Here is an article by Pastor Larry DeBruyn of Herescope:
Someone once said that sin is as much a breaking of God’s heart as it is the breaking of His Law. When God looked down on the perversity of the people on earth before the Deluge, it was recorded that He “was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6b). When confronted by resident wickedness both without and within the professing church, Christians can manifest one of three reactions: approval (1 Corinthians 5:2), indifference (Zephaniah 1:12), or disapproval as indicated by the presence of either anger (Psalm 119:53) or grief (Psalm 119:136). So the question becomes, as we see the worldliness-wickedness invading the church, how do we feel about it? Are agitated by, indifferent to, or accommodating of it?
Not unlike the society and church of our times, during Ezekiel’s ministry Judah found herself in a moral and spiritual “melt down.” Fraud, violence, adultery, and idolatry were running rampant amongst God’s chosen people. Idols had been set up in the Temple (Ezekiel 8:17; 9:9). From his location in Babylon, the Lord took Ezekiel on a virtual reality tour of the Temple, the place where on the Mercy Seat beneath the Cherubim, God’s Shekinah glory was to have been seated (Ezekiel 8:4). What he saw in that place of worship stunned the prophet. On his guided tour of the inner court, the Lord showed the prophet where first the people had substituted an idol image for Yahweh; where second, the elders worshiped animals; where third, the women sobbed over the death of Tammuz, a mythological fertility god who had married the Egyptian goddess Ishtar; and where fourth, the priests worshiped the sun (Ezekiel 8:5-18). Up-close and personal, the prophet saw how the nation had abominated into apostasy, how Israel had turned from worshiping the Creator to idolizing the creation and its creatures (See Romans 1:21-23.).
Yet in the midst of all those “alternative spiritualities,” and like the remnant of Elijah’s day who refused to bow their knee to Baal and kiss the idol god (1 Kings 19:18), some believers preserved themselves to be holy unto the Lord. So the Lord instructed the angel dressed in white to mark an “X” on the foreheads of the faithful, a mark that would spare them from the coming divine judgment (circa 600 BC).[1] Most have heard about “the mark of the beast”, the mark the deceived will receive at the end of the age, an identity without which they will neither be able to buy or sell (Revelation 14:9-12). The prophet Ezekiel wrote about a different mark, an “X” that was to be written on the foreheads of those in Judah who had refused to go along with the popular spiritual trends of that day. The “X” would spare them from the coming divine wrath. So the Lord instructed the angel: “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” (Ezekiel 9:4).
Pause with me . . . for a moment let’s project back to that era and ask ourselves the following question: If we had been alive in Ezekiel’s day, would the angel have marked us to be spared from divine judgment?
To read the rest of this commentary, please click here.
Thank you, Chrystal, for posting this-I hope that you are feeling better.
The article by Pastor DeBruyn is very thought provoking-I don’t recall reading the passage in Ezekiel before; would I be marked for protection if I had lived in Jersalem in the time of that vision?
I believe so. I know that we are protected now in our time. I think I passed Pastor DeBruyn’s litmus test at the bottom of his article.Part of the reason that I don’t listen to much “Christian Music” is because of the emphasis on ‘experience’ over ‘focusing on God.
A good question might be: If God were to send that man with the writing case into todays megachurches…would he have any marking to do?
When I saw this on another site I thought how timely this really is. Thanks for posting it here Chrystal. It’s time that all the folks who call themselves Christians no matter what denomination they may associate with, or none at all, or whatever “church” they do adhere to, it’s vital to examine one’s heart to see if such things does cause grief to us.
Sin needs to be addressed but when churches sweep their sinfulness under the rug so to speak, or permit such things as homosexuality for their leadership, and such…people need to examine what they believe in and if they would stand up for it.
There is a time coming and I think it’s coming sooner than many believers want to realize, when in the United States, we are going to face some very serious decisions with our faith and if we have strong enough faith to risk persecution as they do in other countries, or will they compromise and blend in with the rest of the sinfulness.
If nothing else has been a wake up call, I really think people need to look at their beliefs. These people who are playing the harlot with word faith, emergent practices and the new age mysticism that is in Christendom….along with so many other errors, they really need to examine their lives.
We all need to be mindful and be prepared. Time is running out!
When Jesus Returns, how many will be part of His Bride?
How many will be watching and waiting? How many will be out looking for oil? How many will be looking to one of their idols rather than seeking Him?