The Lord (Jesus pre-incarnate) was speaking to him, telling him to let the Israelites in Babylon know about the abominations and degradation that he saw in Jerusalem and even inside the temple - so they could understand why God would judge the people of that city so severely...
(Ezekiel 8:1-4) It came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell on me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.
Ezekiel saw Israelites involved in idol worship...
(Ezekiel 8:5-6) Then He said to me, “Son of man, raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol of jealousy at the entrance. 6 And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations.”
Spirit worship...
(Ezekiel 8:7-13) Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. 9 And He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 11 Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing.”
Tammuz worship...
(Ezekiel 8:14-15) Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these.”
And sun worship...
(Ezekiel 8:16-18) Then He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. 17 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose. 18 Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”
In this next portion of scripture, we see "six men" who are angels. With them is a cherub - "the man clothed in linen with a writing case" (in his lap, or maybe in some sort of bag with a long strap slung over the shoulders and hanging at his thigh).
The Lord tells the cherub to put a mark on the foreheads of all believers so that they will be spared. This is very much like the sealing of the 144,000 that will happen during the Tribulation, or perhaps this is a (two-fold) prophecy of what will happen in the Tribulation.
As well, this could be part of the vision-prophecy that we will study tomorrow, where the actions of the angel is symbolic of what the Babylonian army carried out.
So, somehow, these executioners were sent out to slay all unbelievers. Either:
- they did this in actuality
- or perhaps angels are also able to influence people (just as demons are able to influence people)
- or as we will in see tomorrow's scripture, maybe God allowed demons to influence the people to attack Jerusalem, and then these executioners diverted their efforts away from the marked believers and onto the unbelievers...
(Ezekiel 9:1-11) Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 Behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen with a writing case at his loins. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” 5 But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. 6 Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple. 7 And He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” Thus they went out and struck down the people in the city. 8 As they were striking the people and I alone was left, I fell on my face and cried out saying, “Alas, Lord God! Are You destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of perversion; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ 10 But as for Me, My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but I will bring their conduct upon their heads.”
11 Then behold, the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case reported, saying, “I have done just as You have commanded me.”
From this we see:
- angels can be executioners somehow (in actuality, or they influence people to carry this out, or as people take action, the angels block and/or divert their efforts)
- the cherub protected the righteous people, as he assisted God by putting a mark of protection on all the believers
Personal experience: I read this and I can see how some people might question God's loving-kindness, but we have to remember that God is also just. So it is comforting to know that God is also VERY patient and fair.
I love sharing this example of God's patience and fairness! I got to meet an uncle (a great, great... uncle) who had lived to 104 years old. And with such joy, he told me, "Do you know why God let me live this long? It is because God knew I would become a Christian when I was 99 years old!"
I get goose-bumps every time I tell that story! We can see how God will not allow anyone to die before they have a fair chance to believe in Him. He already knows who that is going to be - and when.
And if it is not "our time" - then God will protect us!
I remember one particular incident, when I was around 6 years old. I had been riding my bike along Main Street's sidewalk. As I rode past an area which had a narrow driveway access between the buildings, right at that moment, a car was driving out and somehow managed to stop just in time.
How did the car even know to stop was beyond me! There was no way the driver could have seen me because the access was so narrow and the buildings were in the way. I also remember there being gravel, but the car didn't slide forward as it should have. I somehow knew that that this had not been a normal "close call".
I also remember a time when I was around 15 years old. I was at a Bible camp, and during the evening worship, I asked my counselor if I could go back to the cabin. I wasn't feeling well. I mean, I was feeling really "odd".
As I climbed into my sleeping bag and lay there, I felt like - this was it - it was my time to go. I was going to die and I was going to go to heaven - and I was fine with that. Even happy! So I fell asleep. When I woke up the next morning, still with my eyes closed, I felt such a peace around me. I really believed that when I opened my eyes, I'd see heaven.
Imagine my surprise! There was even some disappointment. But I see that event as a type of test. God gave me the opportunity to experience some level of faithfulness and trust, maybe?
Today's takeaway: we do not know how or when it will be our time to leave this world, but as believers, we should be very excited about the final destination!!! And when a fellow believer dies - yes, we will temporarily miss them but - we should be very excited for them!!!
Meanwhile, although not always an easy thing, we should have a great desire to share the gospel as God gives us the opportunities.
As a pastor once preached, the great commission doesn't mean that we all have to travel to some faraway country or have special training. "GO" can be translated to mean "as you go". Wherever we are in life, we are to follow God's will. We are all called to be missionaries. And we all have been given different gifts - to use - to serve and to contribute to the building up of God's kingdom...
(Matthew 28:18-20) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Galatians 6:9-10) Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
(Psalm 96:1-13) Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire; tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all it contains;
12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.
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