“And I looked, and lo a Lamb stood on Mount Zion and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand having His Father’s name written in their foreheads,” Rev. 14:1-5.

THE HOLY GHOST – OUR SEAL

So you see, the sealing of the twelve tribes (Rev. 7) of spiritual Israel is the indwelling power of the Holy Ghost. The Bible says, “When we believed we were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory,” Eph. 1:1-14. Amen.

“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,” 2Cor. 1:21-22. See also 1Cor. 12:12; 1John 5:18; John 14:16-19.

The meaning of our seal becomes clearer when we consider the words of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. “Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for THE SEAL OF MINE APOSTLESHIP ARE YE IN THE LORD,” 1Cor. 9:1-2. “If in the opinion of others I am not an apostles, I certainly am to you, for you have been won to Christ through me” (v. 2 TLB).

In other words the proof (certificate) of Paul’s apostleship is the Corinthian Church, which shows the mark of ownership. In the same vein, our being sealed by God shows that we are God’s possession and that we are truly alive to the heavenly life.

So the 144,000 are all peoples who have received the mark (seal) of God, which is not only a sign of protection but also of ownership. And these 144,000 are the ones with HIM, assisting and helping Him in His course of redemption on earth. They are the first harvest (firstfruit) of the Lord from amongst men, the finished products of God’s workmanship created in CHRIST JESUS unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we walk in them,” Eph. 2:10.

The 144,000 are a people marked out by God and for God universally. Not just some few Jews or certain individuals that will reign with Christ up yonder in heaven.

THE FOREHEAD IS THE PLACE OF AUTHORITY

“And I looked, and lo a Lamb stood on Mount Zion and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand having His Father’s name written in their foreheads,” Rev. 14:1.

We have been able to see that the 144,000, who are with the Lamb, is a symbolic expression for the whole number of the faithful. It is the number of completeness; and since they are sealed, not one of them is missing from the hand of Him who has so possessed them. So what do we mean by the 144,000 having the Father’s name written in their foreheads?

Firstly, the forehead is a very prominent and readily seen part of the body. In ancient times, it was a place where slaves were marked so that all could see to which master they belonged. Also, those who were devoted to certain pagan gods were similarly thus marked. Even today some follow the practice of putting religious marks on the forehead so that everyone can be aware of their devotion to their religious beliefs and gods.

FOREHEAD AS A FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION

To imagine that God was going to literally write His name on a people’s forehead is misleading. This is what has led to the erroneous teaching of a people receiving the literal mark of the beast and his name on their hand and foreheads. (Please see our booklet on Mark of the Beast).

Take for instance when God was describing the stubbornness and rebellion of the children of Israel (lsa. 48:4), He said, their “forehead” was as brass. Also in Ezek. 3:7-9 when God told Ezekiel to prophesy to these stubborn people of Israel, He said that He had the Prophet’s forehead “like a diamond” in that He God had given him the resolution, determination and boldness to prophesy God’s message to the people. All these are not literal.

Again, we can see that receiving a mark in the “forehead” is similarly used figuratively in the Bible to signify that one is a servant-slave to the true God or to another. This is what we find in Revelation 7:2-4 of the sealing of the 144,000 in their foreheads, which “seal” is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which began on the day of Pentecost in 33 AD (see Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30).

The only way those who have received this seal on their forehead today can be identified in their world is not by any outward visible sign on the forehead of Christians but by their activities in preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God and the life of holiness and righteousness they live in both around their homes and neighbourhood.

Their activities and lifestyle reveals them as the slaves of God, even in their languages. We must, without doubt, realize that the primary purpose of God in giving us the Holy Spirit is to be witnesses for God.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be WITNESSES unto me…” (Acts 1:8); and that as we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit in this newness of life, the old Adamic life and its deeds are destroyed.

To be continued…