Why are we looking into the book of Revelation? After all, the word "Sabbath" doesn't even appear in John's prophecy! Could it be that there is something in the time of the end that bears on whether we should keep the Sabbath? I know that as I first considered the question, I figured it was nonsense. I rejected any thought that the seal of God or the mark of the beast had anything to do with the Sabbath. It had to be a feeble effort by Sabbatarians to strengthen their arguments for the Sabbath. The Bible should allow me to refute any connection. Then, as I followed God's command to study (2 Timothy 2:15), I faced a choice: either I accepted the role of the Sabbath in the time of the end or I rejected the Bible.

What was so compelling? Let's take a look. Revelation 7:2-3.

² And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
³ saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads."

Revelation 13:1-17

¹⁵ And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
¹⁶ And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead,
¹⁷ and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

What does this have to do with the Sabbath? The short answer is: everything. It's just that the connection is not instantly obvious. At the time of the end, just before Jesus' second coming, there will be a time of trouble. Modern theologians refer to this as the "tribulation". Daniel 12:1

¹ .... And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

Revelation 7 is devoted to the "sealing" of God's people (the saints) so that they will be protected in the coming tribulation. This is shown in verses 16-17.

¹⁶ "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;
¹⁷ for the Lamb in the center of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes."

Almost nothing else is given about the "seal" itself. All that can be determined from this passage is that it allows the saints to be identified for protection. This has led certain commentators to go back into the customs of the Jewish people to search out what the seal might actually mean. Such discussions go in two directions. The simpler direction is to look at a custom of ancient middle eastern rulers. It was common for them to impose laws upon subject peoples, and to insert in the center of the code of laws a law which had the sole purpose of being a sign of submission. The observance of this law indicated that the people had read far enough into the law to know what was required of them, and showed that they actually respected the King's authority. This symbolic law was typically placed in the exact center of the code of laws. The phrase "the seventh day is the sabbath" is found at the exact center of the Hebrew text of the Ten Commandments, and the Sabbath commandment is the central portion of the ten. This line of reasoning is then strengthened by Exodus 31:17

¹⁷ "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever;

and Ezekiel 20:12 and 20.

¹² "And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

²⁰ 'And sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.'

While this all of this makes nice, logical sense, it is not terribly convincing, since Revelation itself is essentially silent on the nature of the seal. This leads to a second line of thinking to reinforce the first. The "seal" placed on the saints is logically identical to a seal placed on a document to authenticate it. In Biblical times, such a seal was the sovereign's signet pressed into wax which sealed the document (scroll) closed. Such a royal seal was unique to the sovereign, and had several specific characteristics.

1. It indicated law-making. Isaiah 8:16

¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

This would indicate that the seal relates to the law of God.

2. It includes an identification of the "sealer". This should identify God. Exodus 20:10

¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God;

The fourth commandment clearly identifies God.

3. It includes some indication of the authority of the sealer. Exodus 20:11

¹¹ "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

As Creator, God has ultimate authority over His creations.

4. It indicates the region in which the sealer exercises authority. Exodus 20:11

¹¹ "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them

As Creator of the universe, He has authority over all the creations, wherever they are.

Only in the Sabbath commandment do we find all the elements of a royal seal. Therefore, the Sabbath is the seal of God. Again, the logic is clear and simple. And again, it is not compelling, since, while the Sabbath can be shown to fit the requirements of a seal, this evidence does not make it the ONLY possible seal. Revelation 7 just doesn't give us enough information to say that. It is also possible to note that the saints are to be protected by angels, who would be able to discern any mark God chose to apply to the saints. It is only when we look at the Mark of the Beast that the Sabbath comes clearly into focus. In Revelation 13, all the inhabitants of the earth who have not been sealed are caused to receive the mark.

¹⁶ And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead,

This leaves us with a situation where every person has either the seal of God or the mark of the beast. If we understand the mark, it will give us some understanding of the seal. Verse 17 continues:

¹⁷ and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

It is clear that the mark is visible to everyone, since only those with the mark will be able to engage in commerce. It seems very unlikely that those with the mark will walk around with "beast" or "666" tattooed "on their right hand, or on their forehead". Therefore, the mark will be some other visible characteristic. Given the symbolic nature of Revelation, we can confidently say that "on their right hand" refers to things that those with the mark do, while "on their forehead" refers to what is in their mind. A bit of review fills out the picture.

All of the lost sinners will worship the beast. Revelation 13:8

⁸ And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

This is a clear violation of the first commandment. Exodus 20:3

³ "You shall have no other gods before Me.

All of the lost sinners will worship the image of the beast. Revelation 13:15

¹⁵ And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

This is a clear violation of the second commandment. Exodus 20:4-6

⁴ "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
⁵ "You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
⁶ but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

All of the lost sinners will prefer the name of the beast to the name of God. Revelation 13:17

¹⁷ and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

This is a clear violation of the third commandment. Exodus 20:7

⁷ "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

It would seem that we are marching straight to the fourth commandment. In fact we are, but we will not get there directly. The first four commandments give our direct duty toward God. The beast will cause all the lost to violate the first three, and Revelation says so explicitly. It does not, however, specifically state that the beast will cause the lost to not observe the Sabbath. We have to look further to discover this point.

The key to the mark is the practice of idolatry. The first three broken commandments constitute idolatry. And no idol worshipper can properly observe the Sabbath, the memorial of the Creator. Ezekiel 20:15-16

¹⁵ "And also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands,
¹⁶ because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols. (Emphasis added)

Profaning the Sabbath is here seen to be a direct result of the worship of idols. No one who worships an idol can also worship the Creator, since the Sabbath is His memorial. Exodus 20:11

¹¹ For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

This direct linkage between breaking the Sabbath and idolatry is repeated in Ezekiel 20:23-24 and 23:37-39; and Leviticus 19:3-4 and 26:1-2. Just as the beast will directly cause the lost sinners to break the first three commandments, it will cause them to break the fourth through idol worship. In this way, all of the law pertaining to our direct duty to God will be profaned, and true beast worship will prevail. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

¹ Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,
² that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
³ Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

The beast is described as "the man of lawlessness" for good reason. He forces everyone to disobey God's law, the Ten Commandments. This is the essence of the final conflict of earth's history. Every person will have to unequivocally declare his loyalty to either God or to the beast. This is not a sporting event where we can be spectators and sit on the sidelines. No innocent bystanders will exist. In this conflict, all who do not totally side with God will support the beast.

The seventh-day Sabbath becomes a final test. It is not a natural phenomenon. It cannot be derived by some logical examination of the universe. It is an arbitrary demand placed on us by God, and is not subject to "adjustment" by men (such as "Sunday is my seventh day"). As such it is uniquely suited to serve as a perfect sign of our spirit of obedience. This was already mentioned (Exodus 31 and Ezekiel 20). It is readily observable by all around us. This makes it a proper "seal" or, in the case of not observing the Sabbath, a proper "mark".

Just to review:

It is not possible that the mark is something new. "(T)he souls of them that were beheaded" were the souls of people who "had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands". These are people who, throughout the ages, have placed the law of God first.

The Sabbath, in all its holiness and purity, clearly separates the true believer from the false. The distinction is obedience to the command of God versus the convenience of man. In the end, only a pure spirit of obedience to all of the commands of God will be sufficient. We must look to Christ in a spirit of total submission, and say "Thy will, not mine". Jesus' blood will cover for our inability to perfectly fulfill the demands of a perfect law,

It is probably an overstatement to say that the Sabbath is whole seal of God, or that Sunday (or Friday) keeping is the entire mark of the beast. Ellen White said it better when she wrote that the seal of God is "a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved."

The Sabbath is an essential part of the truth.