"Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." (Revelation 7:2-3)
The picture of the seal here is the same as what we seen by Ezekiel when the Lord commands the angel to put a mark on the foreheads of those who hate sin before He strikes the city in judgment (Ezek. 9:4-6). This mark protects them spiritually and likely also physically from the coming judgment. This is comparable to the mark of blood on the doors of the Israelites so that they would be protected from God's judgment on Egypt (Exod. 12:7,13,22-28). This becomes significant when we note that this mark protects believers during the period of the trumpet and bowl plagues, which, as we shall see, are closely modeled on the plagues of Egypt.
The demonic powers are forbidden to harm those with the seal of God on their forehead. Uppermost in John's mind is not physical security, but protection of the believers' faith and salvation from the various sufferings and persecutions that are inflicted upon them, whether by Satan or his demonic and earthly agents. The sealing enables God's people to respond in faith to the trials through which they pass so that these trials become the very instruments by which they are strengthened in their faith. But the trials that purify God's servants result in hardening the ungodly in their response to God.
(G.K. Beale)
No comments:
Post a Comment