Introduction: Last week we studied what the bad guys are
doing as part of the closing events on earth. They are
faking Jesus’ Second Coming and demanding the worship due
only to Him. The point from last week’s lesson was “Don’t do
that directly or indirectly.” This week we turn to what the
good guys are doing as part of the final events. What should
we expect to be doing? James 5:7 compares the Second Coming
to farming. He says the farmer “waits” for “the early and
late rains.” Let’s dive into our study of the Bible to see
what we are waiting to see and what we, the good guys, will
be doing!
I. The Holy Spirit and the Seal
A. Read Ephesians 4:30. Chapter 4 of Ephesians first
describes the bad guys and what they are like. The
chapter then turns to the good guys and
essentially lists a group of things they should
stop doing. One of the things to “stop doing” is
to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. What do you
think it means to grieve the Holy Spirit?
B. Read Isaiah 63:10. How does this describe grieving
the Holy Spirit? (Rebellion. Disobedience.)
C. Read Psalms 78:40-41. What does this tell us
grieving God means? (Rebellion. Provoking. Testing
God.)
1. Think about how grieving God is described.
What is the core problem? (It is an attitude.
An attitude that rejects God’s plan for
living. An attitude of rebellion.)
D. Let’s get back to Ephesians 4:30. In light of what
it means to grieve the Holy Spirit, what do you
think it means to be “sealed” by the Holy Spirit
“for the day of redemption?”
E. Read Ephesians 1:13. How does this explain what it
means to be sealed by the Holy Spirit? (It is the
last step on the road to salvation. First we hear
the gospel, then we believe the gospel, then we
invite the Holy Spirit into our life to help us
live in accord with God’s will. The sealed person
is someone who has made the decision to cooperate
with the Holy Spirit. They are not rebels.)
F. Read Revelation 7:1-3. This sealing sounds a bit
different. Do you think it is? (The common element
is that sealing on the forehead logically
represents the thinking of the person. Their
thinking is guided by the Holy Spirit.)
1. All my life I’ve been taught that the final
seal is Sabbath observance. Is that wrong? (I
don’t think it is wrong, it is more like
emphasizing the wrong syllable in a word. The
Sabbath is not the active agent for sealing,
the Holy Spirit is the active agent. As we
learned last week, the Sabbath is central to
worshiping our Creator God. Thus, Sabbath
observance would be one major result of the
sealing of the Holy Spirit. Let’s turn next to
another powerful final sign of being sealed.)
II. Latter Pouring
A. Read Joel 2:28-29. Who is entitled to be a
mouthpiece for the Holy Spirit? (Everyone. There
is no distinction based on gender, no distinction
based on age, no distinction based on social
standing.)
1. What does the manifestation of the Holy Spirit
look like? (It is manifest in prophecies,
dreams, and visions.)
a. Think about this a minute. If a person in
your congregation claimed to have a
prophecy, dream, or vision from God, how
would you react?
b. If you reacted negatively, does that mean
that you are a rebel, one not sealed by
the Holy Spirit?
B. Read Acts 2:1-4. What are the disciples doing?
1. What is the Holy Spirit doing?
C. Read Acts 2:14-16. How does Peter explain this?
(He says that this is a fulfillment of Joel 2!)
D. Read Acts 2:17. In what day are we living? (If
Peter says the events of Acts 2 were a fulfillment
of the “last days” statement of Joel 2, then we
are clearly living in the last days.)
E. Peter helps us to understand the full nature of
this sealing by the Holy Spirit. Let’s continue by
reading Acts 2:19-21. What else should a sealed
Christian expect to do?(Notice that Peter
continues to quote Joel 2:30-32. Peter reinforces
the idea that the power of the Holy Spirit is
shown through wonders in the heavens and on earth,
and signs on the earth of blood, fire, and smoke.)
1. What do you think “blood, fire, and smoke”
mean? (Read Revelation 8:7-8. This describes
some terrible last day events that are part of
the judgments of God.)
a. What should we conclude about the
positive fire of Pentecost and the
negative fire of Revelation 8?(We will
see extraordinary signs of the power of
the Holy Spirit working through us, and
we will see some extraordinarily terrible
judgments that take place.)
2. Let’s look back to last week’s lesson. Read
Matthew 24:23-24. How does this complicate our
work? (The Bible says that the fake Christ
will also do “great signs and wonders.”)
a. How can we tell the true from the false?
(What we saw last week is that the false
Christ sets up a worship center on earth.
When Jesus comes a second time He will
take us to heaven. He is not spending
time on earth. That is one way to
distinguish the two.)
F. Read again Acts 2:2-4. Are you ready for loud
sounds and fire to be part of your witness?
G. Read Acts 2:19. Are you ready to be part of “signs
and wonders?”
III. Latter Speaking
A. Read Revelation 18:1. What do you think the words
“the earth was made bright” mean as a practical
matter? (The angel is sharing the truth. The world
is lit by truth.)
1. Is this the work of the angel alone, or is
this part of our work as sealed agents of God?
B. Read Revelation 18:2-4. Is this condemning immoral
sexual practices? (I don’t think that is the main
point. Instead, this is the same warning made in
Revelation 14:8. This kind of sexual immorality is
unfaithfulness to God. It is an allegiance to a
spiritual or “moral” authority which opposes God.
This brings us back to what we studied last week –
worshiping the true God and rejecting the false.)
1. What practical instruction is this giving us
for our work as “sealed” agents of God? (We
should look forward not simply to great signs
and power, but those signs and power are
accompanied by a message of worshiping the
true God and rejected Satan’s alternative. We
have a message to give!)
C. Read Revelation 13:14-17. What are the bad guys
doing while we are sharing the gospel? (They are
coercing (mark on the hand), or convincing (mark
on the forehead), the world to follow the false
spiritual power.)
D. Friend, will you be sealed by the Holy Spirit?
Will you join the fight for Christ and against the
Anti-Christ? The time to decide for Jesus is now!
IV. Next week: The Triumph of God’s Love.
Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are
from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All
rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within
parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail,
but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this
link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the
Holy Spirit as you study.