And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike… but touch no one on whom is the mark.”
Ezekiel 9:4-6 (ESV)
This vision of Ezekiel began with the introduction of seven men (or angels). Six of them are the city’s executioners. The seventh is a scribe with a writing case. God called them to come and stand before the bronze altar in the court of the Temple.
God first instructed the scribe to pass through Jerusalem, putting a mark on the foreheads of some of the men—specifically, those who sign and groan over the abominations that are committed in Jerusalem. Ezekiel has already had visions of some of the abominations that were being committed in Jerusalem, the worship of false gods. Those who are marked have not participated in this idolatry and are troubled by it. They are those that God considers to be righteous.
The six executioners are then instructed to pass through the city and kill anyone who has not been marked: men, women, and children. This represents God’s judgment on the unrighteous in Jerusalem and Judah. A judgment that did not include the righteous.
This has a parallel in the Passover, where the homes marked with the blood of a lamb were spared from the destroying angel while those without the mark suffered the loss of their firstborn.
This passage also parallels the sealing of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-5. These were marked with the seal of the living God (Rev. 7:2) and were protected when God’s wrath was poured out on the rest of the world (Rev. 9:4).
The Mark of God
What is this mark or seal that is put on foreheads? It is doubtful that it is a literal physical mark. Several passages refer to believers who are sealed by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13, 4:30). Additionally, in Revelation 3:12, Jesus promised those who are victorious that He would write on them the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and His own name.
What all of these have in common is that God knows those who are His. We have been sealed with the mark of God. We carry His name. And we will not face His judgment. His mark, the Holy Spirit, is the guarantee of our salvation.
