166 Revelation: Sealed or Marked?

What will the first five minutes after your heart stops beating be like? The answer to that question all depends on whether you’ve been sealed or marked. What do I mean by that?

In Ephesians 1, we read that those who come to God by faith in Christ have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

A seal, such as a king’s signet ring, would be pressed into hot wax on a document to affirm its authenticity and guarantee its security. A seal, thus, denoted 2 things: ownership and protection.  When you came to Christ you were given the Holy Spirit as God’s “seal of approval”.  A sign of belonging to God and the promise of heaven.

With this truth in mind, let’s look at Revelation 7 & 14. Here we read of a group of people simply called “the 144,000.” Their identity is mysterious, but one thing we know is that they will be specially sealed by God before the persecution and eventual Day of Wrath. They will not cave into the spiritual seduction of the Antichrist. They are blameless - not meaning sinless, but rather not being condemnable because of their faith in Christ.

Along with the rise of the Antichrist, we read of another figure – a second beast that comes from the earth. Other texts identify him as “the false prophet.” His description of having 2 horns is understood by most scholars to mean he will be more of a religious leader than a political leader. It is he who begins to concoct the scheme of universal worship of the Antichrist.

This false prophet will be satanically empowered (spoke like a dragon – Rev. 13:11) and will amaze and deceive with signs and wonders. But his best effort will be the animating of the idol or image of the Beast and then killing all who would not worship the image. (Rev. 13:13-15)

During this time, the pressure to capitulate will grow stronger and stronger.  In order to gain control of the populace, economic sanctions will kick in. (Rev. 13:16-17) No one will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast.

We must be cautious not to give in to conspiracy theories about what the mark of the Beast is. Nor should we be afraid that we will mistakenly take the mark without knowing it. 

Scripture seems to make it clear that there will be no mistaking the moment when people are called to take this loyalty test. And I believe that part of God’s seal on His people is to protect us as well as identify us.

Text: Revelation 14:1-13; 7:1-8; 13:11-18

Originally recorded on April 2, 2000, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN.