the sealing is future according to colin and russell standish

Here is the chapter in their book, sent to me by email:

The Sealing
By Colin and Russell Standish

One of the most dramatic and significant events in the history of this sin-cursed earth is the sealing of God’s end-time saints. It is the culmination of Christ’s high-priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. It includes the vindication of God’s people, the conclusion of the investigative judgment, the completion of the atonement and the blotting out of the forgiven sins of God’s remnant. It settles the eternal destiny of the very elect. None who are sealed will be “unsealed.” They have proven to the all-wise God of the universe that their loyalty to Him has no reservations. Quintillions of years will not erode their loyalty to Christ. The fiercest persecution, the most pressing temptations, the craftiest deceptions cannot seduce them away from the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ. However, before we proceed further, we need to clarify that the Bible reveals two sealings. It is essential that this distinction be clearly delineated. First, when we are fully converted we are sealed. Paul wrote:

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Plainly, this is not the final sealing, for Paul would not need to warn these individuals against later grieving the Holy Spirit, subsequent to this preliminary sealing.

Further, this sealing certainly is not the end-time sealing, for it would force us into the false Augustinian doctrine of “once saved, always saved.” That belief is not sustained by Scripture. Here are two examples of this sealing.

Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (2 Corinthians 1:21–22)

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. (Ephesians 1:13)

The Bible plainly states that we can turn away from this sealing.

But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. (Ezekiel 18:24)

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:62)

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:4–6)

By contrast, in the sealing of God’s people which comes in the closing moments of this earth’s beleaguered history, there will be no defections or turning back of those who are thus sealed. Monarchs, presidents, and other leaders present honors in tangible form, such as a prestigious medal or an honored title. In contrast, the divine seal is imbedded in the mind and is the highest honor which God can bestow upon a human being.

So what does the Bible reveal concerning this final and irrevocable seal? First, similar to seals which have been used by men of authority from antiquity, God’s seal identifies His name, His authority, and His dominion. At three of the most dramatic moments in the world’s history, God identifies His seal—at creation, at the giving of God’s holy law, and in the final call for the human race to yield their loyalty to Him. Let us examine them:

The Bible offers no verses of Scripture until God’s seal is revealed.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Note that His name is “God,” His authority is “Creator,” and His dominion is the “heaven and the earth.” If we truly understand this, we will recognize the matchless claims which He deservedly has placed upon our lives and service.

The second revelation comes within the commandments of God written by His own finger in tables of stone.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8–11)

Note the words, “the Lord [His name] made [His authority] heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is [His domain].” It will be noted that again the seal is centered upon God’s authority as Creator, and here the day of the week which commemorates the end of His creative acts— the holy, hallowed, sacred seventh-day of the week, the Sabbath—is central.

Of course, we should not be surprised that God’s seal will be found in His law because the prophet Isaiah reveals this to us:

Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. (Isaiah 8:16)

The final message which will be proclaimed to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people also focuses upon the worship of the Creator by once again revealing His seal.

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:6–7)

Note that his message concludes with “worship Him [God] that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters”—very similar to the declaration as found in the fourth commandment. Once again the presenters of this message are to proclaim God’s seal to the ends of the earth. All three declarations represent God’s claims upon the human race by His creative acts and, by extension, through the seventh-day Sabbath worship. The appropriate keeping of the Sabbath worship is the only way to acknowledge God’s claims upon us. Some see no or little significance in this special day of the week, but in so doing they declare their disloyalty to their Maker and their King. Sister White clearly identifies that faithful Sabbath-keeping is the key to keeping all the commandments.

He who from the heart obeys the fourth commandment will obey the whole law. He is sanctified through obedience. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 350)

Just as July 4 is cherished as Independence Day in the United States because the Declaration of Independence was signed on that day in 1776, much more significant is the day which commemorates the day God completed His creation of the world.

The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character. It is received through obedience to those principles that are the transcript of His character. And the Sabbath is the sign of obedience. (Ibid., p. 350)

The Bible also declares the Sabbath to be the sign of sanctification.

Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. (Exodus 31:13)

There can only be sanctification if we are justified by acknowledging our sins, confessing them, repenting of them, and forsaking them in the power of Christ. Each step requires our hearts to be filled by the Holy Spirit. God has promised,

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

The process of sanctification is one of growing and maturing in holiness.

This sanctification is a progressive work, and an advance from one stage of perfection to another. (My Life Today, p. 250)

When Isaiah revealed that the Sabbath is the sign of sanctification, he could just as well have said that the Sabbath is the seal of sanctification, for those words were used interchangeably by Paul.

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. (Romans 4:11)

Satan has made the Sabbath a special object of his attack because he hates Christ who created this world. He has done all he can to convince Christians to worship on another day, thus denying Christ’s right to our loyalty.

During the Christian dispensation, the great enemy of man’s happiness has made the Sabbath of the fourth commandment an object of special attack. Satan says, “I will work at cross purposes with God. I will empower my followers to set aside God’s memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus I will show the world that the day sanctified and blessed by God has been changed. That day shall not live in the minds of the people. I will obliterate the memory of it. I will place in its stead a day that does not bear the credentials of God, a day that cannot be a sign between God and His people. I will lead those who accept this day to place upon it the sanctity that God placed upon the seventh day. (Prophets and Kings, pp. 183–184)

The Sabbath becomes the central issue during the end of earth’s history, dividing God’s faithful children from those who follow the beast and his image. In this final sealing, only Sabbath-keepers will be sealed to make up the 144,000. They alone have the Father’s name written in their foreheads.

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)

The current series is taken from the book The 144,000, The Great Multitude, And The Return of Jesus, by Colin and Russell Standish. To order a copy of the entire book visit http://www.hartlandbooks.com