Be Sealed for Divine Protection

This is a follow-on to the Four Horsemen post.

Last weekend I felt led to read Ezekiel chapters 1-12. I believe these prophetic Scriptures apply to America today as they did to ancient Jerusalem prior to its destruction by Babylon. Note the punchline at the end of Ezekiel 12. Time is up. More on this in a later post.

Something else important jumped out to me in Ezekiel 9. Here is the whole chapter:

Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, "Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand." Behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand; and among them was a certain man clothed in linen with a writing case at his loins. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case. The Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst." But to the others He said in my hearing, "Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary." So they started with the elders who were before the temple. And He said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!" Thus they went out and struck down the people in the city. As they were striking the people and I alone was left, I fell on my face and cried out saying, “Alas, Lord God! Are You destroying the whole remnant of Israel by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

Then He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is filled with blood and the city is full of perversion; for they say, 'The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!' But as for Me, My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but I will bring their conduct upon their heads."
Then behold, the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case reported, saying, "I have done just as You have commanded me."

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When God judges a nation, calamity falls on everyone. Like war or natural disaster, no one is spared.

However, God will protect a remnant, a group who of people who are his own and seek refuge in the Almighty. See Psalm 91. Even as judgment falls on America, God will literally send an army of angels to protect his people.

From this passage in Ezekiel, notice the characteristics of a person who the Lord seals for divine protection: Those who sigh and groan over the sins and abominations of the nation. What feelings would cause the sighing and groaning? Mourning, sadness, shame, revulsion. Those who feel as God does about the waywardness of a nation are the ones he chooses to seal. God wants his people to see our nation through his holy eyes, not through the eyes of a fallen world.

In contrast, who is not sealed? 

• The rebellious - Those who are participating in and promoting the rebellion, corruption and idolatry. They are subject to judgment.
• The deluded - Those who deny the extent of corruption and spiritual decay of a nation, and thereby become accomplices in it. By the way, the idolatry of false patriotism keeps many people in a state of denial. This is a view of America as some paragon of virtue that is justified no matter what sins she commits. No matter how many people she kills in foreign wars, no matter how many unborn babies killed, no matter how much perversion and idolatry flow from her. I believe America was founded as a righteous nation. I am patriot of the American Republic that once was. But America today is fallen and lawless. Babylon is fallen.
• The apathetic and indifferent - Those who simply don't care. These are the people absorbed in their own selfish pursuits, making sure they get theirs, enjoying the worldly pleasures of life, and who don't much care about the decay and corruption around them, certainly not to the point of moaning and sighing.

My friends, you don't want to face what's coming without the protection of the Lord. Please wake up, seek the Lord and be sealed.

One more thing. When God judges a nation, it is always with an eye toward putting an end to the abominations and paving the way for healing and restoration:

Therefore the Lord God of hosts,

The Mighty One of Israel, declares,

"Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries

And avenge Myself on My foes.

"I will also turn My hand against you,

And will smelt away your dross as with lye

And will remove all your alloy.

"Then I will restore your judges as at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning;

After that you will be called the city of righteousness,

A faithful city."

- Isaiah 1:24-26