“Saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ~Revelation 7:3 NKJV

We all get to choose which mark we will have, the mark of the beast or the seal of God. There are only two choices, the tradition of man or the word of God.

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” ~Revelation 14:12

If we choose to obey God by keeping His Commandments and have the faith of Jesus by accepting His redemption through the purchase of our lives by Jesus, we will receive the mark of God. This mark or seal of God is the evidence that we’ve been purchased back from Satan. However, if we choose to go the way of the world and worship the creation rather than the Creator—obeying man rather than God—we will then receive the mark of the beast.

“Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”  ~Romans 1:25

This mark is not a symbol “on” our foreheads and hands, or even some microchip implanted under the skin. It’s a seal “in” our foreheads and “in” our hands. If you look in the oldest English version of the Bible, the original King James Version, you will see that the word, “on” was originally translated, “in.”  Why does this matter? It matters a great deal once you understand what this seal or mark signifies. The seal in our head is our thoughts, and the mark in our hands represents our acts—what we think and do! 

Our actions are the proof of what we think and believe. Have you ever heard the saying, actions speak louder than words? Well, this is most certainly the case when it comes to faithfulness and obedience to God. God, in His own words, calls the unfaithful, harlots! Obedience to the word of God is the only way we can be assured that what we are thinking and doing is right in God’s eyes. Don’t get discouraged though; we’ll talk about obedience and how it is a gift from God in a future post.

The following verse is the same verse as above, only in the original King James translation.

“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” ~Revelation 7:3 KJV

This single word change from on, to in, is at the very heart of what God is saying to us in these passages. It seems that our beliefs are what determines our choices and actions, and they, in turn, will decide our seal. Which will you have—the seal of God or the mark of the beast?

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”~ Deuteronomy 11:18-19 KJV

“And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” ~Deuteronomy 6:8 KJV

These verses are referring to God’s Commandments. God is telling us to believe and observe them as a sign, a sign of our faithfulness to His word through the thoughts of our minds and our actions of our hands. He’s also telling us to share this information with everyone; teaching it to our children and sharing it in all that we do.

Satan is out to deceive us in any way he can. He will overcome us if we aren’t grounded in God’s word. We will be worshipping him by default if we don’t deliberately choose to know and trust God’s warnings. We must be obedient to God in all that we do, or we will be deceived!

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” ~Revelation 13:7-8

Satan tempts man to do evil, and God allows it because He is a God of love. Love forces no one, but instead, He gives us the free will to choose and the power to overcome. Nevertheless, the only way we can make a good choice is to have all the facts, and the only way to learn all of these facts is to trust His Holy Word completely!

What is the seal of God…?

The seal of God is the actions of His faithful. The word seal, in the New Testament, comes from a Greek word that means “to stamp with a private mark” in the interest of keeping something secret or protecting or preserving the sealed object. Seals were used for official business to prevent tampering with or forgery of official documents and decrees.

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The above verses are referring to a group of people who will have the seal of God, and therefore have His protection during the tribulation.

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:”   ~Revelation 14:9-10

When we are prompted by the Holy Spirit and feel His conviction regarding anything but still disobey, we are refusing the Seal of God.  If we choose to obey the word of man over obedience to the word of God we are, by this very act, accepting the mark of the beast.

When we are prompted by the Holy Spirit, and feel His conviction regarding anything, but still disobey, we are refusing the Seal of God.  If we choose to obey the word of man over obedience to the word of God we are, by this very act, accepting the mark of the beast.

When we refuse the Seal of God, we are choosing to accept the word of man over the word of God. If we have learned the truth that the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment is God’s chosen day, and accept that there isn’t any evidence in the Scripture for Sunday being the replacement of God’s day, but continue to cling to the false Sunday Sabbath, we then make a choice by way of our acts.

Q: Which mark will you choose?

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?   ~1Peter 4:17