Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Scripture Reading

Revelation 7:1-4, 9-17

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascend from the sunrising, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a great voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them that were sealed, a hundred and forty and four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel…

9 After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 and they cry with a great voice, saying,

Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.

11 And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and about the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 saying,

Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they? 14 And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat: 17 for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Devotional

In this scripture from the book of Revelation, we see angels withholding God’s judgement as represented by the four winds and they are holding them back until another angel who has a seal can mark all of those who belong to God. We’ve seen all types of seals on envelopes, packages, but this one really carries weight. We’re not just talking about a seal from the government, we’re talking about a seal from God himself. God bestows his signet, his seal, to mark each one of 144,000 coming from the twelve tribes of Israel. It’s important to note that in this scripture, the 144,000 is referring specifically to Israelites stemming from the twelve tribes (12,000 from each). Following the 144,000 we fast forward to seeing an uncountable number of people representing the rest of humanity from across the globe who have been saved likely due to the 144,000 Israelites who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and spread the Good News. When it is asked where those in the white robes came and it is said that it was from a great tribulation, which is referring to a specific tribulation separate from the “The Great Tribulation.” It is widely accepted that the meaning is that these people were martyred for their faith. It is a tribulation specific to these individuals. Now that they’re in Heaven, there is no more suffering and God will wipe away all of their tears. You’ll also notice that everyone is worshipping and praising God. Each person saved is celebrating God for redeeming them by washing away their sin through Jesus. It’s a remarkable sight very much like when Jesus was still on Earth and people were waving palm branches as he rode in on a donkey shouting “Hosanna,” which means “save now.”

While this scripture is deep and speaks to the end times, there are important takeaways in present day.

Firstly, because no man knows the day nor the hour, we always need to be ready for Jesus to return. And this isn’t something to fear because if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have repented of your sins then you are saved. It’s more like a reminder to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God and serves his kingdom. Remember, your name has been written in the Book of Life. It is signed and you’ve been accounted for. If you’re not yet a believer or are on the fence, I encourage you to pray that God reveals who he is to you because he desperately wants a relationship with you. When you seek God, you will find him. Jeremiah 29:13 says:

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

This is a statement from God and he will never fail you.

Secondly, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the sign that you are a child of God and that you are part of his family. When you accepted Christ and were baptized, you became a new person. You were officially adopted into God’s family. The Holy Spirit, a part of God, dwells in you. So in this case, you’re not waiting for an angel to come down with a seal like it is mentioned in this scripture with the 144,000 Israelites. You’ve already been claimed.

Lastly, but certainly not least, when you were saved or when you do become saved, you will have been delivered from sin entirely, but also will be delivered up to Heaven to rejoice and worship the Lord. From the very beginning God wanted us to be with him and dwell in his presence and that’s still the end goal for every last person to be up in Heaven with God.

You see that from all those years ago with Adam and Eve up until this very day God is still working to save all of humanity. When I say save humanity, I don’t mean by way of sacrifice, because Jesus already did that. I mean he’s calling out to each and every one of us both saved and not yet saved to not just believe in him, but to walk with him, serve his kingdom, and deepen our relationship with him.

The title of this devotional is signed, sealed, delivered because we do bear resemblance to a piece of important mail. Our name is signed on the envelope like in the Book of Life, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we are delivered from our sin. You can consider this piece of mail already sent and waiting to be received symbolizing our return to Heaven to dwell in the presence of God. What we know about mail as well is that it has a journey. It doesn’t just magically wind up in the hands of the recipient, each piece of mail will encounter many workers, vehicles, and destinations along the way. There will even be unforeseen circumstances like storms, accidents, and other barriers that seek to keep that piece of mail from being delivered. But see, you’re not just any piece of mail, you’re one that requires a signature from the Almighty God. Amen? So, no matter what natural disasters, life circumstances, barriers, or curve balls are thrown at you, know that you are on your way to Heaven to be with God no matter what. Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father God, I cannot thank you enough for reminding me of your love. God you never promise that our life will be easy, but you do promise to be there with us and that we will be together again for eternity. God, I look forward to dwelling in your presence and praising you for your faithfulness, wisdom, power, strength, honor, and glory. I just pray you would use me to spread the Good News whenever the Holy Spirit calls me to do so for the sake of your kingdom and your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.