Behold, the black horse of Revelation!, page 3

What dose God mean by a seal. What is a seal!

I love it when threads like this are questioned! The result is great questions like this... spy66, that is a fantastic one!

So, I looked up the word translated as 'seal', and found the Greek word (

) sphragis, with the following definition from Strong's:

1) a seal
1a) the seal placed upon books
1b) a signet ring
1c) the inscription or impression made by a seal
1c1) of the name of God and Christ stamped upon their foreheads
1d) that by which anything is confirmed, proved, authenticated,
as by a seal (a token or proof)

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Source: www.apostolic-churches.net...

It is a strengthened term form of phrasso, the definition is given as:

1) to fence in, block up, stop up, close up
2) to put to silence

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Source: www.apostolic-churches.net...

Phrasso is in turn a strengthened form derived from the same base as phren, which is defined as:

1) the midriff or diaphragm, the parts of the heart
2) the mind
2a) the faculty of perceiving and judging

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Source: www.apostolic-churches.net...

In modern life, when I think of the word 'seal', I think of the seals on the doors of semi-trailers (comes from driving a truck too long, I suppose). Those seals are there to verify that no one has opened the doors since the seal was installed. There is no way to open the doors without breaking that seal and leaving an indicator that the integrity of the cargo inside may have been compromised.

I also think of the seals that come on DVDs and CDs when you buy them. They have a white strip of thin plastic along one or more sides of the case that indicates whether or not the case has been opened. I have always assumed this was to act as an alarm to someone buying the disc that it may have been tampered with (i.e. stolen) by shoplifters, and the case not removed for reason of stealth.

The Greek words translated as seal would seem to bear this out. A seal upon a book acts like a 'fence' in that it prevents reading of the book unless the seal is broken, thus leaving an indicator of that action. In my personal interpretation, the seal on the book in Revelation would be a type of fence to keep the contents of the book hidden, until someone came along with enough understanding to open the book and learn those contents.

As to why God would have placed a seal there, think a moment. In the 1980s and 1990s there was a huge scare about homemade atomic weapons. Books had been published (usually covertly; the Anarchist's Cookbook comes to mind) that explained just how easy it really was to build an atomic bomb, if one only had the radioactive components. In other words, the information was deemed to be so dangerous in the wrong hands as to justify attempting to have a seal of secrecy being placed there to prevent the knowledge from falling into the wrong hands. I see this as very applicable to God's purpose as well.

Think about what would happen if people really knew what goes on in the spiritual world, unseen to them in everyday earthly life? I have no doubt in my mind that there are angels stationed around me every day, and especially when I drive that truck. Some may disagree with me, but I have felt my tires slip on ice many times during my career driving, and then immediately felt my truck 'catch' itself on an ice-covered road, not from the tire traction, but as if something had grabbed it. I have seen my truck in situations where gravity simply does not work that way; I should have been rolling down that bank, by all rights. Some will deny that this happened, and tell me there is a 'logical' explanation, but I know better. I was there.

If there are angels among us, no doubt there are demons as well, unseen to the physical eye, but there nonetheless. And it isn't much of a stretch from there to realize that there is simply no telling how many other spiritual entities also exist among us that we simply do not see.

Now, what would happen if somehow that veil could be lifted and our eyes behold this wondrous realm? Would we become terrified? Would we go mad even?

There are things on this earth (such as Area 51) that men should not know. There are also things in the spiritual realm that man is not capable of knowing. It is a wise parent who protects their children form things which their young minds are not ready for, and a wise God who similarly protects His children as well.

Praise the Lord! Flame away.

TheRedneck