My
adventure into understanding what it means that God sealed the 144,000 for the
day of redemption,[1]
led me to consider a wonderful declaration of our security in Jesus Christ
expressed in two words: “if possible”. Jesus stated it like this: “For false christs and false prophets will arise
and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if
possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.”[2]
Here Jesus hands us such a wonderful
two-word phrase, “if possible”.
On one side, this tells us what we
should expect of Satan’s ability. He will send false christs, and false
prophets. These antichrists will arise into every chapter of world history.
When they come, they will perform such great signs and wonders that the world
will be amazed, delighted, and tantalized by the offerings. The aim of these
great signs and wonders is to lead people astray. And so they will.
To heighten the warning about these
things, Jesus adds that these signs and wonders will be at the level of even
convincing the elect, except for one thing: it is not possible!
This is what this phrase speaks to my
heart: that Satan will muster the greatest of his false prophets; he will raise
up his beasts and antichrists from land and sea. He will do the greatest of his
signs and wonders, even as the magicians of Egypt copied some of the signs and
wonders that Moses performed in the power of the Holy Spirit.[3] But he will never deceive the
elect because the elect belong to God.
This is the strength of the glory of
the beautiful picture of Ephesians 1. It tells us how secure we are who believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to get us through these times of deception, when
the evil one pours out every expression of power he can muster, and masquerades
himself in the most glorious signs and wonders that are to impress and amaze
the crowds of the world. It is not possible to deceive the elect, and so the
elect will be those who persevere until the end and are saved.[4] Let’s consider Paul’s inspired
words.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,[5]
Here is the reason that everything is secure
in God’s will. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us who are
his saints, his chosen ones, his set-aside-as-holy ones, with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places,” and he will not fail to give us everything that is ours. This is
not about who we are, but about him with whom we have to do. Our security is
not in ourselves; our saintliness is not in our own good works. We are secure
in our Lord Jesus Christ because it is our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we live,
and move, and have our being.[6] To be “in Christ” is to make it impossible for us to be deceived by the
greatest signs and wonders of the red dragon and his false prophets.
even as
he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and blameless before him.[7]
Another reason that it is impossible
for the red dragon to deceive the elect with his amazing signs and wonders is
that God chose us to be holy and blameless before him, and he will not fail to
do what he set out to do. God’s decision to have us holy and blameless before
him was set in place before the foundation of the world. God is the beginning
and the end. So, when he set out in the beginning to have a people in the image
and likeness of his Son,[8] the end of the story will be
that he will have these people he has chosen as his own to be holy and
blameless before him. Jesus simply wanted us to know that we will see signs and
wonders so amazing that, if it were possible for God to fail at carrying out
his plans and purposes for his people, these signs and wonders would deceive
us. But, since it is not possible for God to fail to fulfill what he has chosen
to do, it is not possible for the elect to be deceived.
In love he
predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the
purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed
us in the Beloved.[9]
It is not possible for Satan to
deceive the elect, or claim the 144,000, because God is love, and in his love
he predestined the elect for adoption as his sons. His love cannot be denied. His
love cannot fail to be all that his love is. If nothing else was revealed, the
fact that God did something in love means that it will be done. If God’s love
set out to adopt us, it would not fail to adopt us.
Along with the desires of his love
seeking a people who would be holy and blameless before him, this love made a
decision before time began. This love predestined us, the saints, the 144,000,
for adoption as sons of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that God
was the one who predestined us means we are destined to be adopted no matter
how glorious the signs and wonders of the red dragon. The fact that this was
done in the love of God means that God will not fail to have the sons his love
desired no matter how spectacular the signs and wonders of the false prophets.
The fact that this will be
accomplished through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the image of the
invisible God,[10] means that Satan will not
succeed at stealing the elect,[11] or diminishing the number of
the 144,000,[12] or erasing the mark of those
who sighed and groaned over the abominations taking place in Jerusalem,[13] or stealing names from the
book that God had written those who feared and honored his name.[14]
It is not possible for the elect to be
deceived by the red dragon because God having his adopted sons is according to
the purpose of his will, a force that the red dragon cannot reckon with. Satan
could not stop God from judging him to slither on the ground.[15] Satan could not stop God from
sending a Savior into the world who would crush his head and take away his
authority to damn all men to hell.[16] God had a will, that will had
a purpose, that purpose was to have sons in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ,
that purpose was predestined before the beginning of time, and the love of God
that welled up with such a desire would not be thwarted no matter what signs
and wonders the evil one would perform.
This wonderful gift of sonship would
come through adoption, meaning that God predestined a plan that would include
Satan’s success in luring the first man into sin. How would God deal with Satan’s
deceiving of Eve, and ruining of Adam? By doing something that would be to the
praise of his glorious grace. Satan could account for God’s holiness,
righteousness and justice having to punish sin, but he could not account for “the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God.”[17]Satan could not account for the
glory of God’s grace, and what God’s grace could do to bless people in the
Beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Satan could not account for the adoption as sons,
because he knew nothing of grace, or mercy, or love.
In him
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom
and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his
purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite
all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.[18]
Now, to clarify why we have such
confidence that our adoption as the sons of God is secure in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul adds this overwhelming explanation. The only way God could adopt the sons
of his love was to do something about sin. He had predestined that we would be
adopted as his sons, and that these sons of Adam would end up being holy and
blameless before him, so he had to enact something in real space, time, and matter,
that would bring about the justice and righteousness of dealing with sin, and
acquitting all the sinners God had chosen.
So, as God chose us in Jesus Christ
for this gift of adoption, he also provided the redemption from sin in Jesus Christ.
Through the shedding of Jesus’ blood there is now forgiveness of our
trespasses, just as God ordained before time began. This redemption would bring
about the complete cleansing from sin because it was according to the measure of
the riches of God’s grace. And, though the riches of God’s grace were rich
enough to provide this redemption, this grace was lavished on us in keeping
with the divine treasury.
And, the lavishing of this grace upon
us was not as the rich father spoiling his bratty child with every indulgence
the child desired. It was God lavishing upon sinners the grace that would save
them out of their sin. He did this with all wisdom and insight, knowing exactly
what it would require of the Triune God to redeem sinners into sonship.
Along with God providing this
redemption, he also made it known to us. The mystery of his will was hidden
from sinful man, and none could find it even if sinners could think to do so. But
God made his work known, revealing it to us through the gospel, determining to
do in space, time, and matter what he had purposed in eternity. He had a plan
in Jesus Christ, and that plan will be fulfilled. No red dragon, no false signs
and wonders, no attempts at deception, will keep the adopted sons of God from
becoming holy and blameless in the presence of God.
In him
we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the
purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so
that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his
glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the
praise of his glory.[19]
In Jesus Christ we have an
inheritance, and Satan cannot keep us from receiving it. This inheritance is
certain because God predestined us to receive it. We will receive what God
predestined because it is purposed according to our Father who works all things
according to the counsel of his will.
This means that our Jewish brothers,
the ones who first put their hope in Jesus Christ, might be to the praise of God’s
glory in redeeming people from the nation of Israel. At the same time, God is
glorious in the way that Gentiles have also been brought into the household of
God, hearing the word of truth presented in the gospel of our salvation. Together,
we become the one new man that is the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.[20]
We who have believed in Jesus Christ
were also sealed with the Holy Spirit who now guarantees the rest of our
inheritance. Satan cannot keep us from this inheritance through his deceptive
signs and wonders since the Holy Spirit secures us, seals us, sets us apart
unto God as holy. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, guarantees that the
elect will be kept until the day of our redemption. Because of this, we cannot
be deceived.
It would be wonderful to have the time
to finish this chapter of Ephesians, moving into the way Paul’s wonderful
prayer gives further explanation of why it is impossible for Satan to deceive
the elect. However, these first paragraphs give ample evidence and
encouragement for our hearts.
Yes, Satan and his false prophets will
do signs and wonders of such magnitude that even the elect would be deceived by
them if such a thing were possible. No, Satan and his false prophets will not
succeed in their attempt. Satan succeeded in the Garden of Eden, but will be
thoroughly defeated in the end, even as Jesus has already “disarmed the rulers and
authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”[21] God has sealed his elect for
the day of redemption, and not one of us will be missing when Jesus appears,
and his angels come to gather us from every part of the earth.[22] God will do what he planned to
do, and no one can stop him.
Now, in conclusion, here is one more
description of why it is not possible for Satan’s deceptive emissaries to
deceive the elect:
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God,
our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time
and now and forever. Amen.[23]
God is able to keep us from stumbling,
and he is able to present us blameless before his own presence. He is able to
do this so that we are righteous in the presence of his glory, filled with
great joy in his great joy. He is the only God, so Satan’s attempt to take God’s
throne will show itself in utter defeat. He is our Savior, proving forever that
Satan failed to steal God’s opportunity to glorify himself by making a creature
in his own image and likeness. God’s work is through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
is King of kings and Lord of lords, the victor over sin, death, hell, the
grave, and the red dragon.
And so, the reason that it is not
possible for the false prophets of Satan to deceive the elect with their
amazing signs and wonders is because God’s work of making his elect in his own
image and likeness is done by his glory, an expression of his majesty, proof of
his dominion, and affirmation of his authority, all of which are his forever.
All the Scriptural pictures of God
setting apart his elect for himself, including the sealing of the 144,000 who
represent the seven churches, the complete church through the completion of
time, declare this to be true. Come to Jesus and make sure it is true of you.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
[1] Revelation 7:1-8;
Ephesians 4:30
[2] Matthew
24:24-25
[3] Exodus 7
[4] Matthew 24:13
[5] Ephesians 1:3
[6] Acts 17:28
[7] Ephesians 1:4
[8] Genesis 1:26-27
[9] Ephesians 1:4-6
[10] Colossians 1:15
[11] Cf John 10:10
[12] Revelation 7:1-8
[13] Ezekiel 9:4
[14] Malachi 3:16-18
[15] Genesis 3:14
[16] Genesis 3:15
[17] Romans 11:33
[18] Ephesians 1:7-10
[19] Ephesians 1:11-14
[20] Ephesians 2:11-22
[21] Colossians 2:15
[22] Matthew 24:29-31
[23] Jude 1:24-25
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