This is something you absolutely must do if you wish to receive the mark of God in your forehead (and thus not receive the mark of the beast in your forehead).
Ezekiel 9:4
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
Jerusalem represents the people of God, and perhaps more closely interpreted, would be the absolute heart of the work – ie: Where the leaders of God’s people are. The Mark itself may also have some kind of outward manifestation, but that is unlikely. It is mostly referring to a “settling into the truth”.
Now notice WHERE the people who receive the mark are, and WHAT they are doing.
Are they outside of Jerusalem? In Egypt or Rome? No, they are all INSIDE Jerusalem. This is the most powerful point that has kept me inside the Seventh-day Adventist church all these years. Even when the church looks to be all headed to hell in apostasy, i know that to receive the mark of God, i must be INSIDE this church.
WHAT are the people doing who receive the mark? Are they excusing wrongs among God’s people? Are they compromising with the world? Maybe they are not even going along with the wickedness in the church, but maybe just keeping their mouths shut? NO! They are “sighing and crying”. About what? This is the most controversial part of the whole “sighing and crying” interpretation.
Some people just plain like to complain about everything. They are happiest when complaining. This is because of the “root of bitterness” which they have not allowed Jesus Christ to dig up and throw out of their hearts. If you don’t see exactly like them in everything – “You’re Lost!”. This type of “sigher and crier” gives a bad name to the whole group – of course making Satan happy.
Some people refuse to say anything bad about anyone’s sins. But these people haven’t a shred of support from Ezekiel 9 for their position, and they know it. They try to make up for the deficieny of inspired support in Ezekiel 9 by quoting unrelated Bible texts saying we should “love” and “be kind” and “don’t gossip” and “don’t judge” etc. etc. These texts tho must be understood to not negate what Ezekiel 9 so clearly says. As always, the Bible must be read in context. Otherwise, you start baptising for the dead, and believing that Satan will be in heaven (because all who believe are saved, and Satan believes!).
So the proper heart attitude must be present to “sigh and cry” in the manner that God wants so as to receive the mark in your forehead. We must not be haughty, “holier than thou”, or gleeful when we point out the sins in the church. The whole purpose of this is to wake up people, to show them their sins, so that they will repent and come to God, so that God will have a clean church when he returns. Of course the sighing and crying helps cleanse our own hearts too.
Hopefully in the future i will be able to post some things in our beloved Seventh-day Adventist church that make one “sigh and cry”.
Following are some Spirit of Prophecy quotes by Ellen White about “sighing and crying”. We must all be doing it. Get ready! Get ready! Get ready!
R&H #1 1873
If wrongs exist among the people, and the servants of God pass on
indifferent to them, they virtually sustain and justify the sinner, and
are guilty alike with the sinner, and will receive the displeasure of
God just as surely as the sinner; for they will be made responsible for
the sins of the guilty. Those men who have excused wrongs have been
thought by the people to be very amiable, and of lovely disposition,
simply because they shunned to discharge a plain and scriptural, duty.
The task was not agreeable to their feelings; therefore they avoided
it.
The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the
Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its
real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and
plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God.
Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of
the one hundred and forty-four thousand, who are to stand without fault
before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of
God’s professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet’s
illustration of the last work under the figure of the men, each having
a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with
linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. “And the Lord said unto
him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem,
and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for
the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”
Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those
who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God, and
murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove
sin? Is it those who take their stand against them, and sympathize with
those who commit wrong? No, indeed! These, unless they repent, and
leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the
work, and holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, will never receive
the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general
destruction of all the wicked, represented by the five men bearing
slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the
pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost,
represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and cry
for all the abominations that are done” in the church. Their love for
purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a
view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as
being in an agony, even sighing and crying. Read Ezekiel, chapter nine.