Ezekiel 9-10
The Judgment of God
Pray
Intro
√ The Judgment of God
You’ll remember that chapter’s 8-11 record a new vision that Ezekiel received from God that details His coming judgment upon Jerusalem.
Remember, what Ezekiel has recorded for us are the things that God has revealed to him in the Spirit world.
They haven’t yet taken place in the Physical world.
All of what he sees is going on just beyond the perception of Men.
It’s a reminder that what we experience here in the physical is an echo of what is going on in the Spiritual realm!
Ex. There’s a war going on!
One of the characteristics of the Last Days described in the Bible is that many people will be caught unprepared when God sets His final judgment in motion.
Thus we find Jesus and the Apostles exhorting us as believers to keep our spiritual eyes and ears open to what God is doing so that we won’t be caught unaware.
These chapters of Ezekiel foreshadow that final judgment in a number of ways…
…but most poignantly in that we see in both Ezekiel and the Revelation God losing His judgment first in the Spirit realm before we see it manifested in the physical world.
Reminds us to keep close to the Lord so that like Ezekiel we know what’s coming!
The Judgment of God (vs. 1-7)
Ezek. 9:1 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.”
Ezek. 9:2 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.
Ezek. 9:3 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;
Ezek. 9:4 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.”
Ezek. 9:5 To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
Ezek. 9:6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
Ezek. 9:7 Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.
√ The judgment of God
Vs. 1-7 pull back the veil that covers our eyes and gives us our first peak at how God’s judgment is going to be carried out.
We’re told that 6 men who have “charge over the city” are called up to implement God’s judgment on Jerusalem.
Note that each of them has a “battle ax” in his hand (lit. a “destroying weapon”).
With them a 7th “man” is called up who is equipped with a pen and ink and is dressed in linen.
Who are these guys!
They are clearly some type of Angelic beings, though not named as such.
The 6 function as warriors, either guarding the city from enemies when the people are walking with God, or else implementing God’s judgment when the people have turned from God.
The 7th serves as both a scribe and a priest indicated by his pen and ink, and his linen clothing (ref. Lev. 6 & 16).
Notice also where they’re standing…
“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.” ~ vs. 2
That is, they come through the north gate passing the…
“Image of Jealousy”
Woman weeping for Tammuz
The 70 elders burning incense in the inner court
…and take up their places next the bronze altar where the “priests” are worshipping the Sun with their backs toward God!
No human except Ezekiel knows they are there!
That is, the ax of God’s judgment is hanging over the heads of the priests in God’s Temple and they don’t even know it!
√ God sees
My point is that the people, the priests and the leaders of Israel were confidant in their sins because they deceived themselves to think that God could not see them!
“Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.” ~ Ezekiel 8:12 (repeated in 9:9)
But what we discover here is that it isn’t God who can’t see…
…it’s those who are sinning that are blind!
Ap. Sin blinds
The tragedy of sin is that it blinds us…
…to the grace of God, our own sinful condition, as well as His impending judgment once we’ve rejected His grace.
Ex. The hardest person to reach
Is that person who has been blinded to their own sin.
√ Judgment begins at the house of the Lord
A characteristics of God’s judgment is that it begins with His people, note vs. 6…
“Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”
Peter echo’s that principle in his 1st epistle…
“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17
It seems that the health of a nation is directly tied to the spiritual health of God’s people…
Whether Israel in the Old Testament
Or the Church in the New Testament
God’s people act as a shield or a buffer that protects a nation from the judgment of God.
Ex. Sodom and Gomorrah ~ God would have spared the entire city for just 10 righteous people!
But, when God’s people (Israel or the Church) give up their post and begin to practice evil themselves…
…then when God brings His judgment He begins with His people.
Ap. The Rapture
That’s why we find Paul writing to the Christians at Thessalonica and telling them that the future Antichrist can’t even be revealed…
…until the Church is removed from the Earth!
2Th. 2:6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
2Th. 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
2Th. 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The “He” that is restraining the Antichrist is the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit is removed so that the Antichrist can be revealed…
…the Church in whom the Holy Spirit dwells must go too!
What’s left of the so-called Church will be characterized by apostasy and will be judged during the Tribulation (Rev. 17:5)…
…just as the Temple and the priests are judged here in Ezekiel.
Ap. Beware
On a negative note this is a sobering section of scripture in view of the condition of the Church today!
Plagued by sin that is practiced and promoted by leaders in the Church!
Priests and pastors involved in all manner of sexual immorality…
…some even teaching that what they’re doing had God’s seal of approval!
A sign that God’s judgment may be nearer than people think!
√ God’s judgment is selective
Very important that you don’t miss this point, God protects His people during times of judgment!
Note that the Angle with the ink pen is told to mark those who truly serve God.
Those who are marked by the Angel are then protected from the 6 Angels of Death.
Proving the old adage…
“The pen is mightier than the battle-ax”
Actually, it is reminiscent of how the people of Israel were “marked” the blood of the Passover Lamb (Ex. 12) and thereby protected from the Angel Death.
Also foreshadows the “marking” of the 144,000 Jews in Rev. 7 who are then protected from the wrath of God during the Tribulation.
Anyway, this is another characteristic of God’s judgment, that is, when He brings His judgment upon a people, a city, or the planet…
…He doesn’t destroy those who love Him!
Ex. God spares His own
Peter writes (context is Lot’s salvation)
“then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment…” ~ 2 Peter 2:9
Think of the many examples of this in Scripture…
Noah and his family ~ the flood
Lot and his family ~ destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah
Jews in Egypt ~ 10 plagues and Passover
Jeremiah ~ destruction of Jerusalem
144,000 during the Tribulation ~ sealed too!
The point is that I think it’s unbiblical to claim that some natural disaster is God’s judgment when Christians are killed or hurt during the disaster.
Ex. Katrina and 911
Real Christians, men and woman of faith and with a righteous testimony were killed during both disasters…
…therefore these events could not have been “God’s judgment” because He always takes care of His people!
The Fury of God (vs. 8-11)
Ezek. 9:8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”
Ezek. 9:9 Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see!’
Ezek. 9:10 And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”
Ezek. 9:11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”
√ The fury of God
As Ezekiel watches the Angels of Death (Ax Angels vs. Arch Angels?) begin to destroy the priests and the people he cried out…
“Will you destroy the remnant of Israel!?” ~ vs. 8
That is, from Ezekiel’s perspective it looked as if the Angels were killing everyone!
Though Ezekiel was concerned, none the less, God reminds him that the nation had already moved past the line of repentance.
They had rejected God’s offer of forgiveness and now they would face His fury.
But, in the midst of God’s fury the Angel who had been sent out to mark the righteous returns to report that he’s completed his task!
The silver lining of God’s grace!
That is, Ezekiel is reminded that some would survive and that God would in fact preserve a remnant of His people!
Ex. Jeremiah
He lived through the entire siege, survived the destruction of the city, plots against his life, kidnapping and starvation!
He was one of those marked by the Angel with the pen!
The Fire of God (vs. 1-8)
Ezek. 10:1 And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
Ezek. 10:2 Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with coals of fire from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.
Ezek. 10:3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.
Ezek. 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the temple; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory.
Ezek. 10:5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.
Ezek. 10:6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels.
Ezek. 10:7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out.
Ezek. 10:8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
√ The Fire of God
In this section we find the Angel dressed in linen puts his pen and ink aside and is told to pick up hot coals from God’s Throne Chariot…
…and scatter them over the city.
We talked at some length about God’s Throne Chariot back in chapter 1 so we won’t dwell on it here.
Rather we want to note what it is that God is doing through the Angel.
God tells the Angel to come to His chariot and take coals of fire from the midst of the it and then cast them over the city.
Fire from God’s throne is a symbol of His purifying power.
Ex. Isaiah
When Isaiah sees the Lord he cries out because he recognizes the depth of his sin in the presence of God’s holiness.
So, God sends and Angel (Seraphim) to purify his lips and make him clean…
Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.
Isaiah 6:7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”
The picture then in Ezekiel is symbolic of the work that God’s judgment would do in Jerusalem…
…that is, He would purify the city, the people and the Temple of the terrible sins they’d committed.
Ex. Jerusalem was destroyed by fire!
As recorded in the book of 2 Kings Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the whole city with fire!
2Kings 25:8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
2Kings 25:9 He burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
Interesting that what Ezekiel saw in the Spirit realm was fulfilled literally in the physical world!
Ap. The last judgment will be with fire
2Pet. 3:7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
And…
2Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
2Pet. 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
2Pet. 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
2Pet. 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
So, God’s final judgment will be with fire by which He will purify the old earth and the old heavens (space) with fire at the end of the Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 21)…
…and replace them with a new heaven and earth.
Ap. Our works will be judged by fire too!
That which is pure will survive, that which is not will burn! Build with fire-proof material! (I Cor. 3)
The Chariot of God (vs. 9-17)
Ezek. 10:9 And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone.
Ezek. 10:10 As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
Ezek. 10:11 When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went.
Ezek. 10:12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were full of eyes all around.
Ezek. 10:13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “Wheel.”
Ezek. 10:14 Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
Ezek. 10:15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.
Ezek. 10:16 When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them.
Ezek. 10:17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when one was lifted up, the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.
√ The Chariot of God
As I mentioned we’ve already looked at the Throne Chariot of God in great detail so we’ll only pick up one point in this section…
…that is, did you notice something different about Ezekiel’s description of the Cherubim here verses chapter 1?
“Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.” ~ vs. 14
He says that one of the faces was of a “cherub” instead of “ox”!?
What gives?
We know it’s the same Angelic being because he says so in vs. 15, 20 and 22”
“This was the living creature I saw by the River Chebar.” ~ vs. 15
So why is one of it’s faces different?
Some Bible students suggest that it was a scribal error when they copied the text.
Others suggest that an ox was the normal understanding of the face of a cherub in ancient times.
Some think that maybe Ezekiel’s view was obstructed and “cherub” is a generalization since he couldn’t get a good look at the face.
Probably will have to wait until we see it to reconcile the discrepancy.
In the final analysis think it’s best to go with the description in chapter 1 (ox) because it corresponds to the rest of Scripture and accurately symbolizes the nature and ministry of Jesus.
The Presence of God (vs. 18-22)
Ezek. 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
Ezek. 10:19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
Ezek. 10:20 This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim.
Ezek. 10:21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
Ezek. 10:22 And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.
√ The Presence of God
These last verses of chapter 10 record the final act of God’s judgment…
…His departure from His House, His City and His People!
“Then the glory of the LORD departed” ~ vs. 18
Once the Lord moved over the threshold one could write “Ichabod” over the gate to the Temple (not the guy from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!).
Ex. I Sam. 24
A similar experience from earlier in Israel’s history.
Israel was in sin, the priests were corrupt so God judged the nation and allowed the Philistines to kill Hophni and Phinehas the wicked sons of Eli the priest and to capture the Ark of the Covenant.
Eli died when he heard the news.
Phinehas’ wife was delivering a baby when she heard the news about her husband and the Ark and said…
“Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.” 1 Sam. 4:21
Just as the presence of God departed from the Tabernacle in Samuel’s day…
…so He departed from the Temple in Ezekiel’s day.
Ap. It can happen to a Church too!
Church at Ephesus
Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
The sad testimony is that the church that Paul founded and Timothy pastured did not return to her first love…
…today the church is a ruins visited only by tourists.
Church at Laodicia
Rev. 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Notice that Jesus is on the wrong side of the door! He’s on the outside trying to get in!
The warning is that just as the Lord left the Tabernacle and the Temple…
…He will depart from a church that no longer serves Him as King, or that has chosen to invite false gods and religion into His House.
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