June 20: IDENTIFYING THE LIVING GOD

Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea… Revelation 7:2

The simplest definition of angel is messenger. The forerunner principle in the Bible is the rock-solid precept of preparation… It is His divine preparation for the ultimate message—the best news ever for every soul who loves the Lord enough to believe all His words. Surely the LORD GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7 – see also Jeremiah 25:4) The Holy Spirit spoke through Malachi at the end of the Old Testament attempting to prepare His stubborn people for the ultimate messenger (Jesus!) by providing yet another forerunner. And then He allowed them to think about it for 400 years.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. Malachi 4:5

John the Baptist was the fulfillment of this prophecy (Matthew 11:14) preparing the way for Jesus to launch His earthly ministry. A one-word summary of John’s message: “Repent!” Without repentance, there can be no salvation. The first coming of Jesus was also a preparation for His second coming. One might characterize it as “prepare to get prepared!” The earthly ministry of Jesus is to continue through His followers until He comes again. We, too, are called to go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

Malachi called Jesus The Sun of Righteousness (4:2). Each morning’s sunrise is a gracious reminder of a preparing messenger to come up from the east, bearing the seal of the living God.. A careful study of the Ten Commandments reveals this seal. What is a seal anyway? Many followers of other religions will claim that they follow the same god as we. There are even Christians who will say this. They will agree on certain points, such as refraining from murder, theft, adultery, unkindness, and honoring parents (all good ideas). Therefore, to represent to the world exactly which “god” it is that we worship, the LORD GOD provides a positive identifier, just as a seal identifies the source of a letter or document by specifying the name, title, and territory over which the sender has jurisdiction. His name is the LORD. His title is Creator (implied by the word made). And His territory is the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. This positive identifier punctuates the end of the fourth commandment (see Exodus 20:11).

Let’s get a hold of an ancient Hebrew principle, without which we might mistakenly believe that God causes bad things to happen. In the original Hebrew, it is understood that bad things happen as a consequence of ignoring God and His principles. Such things He allows with a redemptive purpose in mind. God’s angels to whom it was granted to harm do not cause the harm, but will, at His command, simply cease to restrain the evil forces of Satan arrayed against humanity.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to honor God and His commandments, provided we depend upon His grace (not our effort). They are an outward manifestation of divine power and grace. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments (1 John 2:3).

Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12 (see also Genesis 2:2-3; Isaiah 58:12-14)