KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Chapters: Ezekiel 9-12
Message: The Mark of Christ
Hello My Friend,
As you read through the Old Testament you cannot help, but wonder with all the people in the world why Israel was the only one to have communication with the only living God, even they were not the best witnesses. Oh, other nations knew of Him, and they fought Israel, knowing the power of God, but they were content to worship their false gods not realizing they would end up in hell. Since God created man people have this assumption that whatever they believed that is what they follow and yet somehow expect that heaven is their destination when they die or even worse, they just die and that is all. No matter what we choose to believe God is not a respecter of persons, if you believe in Him and worship Him alone then it does not matter what nation you are born into, He accepts you as His. If you do not believe and worship other gods than He rejects you as you reject Him. But today, God makes that easier, believe in my Son. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:17-19.
A mark is an impression, something that symbolizes who or what you are, we all have a mark of some kind, that is what makes us all unique from one another. There will come a time, and I believe this is already coming into play, that there will be a mark on the foreheads of every person who worships the devil, the mark of the beast, but God has a mark also on the foreheads of those who worship Him, that mark is put there by only one person, Jesus Christ. Through Ezekiel, we see an amazing prophesy of God sending Jesus to mark the foreheads of every Jew in Jerusalem whom did not turn away from God.
“And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.” – Ezekiel 9:3-5,8-10.
“and set a mark upon the foreheads” That mark is none other than the blood of Christ that was shed to save the soul of every man, woman, and child who believes in Him. That mark was the same symbol as the blood that was along the doorpost that saved the lives of those whom had it upon their doors, and the same symbol of the unblemished blood of the sacrifice that was required for atonement to redeem those who wanted to be saved from their sins. No matter who you are, man, woman, or child, any person who fully understands right from wrong, and does not have the mark upon them will be destroyed in the fire. As Ezekiel watches this cloud of light emerge from it’s throne and up through the house, something else is revealed to him, the creature he saw at the beginning of his visions.
“Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” – Ezekiel 10:4-6-18-19.
“and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.” Did you ever see the sun shining through a mountain of clouds? It is as though God Himself is coming through, it always gives me hope that no matter where I go God’s light still shines. People who reject Christ, and those who are trusting in their religion to save them will be just like this temple, they will see His Light descend and lose Him forever. How sad is it that thousands of people die each year not knowing Christ because the were too blind to see Him or refused to accept Him. “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” – Romans 1:20-21.
Ezekiel saw first hand the anger of God toward those who reject His Son, He knows we are all sinners, and is merciful, but He will have no mercy on those who reject Him. He watches as people started dying right in front of him after he told them what God had said.
“And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 11:13,16-21.
“yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary” Recompense; To compensate, to repay what is due according to any thing given. For instance, a person who works a job get compensated for the work they have done. Whether people realize it or not, God sees everything, and we get compensated for the work we do here, saved or not. Since we are all sinners we cannot do enough good to compensate for the great debt we owe for our sin, that is where Jesus comes in, He is our sanctuary, whether Jew or Gentile, we must believe in Him. We will be saved, not by our own works, but by the finished work of Jesus Christ. Grace by faith we are saved, but the works we do after we are saved are what defines us and lets it be known to the world that we are marked by the blood of Christ. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:10,14.
We must realize that while God is merciful to wait for the very last soul to receive His Son before He sends Him to judge the world, there will come a time when it will run out. Right now, the captives in Babylon are in no hurry to leave, after all they feel as though God is not even there. God tells Ezekiel to be ready for the destruction of Babylon, He sends a message to the people to assure them that all these predictions will be accomplished very shortly, and will not be prolonged, no matter how much they convinced themselves that it would be.
“Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.” – Ezekiel 12:22-25.
“and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass;” Everything God says comes to pass, He may take a while with some things, but He always follows through. Jesus will return, and judgment of the entire earth will begin. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” – II Peter 3:9-10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.” – Ezekiel 9:11.
Today’s Prayer: God, Any day, any hour even, You could decide that You have had enough, You have prolonged things enough, and You are done with the earth. Any second we could hear the trumpets sounding off that Jesus is returning, and all who are His will be raptured out of this place to safety while we await our new dwelling place in His Kingdom. Lord, lead us and guide us, prepare us and make us ready for that day, let us not get deceived by the world or be ashamed to tell the truth to them. Put Your hedge of protection around us as things get worse, and let us be the examples that You need us to be to bring others to Your Son before He returns. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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