Ezekiel 9:6, commentary and pictures

The command is to kill without pity old and young, maids and little children and women, but to spare everyone who bears the protective mark, beginning at the sanctuary with the ancient men before the house. The mark is the seal of the living God in the forehead for deliverance, given to those who sigh and cry over evil and abominations, humble themselves, love purity, obey all God's commandments and have their sins washed away. Beginning at the sanctuary means judgment starts first among God's professed people and church, striking especially false watchmen and unfaithful men of responsibility who betrayed their trust and cried peace and safety. Its fulfillment is near in the day of God's wrath in the seven last plagues and time of trouble, when those sealed beforehand are sheltered under God's protective covering while it is too late for others to repent. It therefore warns lukewarm professing Christians who have light but do not live it that religious standing will not shield them, and it charges parents to train, correct, gather and pray for their children so the parents' seal may cover them, lest through neglect both parents and children perish together.

Words and Historic Setting

The command is to slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women, but to come not near any man upon whom is the mark, and to begin at the sanctuary, after which the execution began at the ancient men which were before the house. At the appointed time this will be fulfilled most thoroughly upon men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity, smiting without sparing or pity except for those with the mark. The first to be judged are the elders gathered before the temple, showing that judgment begins at God's sanctuary and reaches even old and young, while those bearing the mark are spared. The scene is a judgment in Jerusalem carried out by armed destroyers with weapons told to kill without sparing, while one marked on the forehead must not be approached.

The marking is done first, before the slaying begins, by the man clothed in linen with the writer's inkhorn by his side. The destroying angel follows afterward after the angel who marks, to slay the unmarked old and young while the marked are left unharmed and spared. Those marked remain mortal at that time, set apart on their foreheads and separated from sin and sinners before wrath falls.

The Sparing Mark

The mark that spares from the slaying is the seal of the living God, a seal of redemption and deliverance placed in the foreheads so that the destroying angel will see it and not come near to kill. God's servants are marked before judgment falls, and that sealing belongs with earthly upheaval and calamity including plagues, pestilence, famine and death. The coming destruction is wider than the killing of the firstborn in Egypt, yet those bearing the mark are spared while destruction begins at the sanctuary. The mark can be read by angels but not by human eyes, it is the sign of the cross of Calvary seen in the Lord's adopted sons and daughters, it means the sin of breaking God's law is taken away, and those who have it wear the wedding garment in obedience and faithfulness to all God's commands.

It is placed upon those who sigh and cry over evil, who grieve over the abominations done among professed believers, who mourn over their own spiritual declension and over the sins of others, who humble themselves before God, and who love God's purity and honor. The faithful are distinguished by grieving over the evils around them, while those whose defective character helps lead others astray, who excuse sin, or who oppose its faithful reprovers are left among the unmarked who face destruction. The class who are not grieved over their own spiritual declension and do not mourn over the sins of others are left without the seal of God when the destroying angels are commanded to slay utterly old and young, maids and little children and women, sparing only those with the mark.

Those who sigh and cry and humble themselves are marked by the angel and are specially remembered by God amid judgment. Those bearing God's mark are recorded in heaven as overcomers. The mark identifies those who belong to Him as His special possession, whom the Lord protects and distinguishes from those subject to judgment.

Bearing the mark means loyalty to Jesus and obedience to all His commandments and to all God's commands. It identifies those who love Jesus and keep His commandments and who are obedient and faithful to all God's commands. It marks children who pray for deliverance from temptation and seek to do right, whom Jesus tells the angel not to harm because their sins have been washed away by His blood. It identifies those whose sins have been blotted out and whom Christ acknowledges as His own.

The mark is not given to those absorbed in selfish amusement. Those who join in the follies, vanities and sins of the age are passed by without receiving it, while it is placed on those who grieve over the abominations being done. Those ashamed of Christ and seeking the world's approval are among those appointed to be slain, in contrast to those who bear the mark on their foreheads and are spared when the destroying angel is directed to kill those without it, beginning at the sanctuary.

Judgment Begins at Sanctuary

To begin at the sanctuary is to begin judgment among God's professed people, for the church as the Lord's sanctuary is the first to feel the stroke of His wrath, and mere religious standing with its word and privileges does not shield those who have not walked in the light and obeyed it when executioners are commanded to kill without sparing while leaving unharmed those who bear the mark. The closing application is to the final work of judgment for the world and to the church's sealing, where the marked who grieve over the church's sins and love God's purity and honor are spared, while those who excuse sin or oppose its faithful reprovers, and who are not grieved over their own spiritual declension nor mourn over the sins of others, are left without the seal and face destruction and recompense for their ways.

The ancient men before the house are the elders gathered before the temple, those responsible for religious life, to whom God gave great light and who stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people. They are the first judged and the first to fall, because though they professed to guard the people spiritually they were false watchmen and false shepherds who betrayed their trust. Like dumb dogs that would not bark they never lift the voice like a trumpet to show transgression and sin, while the faithful who grieve over evils around them are distinguished from those whose defective character helps lead others astray, the faithful spared and judgment falling on the unfaithful with no unmarked spared regardless of age or sex.

Their betrayal lay in holding that miracles and marked manifestations of God's power are not to be looked for, that times have changed, that the Lord will not do good nor evil and is too merciful to visit His people in judgment, and in crying peace and safety, so that they feel the just vengeance of an offended God and men, maidens, and little children all perish together with them. This is the fate of men of responsibility who have not glorified God by faithfulness and integrity, upon whom at the appointed time the Lord God of Israel will do His work most thoroughly in utter slaying of old and young, maids, little children, and women, sparing only those with the mark and beginning at His sanctuary with the ancient men before the house. The same vengeance is executed in the very courts of the temple, in scenes few realize, against those who sit in the gate deciding what the people should have and should not have, who take away the key of knowledge, refuse to enter themselves and hinder those who would enter, in an age of signal rejection of grace and far-spreading ungodliness under a cloak of Christianity when God's people are proved to discern between him that serves God and him that serves Him not; these bear not the seal of the living God.

Fulfillment in Last Days

The slaying commanded will be literally fulfilled, and its fulfillment is near, to take place very soon and in a very short time, while the people are asleep to the shortness of time. It stands as a warning about events soon to take place and as the reason every soul should prepare.

The vision presents the day of God's wrath and the final destruction of the wicked, identified with the wrath poured out in the seven last plagues and with a future time of trouble and day of slaughter. The sealing of God's servants belongs with that same scene of earthly upheaval and calamity, including plagues, pestilence, famine, and death.

God's servants are sealed before judgment falls, and the marked saints remain mortal at that time. Their sealing before the plagues protects them from the terrors of God's wrath, for God draws a protective covering over His people so they may have shelter from the seven last plagues. That covering is God's shelter in the day of the Lord during a sealing time in which Satan tries to distract and deceive people until the covering is complete. Those who waver and are not firmly grounded in present truth cannot receive that shelter and are left without protection when the time of slaughter comes.

The coming destruction is wider than the killing of the firstborn in Egypt, for the destroying angel will go forth to kill fully old and young, including women and little children, who do not have the mark. Yet the Egyptian deliverance illustrates it, as the Israelites gathered their children into their homes under the protection of the blood-marked doorposts, so the sealed are those separated from sin and sinners. The judgment reaches wrongdoers, for the Lord sees every transaction, including oppressive, unjust conduct and harsh decisions and dealings with those under authority, which cannot be assumed to be passed over. It is connected with the judgment described in Zechariah 5, where theft and false swearing bring a curse unless the wrongdoer repents.

When the final plagues are poured out it will be too late to repent or find shelter, and sin will no longer be cleansed by atoning blood. The passage therefore presses the choice between receiving God's seal and being destroyed. Destroying angels are already permitted to bring disaster and destruction, while people on earth remain largely unaware of the heavenly realities, underscoring the need to be spiritually prepared as the end approaches.

Warning to Professed Believers

Ezekiel 9:6 will be literally fulfilled, and its fulfillment is near, to take place very soon and in a very short time, while the people are asleep to the shortness of time. It applies to people who have had great and important truths revealed to them but refuse to humble their souls, to be converted, and to bring those truths into their individual experience. The Lord will not bear with them much longer, but is now calling them to hear, to receive His message, and to be converted before it is too late, because soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity.

Applied to the church, the verse warns that people who have received God's word and privileges but have not walked in the light or obeyed it are accountable, since judgment begins at God's sanctuary and religious standing does not shield from judgment, while those who bear the mark are spared. It belongs to a solemn account of the work God requires, with sacred and terrible consequences. Claiming the truth without practicing it does not make conduct acceptable, especially for professed believers in positions of responsibility.

Ezekiel 9:1-11 gives solemn warning of stern realities that will shortly come to pass in the day of God, when the great mass of lukewarm and half-hearted professing Christians will meet with bitter disappointment because they do not have the seal of the living God upon their foreheads, dishonoring God far more than the avowed unbeliever. The judgment of Ezekiel 9 will humble leaders who do not humble themselves, and will affect the institutions unless their hearts have been thoroughly transformed. Leaders whose hearts are not softened by Christ's love cannot manage wisely or understand their responsibility to God.

God's judgment in the last days begins at His sanctuary, in the very courts of the temple, in scenes few realize. It comes in an age of signal rejection of the grace purposed to keep His people from being overcome by prevailing iniquity and joining hostility against His remnant, when far-spreading ungodliness prevails under a cloak of Christianity, and when God's people are proved and tested to discern between him that serves God and him that serves Him not, with sanctification until Christ comes to be glorified in all them that believe. Vengeance is executed against those who sit in the gate deciding what the people should have and should not have, who take away the key of knowledge, refuse to enter themselves and hinder those who would enter, and these bear not the seal of the living God. Therefore all who now occupy responsible positions must be solemnly and terribly afraid lest they be found as unfaithful stewards.

Charge to Parents and Children

The mark that spares in the judgment is protection for children, and the seal upon believing parents covers their children when those parents train them in the Lord's ways. That covering is given when children are gathered away from worldly influences and wicked companions, when their tempers and evil passions are subdued, when they are taught to obey their parents so that they can more easily obey God's commandments, when they are carried to God in prayer for His blessing, and when they are brought up right, especially in keeping the Sabbath. Children who themselves pray for deliverance from temptation and seek to do right are marked as His own and are spared by the destroying angel because their sins have been washed away.

Children left through parental neglect to indulge wicked, evil passions, shaped by selfishness, idolatry, unrighteousness and worldly associations, are unfit for heaven and will be exposed to destruction. They will be cut down by the destroying angel in the time of trouble and the day of God's fierce anger, and may be cut down before their parents. Allowing children to be separated from faithful believers and drawn into worldly ways leaves them unprepared for this judgment and the last plagues.

Parents stand in the place of God to their children and must render an awful account for those committed to their trust. Parents who fail their duty may perish with their children, negligent parents have the blood of lost children upon them, and they cannot expect to be saved themselves when children who might have been saved are lost through their failure. Parents must therefore faithfully correct and guide their children, make them mind and obey with their word as law, keep them from corrupting company and from breaking the Sabbath, teach them obedience to God, and pray with and for them. Parents who have failed must awake and redeem the short time left by faithfully working for and correcting their children for their happiness here and hereafter.