Seal of God Challenge

[PaleHorse]

Today, about every church out there is talking about the Mark of the Beast. Questions such as "what is it", "in what form will it be given to people", and "is it going to be a microchip" are just some of them. What gets me though is that no one, no church (with maybe one or two exceptions) is talking about the other mark talked about in the book of Revelation - the Seal of God!

Revelation 9:4 - And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Why not? I mean, if you have the Seal of God you don't even have to worry about getting the Mark of the Beast; you don't even have to worry what the Mark of the Beast is! How to get the Seal of God should be one of the loudest, most relevent topics coming from the pulpits of Christianity today - but why isn't it? To me, if my church wasn't talking about the Seal of God that would cause me to have a big red flag pop up in the back of my mind in concern. This topic is so incredibly serious (vital actually) and yet hardly ANY churches are talking about it? WHY? Is there something the churches don't want you to know?

My challenge to you, the reader, is to tell me WHAT is the Seal of God (easy) and what Bible verse can I find it’s components (not so easy)?

In the many essays I've posted in this forum, my desire is to get people to open their Bibles and find the answers for themselves. I do this so that they know what the Bible, not their church, not their friends, not their families, has to say on various topics. That way they KNOW they are getting the truth. And if you know the Biblical truth then you cannot be deceived. Its just that easy.

In regards to my challenge for you to post what you think the Seal of God is - I will help you just a little bit. To find what the Seal of God is you must first know what a "seal" is, correct?

A seal (and please check your dictionaries on this so that you know I'm not making this up) is the sign of a government (in this case the government of God) that is put on something that confirms, ratifies, or makes secure. A seal always has three parts:
1. The leader's name/ruler's name
2. His title or office
3. The territory over which he rules

So, armed with this knowledge you should have a good idea what to look for: you are looking for a verse that contains all the elements of God's seal. When you do this you will know, with complete certainty, what the Seal of God is.

Good luck - I look forward to seeing what you find.

 

[StormyOne]

As a generational adventist I know where you are going, and what texts will be used... however I submit for your consideration that the "seal of God" is not something we see per se as much as something His followers become... I submit that the seal of God is Christ's character reproduced in our lives by the holy spirit.... I offer one text (though there are several that can be found), "by this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another....."

just a thought.....

 

[SearchingSDA]

Ephesians 4:30 (King James Version)

30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

 

[statrei]

A seal (and please check your dictionaries on this so that you know I'm not making this up) is the sign of a government (in this case the government of God) that is put on something that confirms, ratifies, or makes secure. A seal always has three parts:
1. The leader's name/ruler's name
2. His title or office
3. The territory over which he rules

So, armed with this knowledge you should have a good idea what to look for: you are looking for a verse that contains all the elements of God's seal. When you do this you will know, with complete certainty, what the Seal of God is.

Good luck - I look forward to seeing what you find.

But that knowledge comes from studying human systems. How can the seal of God be founded on the evolution of human systems? It seems you are approaching this from the wrong direction. The seal of God would have to precede human seals.

 

[SassySDA]

But that knowledge comes from studying human systems. How can the seal of God be founded on the evolution of human systems? It seems you are approaching this from the wrong direction. The seal of God would have to precede human seals.

You know, stratei? You remind me of an uncle I had who has long since gone on to his rest...

This uncle argued for the pure enjoyment of arguing. If it was a beautiful day outside, clear blue skies, he would tell people they were crazy...it was cloudy and rainy outside...JUST to get a rise of them.

You know what eventually happened? Everyone in the family got SICK of it and he was no longer invited to family gatherings. A group meeting was held, and it was decided that none of us wanted our gatherings to be ruined by his disgruntledness any longer.

You might learn something from this story, as you are headed down the same path.

 

[statrei]

You know, stratei? You remind me of an uncle I had who has long since gone on to his rest...

This uncle argued for the pure enjoyment of arguing. If it was a beautiful day outside, clear blue skies, he would tell people they were crazy...it was cloudy and rainy outside...JUST to get a rise of them.

You know what eventually happened? Everyone in the family got SICK of it and he was no longer invited to family gatherings. A group meeting was held, and it was decided that none of us wanted our gatherings to be ruined by his disgruntledness any longer.

You might learn something from this story, as you are headed down the same path.

You mean to tell me you have not realized that your uncle's life demonstrated that the only kind of love you have are for those who kowtow to you? It is a pity that you have not learned from the experience. I hope the rest of your family did better than you with that.

 

[PaleHorse]

Ephesians 4:30 (King James Version)

30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Yes, the Holy Spirit does the sealing - but "what" are we sealed with?

 

[PaleHorse]

As a generational adventist I know where you are going, and what texts will be used... however I submit for your consideration that the "seal of God" is not something we see per se as much as something His followers become... I submit that the seal of God is Christ's character reproduced in our lives by the holy spirit.... I offer one text (though there are several that can be found), "by this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another....."

just a thought.....

I agree that the "seal" is not something we can see. But I think you are already looking too deeply for the answer, both answers actually as this is a two-part question. For now I am looking for the very surface-level answers before we delve into the deeper issues.

 

[smooze]

1. Deuteronomy 29:12
   You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath,
   Jeremiah 32:14
   'This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.
   John 6:27
   Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
   Ephesians 4:30
   And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
   2 Timothy 2:19
   Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
   Revelation 5:9
   And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
   Revelation 6:9
   When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
   Revelation 7:2
   Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
   Revelation 7:3
   "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
   Revelation 9:4
   They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

 

[StormyOne]

You seem to be pulling texts together to prove your premise, but in doing so you are taking them out of context... is that your intent?

 

[statrei]

You seem to be pulling texts together to prove your premise, but in doing so you are taking them out of context... is that your intent?

This is one of the major dangers of prooftexting. It appears the warning against this method of biblical hermeneutics needs to be reemphasized.

 

[PaleHorse]

You seem to be pulling texts together to prove your premise, but in doing so you are taking them out of context... is that your intent?

I believe his intent is answer the question of the thread.

 

[StormyOne]

I believe his intent is answer the question of the thread.

The method by which we arrive at "truth" determines how valid that "truth" is....

If we pull texts from their context, we are not rightly dividing the word, and it renders our "truth" to be questionable at best.... but, if it works for you, then by all means....

 

[PaleHorse]

The method by which we arrive at "truth" determines how valid that "truth" is....

If we pull texts from their context, we are not rightly dividing the word, and it renders our "truth" to be questionable at best.... but, if it works for you, then by all means....

Again, he is attempting to answer the question posed in the OP. Let's see what his final answer is before we berate how he comes to it. We all know that the first step in determining what the truth is on any particular subject is to first pull together the verses that seem to apply. As such, I think he is giving it an honest & sincere effort.
You should also consider that maybe my question wasn't worded in a way that 'clicked' with him. He is simply supplying verses that seem like they might lead to the answer.
Please, let's take a step back and allow people to research it.

 

[statrei]

Please, let's take a step back and allow people to research it.

Research! That sounds very productive. A fair request.

 

[PaleHorse]

Reseach. That sounds very productive. A fair request.

I'm glad you approve.

 

[statrei]

I'm glad you approve.

I only disapprove when people stop thinking.

 

[StormyOne]

Again, he is attempting to answer the question posed in the OP. Let's see what his final answer is before we berate how he comes to it. We all know that the first step in determining what the truth is on any particular subject is to first pull together the verses that seem to apply. As such, I think he is giving it an honest & sincere effort.
You should also consider that maybe my question wasn't worded in a way that 'clicked' with him. He is simply supplying verses that seem like they might lead to the answer.
Please, let's take a step back and allow people to research it.

I hear you Palehorse and that's fine... however the first step is NOT to just pull together texts that seem to apply...that was my point...in doing so we pull texts out of their context....

 

[PaleHorse]

I hear you Palehorse and that's fine... however the first step is NOT to just pull together texts that seem to apply...that was my point...in doing so we pull texts out of their context....

That is step two - after gathering texts that seem to apply we seperate the wheat from the chaff (so to speak) by carefully reading each one and verify if the context is proper or not. Later, we can dig into the Hebrew/Greek etymologies if need be in order to verify the meanings of the various words/phrases utilized in the texts.
If we are lucky, we will find one or two verses that state the answer plainly; that would save us a lot of research. If I may throw two more verses into the mix:
Revelation 14:1 - And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mountSion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Revelation 22:4 - And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

 

[smooze]

oh BTW rules state that non-SDA are not to debate in threads. Secondly i did exactly what palehorse intructed me to do. I will not argue my point with saying that not one of these texts are revelant. I say all text is revelant to the great End and getting the Seal of God .AMEN