Dearest Ones,
I am pleased to see the devotion of my chosen and faithful ones around the world each Sabbath day. There are so many people who pay no attention to the sacredness of this day that is a memorial of creation. It is like the birthday of humanity. No one forgets his own birthday, but celebrates it with friends, and family. But they forget the day I have set aside and said to remember, for in remembering the Sabbath, you remember your Creator and your origins which go back to Eden and forward to Eden restored. Only those who are faithful to my Sabbath covenant will have open hearts to receive the final sealing and the latter rain.
Now for the topic of today. It is "the sealing." For many years my people have been looking forward to this time as it is prophesied in Revelation 7:1-4. When a seal is placed upon a person it indicates that they are in perfect agreement with my law, which is my covenant with my people who choose to serve me. By nature, no one is born with a mind that is in perfect agreement with me, because the tendencies to sin are passed on from one generation to another. Therefore, it is my plan that as children grow and experience life, they are to be taught to love my Sabbaths, for I am present in a special way during those 24 hours which I have set aside for my people.
Those who observe the Sabbath in spirit and truth receive a weekly sealing experience which prepares them for the final sealing at the close of time. This is because during the time of the latter rain when the sealing takes place, the experience of my people will be a continual unbroken connection, and even though secular things must be done on the other six days, they will be done in the Spirit and not the flesh. Every act, every thought, will be in harmony with me because the heart has been cleansed of all worldliness and error. Therefore, I want to describe more clearly the preparation that must be made to receive the fullness of the latter rain and the sealing process which takes place while I am cleansing the books of heaven and blotting out the sins of penitent believers.
When I come to the name of an individual, I have their records before me of every thought, deed, and motive of the heart. Nothing is left out in these records which have been kept by the angels day after day. [7 BC 987.] At the birth of each child there is written the perfect plan that I have for the life of every person [Ps. 139:13-16]. Then as I go through the records of that person's life, I see the damage that Satan has done, and the responses that they have made to both good and evil forces. My angels are at work to draw the person heavenward, and the evil one has assigned his angels to lead the person into sin.
As I go over the record of each life I note the responses of the person to the influence of good and evil. If they give their hearts and lives to me, their names are inscribed in the book of life. If they do not, their names are registered in the book of the lost, or death. Every effort is made by my Spirit and the angels, but the destiny of each person is made by their choices throughout their lives. When I examine the cases of those who have died who are in the book of life, I search for any cherished, known sins that they refused to give up during their lifetimes. [Ps. 19:12-14.] If they refuse to repent and forsake these sins, their names are removed from the book of life and transferred to the book of death. But if they struggled to overcome and laid their sins on me through faith in me, their names are retained in the book of life.
Now I want to discuss the cases of the living. These of necessity must be willing to go through a conscious experience of cleansing from sin in cooperation with me, for I cannot remove sin in the records of heaven unless these sins are removed from the person's life. The books of heaven are an exact replica of the life, including thoughts, feelings, and motives, and I do not remove sin in these areas without the conscious cooperation of the person involved. Can you imagine the reaction of the entire universe if I removed the records of a person's sins while he was still sinning? I know this sounds absurd, but this is what many people think I do. No, the records are simply a replica of each person's life, and the blotting out of the records of sin in heaven must be matched and correspond with the blotting out of sin in the life of each person who desires to be among those who are translated.
So how does this take place? First of all, the person must have a consistent, ongoing relationship with me whereby I can reveal the sins that I see before me in the pages of the book of life. Then I can reveal to the person in their daily lives and in their prayer time where I see elements of sin which are still present in their lives. If they then will cooperate with my Spirit's promptings, and they confess and fully repent of these sins and forsake them, I will blot them out of their memory and out of the books of heaven and remove any access the demons have who are responsible for these sins. [EW 271.] Then I apply my perfect life to them in exchange for their imperfections.
When this is accomplished, I will give the cleansed person the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give them power to keep their victory over sin forever, and this is called the sealing, for it is given only to those who have come into perfect agreement with me on every issue in their lives. This was the condition in which I lived while on earth, and it is my gift to each of you who are repenting and cleansing your lives of all sin and iniquity right now as you prepare for my coming. Then you will be able to say:
“O Lord, Our God, other Lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. They are now dead, they live no more; those departed spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them." [Isa. 26:12-15.]
When this is accomplished for my church it will be said of her, "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners." SS 6:4. Do you see why I cannot seal anyone who is not in perfect agreement with me on every point? [See John 6:27; 8:28, 29.] It would be like saying that I either agree with their sins, or overlook the sin and give my seal of approval to it. The whole plan of salvation depends upon a finished product of my sacrifice and my work in the heavenly Sanctuary. And that is what I shall have! I now have a remnant who are coming into harmony with me in every area of their lives. These are the sheep of my pasture who hear my voice. They follow me and are cleansing their lives as I bring their sins of the past that have not been repented of to their attention. As the cleansing goes forward, so does the sealing and the latter rain.
And so my work will be finished in this present generation. Let no one think that I will continue to extend the time. I know every heart and I know when it is time to put in the sickle and reap the harvest of the earth. It is time, my beloved ones, to come into the hiding place until my wrath has passed by. [Isa. 26:20, 21.] For I will soon come out of my place to punish the wicked for their sins and prepare the way for my righteous ones to come home to live forever with me.
Now go to your Sabbath hours and rejoice that the work will soon be done and the Year of Jubilee will begin! Lovingly, Jesus.