The Festival of All Saints – Pr. Faugstad sermon
Text: Revelation 7:2-12

In Christ Jesus, through whom we are sealed with righteousness and salvation, so that we are prepared to join the great company of saints in His eternal kingdom, dear fellow redeemed:

You can tell a lot about people by looking at their eyes. You can tell if they are happy or sad, angry or frustrated, surprised or scared. Eyes can indicate if people are telling the truth or lying, or if they have personalities that are more extroverted or more introverted. Eyes can also reveal health problems like stress, sleeplessness, allergies, even liver issues. The expressiveness of eyes is why they are often referred to as “windows to the soul”—windows to the innermost parts of who we are. But of course, what our brains are thinking behind our eyes is far more complex than what our eyes reveal.

Today’s reading from the Book of Revelation talks about a “seal” on the foreheads of believers that only God and the angels can see. Imagine if that seal were also visible to our eyes. You would know who was a believer in Jesus and who wasn’t, not by what they say but by what you see. Maybe the forehead would glow somehow. And what if the forehead would be brighter when a Christian’s faith is strong and dimmer when a Christian’s faith is weak? I think we would all be more focused on the means that God has given to make faith stronger!

I’m sure we would also be surprised to learn who is truly a Christian and who is not. Some who we thought were Christians would be exposed as hypocrites, and some would be shown to have faith who we would not expect. How would you feel about having a very visible seal of God on your forehead for everyone around you to see? Would it make you more aware of the things you say and do? Are there times you would rather keep your faith more hidden, so that you could fit in easier in the world?

It is clear from our reading that although the seal of God is not visible to our eyes, it does set us apart from the world. The seal on our foreheads marks us as “servants of God.” Just as God chose His people Israel to be separate from the nations around them, He calls us to be separate as well. We are part of the 144,000 who are sealed “from every tribe of the sons of Israel.” This is a symbolic number, as the numbers generally are in the Book of Revelation. For example, seven is the number for perfection, and twelve is the number for completeness.

The number 144,000 is gotten by multiplying the twelve tribes of Israel with 12,000 from each tribe. This number expresses the completeness of God’s elect, the holy members of Christ’s Church. You might have heard that the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach something different about this. They teach that 144,000 is the literal number of people chosen by God to be in heaven. Jehovah’s Witnesses who are not part of that select group are told that they will not be in heaven in eternity, but they will reign on a new earth. To improve their chances of a higher status after this life, they are urged to be more active witnesses to their church’s teachings. It is a man-made, works-based religion.

But the sealing spoken of in Revelation is clearly not the work of man. A number of passages speak about how God seals us to protect us from the attacks of the devil. Jesus says that “God the Father has set his seal” on believers (Joh. 6:27). Through the work that Jesus accomplished, the Father “has anointed us” and “has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2Co. 1:21,22).

The Holy Spirit works through the Word to bring about this sealing. St. Paul writes that “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13). And in another place, “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2Ti. 2:19). You are sealed by the Holy Spirit with the righteousness of Jesus that He worked for you (Rom. 4:11). You are sealed with the forgiveness He obtained for you on the cross. You are sealed in faith as you eagerly wait “for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).

God first applied this seal to many of you at your Baptism when you were called “out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Pe. 1:29). At your Baptism, water was applied to your forehead, and the sign of the cross was made over your head and over your heart. The opening hymn referred to Baptism when we sang, “Each newborn soldier”—born again by water and the Word—“Each newborn soldier of the Crucified / Bears on his brow the seal of Him who died” (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary #194, v. 2).

Thinking about this connection to Baptism, could it be that the seal of God on our foreheads is in the shape of a cross? Two passages in Revelation speak about the seal in a different way. In chapters 14 and 22, what the 144,000 are said to have written on their foreheads is the name of the Lamb and the Father’s name (14:1, 22:4).

Through Baptism, God claimed you as His own. He put His name on you, sealed it to you, so that you are identified both as His child and His heir. You might have doubts about yourself, such as how strong your faith is or how God could love a sinner like you. But God says that nothing has changed from His view. The commitment He made to you when He brought you to faith still stands.

It was no mistake that He set His seal on you. He wants to keep you in the faith until He brings you to the great celebration of heaven. This is why He continues to send the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments to strengthen you. As the Holy Spirit works through the Word, we are reminded again who we are. Yes, we are sinners who continue to struggle and break God’s Commandments. For that, we repent, and we need to keep repenting. But the Holy Spirit also assures us that we are saints, sealed with righteousness, forgiveness, and life.

We did nothing to earn this; Jesus earned it for us. This is what the great uncountable multitude in heaven cries out in thanksgiving and praise: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The saints in heaven give glory where glory is due, and we do the same here on earth. In our liturgy, we join the angels in their Christmas song, “Glory be to God in the highest / And on earth peace, good will toward men” (ELH p. 44). We join them later in the service in their heavenly song of praise, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; / Heav’n and earth are full of Your glory” (ELH pp. 51-52).

That is the beauty of the historic liturgy. It recounts God’s gifts and teaches us how to give thanks for them. It joins our voices spiritually with the saints and angels around God’s throne, even while this fellowship is hidden from our eyes. And it prepares us to join the heavenly liturgy with the saints, angels, elders, and living creatures around the throne of God.

As you sing the liturgy and hymns in our worship here in church, you might sometimes think about where members used to sit whose souls are now in heaven. Today we especially think of Nadine, Swede, and Derwin from Redeemer and Don from Jerico who were called out of this life within the last year. Those of you who are older have seen many saints of our congregations go on ahead of you. Perhaps you think more and more about how you will join them soon, and what it will be like when you do.

Today’s reading gives us a glimpse of what is coming. The elect who were sealed by the Holy Spirit in this life through Word and Sacrament now enjoy the bliss of heaven. They stand “before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” Their focus, the object of all their love and praise, is the Triune God. They are glad to be with their fellow saints, but their attention is on God.

They are clothed in white robes. An angel explained to John what made their robes so white: “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14). In heaven, we won’t remember any sins, not the ones we have done or the ones others have done to us. We won’t remember any of the things that caused us grief or pain. Jesus’ blood washes all that away. We will stand in the presence of the holy God, and we will be holy. By faith, we are holy now—we are saints now—but the glory is hidden from our eyes. In heaven, we will be perfect saints in body and soul.

This is what you have to look forward to. This is what you are sealed for. You Are Sealed for Eternal Salvation. This is not something to try to hide, so that you can fit in better with the world. Both the troubles and the triumphs of this life are short-lived. Your merciful Lord has something much better and more glorious planned for you. He had it planned for you before you were even born. In fact, He chose you in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that [you] should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4).

This is how we stand by faith in Him, and this is how we will stand before Him in heaven. As St. John writes: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1Jo. 3:2-3)—saints forevermore.

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

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(picture from “Seventh Seal and 144,000 Sealed” by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872)