The Biblical Truth About Abominations in WorshipNow in the eighth chapter of the book of Ezekiel, the Prophet Ezekiel describes for us through a vision he was given,four things that the Children of Israel were doing in worship that in reality were abominations to Jehovah God. Starting in Ezekiel, chapter 8, verse 1, the Prophet tells us… 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 <Adonay> GOD <Yehovih> fell there upon me.Let’s stop for a moment. The Lord <adonay>, God <Yehovih> Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, actually put forth His hand and took Ezekiel by the hair of his head and suspended him between heaven and earth over the Temple to show him these four horrible abominations going on in the people’s supposed worship of Jehovah God, and each of the abominations are progressively worse than the previous one. In verse 5 we are given the first abomination… 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.Here in Ezekiel’s vision we are told that just inside the north entrance to the Temple, there stood an image altar of jealousy, in place of the true Altar of Sacrifice. So exactly what does this image altar of jealousy represent? First we need to understand that immediately upon entering the Temple one was confronted with the Altar of Sacrifice, where the sacrifice for sin was made. So upon entering one must come with a broken and contrite heart in total submission to God, and in an act of true repentance, bring their sacrifice, and confess their sins, and place their hands on the head of their sacrifice, as the Priest slit the throat of the animal shedding it’s life blood. This was and is the only possible way for any sinful man to draw near to God. James 4:8-10 defines the process… 8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded <psuche> (souled).To draw near to God one must cleanse their hands of sin, and purify their hearts of being double souled. Verse 9 continues… 9. Be afflicted (recognize your wretchedness), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.And so here in Ezekiel’s vision, at the entrance to the Temple, in place of the Altar of Sacrifice, he saw this image altar of jealousy, which represented the people’s superficial repentance, without being cleansed of their sin, and therefore not having a pure heart, nor being single souled towards Jehovah God. No wonder this repulsed Jehovah God, and made Him jealous. This is exactly what makes Jehovah God jealous. Exodus 20:1-5 tells us… 1. And God spake all these words, saying,And Proverbs 15:8 tells us… 8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.And so these acts of superficial worship were repulsive and detestable to Jehovah God. And they were an abomination to Jehovah God! Continuing in verse 6ff we are given the second abomination, which Jehovah God told Ezekiel that He considered even worse than this first abomination… 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.All right, let me re-amplify what we are being told here. The Prophet Ezekiel tells us that he was brought to the door of the court, by Jehovah God, and when he looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. And Jehovah God instructed him to dig into the wall and behold there was a door. And Jehovah God told him to go in and to behold the all of the wicked abominations they where doing in here. When Ezekiel went into the Temple he saw every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed on all of the walls. And then verse 11 tells us… 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.There were 70 ancient men, representative of the elder leadership of the people and in the midst stood a man named Jaazaniah which means in the Hebrew "Jehovah hears", and every man was holding a censor offering incense. Now the burning of incense was symbolic of prayer. In Psalms 141:2 the Psalmist said… 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.And we are told that a thick cloud of smoke went up. In other words these 70 ancient men, were doing a lot of praying. Now outwardly everything seemed proper, except for these terrible abominations that were portrayed on the walls. So what was the abomination being committed here? Verse 12 tells us… 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.Jehovah God asked Ezekiel, 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? What does this refer to? In 1 Samuel 16:7 Jehovah God told Samuel… 7. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.Now notice Jehovah God addressed Ezekiel as son of man when He asked him if he had seen what these ancients of the house of Israel did in the dark, in the chambers of their imagery. Ezekiel could only see outwardly as a man . But Jehovah God looks on the heart. So Jehovah God actually portrayed on the walls these horrible abominations so Ezekiel could see what was really in the hearts and minds of these 70 ancient men of the house of Israel who were so piously praying. Outwardly they appeared quite spiritual, but inwardly, their hearts were still full of filth, and so their minds and imaginations were filthy. In Mark 7:21 the Lord Jesus Christ said… 21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,Beloved reader, it is an abomination to Jehovah God for anyone to minister with a filthy heart as these 70 ancient men who were supposed to be spiritual leaders were doing. In Luke 16:15 the Lord Jesus Christ told the Pharisee’s… 15. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.Next we come to the third abomination, and again this abomination is even worse than the first two abominations that we have looked at. Picking up in Ezekiel 8: 13 Jehovah God tells Ezekiel… 13. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.Here, women, inside the entrance to Jehovah God’s house, are weeping, for Tammuz, a false pagan deity. And in so doing these women had willingly rebelled against the word of God and the law of God. Why would any woman do such a thing? The answer is in the meaning of the name Tammuz, and what it represents. The name Tammuz means "sprout of life" and Tammuz was a pagan deity closely identified with Ishtar, goddess of fertility. One of the most treasured possessions of a woman is her womb. Beloved reader don’t be deceived. If a woman has not submitted the control of her womb totally to God, she has not really submitted her soul totally to Jehovah God. No wonder this was so repulsive, and detestable in Jehovah God’s eyes. We read earlier in Exodus 20:2-5 where Jehovah God said… 2. I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.Then beginning in verse 15 we are given the fourth abomination which is even worse than the previous three. 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.Ezekiel saw twenty-five men in the Temple court, between the porch and the altar, with their backs to the Temple and their faces toward the east, worshipping the sun. When does one worship the sun? On the day of the sun, Sunday, the first day of the week! What day has God designated for mankind to worship Him? On God’s Day, the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath Day! And worshipping on any other day is an abomination to Jehovah God! And that’s exactly why this is the greatest abomination of all! And then in verse 17 Jehovah God asks… 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.Jehovah God asks Ezekiel two questions here. The first question, " Have you seen these abominations which are being committed?" And the second question, " Is it a light thing, or is it a trivial thing, to commit these abominations?" Anything less then one’s total passive submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to the authority of His word, the word of God when one comes to worship, is repulsive and detestable to Jehovah God and is an abomination to Jehovah God! For anyone to attempt to minister in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and still have filthy imaginations in their hearts and minds because they have never come to true repentance, and so their hearts and minds have never been cleansed of their sin is repulsive and detestable to Jehovah God and an abomination to Jehovah God! For women to weep and mourn over their wombs, because they are still attempting to control their own wombs, is repulsive and detestable to Jehovah God and it is an abomination to Jehovah God! And for anyone to say that they worship on Sunday to remember or to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than worshipping on God’s Day, the seventh Day of the week, the Sabbath Day, is repulsive and detestable to Jehovah God and is an abomination to Jehovah God! There are only two things recorded in the word of God that the Lord Jesus Christ told us to remember. The first thing Jehovah God commanded us to remember was His Day. In Exodus 20: 8-11 Jehovah God commanded… 8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.And the second thing the Lord Jesus Christ told us to remember was His death. And 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 tells us exactly how we are to remember His death… 23. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:Now let me go back to Ezekiel 8:17 and re-read it… 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.Is it a light thing, a trivial thing, to commit any of these abominations given to us here? The answer is an emphatic NO! Jehovah God further told Ezekiel, that because the people committed these horrible abominations, they caused the land to be filled with violence. Does that ring a bell about our society today? Then notice the phrase "lo! They put the branch to their nose". What does that mean? The people were virtually putting their noses up, in a sign of arrogance and pride. They were quote "God’s chosen people" and were so self confident of their standing with Jehovah God, nobody was going to tell them what to do. And finally verse seventeen further tells us that because of the people’s arrogant unrepentant attitude, and because of their abominable acts of worship, they had provoked Jehovah God to anger. Therefore verse 18 begins… 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. Now Ezekiel’s vision continues in chapter nine, and describes the judgment upon the people that commit these repulsive, detestable, abominations.Beginning in verse 1, the Prophet Ezekiel tells us… 1. He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.Now notice what the man clothed in linen with the writer’s inkhorn is instructed to do… 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.My beloved reader. This whole message is based on the vision Jehovah God gave His Prophet Ezekiel. There are many facts contained in this vision that point to it’s literal fulfillment in the last days. Everyone of the abominations mentioned here, are presently being committed today by quote "professing Christians". And they to have put the branch to their nose, in a spirit of self confidence in their relationship with God, and in their fleshly arrogance and pride. All of you have heard much about the mark of the beast, on the forehead, and upon the hand, but little or nothing about the mark of God on the forehead. Yes dear reader. Jehovah God is going to mark His true people who sigh and cry at these abominations, with a mark on their forehead. And that’s the mark you need to be concerned about. The Prophet Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 5:31… 31. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?You can reject this message and continue to commit these same abominations. But what will you do on Judgment Day? Let me close with Jeremiah 13:17… 17. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive.
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