Chapter 9

1 A vision, whereby is shewed the preservation of some, 5 and the destruction of the rest. 8 God cannot be intreated for them.

1. He cried also. Chapter 9 is a continuation of the symbolic vision of ch. 8. The prophet records what passes before him in panoramic view, leaving for us the interpretation as to what is represented by the various symbols. The speaker is the same as throughout ch. 8. His identity is shown by the prophet’s address to him in v. 8, “Ah Lord God!”

Them that have charge. The phrase is a translation of the Heb. pequddoth, singular pequddah, a word elsewhere rendered “office” (Num. 4:16), “visitation” (Jer. 8:12). It is also used of “officers” (Isa. 60:17). If this last rendering is applicable here, there is a picture of overseers, watchers, or guards (see Dan. 4:13) who attend to the execution of the sentences of God. The entire clause may also be rendered as in the LXX, “The vengeance upon the city has drawn near.”

2. Six men. These executioners of vengeance are pictured as human in form. In primary application they represent the Babylonians, who were to execute the divine sentence upon the city. In secondary application they portend the agencies of judgments which, at the close of time, will execute sentence, first upon those who have professed to be the spiritual guardians of the people, and later upon the wicked in general.

Higher gate. Since the courts of the Temple were built in stages, the inner court was the higher. “Toward the north” designates the gate as the one where the prophet had been shown the idolatries (ch. 8:5).

One man among them. This man was one of the six bearing the slaughtering weapons, and not a seventh, as some interpreters assert (see 3T 266, 267). He was “clothed with linen,” the ordinary priestly garment, and the special garment of the high priest at the ceremonies of the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16).

Inkhorn. Heb. qeseth, a word occurring only here, probably derived from the Egyptian gsЊty, “the palette of a writer,” hence a case containing pens, knife, and ink. The LXX, perhaps following a different text, reads “a girdle of sapphire” instead of “inkhorn.” But the Hebrew seems to be the preferable reading.

3. The glory. That is, the glory described in ch. 8:4, which was a reappearance of the vision described in ch. 1.

To the threshold. The removal was probably to indicate that the command for judgment would proceed from the very Temple itself, which the Jews considered the pledge of their safety.

4. Mark. Heb. taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the time of Ezekiel this Hebrew character was written in the form of X. The marking was done in vision, and the exact nature of the mark is perhaps not important. An ancient interpretation that saw in the sign a prefigurement of the cross is rather fanciful. In the vision the mark was doubtless literal, but in significance it had reference wholly to character. The messenger was to pay no regard to birth or position, but to mark only those who mourned for the prevailing sinfulness and kept themselves aloof from it.

The vision had primary reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. It will have another fulfillment during the closing scenes of this world’s history. It parallels closely the visions of Rev. 7; 15; 16. The distinguishing mark in Revelation is “the seal of God” and, like the mark in Ezekiel, is based on character qualifications. God places His mark of approval upon all who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, reflect the image of Jesus (see COL 67). This stamp of approbation has been likened to God’s mark of ownership, as though God inscribes upon those who qualify for citizenship in His kingdom His name and address—“God, New Jerusalem” (TM 446).

The outward, visible sign of this completion of the work of grace in the soul will be the observance of the true Sabbath of the Bible (see 8T 117). This will be brought about in the following way: The seventh-day Sabbath has always stood as God’s appointed rest day for man. Established at creation (Gen. 2:1–3), it was designed to be of perpetual obligation. The command to observe it was placed in the bosom of the moral law (Ex. 20:8–11). Neither Christ nor His apostles abrogated the Sabbath. The great apostasy following the death of the apostles presumed to set it aside and substitute in its place another day of rest, the first day of the week. But the Word of God predicts a great work of Sabbath reform to precede the second coming of Christ. (Isa. 56:1, 2, 6–8; 58:12, 13; Rev. 14:6–12; see GC 451–460). It also predicts that simultaneously Satan, the great apostate leader, will exalt his own counterfeit system of religion, presenting a false sabbath, Sunday, as the day of worship (Rev. 13; 14:9–12; cf. Dan. 7:25). He will be successful to the extent that he will be able to unite the whole world in a great religious reform movement, a prominent feature of which will be the exaltation of Sunday (Rev. 13:8; 14:8; 16:14; 18:3; see GC chs. 35–40). As a result of his efforts in this direction the whole world will be divided into two camps, those who are faithful to God and keep His Sabbath, and those who join the universal counterfeit religious movement and honor the false sabbath. The observance of the true Sabbath will thus become the distinguishing mark of the true worshiper of God.

Yet it is not the outward observance of the Sabbath that constitutes the mark. The seal stands for that character qualification that all must have who are accounted worthy of citizenship in the kingdom of glory about to be established. Only those who have purified their souls will cling to the Sabbath in that awful time of trouble preceding the return of Jesus. Insincere Sabbathkeepers will abandon the ranks of God’s people and unite with Satan against heaven, and join in the battle against the Ruler of the universe (TM 465). Thus only the genuine and true remain as the sole defenders of God’s holy Sabbath. These are joined by others of God’s true children who, until now, have been scattered throughout the various communions of Christendom, but who, under the increasing light of the loud cry, embrace the Sabbath and join God’s remnant people (see GC 611, 612).

The mark is placed upon those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done.” Those who belong to this class have been described as distinguished by their soul anguish over the declensions among God’s professed people. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of every kind are in the church. They feel powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity and hence are filled with grief and alarm (see 5T 210). Those in the other class seek to throw a cloak over existing evils and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent. They claim that God is too good and too merciful to punish evil. The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil, they say. They assert the Lord does not expect so high a standard, and will be satisfied with a mere desire to do right. But the Lord cannot change His standard. To do so would be to change Himself. Rather, He supplies grace for the acquirement of every virtue and the correction of every defect. He asks of every Christian that full advantage be taken of these provisions. He demands no less than perfection. Unless this is attained, the soul will be found without the seal of God when probation closes.

6. Begin at my sanctuary. In its primary application this decree marks the close of Jerusalem’s probation. God had exhausted His resources in appealing to rebellious Israel. His restraining power would be removed from the invading Chaldeans. Mercilessly their armies would execute the sentence to “slay utterly old and young.” They would begin at the sanctuary, where the gross sins of the people had been concentrated.

These scenes will be re-enacted in the last days. Judgment, then, too, begins at the “house of God” (1 Peter 4:17), with those to whom God has given great light and who have stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, but who have betrayed their trust (see 5T 211). These unfaithful shepherds receive first the abuse that will be heaped upon them by those who have been deceived by their guile (EW 282). Later, they perish in the general destruction that precedes and accompanies the second coming of Christ (see Rev. 15–19).

7. Defile the house. The Jews expected that God would spare His house from defilement. In this they were disappointed. In part the defilement was effected by the bleeding corpses of the idolatrous worshipers.

8. I was left. In vision Ezekiel saw Jerusalem reduced to a city of the dead. It seemed to him that he was standing alone in the midst of the slain. No notice is here made of any who, because of the protecting mark, were saved. Evidently they constituted a small minority.

Residue of Israel. The ten tribes had already gone into captivity in 723/722 b.c. (2 Kings 17:6). A considerable group from the southern kingdom of Judah had been removed in 605 b.c., and especially in 597 b.c. (see p. 568). Ezekiel pleads for the remnant still left. The nature and magnitude of the sin justified the judgment.

9. Earth. Heb. Хeres, which may also be translated, “land.” Either translation makes good sense. The people asserted that the Lord was not concerned with the conduct of men. They imagined they had free scope to act as they chose toward one another, no one calling them into account for their deeds. The result was moral decay.

Ellen G. White comments

1    5T 207

1, 2 GC 656; 3T 266

2–7TM 431

3–65T 207

4     GC 656; PK 590; TM 445; 3T 266, 370; 5T 210, 474

4–65T 505

5, 6 3T 267; 5T 211

6     GC 656

10   TM 432

11        EW 279; SR 402