The Sealing

Then the Lord thundered, "Bring on the men appointed to punish the city! Tell them to bring their weapons with them!" [2] Six men soon appeared from the upper gate that face north, each carrying a battle club in his hand. One of them was dressed in linen and carried a writer's case strapped to his side. They all went into the Temple courtyard and stood beside the bronze altar.

Then the glory of God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer's case. He said to him, "Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all those who weep and sigh because of the sins they see around them."

Then I heard the Lord say to the other men, "Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all . . . But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin your task right here at the Temple." So they began by killing the seventy leaders" (Ezekiel 9:1-6, NLT).

This appears to the be Old Testament counterpart to the sealing we read about in Revelation 7:3-4.

There are a couple of interesting things to note here:

Sealing Begins at the Temple

This is probably why you often hear 1 Peter 4:17 quoted with respect to end-time judgment. It says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: for if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God:"

In the Ezekiel account the 70 Leaders are killed first. But in the New Testament there is a priesthood of all believers, so Peter doesn't just speak of church leadership, he says that judgment begins at us.

Seal Given to Haters . . . of Sin

Here is the other point that stood out to me as I read it. Verse four says, ". . . put a mark on the foreheads of all those who weep and sigh because of the sins they see around them."

It is apparent that those who get sealed in their foreheads (the mind) are people who have developed a dislike for the things that God dislikes. If God weeps when innocent lives are taken in murder, then those who get sealed do the same. If God weeps when people dishonor their marital vows, then those who get sealed do the same. If God weeps when corporate criminals rob unwary employees of their retirement, the people who get sealed in their foreheads do the same.

Praying that God will help me love what He loves and hate what He hates.