The Mark on the Forehead Ezekiel 9:4

 

Ezekiel 9:1-11 (NKJV)
1  Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand."
2  And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
3  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;
4  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."

Revelation 7:2-3  The servants of God are sealed with a seal upon their foreheads.

Revelation 9:4  Those without that seal of God are punished.

Revelation 14:1  The 144,000 have the Name of the Father upon their foreheads

Revelation 14:9-10  All who have the mark of the Beast on his forehead or hand, shall drink of the wrath of God

Thursday, August 18, 2022

At present I’m reading Ezekiel, one of the most mystical of all the Biblical prophets.  We resided with the exiles in Babylon and addressed them and also what remained of Israel before the nation was finally overwhelmed.  Judah (all that remained of Israel at that time) was a culture that embraced the worship of numerous gods as well as the God of Israel, even at the Temple itself (read Ezekiel 8).  In this vision, God speaks wrath to the people of Israel and gives Ezekiel a vision that represents that wrath.  Angels come to destroy the city, but one is sent in before the rest to mark the foreheads of those who mourn their sins and those of the city.  They are spared.

 

This episode struck me because of the similarity of the marked forehead (or on the hand) in Revelation.  Both the servants of God and the followers of the Antichrist,  who I understand the “Beast” to be, are marked.  Here’s a brief list of the references in Revelation.

Revelation 7:2-3  The servants of God are sealed with a seal upon their foreheads.

Revelation 9:4  Those without that seal of God are punished.

Revelation 14:1  The 144,000 have the Name of the Father upon their foreheads

Revelation 14:9-10  All who have the mark of the Beast on his forehead or hand, shall drink of the wrath of God

 

There’s been so much speculation about the “mark of the beast” in Revelation, but the comparison with the passage in Ezekiel makes me wonder if this is something that is more spiritual or symbolic, seen by God but not necessarily visible to our own eyes.  I will admit I get nervous around technology that can be used to invade privacy (devices implanted in one’s hand, for example) if control of the system is gained by the wrong people, but I’ve also had it pointed out to me that if someone wanted to control my finances and track my every move they simply needed to gain control of my cell phone, which I carry with me everywhere.  Perhaps instead of worrying about how these prophecies in Revelation come to pass I should consider the context provided by Ezekiel and wonder what God sees when looking at me?