The Mark of Anointing

Part Three: The mark of Anointing. (Also called the mark of burnt lips!)

Continue reading in Ezekiel 10:1

The man clothed in linen has returned from his mercy ministry of marking all who sigh and groan, with a mark upon their foreheads. He is now instructed to go between the cherubim beneath the throne, to take a handful of burning coals from the glory there, and to scatter them over the city, where the executioners are currently doing their work.

The glory of the Lord, present above the cherubim, is about to leave the temple, but first, the Lord makes a last-days prophecy (11:16-20) of the return to Israel of His people, from the countries to which they had been scattered; of His placing a new heart and new spirit, within them, obedient to His ordinances. They shall be His people and He shall be their God. Then the glory leaves!

I ask myself the significance of these coals from the presence of the Glory. We have no indication in the Scripture of their purpose or effect. Some commentators write of them as the final burning judgment upon Jerusalem, but I do not see it that way. The man clothed in linen, who distributes these coals, is not an avenger but a minister of God's mercy. It was not His role to reveal the wrath of God but to mark out His saints for deliverance from the wrath.

In the Scriptures, I see two roles for fire. It is certainly true that our God is a consuming fire before which we rightly tremble. The hymn writer expresses it well in this, a favourite verse: Eternal Light! Eternal Light! How pure the soul must be, when placed within Thy searching sight, it shrinks not - but with calm delight can live and look on Thee!

However, there is also the fire that burns but does not consume! Moses saw such a fire when the Lord was present on Horeb (Ex 3:2). Here, Moses was called to his great work of bringing deliverance to the people of God. The Children of Israel saw the same when the pillar of fire led them each night through the wilderness (Ex 13:22). This same fire of Glory - Shekinah - sat upon the tabernacle each night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, being replaced by a cloud during the day (Ex 40:38).

The three Hebrew children experienced this same fire in the fiery furnace, where the appearance of their companion was 'like a son of God' (Daniel 3:25). The apostles experienced the same fire on the day of Pentecost when it sat upon each of them in appearance like tongues of flame (Acts 2:3).

As I read these, I am reminded of the time when the prophet Isaiah has a vision of the throne of the Lord, before whom the angels cry out Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 6). The prophet cries out in despair for he realises his sinfulness in the holiness of the presence of God. "Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips; ... for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts!" An angel then flies to him with a burning coal from the altar - and touches his lips! Ouch! - but the purpose is not to consume or scar him but to cleanse and anoint.

Isaiah is to become a spokesman for the Lord. He is to "Go and say ...." (6:9). This is his explanation of his "call" into the service of the Lord of Hosts.

I believe that the man clothed in linen scatters the coals from between the cherubim as an anointing upon those whom He has marked to be kept from the judgment coming upon the church and nation. Isaiah could have spoken in his own ability but unclean lips cannot speak forth with the anointing of God - only those whom God has touched can do so. One of the greatest needs in the church today is for men and women who are ministering under the anointing of God! We have far too many 'ministering' with little or no anointing, and many of them are in the pulpits!

When the prophet Elijah was taken away into heaven, his mantle fell to the ground and was picked up by his prodigy Elisha (2 Kings 2). The latter had asked for a double portion of the anointing evident upon his master, but there was no evidence yet of his having received such. He took the mantle of Elijah and, with it, struck the waters of the Jordan, crying out, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" God answered by parting the waters as He had done for Elijah (2 Kings 2:14). Today, we might well cry out "Where are the Elijahs of God?"

Where are the men and women anointed by Him and operating, not in their own strength and with their own finely-tuned programs, but with His agenda and with His dunamis power (Acts 1:8)? Praise the Lord, I have met some and the mark of burnt lips is evident upon them.

Just one example: In 1997, Anne and I were in Tauranga, New Zealand where we visited a small church meeting in a school classroom. We were welcomed by a young man who apologised that their pastor was on vacation and that we would have to listen to him instead. That did not bother us too much as we had just spent four years observing the ministry of other young men and women with Youth With A Mission. He spoke from Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you, will perfect it ..."

When he finished, I turned to Anne and asked her opinion. "The most anointed preaching I have heard in twenty years," she said. I hope she was wrong as she has heard me preach several times(!), but my sentiments were the same as hers. The young man had spoken to our spirits and not only to our souls - we had been fed eternal food, prepared in the throne room of God. When you have heard anointed preaching or teaching, nothing else satisfies in the same way.

I could give many such examples from my own experience but space here is insufficient. How I thank God for the anointed teachers, preachers and others ministering in their Holy Spirit gifts, who have impacted my life with seed that will produce eternal fruit.