Pastor’s Pen 03/19/2023

Pastor’s Pen 03/19/2023

The Mark of Christians!

And they were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Rev. 9:4

God has always known who His people are. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me (John 10:14), and My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; (John 10:27).

In Revelation 9, we are told that during the fifth trumpet, God will unleash what John describes as locusts that sting like scorpions. However, these are not actually locusts but demons. John MacArthur writes:

“But these were not ordinary locusts, but  demons, who, like locusts, bring swarming destruction. Describing them in the form of locusts symbolizes their uncountable numbers and massive destructive                   capabilities. The fact that three times in the passage (vv. 3, 5, 10) their power to inflict pain is compared to that of scorpions indicates they are not actual locusts, since locusts have no stinging tail as scorpions do.”

These demons will not hurt Christians during this time because they have been marked by God. This   is not the first time we have seen this mark in scripture. God always protects those who belong to Him in times of judgment. When the Babylonians were ready to take Jerusalem, God commanded an angel to go through Jerusalem and put a mark on those who belonged to Him. Those who did not have that mark were subject to death when the city fell to the Babylonians.

Yahweh 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 done in its midst.” 5 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. 6 Kill to utter destruction old men,   chosen men, virgins, little ones, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” Ezekiel 9:4-7

This is comforting news for all of us who are His. Nothing can ever harm us outside of God, allowing it to happen. Even if He allows us to die for Him, we never have to   fear death. God, who called you to be His before the foundation of the World, has marked you as His. Paul nails this for us, In Him, you also, after listening to the word of truth, the gospel of your salvationhaving also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory ( Eph. 1:13-14). GLORY!!!

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark

 

 

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