He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. (Ezekiel 9:1 and 2)
There’s something that we need to realize about the world that we live in, as well as about the spiritual realms with which we deal: those who really have the authority over them is not us. Unfortunately, there are far too many believers who think of themselves higher than they should; but they’ll come face to face with the truth one of these days, and they’ll finally understand God’s reality. The fact is that He has an army of angelic servants in every heavenly realm, all of them with more power and authority than any of us could ever fathom. Also, we’re up against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). So, as Jesus told Pilate, we have no power nor authority except that which is given us by God.
There’s something else that we also need to realize: Paul tells us, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey” (Romans 6:16). Therefore, if we serve the Lord, we’re His servants, and we partake of all of His blessings and all of His corrections and teachings, which are all life-giving. If, on the other hand, we render ourselves servants to any other than the Lord, there will be ultimately no rewards other than judgment and death.
So, as a result of the rebellion that should have no place in the church, yet which has a fairly firm foothold, the Lord shows us a reality that many either don’t realize or won’t accept; and it has to do with those who have obtained temporary authority over many in the church. You see, because far too many believers have strayed from serving the Lord wholeheartedly, then they serve another. Yet it isn’t just one whom they’re serving, but a number of them; and we’ve seen them in the previous chapter. As I looked at them, I could see a definite pattern of regression that correlates to those things that Ezekiel saw and which the rebellious in the church are exhibiting at various stages.
Therefore, the first man to enter the temple at the command of the Lord was named “Vanity”, and he was the spirit behind the image that provokes to jealousy. The second was “Confusion”, who was the spirit behind the myriad of idols that were seen on the walls in the room that was entered through a hole. Then came one named “Delusion”, which was the spirit behind Tammuz and Osiris and Adonis and the numerous other variations. The fourth one to enter was called “Idolatry”, and he was seen through those who worshiped the sun. Following him came “Hatred”, which was the spirit of the violence that filled the land. And the sixth to appear was named “Blasphemy”, the spirit behind those that put the Branch to their nose.
The reason that I’ve given them the names that I have, even though the Word doesn’t mention anything, is because that’s a logical succession. It begins with vanity. When we allow the enemy to implant within us anything that stands between us and God and causes us to “think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought”, then we’ll have started on that downward path. Left unabated, we’ll descend into confusion, not only over what He has said in His Word, but also over Who He is. The result of the confusion is, quite naturally, delusion; and we can see that today in far too many Christians who foolishly believe that He condones some of the abominations that have infested every aspect of society. From there we descend to idolatry, substituting the god of our delusion for the true God. Thus, since we’ve turned our allegiance from God to Satan, then the natural outcome will be hatred. Our enemies will have become those who are actually our brethren; and Satan will stir up a hatred for them that has no rhyme nor reason. This, then, will lead to blasphemy; and we’ll unknowingly find ourselves standing completely against God. Many believers will vehemently deny that there is anything even remotely close to this in the church; but remember: “whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey”. Thus, by giving place to those spirits, those who have done so have given them authority and have become their servants.
There was, however, one “clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side”. As I said, and will continue to say, there are multitudes in the church who are faithful to the Lord; as well as many who will heed the Spirit and will turn from their ways and back to Him; and He’s marking who they are. His Spirit, the man clothed with linen with the inkhorn by His side, is moving to and fro throughout the earth to “search Jerusalem with candles” (Zephaniah 1:12). He’s searching spiritual Jerusalem, the church, with the light of His Word, and will separate the faithful from the rebellious. Then, once that has been completed, judgment shall begin.
The six spiritual beings carried what are literally called in Hebrew “shattering weapons”, and they went forth to judge those who weren’t marked. Though much of that which will be brought upon the heads of the rebellious will not necessarily be the loss of their physical lives (even though there will be some who experience that), still, all that they will have gained will be shattered. They’ll lose everything, simply because they’ll have attempted to gather everything to themselves. And, because it will be the ministries which could have guided the people into the path of life, but chose, rather, to use them for their own agendas, then the judgment will come upon them first.
One other thing that we need to realize about this time that is soon to come; and it has to do with our attitude. Ezekiel interceded for the people, just as Abraham had interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, even though they were deserving of judgment. Consequently, the rebellious will be deserving of that which will come upon them; but we can’t adopt that attitude. Rather, we’ll have to stand for them and to intercede for them, for the simple reason that, despite their rebellion, they’ll still be brethren. This, then, will be OUR test. Though the Lord won’t relent of administering His judgments, He’ll also be looking at us, to see whether we’ll be an accuser or an intercessor. Thus, OUR eternity will depend in a great way upon how we handle our commission.
