Ezekiel 9:8

 Ezekiel 9:8 says, And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?  Ezekiel fell on His face while the angels were destroying the people and asked God if He was going to destroy all the residue of Israel.  We may question whether everyone who doesn’t put their faith in Jesus Christ will be punished with everlasting punishment and seem to think that God is unfair in doing this, but all will be given the chance to put their faith in Him, so it will be their choice if they do go away to everlasting punishment.   

Verse nine adds, Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not.  God told Ezekiel that the iniquity of the house of Isreal and Judah, all of God’s chosen people, was great and that the perverseness of Jerusalem, God’s Holy City, was great.  His chosen people were saying that God had deserted the earth and didn’t see what was happening to them, but the opposite was true.  They were seeing destruction come to them because they had deserted God and turned away from their covenant relationship with Him.  If the people of the church today feel that God is no longer at work in the church, it will never be because He has turned away from them but will always be because they have turned away from Him.  We cannot allow abominations into the teachings of the church and still expect God to bless us.   

Verse ten continues, And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.  Ezekiel said God was not going to have pity on the people of Israel and Judah, and that He was going to pay them what they had earned by their disobedience to Him.  God does not punish sinners because of Who He is, but He punishes them because of who they are, and that is people who do not believe His word and put their faith in His salvation plan.   

Verse eleven concludes, And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.  The one clothed in linen, which I believe is a reference to Jesus Christ, said He had done as He was commanded and had marked those who were faithful to God so that they might be spared in the coming destruction.  If we are to be spared the coming destruction of people when Jesus Christ returns, it will only be because our name is written in His book of life. 

Ezekiel 9:5

Ezekiel 9:5 says, And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:  Ezekiel was then told that these angels were to go through the city and destroy all those who did not have God’s mark on their forehead.  There was to be no exclusion because of gender or age, but all were to be destroyed without compassion, and this was what happened when people died from famine or were defeated by their enemies.  When Jesus Christ returns in judgment all those who have not put their faith in Him will be sent away to everlasting punishment, and there will no exceptions.    

Verse six adds, Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.  These six angels were told to destroy everyone who didn’t have God’s mark on them, starting with the old men near the temple and working outward.  These old men near the temple should have been leading the people to worship God, but they were leading them to worship idols there instead.  Once more, they were told to destroy them all including women and children who didn’t have God’s mark on them.  I believe that children who are not old enough to know right from wrong will be sent away to everlasting punishment but will be covered by the blood of Christ.  If we see some abomination going on in the church today, we must totally destroy it.   

Verse seven continues, And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.  The angels were told to go forth and destroy everyone who had defiled God’s house.  People thought that they would be safe simply by going into the temple and falling on to the altar without any repentance on their part.  People today may think that they will be spared from God’s judgment simply because their name is on a church role even if they have never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but that will never be the case.   

Ezekiel 9:1

Ezekiel 9:1 says, He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.   God cried out loud to Ezekiel so he couldn’t ignore the message even if he wanted to.  At times, we may not want to hear what God has to say, but He will always speak in such a way we cannot ignore His word to us. God told Ezekiel to have all the ones who were in charge of the city to come close to him with their weapons.  These were not the army of the Chaldeans, but the angels who should have been protecting Jerusalem.  God told Ezekiel to call them closer.  We may think that as Christians, even if we are being disobedient God, that He will always physically protect us, but this may not be the case.  He may remove His protective hand or even angels that may have been protecting us, and send His judgment instead, but if He does, as it was with the people of Isreal then, it will be because of our sin against Him.   

Verse two adds, And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.  Six men, or angels according to Mathew Henry, came into the city by the each of the six gates of the city of Jerusalem, with their swords drawn.  One amongst them was said to be clothed in linen with a writer’s inkhorn by his side.  This one with them was Jesus Christ according to Matthew Henry and He will write our names His book of life and He also is the author of all scripture even though many different men wrote it down. Matthew Henry also points out that the city of Sodom was destroyed by two angels, but six were sent against Jerusalem, which signified that the judgement of Jerusalem would be three times greater than that of Sodom, even though they were all said to come by the higher gate.  I believe that this was because the people of Sodom were not God’s people, but the people of Jerusalem were supposed to be. I believe those who are followers of Christ are held to a higher standard than those who aren't and God may allow us to be punished even more than them for our sins after we are saved.  I don’t think that we will suffer the everlasting punishment that those don’t accept Jesus Christ as their Savior will, but we will be held accountable for sins that we commit after we accept Him.  The people of Jerusalem were supposed to be God’s people, but they had rebelled against Him, so their punishment was to be even greater than those who were sinning but who weren’t a part of God’s people.  I know that the Bible says that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that all our sins are washed away and we have the death penalty of sin removed, but we are also told that when Jesus Christ returns to claim the church and sends sinners away to everlasting punishment that we will then have to give an accounting for what we have done after we ae saved.   

Verse three continues, And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;  The first thing that happened was that the glory of God was removed, and when we turn away from God, we will no longer be glorifying Him even though we will always be His child if we have accepted His gift of salvation.  Even though they came in by the northern gate, they stood around the brazen altar, where sacrifices were made, and atonement was supposed to come.  They were not sent to act out of anger but were sent to punish the people of Israel because they had turned away from God.   It would seem that the one clothed in linen with the writer's inkwell was not one of the six angels.   

Verse four concludes, And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.  Ezekiel was then told that the One clothed in linen was to go through the city and put a mark on the forehead of all the men that were still true to God. These would be the remnant of Israel that would be spared, and it wasn.t because it they were better than others because of their own merit, but they were better because of their faith in God.  God puts His seal on us once we become a follower of Christ, and we should be heartbroken at all the worshipping of idols that goes on in the world today.