[Printable version]
Scripture reading: Ezekiel 9:6
Ezekiel 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.”
The picture of Ezekiel 9 is the same picture of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 from another angle. In the dark hour of God’s judgment He will make a difference between sheep and sheep and shepherd and shepherd. While one group is protected and safe with the Lord, the other will be out in the darkness probably sealing their testimonies with their blood. In the verse quoted above, the situation is put in all its rawness and for the person who does not understand the language of God, it would be hard to see in these words a loving and merciful God. In spite of this the explanation is however, that those who are outside of OBEDIENCE to God in the moment of crisis, stand in an indefensible position, and not even God Himself can break His own rules to save them. This is the reason it is written in Revelations 11:2 that the “Outer Court” will be utterly destroyed. THE MARK IN THE FOREHEAD, which in symbolic language means the Mind of Christ in our minds, will be the saving portion in the day of God’s judgment.
Many times the Scripture describes God’s judgment as nothing more than retribution being brought upon man by his own actions, and in some cases the army of the heathen coming against his people who were not able to win because their God had withdrawn from them. Actually, they were not better fighters than the heathen around them, and their victories only came through their obedience to God. It would therefore be natural that when the Lord withdrew from them that the enemy would overcome them, and that would be their punishment for disobedience. NEVERTHELESS IN GOD’S JUDGMENT ON HIS CHURCH there never was utter destruction and there never will be. “God will save her and that right early.” (Psalm 46:5).
The judgments of God are upon us, and there will be a continuous increase of God’s judgment upon the church unto a final cataclysmic end, when the church will be purified:
Malachi 3:3, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”
It is not all bad news – THE GOOD NEWS FAR OUTWEIGHS the bad. This will produce the greatest revival of righteousness in the earth.
Daniel 12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
I believe we are living in the time when the Great Accountant of Heaven is making a final balancing of His accounts. Any of our work, which is not motivated by righteousness, will be burnt up as hay, wood, and stubble. Those works, which are ordered and directed by the Holy Spirit, are gold, silver, and precious stones; that is all that matters. Many little Christians shut away in some non-descript corner will be receiving great rewards for their obedience in prayer, while some of the mighty men in the limelight of Christianity will only be saved as if by fire. May the Lord bless you to be among those who God honors at the final summation.
(Excerpt from The Omega Message, June 1982)
Thought for today: Only those works, which are ordered and directed by the Holy Spirit, are gold, silver, and precious stones; that is all that matters.
Sonlight Devotional 