Segment X
page 4 of 4
: page 1 : page 2 : page 3 : page 4 :
These twelve events
(and I am sure there were hundreds
more, but not recorded in the Bible)
are highlighted to show that the
early Christian movement succeeded
because the Holy Spirit was active.
Without the powerful manifestations
of the Holy Spirit, the Christian
movement would have died during the
first century A.D. because religious
cultures are opposed to change.
Christianity Possessed
“The Seal of Approval”
Paul, himself, became
a convert to Christianity through a
miraculous conversion. His physical
eyesight was restored by a miracle
(Acts 9:17) and his spiritual
eyesight was corrected by visions
from God! (Galatians 1:17,18) Because
the manifestations of the Spirit were
frequent and genuine and because the
early church was convinced that Jesus
would soon return, early Christians
interpreted the presence of the Holy
Spirit among them as God’s seal
of approval. The gift of the Holy
Spirit made Christianity the true
religion on Earth. This is why Paul
explained the seal of God as he did.
The receipt of Holy Spirit power was
the seal (or endorsement) of God, and
he was right. Paul’s view of the
sealing perfectly aligns with the
thoughts of the other apostles.
With this information
in mind, review these two verses:
- “Now it
is God who makes both of us
and you stand firm in Christ.
He anointed us, set his
seal of ownership on us,
and put his Spirit in our
hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing
what is to come. I
call God as my witness that
it was in order to spare you
[from rebuke] that I did not
return to Corinth.” (2
Corinthians 1:21-23, bolding
and insertions mine)
- “And you
[Gentiles] also were included
in Christ when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having
believed, you were marked
in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who
is a deposit guaranteeing our
inheritance until the
redemption of those who
are God’s possession
– to the praise of his
glory.” (Ephesians
1:13,14, bolding and
insertions mine)
The problem with these
texts is that some Christians read
the verses today and they
apply Paul’s first century A.D.
comments to our present time. For
example, some Pentecostals believe
that every person who genuinely
receives Christ will be able to
demonstrate the power of the Holy
Spirit in a miraculous way, such as
speaking in an unknown tongue,
healing a sick person, handling a
poisonous snake or drinking poison.
These things are thought to
“validate” one’s
rebirth and the receipt of the Holy
Ghost. (Mark 16:17, 18)
This view of Mark 16:
17, 18 is a distortion of the purpose
and mission of the Holy Spirit. Holy
Spirit power was poured out on early
Christians between A.D. 30 and A.D.
70 for the purpose of “jump
starting” the early Christian
Church into existence. After
Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70,
the manifestations of the Holy Spirit
began to dissipate because the
Christian Church had become
established. It had grown to the
point that it could prosper through
the influence and regeneration that
the Holy Spirit typically works in
the hearts of people. Of course, the
Holy Spirit is at work today, but not
in the powerful and dramatic ways
recorded in the book of Acts. This
does not lessen the work of the Holy
Spirit! Twenty-seven percent of the
world’s population claims to be
Christian because the Holy Spirit is
at work! Moreover, an amazing
parallel is just around the corner!
The power of the Holy Spirit
witnessed during the first century
A.D. will be witnessed during the
last century A.D., but for a
different purpose. Please consider
this:
Holy Spirit power will
be poured out on all flesh
during the Great Tribulation. The
144,000 will be sealed and the Great
Tribulation will begin. For 1,260
days, God’s servants will
proclaim the Word of God with great
power and authority. Signs and
wonders will accompany their
testimony as in the days of the
apostles. (Acts 14:3) Millions of
people will receive Christ because of
the Spirit enabled and Spirit
empowered work of the 144,000. As
people submit to the terms and
conditions of salvation and pass the
test of faith, they will be sealed
just like the 144,000 were sealed.
The mystery of God, the
mysterious removal of the carnal
nature, will end just before the
seventh trumpet sounds. The problem
is that Paul thought he was living at
the end of time, during the time of
the sealing, but he was incorrect.
The first people to be sealed will be
the 144,000 and their sealing will
come quite soon.
Summary
The 144,000 are called
firstfruits in Revelation 14:4
because they will be the first to be
sealed. After they are sealed, a
great harvest, a numberless multitude
will follow them. The numberless
multitude will be sealed during
the seven trumpets of the Great
Tribulation. The Bible also says the
144,000 will not be defiled by women.
This means they will be
“married” to their calling,
to the service of Jesus, and His call
will separate them from their
families. They will not be
compromised or distracted by familial
relations. The 144,000 will be
severely tested before they
are sealed. The Bible does not
indicate how they will be tested, but
we can be sure that Jesus will test
His servants with the same fiery
processes that He used down through
the ages. Because we know something
about the life and death tests facing
the saints during the Great
tribulation, we can be sure that
Jesus will appropriately test the
144,000 for the challenges they will
face on His behalf. At just the right
time in Earth’s history, Jesus
will select 12,000 people from each
of the twelve tribes and these
“servants” will faithfully
respond.
Earlier in this
segment, we learned that seals were
used in four different ways in
ancient times. Notice how these uses
apply to the sealing that is coming:
- Seals were
used in ancient times to
certify the authenticity of a
document or transaction.
(Esther 8:8, Jeremiah 32:10)
The seal of God will certify
the authenticity of the
144,000 as His servants.
- Seals were
used in ancient times to
prevent tampering or change.
(Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:
65,66) After they are sealed,
the 144,000 and the saints
will be secure from the
attraction of the carnal
nature.
- Seals were
used in ancient times to show
approval and ownership. (John
6:27; 2 Corinthians 1:22) The
power of the Holy Spirit will
rest on the 144,000 and his
power will confirm they are
God’s prophets.
- Seals were
used as locks in ancient
times to secure property or
secrets. (Daniel 12:4;
Revelation 5:1) After the
carnal nature is removed and
God’s people are
restored to the pre-fall
condition of Adam and Eve,
the seal of God will secure
their sinless nature.
Hopefully, you have an
idea of how all four uses of seals
will apply to God’s people
during the end time!
Specification #4
Three important
distinctions between the 144,000 and
the numberless multitude that many
people overlook are outlined in verse
9-17.
- The 144,000
are numbered and the
numberless multitude cannot
be counted. This feature
indicates there will be two
distinct groups of people
living during the end time, a
small group of prophets and a
large group of saints. (We
have already examined
John’s distinction
between prophets and saints
in specification #1.)
- The Bible
indicates the 144,000 will be
the firstfruits of the
harvest. The Bible also
indicates the 144,000 will be
God’s “servants the
prophets” during the
Great Tribulation. The Bible
says the numberless multitude
in Revelation 7 will consist
of people who came out of the
Great Tribulation. Notice
this end time specification: “Then
one of the elders asked me,
‘These in white robes
– who are they, and
where did they come
from?’ I answered,
‘Sir, you know.’
And he said, ‘These are
they who have come out of the
great tribulation;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the
blood of the
Lamb.’” (Revelation
7:13, 14, italics mine) Since
the numberless multitude in
Revelation 7 is an end time
group of saints (and not a
group of saints from all
ages) and since the
numberless multitude will
come from all nations,
kindred’s, tongues and
people, they have to be the
end time harvest, because the
144,000 are the firstfruits
of this harvest.
- The third rule
of apocalyptic prophecy does
not allow the number 144,000
to be symbolic. Rule Three
requires the Bible to define
the meaning of a symbol if a
prophetic element is thought
to be symbolic. In other
words, if the number,
144,000, is a symbolic
number, the Bible has to
define the meaning of the
symbol. We cannot make up our
own meanings to symbols.
There are no symbolic numbers
in the Bible. God does not
use one number to represent
another number. Numbers can
be used in analogous ways
(Psalm 91:7), and numbers can
be translated according to
the Jubilee calendar (Rule
Four of apocalyptic
prophecy), but numbers
themselves are always
literal. Consider the math in
this case: 12,000 people are
sealed from each of the
twelve tribes and this
produces a literal total of
144,000 people.
: page 1 : page 2 : page 3 : page 4 :
