The Mark of Salvation

The glory of the God of Israel rose from the cherub on which it was, and went to the threshold of the house; and he called the man clothed in linen, and bearing a scripture on his belt. And the Lord said to him, Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and make a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan because of all the abominations that are committed there.

And in my ears he said to the others: Go after him into the city, and strike; let your eye be without pity, and have no mercy! Kill, destroy old men, young men, virgins, children and women; but do not come near anyone who has the mark on him; and start with my sanctuary! They began with the elders in front of the house. Ezekiel 9:3-6)

This vision by the prophet Ezekiel is highly significant: God addresses the cherubim (angels charged with executing God's judgments on earth), sending one to mark the foreheads of those who fear His name. The others are then sent to exterminate those who are not marked.

The dead in Christ are spared from the Last Judgment. Those who die in faith in Jesus Christ will retain their lives and will not pass into judgment with sinners at the end of the world. Judgment will be executed on atheists, those who have not believed in Jesus as their savior (John 3:16-18).

When a man accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he becomes a child of God, who marks a sign on his forehead. This is the seal of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to him as a pledge for the salvation of God's children at the end of time. The lintels of the Israelites' houses had been marked with the blood of the lamb in Egypt. This is what saved them when the angel of death passed by. In Church times, the Holy Spirit is the mark that will save God's children.

Judgment will begin in the Church, the sanctuary of God, among those who sing unceasingly to the glory of God. This means that the Church is filled with all kinds of people, not just the redeemed of Christ. So meeting together, praising, evangelizing, is not enough; you have to be a child of God and have the seal of salvation. That's what we have to look for. You have to follow Christ to be saved.

Glory to God!

P. Clémentine