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Revelation 6-22 – 04
In Ephesians 1, we see that when believers come to Christ they are: chosen, sealed, spiritually filled, spiritually led, protected, rewarded, servants, and owned. This is exactly what God does for the 144,000 Jews who become Christians. The Holy Spirit of God seals them, so they likewise get to experience the great Shepherdās betrothal gift to His bride, which is the Holy Spiritāāthe earnestā or āguarantee of our inheritanceā: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee [earnest] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The thought behind the word āguaranteeā (NKJV) or āearnestā (KJV) is exactly the thought behind the idea of an engagement ring or down payment on something.
Ezekiel 9:1-4 (NKJV) Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, āLet those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.ā 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writerās inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writerās inkhorn at his side; 4 and the Lord said to him, āGo through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.ā
In chapter 7, the Lambās servants are protected; no harm can come to those who are sealed. Who are these people? They are tribes of Israel, the Jews, not the church or anyone else. What do Judah, Rueben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin have in common? They are all sons of Jacob.
The servants in this passage are born-again Jewish people. Jesus either confronts each of them personally, just like He did the apostle Paul, or perhaps there is a great outpouring of God in Israel at this time. We do not know for sure how theyāve come to Christ, but we do know from the Scriptures that these 144,000 are all converted.
The Holy Spirit of God seals them, so they likewise get to experience the great Shepherdās betrothal gift to His bride, which is the Holy Spiritāāthe earnestā or āguarantee of our inheritanceā: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee [earnest] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13ā14).
The thought behind the word āguaranteeā (NKJV) or āearnestā (KJV) is exactly the thought behind the idea of an engagement ring or down payment on something. Just as a bride-to-be delights in showing off her engagement ring, so we are to delight in āshowing offā the Holy Spirit before the world to signify that our affections have been engaged to another: to Him who was raised from the dead (Romans 7:4). No longer are we to show any allegiance to the decaying and soon-passing world system. That is why it is spiritual adultery to love the world and all that is in it.
If you are truly engaged to Jesus Christ, this will be evident through special spiritual changes in your life. If you can see no such changes, you would do well to question: Am I really betrothed to Christ? Is He my beloved?