Ezekiel 9:4

"And Jehovah said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof, And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began with the old men that were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city."

MERCY EXTENDED TO THE FAITHFUL

"A mark upon the foreheads of men ..." (Ezekiel 9:4). This of course was an act of Divine mercy. Although God would indeed destroy the apostate idolaters, he would by no means destroy his faithful worshippers. This placing of a mark upon the ones to be redeemed appears again in Revelation 7:3 and Revelation 14:1, indicating that all of the saved in our own generation indeed bear the "mark of God" in their forehead. As this appears to be the very same thing as the "sealing of God's servants" in Revelation 7:3, which is clearly a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are entitled to conclude that it is no literal mark of any kind, but a certain characteristic of the human spirit, that would be recognized instantly by supernatural beings. We do not believe that either in this vision or in the current dispensation can it be shown that God brands his people with any kind of a literal mark, such as a rancher would use to brand his cattle.

As Cook noted, "There are eschatological predictions in this chapter."[9] And one of the clearest of these is that the Great Judgment of the last day will be individually and not by races, nations, or groups of any kind. Note too that there are only two classes, the saved and the lost. Another startling fact is that absolutely none shall be spared except those who have received the mark of redemption. This was the way it was in the days of the flood; and that is the way it will be in the final judgment.

"That sigh and cry over all the abominations ..." (Ezekiel 9:4). The truly righteous are always those who grieve over the sins and wickedness of their contemporaries.

We are not impressed at all with some who try to find some reference to the Cross, or the "sign of the Cross" in this passage. This notion is based upon the fact that the word here translated "mark" is in Hebrew the name of tau, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet; and it is claimed that the early way of making that letter was with a cross; but as Plumptre noted, "There could have been no anticipation of Christian symbols, either in the mind of Ezekiel, or in the minds of his hearers."[10]

"And begin at my sanctuary ..." (Ezekiel 9:6). The very place where one should have been able to find a few faithful believers in God was the holy temple; but here God commanded that the slaughter should begin there. There is indeed a great responsibility upon those persons who know God's word and are responsible for teaching others. An apostle indicated that this principle shall be operative in all of the judgments of God. "For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17).

"They began at the old men that were before the house ..." (Ezekiel 9:6) Dummelow identified these as "the sun worshipping priests."[11] "Apparently the directive to begin at the sanctuary was intended to imply that there was the seat of the worst sins."[12] This should certainly be a warning to religious leaders of all generations.

"And he said unto them, Defile the house ..." (Ezekiel 9:7). This was accomplished by their filling the courts with dead bodies. "If to touch a corpse and then to worship without being sprinkled with the water of separation was to defile the tabernacle of the Lord (Numbers 19:13), how much more would the blood of corpses do so."[13]

Speaking of the defilement of the temple, Eichrodt noted that, "Such a stupendous act of judgment left no room for any doubt that the complete liquidation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be carried out in full."[14]