SOUL REST, THE SEAL OF GOD.
By E. W. Whitney
“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. And I heard the number of them which were sealed; and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Rev. 7 : 1–4. As “servants of our God” who expect to receive the “seal of the living God,” it is reasonable, indeed, it is essential, that we understand from His Word just what constitutes such a mark of distinction as that mentioned in the text quoted. It certainly must have an important significance. A seal implies authority, power, legal exactness, completeness. From the text it appears that but a comparatively small number (144,000) receive it, but they are a remarkable company. From the first verses of Revelation 14 we learn that they are not “defiled with women” (symbols of worldly churches); they “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth” (live as Christ lived); they are “redeemed from among men” (translated without seeing death); as “first- [fully developed] fruits unto God and the Lamb;” and “in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God,” where they sing a song of experience which none others in the universe can sing—the “Song of Moses and the Lamb.” In the first verse of this chapter this seal with which the 144,000 are sealed is called the “Father’s name.” The Father’s name is His character (Ex. 34 : 5–7), which is described as “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” But this character of God as here presented we can never know, so as to reproduce it in our lives, only by seeing it revealed in a life of flesh like our own. So Christ, the Son of God, knowing and possessing His Father’s character, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth” (John 1 : 14), in order that we might behold, understand, and possess the same character; or, in other words, possess the “Father’s name.” Christ not only came in “flesh,” but in the “likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8 : 3), and was “tempted in all points like as we are” (Heb. 4 : 15), to enable us to know that it is possible for us with our sinful flesh to possess and reveal the character of God. His work while thus in the world was simply and only to manifest the name of God; for He says, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. . . . I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world.” John 17 : 4, 5. What Christ was, and what He did in order to manifest His Father’s name, constitute, then, the “seal of God,” for “Him hath God the Father sealed.” John 6 : 27. Therefore, just what He was, and what He did in the “likeness of sinful flesh,” is just what those who are “sealed” will be and do even in their sinful flesh in order to receive the “seal of God.” They must reflect perfectly the character of God as it was manifested in Christ’s life. By beholding the glory (the character) of the Lord, “they are changed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3 : 18); they “see Him as He is” (in character), and become “like Him” (1 John 3 : 2). As Paul expresses it, by “the knowledge of the Son of God,” they are made perfect, even “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. 4 : 13. In harmony with this, another has said:— Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. . . . Those who are uniting with the world, are receiving the worldly mold, and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth—these are receiving the heavenly mold, and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth, and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.
Now what is the most prominent characteristic in Christ’s life to which He Himself calls our attention, in order that we be like Him and so receive the “seal of God”? Answer may be given in one word, “rest.” This may not at first thought appear; but a little reflection will make it clear. He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” He does not offer those who come to Him that which He does not Himself experience and possess. He offers that which He manifests in His own life. He offers that of which sinful flesh is utterly destitute and absolutely helpless without Christ to obtain. Notice that this rest is not cessation from labor; for He says in giving the rest, “Take My yoke,” the most expressive emblem of labor. In other words, He says: You are weary and can not labor effectually, so come to Me and learn My rest, that your labor may be efficient because restful; for “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” It is not physical rest, but soul rest; “learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” In this sense it is more a cessation from worry and anxious care, through faith in God, than from work; for He says even of His own Sabbath-keeping, that it was doing His Father’s work: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” John 5 : 17. But He did not work at His own work in any sense. “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me,” “and to finish His work.” Indeed, this idea of soul restfulness connected with arduous labor is the prominent one running all through His precept and example. It is expressed in the Sermon on the Mount in these words: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. . . . But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” This experience comes only through the exercise of a perfect faith, even “the faith of Jesus.” So the true rest of God (His seal) can only be bestowed through perfect faith—a faith perfected by love—which is ceasing from our “own works,” and letting God work in us “both to will and to do.” Thus we enter “His rest,” we have His character, His name, His seal. He works in us and we rest. The physical rest enjoined by the fourth commandment as an elementary principle, when accepted and practised as the acknowledgment and worship of the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, constitutes the sign of sanctification. Ex. 31 : 13. But the spiritual rest which the elementary principle embraces, can only be comprehended through Christ, can only be learned from His life and example (which was in itself and as a whole, true Sabbath-keeping), and can only be enjoyed by those who have His faith. When Sabbath-keeping develops into such rest, it then becomes the seal of sanctification in contrast with the mere sign of it. The one mark which distinguishes the 144,000 from every other class of beings in the universe is the “seal of God.” They have, by putting away unbelief, and studying Christ, seen Him, and God through Him, in this life as no other people ever have done. Unbelief is the only thing which stands in the way of its reception. “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Heb. 4 : 11.