Chapter 9
The vision of chapter 8 continued. 6 men, executioners, come, along with a man in linen, with writing materials.
2022 - Linen, per MSB, is a sign of high rank. This one may have been the "Angel of the Lord" ( I need to do a search on that term and see what I find about him. I believe this is the one who killed all the firstborn, and the one that was seen on the threshing floor in David's time. Where else does he appear? He is a mighty angel, carrying out the wrath of God when the time for mercy has passed.) MSB says this could also be the pre-incarnate Christ, but I don't see that.
2024 - Whoever this is, in this case it is not that he is to kill, but to write down the names of those who are NOT to be killed.
The one in linen is told by God to go through the city and put a mark on the forehead of these who "truly groan" about the abominations in the city. MSB says the one in linen was/could be the pre-incarnate Christ, marking the elect, so they could be preserved over/through what was coming. Same reason they are marked in the Revelation. Connection. The rest were to be killed in the siege. Much like Revelation also.
This total destruction of Jerusalem, the removal of all of God's protection over them, is like a preview of the last days. Only the truly penitent are marked. Then the other six are told to follow the 7th and kill all unmarked, sparing none. Old, young, men, women, children. They do so.
2022 - Well the above is not quite right. In Revelation the marked have the mark of the beast. It is connection with that evil one that is signified by the mark. Perhaps he does that as a mirrored reflection of this scene in Ezekiel. In Revelation, the one who wants to be worshiped as Christ marks all those truly loyal to him, as if this protects them from the wrath to come - by extension he is claiming he can protect them from hell. But note that the mark has eternal, not current, implications. At the Sheep and Goat, those with the mark go into hell. It is the inarguable proof of their guilt. I don't believe that what we are seeing in Ezekiel's vision here is about survivors of the coming siege and destruction. Even those marked will mostly die. But they will be assured of eternity with God because of their loyalty in the face of such corruption. Perhaps that is how we should see our place in the middle of the upheaval, lies, misinformation, and "man-worship" that now characterizes this country. Our faith will not keep us safe from physical pain and even death, but it will assure a victorious eternity. That is what we should strive for. Just as I read in Hebrews this very morning - 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. [Heb 13:14 ESV].
2022 - Hmm...is the mirror-image idea as to Satan's actions in Revelation a key to understanding Revelation? This might be a key insight. Follow up on it!
2024 - The 144,000 in Revelation are also marked, and the mark makes them immune to the horrors of the end times. Who marks them? "We", used in Greek as a first person plural. Like Elohim is a first person plural that we say is the trinity. Three, and yet only one, so a first person plural. Why would we not see that angel rising in the east in Revelation to seal the 144k as the very same as the one clothed here in linen? If we say the one in linen is the pre-incarnate Christ, don't we almost have to say that this angel in Revelation 7 who holds the seal is also Christ? And to me, we'll run into problems really quickly if we do that in Revelation. Now, I don't think Eze 9 is about end times. As I read this, it is about the coming siege by Babylon. Further, the army of Babylon is not going to be honoring any "seals". This seal, then as in Revelation, is about God's protection. So...I don't think the sealed are killed by the enemy in either case. Also, this verse:
2 And he said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in before my eyes. [Eze 10:2 ESV]. This seems like a task for an angel, not for a pre-incarnate Christ...which explanation also fits better - in my opinion - with Revelation 7.
2025 - Here is how it is worded in Revelation:
3 saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads." 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: [Rev 7:3-4 ESV]. Doesn't really say "marked", but sealed on their foreheads surely implies that they receive a mark.