The Mark of the Beast, and Seal of the Living God.
By Eld. Moses Hull
BuT the query here arises, In which one of the ten commandments is the seal of God contained? Let us examine them and see. Suppose a missionary were sent to some heathen land, the inhabitants of which were idolaters—worshipers of the sun, to preach to them the gospel of salvation. In order to convince them of their need of salvation, they must be convicted that they are sinners. This can only be done by presenting the law they are violating. James informs us that those who "commit sin are convinced of the law as transgressors." James ii, 8. In order to convince them of the sin of worshiping the sun, he must point out the true God to them, and show them what he requires. He proceeds to read the first commandment to them. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." But who is this God? "It is the missionary" says one. "No" says another "'tis the sun, and we don't have other gods before the sun." The missionary finding that he has failed to convince them of the sin of idolatry by that commandment proceeds to quote another. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." "We do not make graven images, nor bow to them," respond half a dozen voices. "We worship the sun—the brightest object known, and why not bow to the king of day, since he has promised to show mercy unto thousands of them that love him and keep his commandments?" The missionary knowing that the law must point out the true God decides not to give it up so. So he turns to his Bible and reads "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." "We don't," is the immediate response. "We never speak the name of the sun but with the most profound reverence." Here our missionary is stranded again. What can he do? He would try the fourth commandment but the thought occurs to him that it has been abolished. That it did indeed point out to the Jew the true God, but it never was anything but a Jewish commandment. It was rather an oversight on the part of God, to put it into the heart of the decalogue; but through the sufferings, and death, of one who was to magnify the law, and make it honorable," Isa. xlii, 21, the law has been honored by expunging that part of it. He proceeds with the next commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." "There don't you see, the sun is going to give us land" is the reply. Here our missionary must report another failure. What can he do now? The name God does not occur in either of the other commandments, hence there can be nothing in them to point out the true God. His last and only chance is to go back and hunt up that down-trodden commandment. He decides that God will not break his covenant, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips. Ps. lxxxix, 34; that the fourth commandment is indeed a part of God's covenant; that it, as well as the others went out of his lips. He therefore resolves to test them by it. Accordingly he once more approaches them and reads "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." Ah, this has the desired effect. It settles the question. "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is." The one who made the universe is the author of this law. His signature is found in the last of those commandments that express the duty of his creatures toward him. Here is the seal of the living God, the sign by which he is distinguished from "all the gods that made not the heavens and the earth." Jer. x, 10-12. In the language of another, "This shows the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule. He made the universe, and he has a right to govern it. This teaches the heathen that, not the sun, but the Maker of it, is the true and living God. This gives authority to the law—it is the mark of God's name." Yes the Sabbath is God's memorial—a memorial of his creative power. "Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations." Psa. cxxxv, 13. One who has thoroughly canvassed this whole question has said. "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, 3; cxxxiv, 3; cxlvi, 6; Isa. xxxvii, 16; xlii, 5; xlv, 24; xlv, 12; li, 13; Job. ix, 8; Jer. x, 10-12; xxxii, 17; li, 15; Ps. xcvi, 5; Acts iv, 24; xlv, 15; xvii, 23, &c., &c. It may not be amiss to here give some of the reflections that pass through the minds of those who observe this "sign of the living God." The holy Sabbath of the Lord is drawing near, I must prepare for it. Its hallowed moments are almost here. I must keep it. Why do I keep the Sabbath? Because God commanded it. Why did God command it? Because he kept it. When did God keep it? Immediately after having made the heaven and the earth in six days. What God kept it? The one who made heaven and earth." Thus every Sabbath keeper finds the Sabbath a weekly memorial of the great Jehovah—the Maker of all things. Would that the world had ever kept the Sabbath. It never could have run into idolatry or atheism. Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations bow with sacred joy,
Know that the Lord is God alone
He can create and he destroy.
That the above reasoning is correct cannot be disputed by the one who has carefully examined Ex. xxxi, 15. "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." Again, verses 16, 17. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." Here this "sign" by which God's people might know that he is the Lord that doth sanctify them, is given for a perpetual covenant. When does PERPETUAL come to an end? Never. Again it is a sign between God and the children of Israel forever. And again, it is binding on them throughout their generations. But says the objector, it was only binding upon the children of Israel throughout their generations. The text says not one word about the Gentiles keeping it. To this we reply, that, if our limits would permit, we could show, not only that the phrase "children of Israel" applies to all the people of God, of every nation, tribe, and tongue, but that the Sabbath is binding upon the Gentiles. See Isa. lvi. But our present purpose will be answered if our opponents will130admit that the Sabbath is binding upon the children of Israel throughout their generations. Have their generations run out? No. Go to any of our principal cities, and you will find Jews engaged in various mercantile pursuits. Then it follows, to say the least, that the Sabbath is binding upon the Jews to-day. Now we are prepared to ask what we think is an important question. That is, What is the mystery of God? Is it not that the Gentiles should be made FELLOW HEIRS and OF THE SAME BODY? See Eph. iii, 6. Are they not partakers with Israel? Are not those who were once "Gentiles in the flesh," who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, now made nigh by the blood of Christ? Are they not now "fellow citizens"? Eph. ii, 11-22. Has not the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles been broken down? If so, who dare build it up in order to get rid of the Sabbath, which is binding upon the children of Israel to-day? To illustrate: Suppose that Mr. A. has two fields, with simply a partition fence between them. In one of these fields is good pasture for his stock, also an abundance of good running water. In the other field also, he has stock, but there is nothing for it to eat or drink. It becomes evident that the stock in the barren field must die unless something is done. He therefore removes the fence or "middle wall of partition." What is the result? Will not the stock in the barren field get a portion of that food which hitherto belonged exclusively to the stock in the other? Then what can be the result of removing the "partition" between the Jews and Gentiles? We think we hear you say, that the Gentiles will share in the blessings which before belonged to the Jews alone. That indeed the privilege of calling the Sabbath a delight is now granted to them. But to return to the subject of the sign of the living God. God says by the mouth of Ezekiel, "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Eze. xx, 12. Again verse 20. "And hallow my Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Query. Could they know that they were worshipers of the true God without the Sabbath? If they could, then, to say the least, God did a work of supererogation in giving them the Sabbath by which to know him. But if the Sabbath was necessary to point out the true God to the Jew, it is just as necessary to point him out to the Gentile. He is not the God of the Jews only, but he is the God of the Gentiles also. With the following questions, from the pen of another we submit this part of the argument. "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? Having now learned what the seal, or mark of God is, we propose to consider