How the Sabbath Became the Seal 2.0

[Hanseng]

How the Sabbath Became the Seal 2.0

    The Sabbath was declared the seal of God during EGW’s Dorchester vision on November 18,1848.  “She then began to describe the Sabbath light, which was the sealing truth.” “She saw many interesting things about this glorious sealing Sabbath, which I have not time or space to record. She told Brother Bates to write the things he had seen and heard, and the blessing of God would attend it” (J. White, Life Sketches, p. 93).  Bates published “A Seal of the Living God” in January of 1849.

    January 31, 1849,  an Ellen White broadside called, “To those Receiving the Seal of the Living God” was published.  It described the Sabbath as the seal of the living God. “In these things I saw great danger; for if the mind is filled with other things, present truth is shut out, and there is no place in our foreheads for the seal of the living God. This seal is the Sabbath” (p. 9).

     Joseph Bates, James White, and Hiram Edson were instrumental in showing that the Sabbath/seal doctrine was Scriptural. This sequence of events differs from the development of the Investigative Judgment doctrine. The IJ was conceived by Elon Everts and developed by others such as James White, Uriah Smith, and J.N. Andrews. This went on for about 30 years before Ellen White wrote about the IJ in the 1884 edition of The Great Controversy. In the case of the Sabbath/seal teaching, it was perceived by Ellen White in vision. She and Joseph Bates each published on the Sabbath /seal teaching in January of 1849.

     Bates had cited “Seal the law among my disciples” from Isaiah 8:16, to establish the perpetuity of God’s law in his “The Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign” [two editions 1846,1847]. It wasn’t until his January 1849, “A Seal of the Living God,” that he used the text to establish the Sabbath as God’s seal.

     Isaiah 8:16 is a parallelism. “Bind up the testimony” and “seal the law” express the same idea with different words. “Testimony,” in this text, is not a translation of the same Hebrew word used  for “Decalogue.” The context reveals a prophetic testimony announcing a coming attack by the Assyrians during the reign of Ahaz. The “testimony” is the prophetic utterance of Isaiah. The word “law” is better rendered “teaching” as in the RSV, NRSV and ESV. The NIV translates the passage “Bind up this testimony of warning and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.” “Bind up” and “seal” comprise a parallelism.  To bind up or seal, in this context, means to preserve or protect. Daniel was also told to shut up his vision, seal the book, i.e., to preserve it. Isaiah 8:16 has nothing to do with the Sabbath.  The mention of law and testimony in Isaiah 8:20 cautions against seeking counsel from wizards and sorcerers who will contradict the prophetic teaching of Isaiah.

     Hiram Edson also referred to Isaiah 8:16 in a three-part article published in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (vol. 3, nos. 9, 10, 11).  “Hence, the work of the sealing angel in Rev. vii and the third angel of Chap. xiv is to obey the mandate of Isa. viii, 16, and seal the law by restoring the seal of the living God to his commandments, and to seal the servants of God by leading them to keep the same” (ARSH vol. 3 no. 9, 09/02/1852 ). Edson saw in the fourth commandment the three elements of a royal seal. He also viewed a sign and seal as one and the same, “It is worthy of notice that in the last clause of the fourth commandment is the name of our Great Lawgiver, "THE LORD." And following his name is his title, giving the extent of his dominion, and his right to reign &c., in these words, "made  HEAVEN and EARTH the SEA and ALL that in them is. And next in order is the Sabbath, the SIGN or seal of the living God. And thus we have the name, title and seal of our Lawgiver in regular order” (ARSH vol.3 no.10, 1852).

     Edson’s remarks on the nature of a royal seal have been corroborated by archaeology. The Hezekiah bulla [impression made by a seal] was excavated in 2015. In addition to depicting a winged sun disk, the seal says, ”Belonging to Hezekiah, [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah.” It includes Hezekiah’s name, his position as king, and his dominion of Judah. (Seal of Hezekiah - Madain Project (en). A seal from the father of Hezekiah, Ahaz, includes the name of his father, Jotham: “Seal of King Ahaz, the seal contains an ancient Hebrew inscription mentioning the name of Ahaz of Judah, as well as the name of his father, Yehotam (Jotham), identifying Ahaz as the "king of Judah".” List of Seals Found in Israel/Palestine - Madain Project (en).

         In 1890, Ellen White noted, “The fourth commandment is the only one of all the ten in which are found both the name and the title of the Lawgiver. It is the only one that shows by whose authority the law is given. Thus it contains the seal of God, affixed to His law as evidence of its authenticity and binding force” (PP p. 270).

     James White, like Hiram Edson and Bates, believed that sign and seal have the same meaning. After quoting Exodus 31:13-17, James White said “The Sabbath then is a sign, or seal between GOD and his people forever.” (Present Truth vol. 1 no. 1, July, 1849).

     In a Present Truth article dated September 1, 1849 (Vol.1 no.4), James White conflated Isaiah 58 with Ezekiel 9 to conclude “….that the repairing of the breach in the law of God, and the sealing [of Ezekiel 9], are one and the same work, just before the day of the Lord, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger." The “mark” in the foreheads of those who sigh and cry in Ezekiel 9 corresponds to the “repairers of the breach” in Isaiah 58, according to J. White.

     The mark in the foreheads of those who sigh and cry in Ezekiel 9 is not the same word translated as “seal” in other verses. The word “mark” in Ezekiel 9 is usually translated “sign.” A seal certifies the authenticity and authority of that  to which it is impressed. Haman (Esther 😎 and Jezebel (1 Ki. 21:8) issued decrees employing the seal of their respective kings. Seals also served to protect and preserve documents to which they were affixed, e.g., the book sealed with 7 seals in Revelation 5:1 (See also Isaiah 8:16, Dan. 10:12,14, Jer. 32:44).

      One stated purpose of a “sign” was to serve as a reminder. The censors of the rebels under Korah were pounded into plates. They were affixed to the altar to remind the people that only Aaron’s family could offer incense (Num. 16: 37-40). The sign of the rainbow reminded God to never again destroy the earth with a flood (Gen. 9:16). Cain, and those crying in Ezekiel 9, received a sign to preserve them from death. The Passover blood served as a sign to protect Israel from the destroying angel of the Exodus.

   One example of a sign functioning as a seal is 2 Thessalonians 3:17. Paul employs the same word that the Greek Old Testament uses for “sign.” His signature on an epistle is a “token” (KJV) “sign of genuineness” (ESV) or “distinguishing mark” (NASB). In this case, Paul’s signature or sign served as a seal. We see the same in Daniel 6:8. Darius signed a decree giving it royal authority.

          Revelation 7 speaks of the seal of God being in the foreheads of the 144,000. Chapter 14, referring to the same group says, they have the Father’s name on their foreheads. The book of Revelation likens the Father’s name to the seal of God in the foreheads of the 144,000.  When Moses met with God at the burning bush in Horeb, he asked about God’s name. “I AM” was God’s reply (Ex. 3:13,14). He later identified Himself to Moses as “YOD HEY VAV HEY,” commonly translated as Jehovah or Yahweh  [see also Ex. 34: 5-7]. The name Jehovah/Yahweh appears in the fourth commandment.

     God appeared to the patriarchs as “God Almighty,” a translation of El Shaddai (Gen. 35:11, Ex. 6:3). The words “God Almighty” appear several times in the book of Revelation (Rev. 4:8, 16:7, 21:22, et al).

     The Father sealed Jesus Christ (John 6:27). He was given the Spirit without measure (John 3:34). We are sealed with an earnest of the Spirit. This “earnest” serves as a guarantee of future redemption (Ephesians 1:13,14). Paul calls it the “first fruits of the Spirit,”  in the context of future redemption. (Romans 8:23).

     After EGW’s vision, it appears the SDA pioneers set about to “prove,” from Scripture, that the Sabbath is a seal. They relied heavily on the Biblical terms “sign” and “seal” being synonymous. Isaiah 8:16 was also a “proof” in the Sabbath/seal doctrine. Paul, an inspired interpreter of the OT, plainly stated that the sign of circumcision sealed Abraham’s righteousness (Romans 4:11). In that case, a sign functioned as a seal. Applying Isaiah 8:16 to the Sabbath is an unfortunate example of “proof texting,” without regard to context or the intended meaning of the original author.

     The NT offers three different perspectives on the seal of God: 1) The sign of circumcision as a seal of Abraham’s righteousness (Rom. 4:11). Baptism replaces circumcision in the NT (Col. 2: 11-13). 2) The Holy Spirit seals us unto the day of redemption (2 Co. 1:22, Eph. 1:13, 4:30). 3) The Father’s name in the foreheads of the redeemed (Rev. 7:3, 14:1, 22:4).

     Having spent time among the Jewish community in Los Angeles, I noticed that some Jews are much more scrupulous in their Sabbath observance than others. Some begin worshipping in the synagogue well before sundown. The Sabbath is not over until three stars can be observed in the night sky. No matter. Apart from the Holy Spirit, consequent to justifying faith in Christ, it is unlikely they or anyone else will receive a divine seal of any kind.       

Seal of Hezekiah.

 

 

 

 

[Hanseng]

Not sure how that happy face got in there. The reference was to Esther chapter 8.