Audio Download

Ezekiel 9:1-11  The Work of the Executioners

[Study Aired March 18, 2024]

Introduction

Today’s study is about the Lord’s command for those charged with the city of Jerusalem (executioners) to come and destroy their inhabitants with their destroying weapons as a result of the city’s abominable sins. It also shows the Lord’s divine protection for His elect as He had designated a man among the executioners to mark the forehead of all those who sigh and cry for the abominations taking place in the city. The marking of the forehead was to be carried out ahead of the destroyers so the destroyers would spare those with the mark from destruction.

The Executioners of the City

Eze 9:1  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.
Eze 9:2  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.

The Lord crying in Ezekiel’s ear with a loud voice indicates that when the Lord comes to us with the spirit of His mouth and His brightness, our eyes are opened to see and our ears are given to hear unmistakably the voice of the Lord, which is His words. It is indeed a privilege to be given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. This privilege is given only to the Lord’s elect in this age who are represented here by Ezekiel. 

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The voice Ezekiel heard was to cause those who are given charge of the city of Jerusalem, in other words, the executioners of the city, to get themselves ready with their destroying weapons. The question is, “Who are these executioners of the city?” In verse 2, we are given further information about these executioners. That is, they were six men who came from the gate towards the north. The number six represents mankind, and the fact they came from the north means that the Lord is using people as His instrument to judge His people. As we are aware, the four sore judgments of the Lord involve the use of the sword, famine, pestilence, and the noisome beast. 

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

The word “noisome” means evil and therefore one of the instruments at the disposal of the Lord is an evil beast which represents mankind since we are all beasts before the Lord. 

Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 

The destroying or slaughter weapons in the hands of the people that the Lord is using to judge us is the sword as shown in the following verses:

1Sa 21:8  And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
1Sa 21:9  And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.

The negative application of the sword in the hands of the executioners refers to the lying words and false doctrines of the adversary. 

2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Psa 64:2  Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 
Psa 64:3  Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

These negative words spoken are one of the tools that the Lord uses to cause people to speak bitter words to us, His elect. It is this sword which the Lord uses to set every man’s sword against his brother.

Eze 38:21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

Jdg 7:22 And the three hundred [men with Gideon] blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host [of the Midianites]: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

1Sa 14:20  And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Among the executioners was a man clothed in linen and carrying things to write with. Being clothed in linen signifies that the man in this case represents the elect as shown in the following:

Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

As we shall see in the next verses, the pen and the ink to write, which was carried by one of the men, was for the purpose of marking the forehead of the elect. The executioners standing by the brazen altar when they entered the temple in verse 2 is significant. The brazen altar was made of brass, and brass represents our frail bodies of corruptible flesh and blood.  It is through this corruptible flesh and blood that our Lord Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins and appeared before God. As He is, so are we in this life. It is through our corruptible flesh and blood that we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifice to the Lord at the brazen altar. Since the brazen altar is the first to be seen as one enters the temple, the executioners standing by the brazen altar signifies that we all start our walk with the Lord in our carnal state until the Lord comes to call us out from the many, as shown in the next verse:

Eze 9:3  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;

Out of the six men who had charge over the city who went to stand at the brazen altar, it was only the man with the writer’s inkhorn that was called out by the Lord. This is to show us that many are called but few are chosen.

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

The glory of the God of Israel which went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house to speak to the man with the writer’s inkhorn is to indicate how the Lord has called and chosen us, His elect, to hear His words out of the mist of the fire of our affliction. In the previous study, the following was mentioned regarding the glory of the Lord:

The following verses show us what the glory of the Lord means:

Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

We can see from these verses that any time the glory of the Lord appears, we see the Lord speaking. In Deuteronomy 5:24 additional information is given to qualify the glory of the Lord, and that is fire. Seeing His glory therefore means hearing the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. This conclusion is affirmed in Exodus 24:16-17, where the sight of the glory of the Lord was likened to a devouring fire on the top of the Mount.

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

What these verses tell us is that in this age, those who are privileged to see the glory of the Lord are those who are hearing His words in the midst of the furnace of their affliction. I will therefore take this opportunity to tell our brothers and sisters scattered all over the world who are going through fiery trials that they should rejoice, because it is through suffering that they can see the glory of the Lord!! When we are going through suffering, it is hard to rejoice, but afterwards it will yield the benefit of seeing the glory of the Lord!! 

In Exodus 24:16, this glory of the Lord was covered by the cloud for six days. The number six represents mankind. What this means is that, in this age (six days), you can only see the glory of the Lord through the elect. The seventh day is when we shall be called by the Lord to reign with Him as we rest from our labors.

Eze 9:4  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. 

As the Lord’s elect, we are tasked to go through the midst of the city of Jerusalem and set a mark on the forehead of the men that sigh and mourn for all the abominations that are happening in their midst. The first time a mark was set on someone in the Bible was when the Lord set a mark on Cain so that anybody finding him would not kill him. That is, the Lord’s mark on our forehead causes us to leave Babylon (Jerusalem) and therefore prevents us from being destroyed spiritually together with our brothers and sisters in Babylon by the executioners.

Gen 4:15  And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 

On the other hand, the mark of the beast on our forehead denotes our worship of the beast. The mark set by the man with the inkhorn therefore signifies our worship of the Lord. Setting the mark of Christ upon the foreheads of men means opening their eyes and ears to understand the truth of the word of the Lord, thus, causing them to see and mourn for the abominations that are done in Babylon. 

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Eze 9:5  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:
Eze 9:6  Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 
Eze 9:7  And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

Apart from the one among the executioners who represents the elect and was given the task of marking the forehead of those destined as sons of the Lord in this age, the rest are tasked to put to death all the people in the city of Jerusalem. The executioners therefore represent those in Babylon who are given to put to spiritual death our brothers and sisters in Babylon through their false doctrines. It was from the six men that the Lord chose one to carry the inkhorn. This implies that we were once performing the role of the executioners before Christ chose us to mark the forehead of those destined for salvation in this age with the truth. 

The ancients were the first to be slaughtered by the executioners. As explained in the previous study, the ancients represent the priests, the Levites and the Chiefs of the fathers and therefore the leaders of the people in Babylon who are the first to be deceived and therefore lead others astray through their doctrines.

Ezr 3:12  But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

Isa 9:15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 

Mat 15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. 

The verses below show us clearly who the executioners are:

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 
Mat 23:14  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. 

Eze 9:8  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? 

It is through the mercies of the Lord that He delivered us from the hands of the executioners while we were in Babylon, just as Ezekiel, who signifies the elect was spared. 

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

When Ezekiel was delivered, he did not understand why the Lord would destroy all the residue of Israel as He pours out His fury upon them. What we need to understand is that when we come out of Babylon, we do not understand the need for us to be judged as the Lord begins to pour out His fury on our old man. The residue of Israel here represents the Lord’s elect who are the target of His fury in this age. It is as our eyes are opened and our ears are able to hear that we come to understand that it is through the judgment of our old man that we come to learn righteousness and also complement the Lord’s suffering for our sake and that of humanity.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 
Col 1:25  Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 
Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

All the Old Testament men of God, including Ezekiel, who signifies the Lord’s elect in this particular case, were not given to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. They therefore could not comprehend why a loving and a compassionate Lord would send executioners to destroy His people. 

1Pe 1:6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 
1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 
1Pe 1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 
1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

In our case as the Lord’s elect, it was when we had come into the church of the firstborn or the heavenly Jerusalem that we came to see what the Lord’s judgment is achieving in our lives. Just like David, it was when we entered the house of the Lord that we came to see the end of the wicked, which is our old man, through the Lord’s judgment.

Psa 73:17  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end (the end of the old man).
Psa 73:18  Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 
Psa 73:19  How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 
Psa 73:20  As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. 
Psa 73:21  Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 
Psa 73:22  So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

Eze 9:9  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.

In response to Ezekiel questioning the Lord regarding the destroying of the residue of Israel, the Lord mentioned that it is because the sins of the people were exceedingly great. The Lord is always seeking an occasion to come to His elect to judge them. 

Jdg 14:1  And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. 
Jdg 14:2  And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Jdg 14:3  Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. 
Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

Our sins make it difficult for the Lord to hear us, and when we are not given to know our sins, we come to think that the silence of the Lord means He has forsaken us and that He does not see us.

Isa 59:1  Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 
Isa 59:2  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 
Isa 59:3  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 
Isa 59:4  None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity

Eze 9:10  And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

Here in verse 10, the Lord saying that He shall not spare us and will not have pity on us is another way of saying that as His elect, the Lord’s judgment of our old man in this age will surely be executed. As we are aware, it is through our judgment that we learn righteousness. Although our fiery trials are painful experiences, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness, which is the prerequisite for reigning with Christ!! 

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Heb 12:9  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 
Heb 12:10  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 
Heb 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 
Heb 12:12  Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 
Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Eze 9:11  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. 

As indicated, the man with the inkhorn represents the Lord’s elect. Verse 10 here is to assure us that no matter whatever situation we find ourselves in, in the final analysis, what the Lord starts, He is able to bring to completion, as we see the man with the inkhorn accomplished what He was asked to do. Faithful is He who has called us!!

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  

1Th 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Th 5:24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

May His Name be Praised, Amen!!