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The Mystery of God
“But in the days
when the seventh angel is about to
sound his trumpet, the mystery of God
will be accomplished, just as he
announced to his servants the
prophets.” (Revelation 10:7)
What is the mystery of
God mentioned in Revelation 10:7? We
know that it will be completed at the
seventh trumpet, but when does it
start? The mystery of God is the
sealing and it begins with the
144,000 because “judgment begins
at the house of God.” (1 Peter
4:17) The mystery of God will be a
mysterious transformation that cannot
be seen, but the results will be
seen. During the judgment of the
living, the carnal nature will be
removed from everyone who receives
Jesus as their Savior and passes the
test of faith. The 144,000 will be
the first people to experience this
amazing transformation. After they
have been severely tested and
transformed, God will place His seal
on their foreheads indicating a
secure and permanent transaction has
occurred. Remember the four uses of
seals in the Bible? The seal of God
on the 144,000 indicates a finished
transformation, a secured position.
The 144,000 will be delivered from
the attraction of sin. The sinless
and bold behavior of the 144,000 will
reflect this stunning transformation.
They will speak the truth without
regard to consequences. The Bible
says, “No lie was found in their
mouths; they are blameless!”
(Revelation 14:5) This is why the
mystery of God (the transformation of
man’s nature) cannot be seen,
but the results will be seen and
heard.
Consider the following
scenario: Because the 144,000 are
declared “firstfruits,” the
judgments of the living will begin
with the 144,000. After they are
tested and judged, their carnal
nature will be mysteriously and
miraculously removed. Then,
the 144,000 will be
“sealed” with sinless
natures – having no propensity
or attraction toward rebellion
against God. In fact, they will have
a distinct repulsiveness toward sin.
The 144,000 will be the first to
receive what Adam and Eve lost when
they sinned. The good news is that
each person who receives the
testimony of the 144,000 and passes
the test of faith will also
experience ‘the transforming
mystery of God” and receive the
seal of God!
After each person is
sealed, the struggle with the carnal
nature will be over! Sin will be
repulsive and unnatural. Paul knew
this transaction was coming, even
though he did not know exactly when.
He wrote, “… The time is
coming, declares the Lord, when I
will make a new covenant with the
[whole] house of Israel [the ten
tribes that lived in the north] and
with the house of Judah [the two
tribes that lived in the south]. It
will not be like the [bilateral]
covenant I made with their
forefathers [in Exodus 19] when I
took them by the hand to lead them
out of Egypt, because [of their
carnal hearts] they did not remain
faithful to my covenant, and I turned
away from [rejected] them, declares
the Lord. This is the [everlasting]
covenant I will make with the house
[twelve tribes] of Israel after that
time [the years allotted for the
duration of sin], declares the Lord.
I will [transform their hearts and
minds and] put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts [so
there will be no rebellion toward me
within their body]. I will be their
God, and they will be my people. No
longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying,
‘Know the Lord,’ because
they will all [personally] know me,
from the least of them to the
greatest. For I will forgive their
wickedness and will remember their
sins no more. By calling this
covenant ‘new,’ He [God]
has made the first one obsolete; and
what is obsolete and aging will soon
disappear.” (Hebrews 8:8-13,
insertions mine)
Demonstration and
Proclamation
The gospel of Jesus is
more than mere words. The gospel of
Jesus is a way of life and love.
Jesus will use 144,000 servants to
“show and tell” the world
what He wants. From the human
perspective, we will look at the
144,000 as bold people at first.
These ordinary people will prove to
be anything but ordinary after they
begin their ministry. Their testimony
and actions will be awesome because
they will be transformed by
God’s power. Not all the money
in the world will be able to buy the
seal of God. Jesus will personally
transform and seal one person at a
time as they take hold of His
promises and pass the test of faith.
Jesus is a personal Savior, as well
as our Judge, and every soul who
embraces His teachings will
experience His transforming touch.
The 144,000 will be
“perfect” reflections of
the love of Jesus. They will be
perfect examples of what “Christ
in you, the hope of glory” looks
like. (Colossians 1:27) Every person
who loves truth, regardless of
religious background, will observe
the humble and loving character of
the 144,000. Of course, their
truthful speech and blameless lives
will offend and infuriate the wicked.
Jesus warned His disciples,
“Remember the words I spoke to
you: ‘No servant is
greater than his master.’ If
they persecuted me, they will
persecute you also. If they obeyed my
teaching, they will obey yours also.
They will treat you this way because
of my name, for they do not know the
One who sent me.” (John
15:20,21, italics mine)
We have discussed how
the 144,000 will be the first among
the living to be judged and
mysteriously transformed. We know the
144,000 will be “sealed” a
few days before the Great
Tribulation begins. After they are
sealed, the four winds will be
released – the judgments of God
will begin to fall. Then, 144,000
prophets of God will boldly and
fearlessly proclaim the terms and
conditions for salvation to a world
saturated with ignorance and blinded
by religious arrogance. Without
regard for the wishes of family
members or personal safety, they will
speak the Words of Jesus given them
by the Holy Spirit. No lie will be
found in their mouths. The testimony
of the 144,000 will alienate the
religious and political leaders of
Earth and all of the wicked. Civil
authorities will severely persecute
the 144,000 because their
“testimony” will be
regarded as “inflammatory
speech.” The 144,000 will
receive the brunt of persecution and
religious hatred, and so will those
people who receive their testimony.
Nevertheless, the whole world will
hear “the testimony of
Jesus” through His faithful
“servants the prophets” and
the end result is that everyone on
Earth will be tested. Everyone on
Earth will be put through this
four-step process:
- Every nation,
kindred, tongue and people
will hear the terms and
conditions of salvation
through the testimony of the
144,000. Everyone will be
informed that Jesus is the
Creator and He commands
respect and worship on His
holy day.
- Revelation 13
indicates the human race will
respond to God’s wrath
by creating a crisis
government that will attempt
to appease God by mandating
worship. Because the laws and
penalties enacted by the
crisis government will
directly conflict with the
laws and penalties of God,
everyone will be forced into
a difficult choice. The
people of Earth will be
forced to make a decision
– submit to Jesus’
authority and suffer
Babylon’s persecution or
submit to the authority of
Babylon and the devil, and
receive God’s seven last
plagues and the loss of
eternal life.
- Everyone will
suffer wrath. Those people
who obey the laws of God will
suffer first. Those who obey
the laws of man will suffer
greatest, but both groups
will suffer. Everyone will be
tested with persecution
because persecution exposes
our highest allegiance. If we
love our lives more than we
love God, persecution will
expose this. If we love God
more than life, persecution
will expose this, too. Jesus
said, “For whoever wants
to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his
life for me will find
it.” (Matthew 16:25)
- Everyone who
submits to the authority of
God and passes the test of
faith will be mysteriously
transformed and sealed with
the seal of the living God.
All the people who refuse to
obey Jesus will have no
choice but to receive the
mark of the beast.
During the Great
Tribulation, the gospel will be
proclaimed with clarity and power.
Everyone will make an informed and
intelligent decision with regard to
the gospel. The gospel of Christ
demands submission to the King of
kings. Many will submit twice as many
will rebel. In short, the whole world
will be put through a time of severe
testing. (Revelation 3:10)
Paul’s Comments
about the Seal of God
The sealing of the
firstfruits (144,000) and the
numberless multitude that follows
occurs during the appointed time of
the end because the sealing “of
the living” is the last phase in
the judgment bar of Christ. In other
words, after a person passes the test
of faith, that person will be mysteriously
transformed and sealed with the seal
of God. When the last saint is
sealed, “the mystery of
God” will be completed –
just before the seventh trumpet.
(Revelation 10:7)
A certain amount of
knowledge existed during New
Testament times about the sealing,
but it was not experienced or put in
its proper context. Paul writes about
God’s seal and
“sealing” in various places
and we need to examine Paul’s
views and comments so that his
statements can be prophetically
corrected and applied to our day.
Before we examine Paul’s
comments on the seal of God, please
review the following texts from the
New Testament so that you can
appreciate the first century A.D.
mind set which Paul and the apostles
had with respect to time and timing.
(I understand certain words to
emphasize key points.)
1. The
apostle Peter thought he was living
at the end of the world. Notice these
verses. On the day of Pentecost in
A.D.30, Peter stood and said,
“These men are not drunk, as you
suppose. It’s only nine in the
morning! No, this is what was spoken
by the prophet Joel: ‘In the
last days, God says, I will pour
out my Spirit on all people. Your
sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions, your
old men will dream
dreams.’” (Acts 2:15-17) “The
end of all things is near.
Therefore be clear minded and
self-controlled so that you can
pray.” (1 Peter 4:7)
2. The
apostle James thought he was living
at the end of the world. He wrote,
“Be patient, then, brothers,
until the Lord’s coming. See how
the farmer waits for the land to
yield its valuable crop and how
patient he is for the autumn and
spring rains. You too, be patient and
stand firm, Because the
Lord’s coming is near.” (James
5:7,8)
3. The
apostle John thought he was living at
the end of the world. He wrote,
“Dear children, this is the last
hour; and as you have heard that the
antichrist is coming, even now many
antichrists have come. This is how we
know it is the last hour.”
(1 John 2:18)
4. The
apostle Paul thought he was living at
the end of the world. He wrote,
“What I mean, brothers, is that the
time is short. From now on those
who have wives should live as if they
had none.” (1 Corinthians 7:29)
5. Paul
also wrote, “in the past God
spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various
ways, but these last days he
has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, and
through whom he made the
universe.” (Hebrews 1:1,2)
“For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands,
which are the figures of the true;
but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God for us: Nor
yet that he should offer himself
often, as the high priest enterth
into the holy place every year with
the blood of others; For then must he
often have suffered since the
foundation of the world: but now once
in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself.”
(Hebrews 9:24-26, KJV) “The
night is nearly over; the day is
almost here. So let us put aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the
armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)
After reviewing these
texts, we find unanimous agreement
among the apostles. They believed
they were living at the end of the
world. History also records that
most, if not all of the apostles, had
died or been put to death by the time
John wrote the book of Revelation. My
point is the apostles died without
realizing their inaccurate knowledge
of God’s timing. None of them
knew the Second Coming would be 2,000
years into the future. Paul
acknowledged this handicap saying,
“For we know in part and we
prophesy in part, but when perfection
comes, the imperfect
disappears.” (1 Corinthians
13:9,10)
The subject of the
seal of God specifically applies to
Paul’s statement, “For we
know in part and we prophesy in
part…” Paul was martyred
about thirty years before John wrote
the book of Revelation. Paul knew
certain things about the mysterious
transformation and the sealing, but
he did not know the timing.
Therefore, Paul applied what he knew
about the sealing in his day! In a
similar way, after reading the book
of Hebrews a person could say that
Paul certainly knew about the
ministry of Jesus in Heaven’s
temple as our High Priest in the Most
Holy Place. The problem though, is
that Paul did not understand the
2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, and he did
not know about the time, times, and
half a time of the little horn power
in Daniel 7:25. Simple stated, Paul
had no idea that the twenty-first
century A.D. would take place. Paul
and the apostles understood many
parts of God’s plan, but they
could not know the timing or
arrangement of these parts because
the book of Daniel was sealed until
the appointed time of the end.
(Daniel 12:4-9)
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