begins with an account of the sealing of the servants of God preparatory to the troubles that are coming in the day of wrath; and consequently this is the last work of the gospel while men are upon probation; and, after the sealing of the living saints, the chapter gives a description of the great multitude of the resurrected saints and the introduction of all to the immortal and everlasting state, where sorrow will be forever unknown. Then, going back from this digression to the thread of discourse, the prophet speaks of the opening of the seventh seal, which brings us to the actual coming of the Lord with “all the holy angels,” making a pause in the joyful anthems of praise in Heaven until their triumphant return with all the vast multitude of the redeemed. The sealing therefore is a work to be done during the period of the sixth seal, after the signs in heaven of the coming of Christ have appeared, and before the winds are loosed and the great day of wrath is come. It is a special work of preparation for the people of God, that they may stand secure in the time of trouble that will come upon the earth when the time of probation shall close, the winds be loosed, and the wrath of God and the Lamb come. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:36. How transcendently important the closing, sealing work of probationary time! How important that the servants of God should heed the voice of the Master, watch the signs of the times, and pray night and day for a preparation to stand secure in the day of wrath, and stand before the Son of man at his coming! Can it be that professed Christians can ignore these things, having no confidence in Christ-given signs fulfilled, and consequently not heed his command to watch and pray in respect to the things that are coming, and yet hope to be prepared for the awfully tremendous event, should it come on them “as a thief”! Alas! for that soul who closes his eyes to prophetic light, and willingly lets the sealing work pass unheeded, and consequently permits the day of God to come upon him suddenly and unexpectedly as a thief in the night, or as a snare is sprung upon birds unconsciously feasting upon the grain scattered to decoy them. Winds, in the text, are a symbol of wars; the four winds—winds from all the cardinal points—signify the general wars in every quarter of the globe, which have been foretold by the ancient prophets in connection with the great day of God’s wrath. See Zeph. 1:14–17; 3:8; Jer. 25:29–33; Joel 3:9–13. Angels of God have a controlling power over the governments of the earth; they can hold in check the elements of strife among hostile and menacing nations, or they can let them loose, and thus “hurt the earth and the sea.” They have a charge to hold them until a specific work is done; and that work is the closing work of the gospel of salvation among men, a work which prepares all the living servants of God for the time of trouble and national conflict which is to follow when the winds are loosed. According to prophecy, the nations will be angry, and their anger will be followed by the wrath of God. Rev. 11:18. In this time of trouble the servants of God are to “be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Dan. 12:1. The sealing work will determine who of all the living shall be found written there. Solemn and momentous work! Can it be that this very work is now being done? It is not only possible, but most certainly this is the case. This truth is terribly true! The third angel’s message of Rev. 14:9–12, is evidently the last merciful warning before the outpouring of the unmingled wrath of God; and consequently is the sealing message. It has the seal of the living God as its most distinguishing characteristics. It warns all against receiving the seal or mark of the beast upon pain of drinking of the wine of God’s wrath without mixture. The winds of general war must be held back while this warning prepares the servants of God to stand secure when the winds are no longer restrained, but the time of trouble and distress is fully come. Seal and mark, as used in these passages, have the same meaning, and signify simply a sign or token. It is not a literal brand or mark upon the flesh like “the sign of circumcision, a seal,” or “a token, of the covenant” that God made with Abraham; Gen. 17:11; Rom. 4:11; but something fully as manifest to the observer—a practically distinguishing sign. One version of our text has it, “Having the sign of the living God,” and, “Till we have signed the servants of God.” Let it be noticed that it is an outward manifestation of allegiance, and not the inward work of the “Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” The two marks or signs—that of the living God, and that of the beast—are evidently in direct opposition to each other; and since those who heed the warning against the worship and mark of the beast, are distinguished as those “who keep the commandments of God,” &c., it is fair to infer that the seal of God—his sign or token—is to be found in his commandments, or law, and is a sign of allegiance to the one true and living God, as distinguished from all other gods or lords who may claim our fealty and worship. Those who have the Lamb’s “Father’s name,” or, as rendered by Whiting (I quote from memory), “his [the Lamb’s] name and that of his Father,” written in their foreheads, are without doubt those who honor the name of God by obedience to his law. Rev. 14:1. The mark of the beast also is called “the mark of his name,” literally meaning the mark of his authority. “The seal of an earthly monarch is the sign or mark of his authority. It is that which makes valid those laws or decrees which he promulgates. It shows his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Now the Sabbath makes valid the law of God. It is the only part of the law that shows who the lawgiver is, and that distinguishes him from other gods. It shows him to be the Lord thy God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them is, and thus furnishes us with his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Therefore the Sabbath may with propriety be called the seal or sign of God. Indeed, it is the only thing in the Bible that is said to be a sign between God and his people, that they may know that he is the Lord. Read Eze. 20:12, 20; Ex. 31:13, 17. And whenever the sacred writers, whether under the old or new dispensation, undertake to distinguish the living God from false gods, an appeal is invariably made to the fact that the true God made heaven and earth, which fact lies at the foundation of the Sabbatic institution. Read Ps. 115; Jer. 10; Acts 14:8–15; 17:22–29. In truth, it were impossible to distinguish the true God from idol gods by any portion of the law of God except the fourth commandment.” But not to enter into a particular investigation of the seal of God and the mark of the beast, it is sufficient to my present purpose to state that there are two rival days in Christendom, each claiming to be the Sabbath which all men ought to keep holy. In the scriptures above referred to, the Lord expressly says that his Sabbath is a sign between him and his people, that they might know that he is the Lord, and, as the reason, says, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” So the seventh-day Sabbath is the sign of God. On the other hand, the Roman papacy and church, which are prophesied of as a power that would think itself able to change the times and laws of God, Dan. 7:25, claim expressly the change of the day, “without scriptural authority,” as the mark or sign of their authority to make laws and bind the consciences of mankind. “How prove you,” say they, “that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?” The answer is, “By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday.” So while God claims the seventh-day Sabbath as a sign of his power and authority as the maker of heaven and earth, the beast power claims the first day instead of the Sabbath as the sign of its power and authority; and as these claims do not conflict, let both be esteemed valid. We now inquire for the facts in the fulfillment of the text. Are the nations now angry? Have there been just apprehensions of a general time of war for years in the past? Has the great calamity been delayed beyond expectation? How long have there been just forebodings of the terrible struggle? Has not this state of things existed ever since the revolution of 1848? And when the war-cloud has seemingly burst, how soon has the tempest been hushed to peace? During all this time the coming storm has seemingly been held in check by a higher power. The angels “to whom it is given to hurt the earth and sea,” though seemingly about to let loose the storm in all its fury, have evidently heard the imperative voice of the ascending angel. “Hurt not the earth,” till the last, the sealing message, has done its work of sealing the servants of God, preparing them to be delivered in the time of trouble. And is there such a message in the world?—a message claiming to be the final message, that of the “third angel,” warning against the worship and mark of the beast, and pressing the claim of all the commandments of the decalogue as written by the finger of God, especially of the down-trodden Sabbath as the sign of God and the seal of his law? Isa. 8:16. And did this message begin to dawn upon the world at the proper time?—at the point when it became evident that the winds of war were struggling to be loosed, and yet by an unseen power were held in check and abeyance? These questions can only be truly answered in the affirmative. To answer them negatively would be to falsify the facts of the history of our own times since 1848. At that time when the storm-cloud of general war was darkening the horizon, this message was just rising to view; but the rising storm was checked, and a calm ensued. And ever since that time whenever the winds have shown signs of struggling to be free, and the danger has seemed imminent, by this unseen power they have been marvelously staid, though the wrath of the angry nations has not been subdued. At the same time the rising message has been spreading over the world, and, according to prophecy, is going to “many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” While the winds have been held, the sealing message has been doing its work. The Sabbath of the Lord is gaining prominence. And while a large class are clamoring for law to enforce a stricter observance of the day that has usurped the place of the Sabbath of the Lord, attention is almost everywhere being awakened to the claims of the Sabbath law as given by God himself; and the conscientious here and there are embracing it. Be assured, reader, that not one of these things is accidental. The word of God having predicted them, his overruling providence is guiding and controlling events to their fulfillment. Not one thing of all he has said shall fail of being done. The clouds are thickening, and the muttering thunders can be heard. The four winds, though struggling to be free, are being held for the closing message of the gospel to do its work of sealing. The messenger with the seal of God is on his way, ascending to view, like the rising of the eastern sun. Soon his appointed work will be accomplished, the winds will be loosed, and the earth will be hurt. The great day of wrath will come; the wicked shall drink of the wine of God’s wrath, but the righteous shall be delivered. God in great mercy is waiting to be gracious. Now is the time to accept of proffered mercy. Soon it will be too late. Soon probation will cease; the wicked will be seized with the seven last plagues; but the servants of God shall escape. Hasten, my soul, in the preparation for that day. Hasten, dear reader, and let not that day come upon you as a snare. Inquire now, “Who shall be able to stand?” and do not wait till the terrible day is come. Then “It will be in vain to call,
Ye mountains, on us fall,
For his hand will find out all,
In that day.” But happy indeed will it be with all those who have heeded the warning mercifully sent of God, in fulfillment of his promise, and have gotten a complete victory over sin, through obedience to God and faith in Jesus Christ. Happy for those who have united in the fulfillment of the prophetic command of God “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.” Isa. 8:16. Those who engage in this work of reform, and shall “raise up the ruins of many generations,” shall be called “The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to be frequented.” On condition of turning from trampling on the Sabbath of Jehovah, and calling it “a delight, holy to Jehovah, honorable”—these shall escape the impending wrath, and join in the song of the redeemed. Shall we not, dear reader, comply with the conditions, and be partakers of the joy?