Is there a special mark on the foreheads of God’s servants to seal them? Is this different from the mark of the beast? Let’s look at Ezekiel 9.
What men did the Lord assign to punish the city of Jerusalem for idolatry?
Then the Lord thundered, “Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!” Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that faces north, each carrying a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man dressed in linen, who carried a writer’s case at his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar. (Ezek 9:1-2 NLT)
Did the one with the writer’s ink have a special responsibility?
The glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house; and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn [inkwell] by his side. Yahweh said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” (Ezek 9:3-4 WEB)
Were the others to kill everyone except those with a special mark? Is this similar to a prophecy of the end times?
To the others he said in my hearing: Go through the city after him, and attack. Spare no one! Be merciless! Kill them all, old men, young men and women, babies and mothers. Only don’t touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men, the elders in front of the temple. He said to them: Make the temple unclean! Fill the courts with the slain! Go! And they went out and attacked the city. (Ezek 9:5-7 CEB)
What was Ezekiel’s plea to God about so much punishment?
I was then alone, so I bowed down and cried out to the Lord, “Why are you doing this? Are you so angry with the people of Jerusalem that everyone must die?” (Ezek 9:8 CEV)
What was God’s answer to Ezekiel, His reason for this drastic punishment?
Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.” (Ezek 9:9-10 ESV)
Did the man who was setting apart the righteous finish his task?
Then the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side reported back, “I have done as You commanded me.” (Ezek 9:11 HCSB)
Is there a similar end-time event of marking the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads?
After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the land, on the sea, or on any tree. I saw another angel coming from the east having the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been permitted to harm the land and sea, “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of Israel: … After these things, I looked, and there was a crowd so large that no one was able to count it! They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb and were wearing white robes, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:1-4,9 ISV)
Is there a special mark on the foreheads of God’s servants to seal them? Is this different from the mark of the beast? You decide!
