Ezekiel 9:3, commentary and pictures

In Ezekiel 9:3 God's glory rises from the cherub to the threshold of the temple and summons the man clothed in linen with the writer's inkhorn at his side. He is sent to place a mark of deliverance on those who grieve and lament over the abominations done in the city and among God's professed people. That mark is God's sealing approval, the pure mark of truth wrought by the Holy Spirit and called the seal of the living God, by which overcomers are recorded and spared when judgment falls. Judgment then follows with men bearing slaughter weapons under a destroying angel, beginning at God's sanctuary with the elders before the temple and with those who claimed to be spiritual guardians yet failed in duty. These words will be literally fulfilled very soon when every case is decided for eternity, calling those who have great truth to humble their souls, be converted, and live it out instead of remaining asleep, while warning unrepentant leaders and lukewarm professors that without the seal they will meet bitter disappointment.

Judgment at the Sanctuary

The glory of the God of Israel rises up from the cherub where it rested to the threshold of the house and there calls to the man clothed with linen who has the writer's inkhorn by his side, a writing case at his side. This movement opens a scene of divine judgment in which God commissions angels to execute judgment while the linen-clothed messenger stands ready with his inkhorn. The vision identifies the sighing and crying ones as those to be marked, those who humble themselves and grieve over sin before God and are especially remembered by Him.

The linen-clothed man is commissioned to set a mark of deliverance upon those who grieve, sigh and cry over the abominations committed in the city, in Jerusalem, and among God's professed people. This begins the marking of those who grieve over the city's abominations before judgment falls on the unmarked, and an angel is commanded to mark them. The mark is God's sealing approval, the pure mark of truth wrought by the Holy Spirit, also called the seal of the living God, which distinguishes those who will be spared from those who will be destroyed. Those who receive it love purity and God's honor, recognize sin's true seriousness, are recorded as overcomers, and are protected and spared when destruction comes.

Judgment is executed by men bearing slaughter weapons, agents of destruction sent out under divine command, led by a destroying angel who follows the marking work. That destruction begins at God's sanctuary, starting with the elders before the temple and among those who have served as spiritual guardians and professed to guard the people spiritually but failed in their duty. Those who excuse wrongdoing are contrasted with the marked and are included in the judgment represented by the men bearing slaughter weapons. At the appointed time the Lord God of Israel does His work upon men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity most thoroughly.

When the man with the inkhorn reports that the saints have been numbered and sealed, the warning and sealing work is finished and Christ's ministry before the ark has ended, and his declaration makes each person's settled condition final. The chapter is to be studied in connection with Ezekiel 2 and Revelation 5, where it is connected with God's judgment on wrongdoing and with the recording of the wrongdoer's name unless the wrong is repented of.

Soon Fulfillment and Warning

The words will be literally fulfilled very soon, for their time is almost here while time is short and passing. At that soon fulfillment every case will be decided for eternity, and God will not bear much longer with those who refuse. The verse therefore calls God's people who have great and important truths revealed to them to hear and receive the message, to humble their souls and be converted, and to bring those truths into individual experience instead of remaining asleep and refusing. To sleep on and refuse is to risk being left when it is too late.

The choice to receive the seal and be spared or to face destruction must be made before the final plagues, when repentance and atonement will no longer be available. An angel with the writer's inkhorn will soon seal on the forehead those loyal and true to God's commandments, after which the four angels will release the four winds. Destructive angels are already permitted to bring disaster as the closing scenes approach, while people are unprepared and a warning must still be given.

Only the sighing and crying ones are marked. They are those who love purity and God's honor, see sin in its true seriousness and grieve over the abominations committed, realize the solemnity of the times, afflict their souls before God, bear a weight of solemn influence, are rich in good works, bear the burden of souls, and by holy example faithfully represent Christ and win souls to Him, and they are especially remembered by God. Those who excuse wrongdoing are left to the judgment represented by the men bearing slaughter weapons.

The vision warns professed believers, leading men, men of responsibility, and institutions whose controlling spirit is unrepentant, unbroken, destitute of Christ's love, far from Him, with hearts not softened and subdued and transformed, who do not know God and do not pray with humble, broken hearts. Professed religious leaders who fail to show truth's sanctifying power corrupt the churches and lead others astray, and the portrayal of the fate of men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity shows that at the appointed time the Lord will do His work most thoroughly. Unless leading men humble themselves God will surely humble them, and if the judgment does not touch institutions it is only because there has been a thorough transformation of heart.

The great mass of lukewarm, half-hearted professing Christians who do not have the seal upon their foreheads will meet bitter disappointment in the day of God. They dishonor God far more than the avowed unbeliever, groping in darkness when they might walk in the noonday light of the Word under the guidance of One who never errs. These solemn warnings pointing to stern realities shortly to come are neglected by backslidden, contending, gossiping, faultfinding professors who have no faith and no confidence in the loyal and true and who refuse the testimonies sent to help them. The chapter is a solemn account of the work God requires whose results are sacred and awful, a warning of judgments soon to take place that calls each person to prepare rather than follow conduct that makes people forget God, and it bears especially on professed believers who claim the truth but do not practice it. The marking of those separated from sin and sinners for protection belongs to those who obey God, with the destroying angel following, showing that parents must actively separate their children from harmful influences rather than expect angels to do the work left to them.