It is written:
“Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; 4 and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” (Ezekiel 9:3-4)
Throughout the Old Testament, there are constant foreshadowing of the Messiah-including the way in which He would be crucified. Writing of the early church fathers’ insights into these matters, one author has written:
“Before reading the early Christian writings, I had not realized that there was anything about the cross in the Old Testament. I knew there were prophecies and types concerning the crucifixion of Jesus. But I didn’t know there was anything concerning the actual shape of the cross. But it’s there. Let me point to some of the figures of the cross in the Old Testament, which the early Christians write about….A third foreshadowing of the cross is found in the book of Ezekiel. However, this foreshadow is not as apparent in our English Bibles. Let me read to you the passage. It’s found in Ezekiel 9, verses 3 and 4…The passage goes on to explain that all those in Jerusalem were destroyed, except for those who had the mark on their forehead. As I mentioned, in English, few of us would see a foreshadow of the cross in this passage. However, in both Greek and Hebrew, the foreshadowing is a lot more obvious. That’s because what the text actually says is that the man with the writer’s inkhorn was to put the letter T or tau on the foreheads of those who were sighing and crying over the abominations in Jerusalem. And, of course, the letter T is in the shape of the cross. But our English Bibles inaccurately translate the passage by saying that the man was simply to put a “mark” on the foreheads. The foreshadowing here was even more apparent to the early Christians because they frequently traced the sign of the cross on their foreheads to demonstrate that they belonged to Jesus. In fact, at least by the year 200, after a person was baptized, the bishop would anoint him with oil by tracing the sign of the cross with oil on the forehead of the newly baptized person. On Judgment Day, those who belong to Christ, who figuratively bear the sign of the cross on their foreheads, are the ones who will be spared from condemnation.” (David Bercot, Shadows Of Christ In The Old Testament, 294-311 (Kindle Edition); Amberson, Pa; Scroll Publishing Company)
The early Christians saw the sign of the cross and the work of the Messiah, even in the Hebrew alphabet!
What profound lessons for us as we remember that the entire Old Law prophesied of the Christ and His redeeming work to Earth. Have you turned to the cross to be forgiven of your sins? If not, then today is the day of redemption (Acts 2:38).
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