The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #8008, Ezekiel chapter 8

In 8:16 we will see the priests "with their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east". Sound familiar? (how about Easter sunrise service?) God calls this an abomination! Of course you can disagree with Him! If you like!

We have just completed reading, in Ezekiel 7, about the final siege of the king of Babylon that our Father allows to come because of His furiousness with His children, who whore after every sort of abominable thing, thereby worshipping the Abomination of Desolation [Satan] himself, though they believe they serve God.

They will soon get their chance to bow down to the fake king of kings, the false messiah, Satan, in person LITERALLY when he comes to earth at the sound of 6th Trump. So guess what? There will be no question about who they have been serving all along, will there? Maybe then during the Millennium they will pay some attention, though they will have missed the far greater rewards of the first resurrection and will have to wait until the second one.

Now we are going to "zoom in" and get a little closer look at that which really provokes our heavenly Father, and it should come as no surprise that it is religion. Keep in mind that this is so important that He made a special, personal visit to His watchman, Ezekiel, to show Him what is going on here. That means He wants His watchmen in this final generation to pay very special attention to this critically important revelation.

Ezekiel 8:1
And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me.

This means that what we are going to look at in this chapter is what exists in the churches TODAY, in this 21st. century, and the Biblical numerics will document that it applies to the whole house of Israel, i.e. the Christian nations of western Europe, the isles of Britain and the Americas.

Ezekiel is about to do a little digging and SEE what the elders seated before him have been up to.

[2] Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

Ezekiel 1:27
And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

[28] As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Ezekiel 8:3
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

 The inner gate is the "gate of the altar" (vs. 5), i.e. the gate to the inner court which was that of the Levitical priests. The outer court was that of the people where they gathered. So this has to do with the religious leaders!

Now we already know from 2 Thes. 2 who it is that comes standing in the temple of God claiming to be God. It is Satan himself, the son of perdition. Isaiah 14:12-13 reads concerning Satan, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! [13] For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:" Ezekiel will give us a detailed account of this when we get to chapter 28.

[4] And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.

[5] Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

This represents the "image" of the beast (Satan) of Revelation who stands in the holy place claiming to be God and the whole world, including the majority of the House of Israel, i.e. the Christian nations, will worship him as the Messiah.

Note 1: The "image of the beast" in Revelation 13 is not a physical statue but is the "public image" that Satan sets up, i.e. creates, meaning he causes the public to perceive him, i.e. to imagine him, as  Jesus Christ. Public figures like politicians often create an image of themselves as good and righteous, when in fact they aren't. How well we know that in this nation, ain't?

Note 2: The idol that Ezekiel saw is believed by many reputable scholars to be that of the Queen of Heaven, Astarte, from which we get Easter. Here is the commentary from "Jamieson, Fausset and Brown", Zondervan, pg. 678:

image of jealousy -  Astarte of Asheera (as the Hebrew for "grove" ought to be translated, 2 Kings 21:3, 7, 23:4, 7), set up by Manasseh as a rival to Jehovah in His temple, and arresting the attention of all worshippers as they entered; it was the Syrian Venus, worshipped with licentious rites; the "queen of heaven," wife of Phoenician Baal. Havernick thinks all the scenes of idolatry in this chapter are successive portions of the festival held in honor of Tammuz, or Adonis (vs. 14).

You can do the very simple research yourself as to what went on during the Easter [I'll use our modern English word] celebrations and then you decide for yourself whether we should be teaching our children to play with bunnies and other symbols of fertility, like Ishtar eggs, at the time when our Lord and Savior paid the price on the cross for our sins, which was the greatest gift our Father ever gave to His children.

Ezekiel 8:6
He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

Deut. 32:16
They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him to anger.

Rev. 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Live Link to->> Mystery Babylon, come out of her,
my people

Ezekiel 8:7
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.

[8] Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.

[9] And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

[10] So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.

Ezekiel 8:11
And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.

shaphan, shaw-fawn', Hebrew 8227; from Hebrew 8226 (saphan); a species of rock-rabbit (from its hiding), i.e. probably the hyrax :- coney.

[12] Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

In verse 8:16 we will see the priests "with their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east". Sound familiar? (how about Easter sunrise services?) God calls this an abomination! Of course you can disagree with Him! If you like!

In this chapter eight, Ezekiel, representing the watchmen of today (this 21st. century), is being shown by the Lord God the idolatrous condition of the house of God, i.e. the churches. He is first shown the practices of the elders and the people, which are detestable abominations in His sight, but then he is shown the even greater abominations by the priests themselves who lead the people astray from the true door which leads to the altar of God.

Do you realize if you are a President or a King or Queen, or even a ruthless dictator for that matter, you can send men out to hunt down the enemy and thereby cause them to lose their flesh lives.

But if you are a priest or minister of God, you can send men out to hunt Ishtar eggs and cause them to lose their eternal souls. You decide which is the more serious command!

Those who teach in the "realm of religion" deal not with flesh and blood, but with the very souls of those who listen to them.

The Apostle Paul also warned "Let no man deceive you by any means..." And so it is that any true teacher of God's Word will tell you to check out everything for yourself, so that you are not misled.

Think about those rascally Bereans in Acts 17:11 "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." These dudes checked out the APOSTLE PAUL'S teachings. Imagine the audacity! Well then, if the apostle Paul can be checked out in the scriptures, how about the Bishops, or the Evangelists (especially those prancing preachers on TV), or even the Pope himself. Are they better than Paul? Are they above the same scrutiny? If we as a people would just hold our teachers, our politicians, and our ministers accountable for what they teach and do, we wouldn't be in this liberal mess we are in now in this country. Do you think our Father is proud of how we Christians have let the liberals, destroy our institutions, take prayer out of the schools, call it a "right" to kill the unborn, and bring perversions disguised as entertainment into the very living rooms of our homes?

Ezekiel 8:12
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

If you are thinking about olden times and ancient history, which people tend to do when reading the Old Testament, then you must update the English to today's terminology, because remember, this chapter pertains to these last days.

Have you read and understood the 7 churches of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and how that five out of the seven are in big trouble because of WHAT THEY TEACH, and Jesus Christ has somewhat AGAINST them! They practice and teach the traditions of men, many of which came directly from the heathen. We are not condemning them, for most do it in blindness and ignorance as many of us have in the past, but we are instructed by our Father to "eat the entire book" and teach others to do the same. As they grow in the Word and become mature Christians (ancients, i.e. elders in wisdom, not age) they will come out of Babylon, which is the religious idolatry and confusion disguised as Christianity to those who cannot SEE it.

Ezekiel 8:13
He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.

Tammuz: "The fabled death and restoration of Adonis, supposed to symbolize the departure and return of the sun, were celebrated at the summer solstice with lamentations first, and then rejoicings and obscene revels." (Smith's Bible Dictionary)

[14] Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

Just look at the days of our week for example. We have the day of the Norse god of war, Tyr, i.e. Theus, for Tues-day (In French it is "Mardi" meaning from "Mars"). Then there is his son Woden, which is why Wednes-day is spelled so unphonetically. If they would have just told me it was named after some pagan god by the name Woden, maybe I wouldn't have misspelled it so many times in kindergarten. We also have another god, Thor, the god of thunder, who gets his own day each week called Thors-day. (War, thunder... no wonder the work week is such a battle.)

Oh, but the people's favorite is Fries or Freyja, the goddess of love, i.e. the sex goddess (that must be why Friday nights are always so special). Then of course we have the day of Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon.

What really gets me though are the months of the year, especially the last four. You see, Sept means 7, Oct, as in octopus or octogon, means 8, Nov means 9, and Dec, as in decimal, means 10. So September, October, November, and December MEAN the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months. But they are the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months. Just thought you might like to know. Is the calendar all messed up, or what?

Ezekiel 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

The reason this next verse contains "greater abominations" than even the heathen sexual revels of the people is because the leaders of the 24 courses of the Levitical Priesthood (1 Chron. 24:1-19), along with the high priest himself (25 priests in all), not only participate in the traditions of men, the example given being the heathen ritual of sun worship, but they do it "between the porch and the altar", "with their backs toward the temple", making obeisance to the rising sun!

[16] And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Ezekiel 8:17
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Eat this verse and digest it:

John 20:1
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

We are celebrating "Resurrection Sunday" and using symbols of "new life" like eggs and Lilies (and a brand new dress).

I'm not too poetic, so here is "Thus saith the Lord":Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

The exact same thing is repeated two chapters later for emphasis.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

He has had everything He wants us to do written and explained in His Word, line by line, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, along with everything that is going to happen prophetically in His plan. Jesus said in Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things."

It just makes Him furious that His children disobey and ignore His letter of love and instruction to them, and it will bring about the chastisement we read of in chapter 7. So it is written, so shall it be done.

Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

Your Father wants to know if you can now SEE the idolatrous, abominable, religious practices that go on in the house of God TODAY, that appear unto the masses as being Christian because they are labeled such! Have you ever heard that Easter is a Christian holiday? You may have heard it, but you didn't read of it in your Bible! You see, you must have consumed enough of His Word to be able to KNOW the difference between religion and reality, between Churchianity and Christianity, between the traditions of men and the oracles of God, between Jesus and Satan, the instead-of-Jesus, i.e. the anti-christ.

So, four times in the last chapter following an idolatrous scene, the question was asked to the Watchman, "DO YOU SEE?" Here are those questions to you, if you are a watchman:

Ezekiel 8:6
... Son of man, seest thou what they do? ...

Ezekiel 8:12
... Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do?...

Ezekiel 8:15
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man?...

Ezekiel 8:17
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man?...

It is so sad, because they don't think our Father SEES them as doing anything WRONG. After all, they use His name in their worship services and that of Jesus Christ, though in reality God sees them as WHORES!

Ezekiel 8:12
... for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

Ezekiel 8:18
Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.