Daily Devotional

The scene now switches. The persecution has ended, as we see a small company standing with the Lamb, Jesus, on Mount Zion, the Lamb’s city (Psalm 48:2). They have triumphed over the beast and his image. This is “the great tribulation” (Revelation 7:14) out of which the 144,000 will come.

How did these worthies not get the mark of the beast (13:15–17)? It is because they have something else “on their foreheads.” Compare today’s verse to Revelation 7:3, in which God seals His people “on their foreheads.” According to today’s verse, God’s seal is God the Father’s name. Interestingly enough, the mark of the beast is also associated with the beast’s name (13:17).

We’ve learned in the Bible that one’s name equals one’s character. Thus, having God’s name means having His character. God’s character is His Word (Exodus 34:5–7). “The Word was God” (John 1:1), the apostle John said of Jesus. We could, hence, also conclude that God’s law, His spoken and written word, is His character.

The Lord said, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Jeremiah 31:33). That’s how you get God’s name on your forehead; He puts it within you. It is this, God’s character, that labels you as belonging to God instead of the devil.

We have also learned from Revelation 13:16 that in a special way, at the end of time, God’s seal is represented by one of God’s laws in particular, the Sabbath commandment, found at the very heart of the Ten Commandments.

This is not legalism. We are not saved by keeping God’s law but by Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8, 9). God’s gift of salvation includes both Christ’s sacrifice for your sins and Christ’s transformation of your character. Your character transformation, that is, God’s writing His law on your heart, is called “sanctification,” the complete process of which is actualized in the 144,000 at the end of time. And it all hinges on your free choice to either accept or reject God’s gift.

Lord, work within my heart and mind Your sanctifying power, that my character may be the outward sign of Your saving grace.

For Further Study: Exodus 20:7; Isaiah 8:16; Revelation 2:17