Marked ~ Ezekiel 9

“Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:3-4

When you think of a person being physically marked in the Bible what do you first think of?  Well, I think most people automatically speed to Revelation chapter 13 where people are marked with what is called the mark of the beast.  That mark being something satan demands that people take during the great tribulation if they desire to continue to purchase the goods they need for survival.  But did you know that this is not the first place, or even the second place, in God’s Word where someone receives a physical mark? And did you know that satan was not the initial one to institute the practice?  Yes, it never ceases to amaze me how the common belief about the Word of God in this world never consults the Word of God when making assumptions and conclusions about the Word of God.  It would be like publishing a lengthy opiniated review of George Orwell’s novel 1984 when you had never bothered to read it.  Oh well, it further affirms the quote purportedly attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, “Man will believe anything, as long as it's not in the Bible.”

In just the second book of the Bible, Exodus, we see the first example of something being marked.  And that mark is from God for God.  As God is securing the release of His people from harsh Egyptian slavery, He assigns an angel of death to claim the firstborn of every household unless one very important mark is present.  For every house that has the blood of a special lamb splayed upon the front doorframe, that angel of death will pass it by and leave the first born not dead, but very alive.  A beautiful, vivid, and yes harsh picture of the coming of Jesus Christ, His work upon the cross, and the future that awaits those that either call Him Savior or reject Him as God.

But if you speed ahead from the second book of the Bible, Exodus, that contains this marking of protection of those that call God their personal Lord, to the 26^th book of the Bible, Ezekiel, you will find the first true personal marking of an individual.  And you can see the details of this physical marking first hand in our study verse above from chapter 9 of Ezekiel.  God is delivering a message of judgement through the prophet Ezekiel, a message that tells the sinful idolatrous people of Israel to acknowledge their sin, repent of that sin, and return to a righteous relationship with God.  And if they refuse, God will judge them for their disobedient, rebellious hard hearts towards Him and His law.  And we see that as God shows Ezekiel this prophetic day of judgement, God offers a mark for those that are righteously lamenting over their own sin and the sin of those around them.  And for those that receive this mark of protection upon their foreheads from the Lord, they will be spared from judgement, and ultimately, death.  But for those that maintained their hard hearts against the Lord and did not earn His mark of protection, they will be stricken down unto death.  Yes, this first example of being physically marked in the Bible is clear, it is God marking those that not just call Him God, but know His Words, do His Words, lament over sin against God, and thus share His heart for righteousness.

And for yet another Biblical corroboratory example of one being physically marked, lets flip forward to the very last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, the most mis-interpreted book in all of the Bible.  Literally titled “the revealing of Jesus Christ”, the book does nothing more than reveal how Jesus will return and claim His kingdom, the earth, and judge those that reject Him as the one and only true Savior and Lord.  And surprisingly for most, the very first mark assigned to an individual in the book of Revelation is not satan marking those that reject Jesus, but God marking the foreheads of a group that will serve Him faithfully during the great tribulation.

“Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees before we mark the foreheads of those who serve our God.” Then I heard how many people had God’s mark on their foreheads. There were 144,000. They were from every tribe of the people of Israel.” Revelation 7:3-4 ERV

Here we see God marking the 144,000 evangelist that will go out into the great tribulation with His holy mark of protection.  And as God later recalls these 144,000 to His throne room in Revelation 14:1-5, all 144,000 are accounted for.  Not one lost.  You see, the mark of God is a mark of protection, a mark of salvation from evil.  And if you compare God marking His chosen to that of satan’s marking in Revelation 13:16, you will find him mocking God by forcefully, instead of lovingly, assigning a mark to those that reject God. Yes, satan’s mark of 666 will not bless, but curse.  You see, satan does not have the power to protect and save as Almighty God does.  In fact, satan coerces his mark upon the people by withholding the ability to buy and sell goods unless his mark if taken.   A clear act of coercion, not of love.

But you may be asking, all this talk of taking a mark has what importance to us today? We are neither living in the book of Exodus, the book of Ezekiel, nor in the book of Revelation, but in the book of 2026.  Well, my friends, God is still in the business of marking (branding) His sheep even today.  In fact, did you know that the historical precedent of the Biblical marking of an individual was from the world of  Old Testament slavery.  It is the idea of an owner marking his property and then caring for it at great expense.  And for those that have called upon Jesus Christ to be their personal Lord and Savior, they are indeed marked by Christ and cared for at great expense.  They are marked, they are protected, they are promised an eternal future like no other.

Considering this idea of being marked, I have two questions for you dear reader.  First, have you been marked by Christ as His redeemed disciple?  Have you recognized that you are a hopeless sinner separated from the perfection of God and are in need of a redeeming Savior that alone holds the power to unite you with God in heaven for eternity?  God in His Word is clear as a bell that only those that call upon Jesus Christ as their Savior will enjoy eternity in heaven in the presence of Almighty God. (John 14:6, 1:12) And God’s Word is also crystal clear in stating that those who reject Christ as their Savior will be separated from God for eternity in the relentlessly tormenting fires of hell. (2 Thes 1:9) Today have you called upon Jesus to be your personal Lord and Savior and thus been marked by God with His very Holy Spirit? 

And second, if you have been redeemed by Jesus and are marked with His Holy Spirit, are you living like there is a mark of Christ on your forehead?  Do you live in obedience to your Lord, or do you still live to the beat of your own sin-fueled drum?  Do those around you even know that you are a follower of Christ or is that mark so covered up by the make-up of this world that those around you can’t even see it?  Folks, those marked by the Holy Spirit of God will desire a growing, thriving relationship with Him daily through a study of His Word, deep prayer, edifying fellowship with other believers, and service to Him and the body of Christ through meeting human needs and evangelism (telling all around you about how to have a saving relationship with Christ.) Today you are either marked by Christ, or you are not.  If you are not, I pray you change that today.  And if you are, get busy acting like it.

Blessings ~ Dan

“From now on let no one trouble me [by making it necessary for me to justify my authority as an apostle, and the absolute truth of the gospel], for I bear on my body the branding-marks of Jesus [the wounds, scars, and other outward evidence of persecutions—these testify to His ownership of me]. Galatians 6:17 Amplified Bible

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 ESV   

the sun sets on the Pacific, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico