Response to Christopher Mindanao’s
THEOLOGICAL STANCE ON SDA ESCHATOLOGY PART 1
By Edwin M. Cotto, Advent Defense League
INTRODUCTION
I was made aware of the recent departure of an SDA pastor named Christopher Mindanao from employment with the church due to his disagreements regarding the Sabbath and the end-time seal. The departure was a result of Pastor Mindanao sharing his disagreements live on an anti-SDA YouTube Channel. Since ADL is interested mainly in theological viewpoints, I did some research and found the former pastor’s paper outlining his disagreements. The following is my response to each section, and you will notice screenshots of those sections with an arrow pointing to the specific parts I am responding to. Chris’s paper seemed as if he should have known how to reply to those objections. I truly believe that the answers here will help others not make the same mistake of abandoning the truth. Enjoy.
IMPROPER HERMENEUTICAL METHOD OF INTERPRETATION
Christopher quotes Rev. 7 regarding the seal of God but suddenly jumps out of context to Eph. 1 to describe that seal. The method of biblical interpretation that ADL prefers to employ is as described in Isaiah 28:13, where, “the WORD of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” Notice first that this is describing how the Word of the Lord is being viewed. Now here is the order:
- First, “precept upon precept.” The Hebrew, the word translated precept (צַו) means a command of some sort, or rule, or ordinance. Any interpretation of God’s Word must first be in accordance with the principles already laid out in it.
- Second, line upon line, which speaks to context. We must first read these passages in contexts, one line after the other.
- Finally, there is here a little, and there a little. At this point we can go elsewhere in the scriptures to see what else God has to say relevant to the subject at hand.
Hermeneutically, Christopher is already in violation of this biblical method which explains why he was led to draw a different conclusion besides that of the SDA view.
THEY ARE SEALED WITH MORE THAN ONE SEAL
Whatever interpretation we arrive at, it should not violate any of the Bible’s already established principles. With that, we can move on to the context (line upon line). Verse 3 reads:
“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” (Rev. 7:3).
Christopher argues that the seal of God is the Holy Spirit. But note here that those who are being sealed are already “servants.” One can not be a servant of God if they don’t already have the Holy Spirit, and therefore, these individuals already have the seal of the Holy Spirit. The sealing in Rev. 7 is an additional seal, apparently for the purpose of visibly setting them apart from others in the current controversy taking place. In other words, since people can’t see the Holy Spirit inside of an individual, they have to be able to see something in addition that will make them stand out. What will they see?
Revelation 14 helps us answer this question. It mentions the 144,000 again and says they are “redeemed from among men” (verse 14). Others can clearly see they are different, and something is making it blatantly obvious. But before we delve deeper into Revelation 14, notice further in the context of Revelation 7 that those who are being sealed are 144,000 Israelites:
“And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” (Rev. 7:4).
The children of Israel had multiple seals or signs. Circumcision (Rom. 4:11), Unleavened Bread (Exo. 13:9), the Law of God itself (Isa. 8:16), and of course, the seventh day Sabbath (Exo. 31:13, Eze. 20:12, 20:20). At a minimum, John the Apostle, himself an Israelite, would recall these signs upon seeing Israelites being sealed in his vision. We know, however, that circumcision and feast keeping met their end in terms of observance at the cross, and of course, whether the Sabbath met that same end is what we are debating (since one could argue convincingly that Col. 2:16 is referring to certain appointed times also called “sabbaths”). So, we must find our answer elsewhere.
The 144,000 are also mentioned in Revelation 14. Let us now go there for more answers:
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” (Rev. 14:1).
Notice the parallel between chapters 7 and 4 in regards to what is placed on the forehead:
As you can see, the “seal” placed upon the foreheads of the 144,000 is God the Father’s “name” written in their foreheads. That is clear. So we have arrived at the conclusion that the saved have more than one seal. They have the seal of the Holy Spirit before the crisis described in Revelation 7, then they receive an additional seal that sets them apart during that crisis. But could they also have more seals?
MUST ALSO BE A VISIBLE SEAL
God’s name, along with the Holy Spirit, are things that cannot be seen by others. Although these two things will obviously produce outward behaviors that can be noted by others. In terms of the Holy Spirit, Paul calls those behaviors “fruits” (Gal. 5:22-25). Recall that John clearly sees these individuals as “redeemed from among men.” The destroying angels in Revelation 7 which hold back the winds of destruction have to be able to see the redeemed sealed on their foreheads. Even human beings notice how their behavior sets them apart. In Rev. 14:12 someone cries out, “here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” So, the Holy Spirit, and the name of God, causes these people to be set apart from the rest as a commandment keeping people. But, what are those commandments?
Critics argue they are Christ’s commandment to “love one another.” But the plural “commandments” means there are more than one commandment in view here. Moreover, to “love” entails more than a feeling or action of respect. Paul explains how love is seen in obedience to the Ten Commandments (Rom. 13:9-10). It is true that Romans 13 doesn’t mention all of the Ten Commandments, but that is because contextually Paul is dealing with our relationship with other fellow human beings, so in this case he would only mention those commandments that pertain to that kind of relationship. But no one will argue that because he doesn’t literally outline the first three commandments, one of them being to worship God alone, that he means love isn’t connected to those.
Let’s continue in the context of Revelation 14 and later you will hopefully see why it was important to bring Romans 13 into this discussion. Previously, in chapter 13, there was a controversy where ruling government powers controlled by Satan attempted to force the conscience of people to worship contrary to God’s Law. The following parallel hints that the beast powers are seeking to cause the world to violate the Ten Commandments, particularly the first four:
Incidentally, both portray laws on mountains; mount Sinai in Exodus 20 and mount Zion in Revelation (see 14:1). There are also references to violations of some of the remaining commandments of the Decalogue, like the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th commandments (Rev. 9:20, 21, 13:10; 14:4-5), along with warnings against other sins which in one way or the other violate one or more of God’s Ten Commandments (like sorcery, which violates the 2nd commandment, Rev. 9:21, cf. Psa. 119:96). Revelation 11 highlight all Ten Commandments when amidst the scenes John is viewing in vision, he suddenly sees the Ark of the Covenant in the heavenly Sanctuary:
“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” (Rev. 11:19).
The Ark in the Old Testament contained the Ten Commandments (Exo. 25:10-22). From on to the rest of Revelation we see those commandments featured among God’s people (Rev. 12:17, 14:12) and attacked by their enemies.
Now that we know the redeemed are observers of the Ten Commandments, and that the beast powers of the earth seek to cause them to violate those commandments, we suddenly see the appearance of seals, or marks, or signs (all interchangeable words), one for the people of God, and another for the enemies of God. Without the mark of the beast the people of God cannot buy or sell (Rev. 13:17), and yet without the seal of God one will be lost for all eternity. And yet, in the midst of all this, God’s people stand out like a sore thumb as those who “keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” (Rev. 14:12). This verse alone proves they have three seals!
First, by keeping God’s Ten Commandments, they have the only seal found in those commandments, the Sabbath seal (Exo. 31:13, Eze. 20:12, 20:20).
Second, by having the “faith of Jesus,” they have the Holy Spirit, which is Himself a seal (and the sealer), since one cannot be a true believer and have the faith of Jesus without the Holy Spirit (Eph.1:13, 4:30).
Moreover, they have the name of the Father in their foreheads as was already told us in Rev. 14:1, (cf. Rev. 7:1-3).
CONCLUSION ABOUT THE SEALS
Thus, after a careful examination of the contexts of these chapters in Revelation, and in comparison with a few texts elsewhere in the scriptures, we draw the simple conclusion that God’s people will have multiple seals, and that each seal serves a separate but important purpose.
The seal of the Holy Spirit is received upon believing, way before the time of the end, and the end time seal cannot be placed upon people unless they have the seal of the Holy Spirit first. Of course, having the Holy Spirit leads to producing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:21-22, Eph. 5:9), and we see the people being obedient to God’s Ten Commandments. Since they are obedient to God’s Ten Commandments, it goes without saying they automatically have the Sabbath seal, since it is the only seal within the decalogue. They also have the Father’s name, which makes sense since they are keeping God’s Ten Commandments, and the third commandment speaks of His name. The name is also connected to God’s character reflected upon the actions of God’s people, and therefore they are “without guile in their mouths” and faultless before God (Rev. 14:5). These seals ground the redeemed in such an impregnable position that the beast powers have no choice but to resort to governmental force.
DEEPER WITH THE SABBATH AS A SEAL
The following texts prove that the Sabbath was always considered a sign or seal among God’s people:
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.” (Exo. 31:13).
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them… And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.” (Eze. 20:12, 20).
Being that all believers in Jesus, whether back then or now, are true Israelites/Jews (Rom. 3:28-29, 9:6-8, Gal 3:28-29), we believe this applies to believers today as well.
It will not suffice for any critic to say that those are merely Old Testament texts that don’t apply under the New Testament, and that while the seal was the Sabbath back then, it is the Holy Spirit now. And there are two reasons for this:
First, we already saw that the redeemed in Revelation are declared as commandment keepers, particularly the Ten Commandments, and this automatically means they have the Sabbath seal which is in the midst of those commandments.
Second, this argument implies the absence of the Holy Spirit being a seal during the Old Testament times. But Ephesians 1:13 says that one must believe in Jesus first, and then they are sealed. The text specifically says that after trusting in Jesus, hearing the Gospel, and believing, they receive the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Did not men and women trust in Jesus, hear the gospel, and believed on Him, during Old Testament times? Of course! See: 1 Peter 1:10-12, Hebrews 4:2.
Adventists typically point to the required elements that make up a seal, the name, title, and territory of the king. This is biblical:
“As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah (name) the son of Jehoiakim king (title) of Judah (territory) were the signet (seal upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence.” (Jer. 22:24).
In this text God speaks hypothetically of Coniah as a seal in God’s hand. Note God’s description of Coniah by referencing his name, title, and territory. These are the elements we see making up any seal, and it is what we find in the fourth commandment also:
“Remember the sabbath day… For in six days the LORD (His name) made (title as creator) heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is (His territory), and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exo. 20:8-11).
Moreover, it is evident that God’s people in the last days, who keep the Ten Commandments, have this Sabbath seal in their minds. We know this because they evident live under the New Covenant, and the New Covenant is having the Law of God (the same Ten Commandments of the Old Covenant, see Deut. 4:13), written in the MIND (Heb. 10:16, cf. Jer. 31:33). Under the New Covenant, the contents of the Ten Commandments transition from tables of stone to “fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
I will delve into 2 Cor. 3 in a moment as our critic brings up this text also. Suffice it to say for now that the Ten Commandments are written in the minds of the last day believers and thus the Sabbath is sealed there also.
DEEPER WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A SEAL
When the angel in Revelation 7 carries the seal of God, the image of a created Being carrying God the Holy Spirit is not very sensical. This angels is carrying something else that is to be sealed upon the believers who already have the Holy Spirit. Christopher rightly writes that the Holy Spirit is sealed among people at the moment of believing. He writes, “This was received when we “heard the word of truth… and believed in him…” This is exemplified in the story of Cornelius and his family hearing and believing in the Gospel (Acts 10:44-48).
The problem is that those described in Revelation 7 are ALREADY believers, and thus already have the Holy Spirit as a seal. Thus they are receiving an additional seal. Additionally, I’d go further then Christopher has and argue that after they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44), it would have been natural for them to afterwards, as other Gentiles have done, join the Jewish believers in observance of the Sabbath (see for example Acts 13:42, 44, 15:21, 16:13, 17:1-4, 18:4). In other words, Ephesians is describing a seal that happens at the moment of believing. Paul himself had it as he wrote it. But the issue of the Mark of the Beast had not begun yet, and so the end time seal is a separate seal. This seal happens when you believe. The other happens during the Mark of the Beast crises. It’s that simple.
Additionally, in context the purpose of the Holy Spirit seal is to “guarantee our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Acts 1:14). But the seal in the last days is to protect you from the wrath of God upon the wicked world (Rev. 7:1).
We agree that all who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit, and that they are sealed with and by the Holy Spirit upon hearing and believing the Gospel. But that does not stop them from having other seals, especially the one needed in the last days to distinguish them from commandment breakers as we read in Revelation 7 and 13-14. I implore Christopher and other critics to think critically and contextually with these texts and “rightly divide” them (2 Tim. 2:15).
This paper to be continued soon. Meanwhile, watch our video response to this paper on YouTube!
