Yes, This is the Same God!

“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: 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 9:5-6 AV)

Yes, this is the same God whom we worship today!  Even though we do not care to think of God in this way, it is the same God!  In chapter nine, the LORD instructed six men to go through the city and slay all those who had not received the mark of contrition.  Those who sorrowed over their own sin and the sins of the nation received a mark on their foreheads.  Then the six followed and killed man, woman, and child who had not received this mark.  This is a foreshadow of exactly what will happen during the tribulation period.  There will be two marks then.  The mark of the beast and the mark of the Holy Spirit.  Those without the mark of the Holy Spirit will be destroyed.

Ezekiel was bothered by what he had seen.  It seemed so senseless.  The killing of all those in Jerusalem who showed no remorse for their sin.  To be honest, it would bother me as well. Especially comparing sin with sin.  Sure, there would be those who probably deserved the die.  Those guilty of sin wherein death was the sentence.  But what of the others?  Just because they showed no remorse, isn’t slaughtering them a little extreme?  This is what Ezekiel thought, anyway.

What we fail to remember is the holiness of God.  We fail to realize that things are eternal.  We all die.  Sooner or later.  Whether by natural causes after living a full life, or by tragic ends such as disease or violence.  Life is but a vapor.  Compared to eternity, life is very short no matter how long we live.  The real issue is the right of God to demand holiness.  Our God does just that.  He has created all things that breathe.  Including every human being.  Because of that, He has the right to demand righteousness, holiness, and contrition when we fail.  If we are in rebellion against the God who created us, we have no expectation to life.  This is the God whom we serve.  He is a God of grace as manifested in the free gift of salvation.  But He is also the God of holiness and judgment.  A fact we have conveniently forgotten.