THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD.
"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 God in their foreheads." Rev. vii, 1-3. We hope not to be thought fanciful in our interpretations of Scripture while we offer a few brief thoughts concerning the seal brought to view in the above scripture. Our inquiry is, What is the seal? To ascertain this we first inquire, What angel is that which ascends out of the east, and what is the chronology of his work? To learn this chronology we make another inquiry; namely, what are the events which immediately follow the work of the angel? for if the angels to whom it is given to hurt the earth, &c., are enjoined not to accomplish their purpose, till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads, it is clearly enough implied that when the time of sealing is past, the four angels will immediately proceed with their duty, and the earth, the sea and the trees, will be hurt. The next event brought to view in chap. vii, is the great multitude which no man could number, singing the song of deliverance; from which we may infer that the sealing is the last work to be accomplished for the living saints previous to their redemption. In chap. xv, 1, we read of seven angels having the seven last plagues, in which is filled up the wrath of God. In chap. xvi, where the pouring out of these plagues is recorded, we learn that the first is poured out upon the earth; the earth is hurt: the second is poured out upon the sea; the sea is hurt: the third is poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and the fourth is poured out upon the sun, and power is given him to scorch men with fire. The whole vegetable world must of course terribly feel the effects of this: the trees will be hurt. We conclude therefore that the hurting of the earth, &c., mentioned in Rev. vii, is embraced in the seven last plagues, of chap. xvi, which, taking them to be literal, will of course be the last manifestation of God's judgments upon this world before its close. The unmixed wrath of the last plagues, is also brought to view in chap. xiv, 10, in events which begin to be fulfilled immediately after the message of the Third Angel—the third of the series brought to view in that chapter. From these grounds we come to another conclusion; namely, that, since the events which follow the Third Angel's work of Rev. xiv, and those which follow the angel of chap. vii, are identical, the angels are also identical. This is further apparent from the fact that the work attributed to the angel in both places, is to prepare the saints for the events which follow; viz., the time of trouble and the seven last plagues; and if they are not identical, we have two distinct angels, each performing a distinct work for the servants of God, each of which, independent of the other, is sufficient to secure them an entrance into the kingdom of God; which is inconsistent. We find then that the angel of Rev. vii, 2, is the same as the Third Angel of chap. xiv; and that the third angel is now fulfilling his mission admits of the clearest proof; though it is not our province to present that proof in this article. Having now located this work in our own day, as something fulfilling before our own eyes, we come directly to the inquiry, What is the seal which characterizes the mission of the angel? A seal is defined to be, the instrument of sealing, which "is used by individuals, corporate bodies and states, for making impressions upon wax, upon instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity." Second, the wax or other substance which may receive the impression. The original word in Rev. vii, 2, is defined thus: "A seal, i. e., a signet ring; a mark, stamp, badge; a token, a pledge. The same word is used in Rom. iv, 11, which we shall notice again. Among the significations of the verb are the following: "To secure to any one, to make sure;" [Rom. xv, 28;] "to set a seal or mark upon anything in token of its being genuine and approved; to attest, to confirm, to establish." John iii, 33; vi, 27, compared with v, 36; 2 Cor. i, 22; Eph. i, 13; iv, 30. It is evident that the seal of any person in authority is what makes valid or authentic, whatever laws or decrees he may promulgate. The Scriptures present several instances of this: 1 Kings xxi, 8, where Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal." Esth. iii, 12. "In the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." Also chap. viii, 8. Dan. vi, 17. And any document from any earthly monarch to be valid, must possess his name and title of royalty, by which his subjects will know who it is that demands obedience, and by what right he demands it. This reasoning we may apply to the law of God. God has given a law to men: in order for it to be valid it must declare who he is, contain his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign; and whatever portion of the law does this, by a just and appropriate figure may be called "his seal," "the seal of the law." If any one can point to anything which may be called the seal of God, independent of his law, we would be happy to see it presented. This leads us to an examination of the ten commandments. Do we find the true God pointed out in those commandments? We do; but it is in the fourth only. The word, God, occurs in the first three, but there is nothing to show who he is. We come to the fourth, and find that we are reading the requirements of Him who made heaven and earth, and all things therein. We realize at once that the Maker of heaven and earth, is the Supreme Ruler over all his works; that the extent of his dominion is the extent of his creation; and that he has a right to demand obedience from all his creatures. We see the heavens and earth spread out before us; we know that they have been created; to the being who made all these, we can intelligently direct our worship. This commandment brings to view his title of royalty, the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign. Strike out the fourth commandment from the decalogue, and with the remainder of that law in my hand, I can bow down and worship a wooden idol of my own carving, and no man, however enlightened or christian, can condemn me by it for so-doing. But does it not read, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me?" "thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image?" "thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain?" Very well, I can reply, This object which I am worshiping is my God, and these are his requirements. Confirmatory of this position is the significant fact that whenever the sacred writers would point out the true God in distinction from false gods of every description, an appeal is made to the fourth commandment. See 2 Kings xix, 15; 2 Chron. ii, 12; Neh. ix, 6; Ps. cxv, 15; cxxi, 2; cxxiv, 8; cxxxiv, 3; cxlvi, 6; Isa. xxxvii, 16; xlii, 5; xliv, 24; xlv, 12; Job ix, 8; Isa. li, 13; Jer. x, 10-12, which we present in full. "But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. See also Ps. xcvi, 5; Jer. xxxii, 17; li, 15; Acts iv, 24; xiv, 15; xvii, 23, &c., &c. We will submit this part of the argument with the following questions: 1. When we speak of the seal of any one in authority, do we not always understand by it, that which gives authenticity to his enactments? 2. Can we speak of the seal of God in any other sense? 3. Is there anything which points out the true God, except the fourth commandment, and expressions derived therefrom? 4. Is it not then, in this sense, his signature and seal? But the Scriptures bear direct testimony on this point. The Sabbath is emphatically called a sign between God and his people. Ex. xxxi, 13. "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord, that doth sanctify you." Eze. xx, 12, 20. Here the very object of their keeping the fourth commandment, and observing the Sabbath, is declared to be, that they might know that he was the Lord. But does the word sign here have the same signification as seal? That it does is proved by the following quotations. Gen. xvii, 11. Circumcision "shall be a token of the covenant between me and you." (Abraham.) Rom. iv, 11. "And he (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision, the seal of the righteousness of the faith," &c. By these quotations we see that the words, token, sign and seal, are all applied to the same thing. The word rendered seal in Rom. iv, 11, as we have before noticed, is the same as in Rev. vii, 2.