June 21: ALIGNMENT

…saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” Revelation 7:3

Note the parenthetical location of chapter 7 of Revelation. It is set between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals by the Lord Jesus. The purpose of this chapter is to answer the closing question of chapter six with a description of those who are enabled to withstand the coming onslaught of strife more intense than the world has ever seen.

Christ is in full control. He knows what is to come but will not allow the final events of earth to move into action before God’s people are sealed. We come to an incredibly important symbolism to understand. The forehead of a person, while literally the location of the frontal lobe (where decisions are made), symbolizes a person’s will: the heart and mind. The actions—symbolized by the hand—will appropriately follow the heart and mind devoted to Christ. There is a harmony and a singleness of purpose, due to a mind and heart in alignment with Him. To be sealed by God protects a person from receiving the mark of the beast mentioned in chapter 13.

The beast’s mark can be received either in the hand (works) or the forehead (belief). What is the significance of this detail? In the last days of fallen earth’s history, there will be many who, even after hearing the whole truth of God’s word, will refuse to believe that it is so. In such cases, the person believes what he is doing is right even though it does not match up with the written word. His belief and works will be in alignment with each other, but not with Christ.

There will also be those who know the word of God, yet they will outwardly comply with the world’s religious mandates that go against Scripture in order to avoid inconvenience, persecution, or death. Such as these receive the beast’s mark in the hand. Though they do not agree with the beast power or its message, they still choose to comply as a matter of convenience or tradition (see Mark 7:8-9,13).

There have been true servants of God in every generation. And the most pressing fact is that a person cannot save or seal himself. This is the work of God by the Spirit of God. To all who truly desire to be His, He gives this promise: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you”… “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27a; Hebrews 8:10).