Image of jealousy in the temple! 1 Pagan altar at the gate 4 Through the wall to see what is done in the dark 7 Weeping for Tammuz and sun worship 13 Time for the wrath of God 17 |
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Image of jealousy in the temple! 1 Pagan altar at the gate 4 Through the wall to see what is done in the dark 7 Weeping for Tammuz and sun worship 13 Time for the wrath of God 17 |
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| 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.
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. .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. |
3 - Seat of the image of jealousy Certainly an abomination in the temple of the true God. Did He say something about jealousy? ex2005. |
| .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. .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. |
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| .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. .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. .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. |
11 - Censer Imagery from the rebellion of Korah nu1617. |
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¶ He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations that they do.
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. 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. .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. |
16
- Between the porch and ... Pretending to be the only channel
of access to God. See da1145,
jl0217.
16 - Backs ... faces toward the east The entrance to the tabernacle court, and hence the temple, was to be on the east side. We may assume that this was so that the people would not bow toward the east when entering. 16 - Worshipped the sun toward the east This was clearly an offense to the true God. Later in the time of the Christian church, the same apostasy would arise. Church father Justin Martyr in AD 150 would try to justify Sunday as a day of worship. The idea was borrowed from pagan sun worshippers, as we can see here. Since the Lord, in the fourth commandment, presents His relationship to us in requiring us to keep the seventh day holy, it is natural that Satan would turn people to an alternative in order to focus worship on himself, de0419. See links on the day of worship. We don't know why there were 25. The number may have had pagan worship significance as did 666. A 5 by 5 square has 25 cells. |
| 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.
.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. |
17
- Is it a light thing? The prophet is asked for an evaluation
of what he has seen. Then is given the answer. In view of the punishment
coming in the next chapter, we may understand Ezekiel to be in the role
of judge. In the first verse of the next chapter which is a continuation
of the vision, he is ordered to call six men with weapons ez0901.
18 - I will also deal in fury ... not spare The ultimate abomination brings the close of their probation. Their city is to be destroyed and, after captivity, a new Jerusalem established ne0217, re2101. It is a pattern of the close of the time of human probation re2111. Soon the image of the beast will enforce ultimate worship – a counterfeit of the worship established by God and His wrath will be poured out re1409. Satan had pointed to the sun as provider of all things and established its worship. So will it be again. Here is a final call to leave the abominations. Also seen in re1804 and context. |
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