Casting Down Every Imagination

EZEK 8:1-12 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. 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. 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, portrayed 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.

The Prophet Ezekiel was captive along with the Jews in Babylon when he had a vision.

- A hand had stretched out of the fire and yanked him up to see a vision! –

The Spirit transported him to the Court of the Temple at Jerusalem where he seen the Image of Jealousy ---- it was a heathen idol that angered Jehovah!

Now this was bad enough but Ezekiel then saw a hole in the wall.

The angel told him to dig it out; to make the hole bigger...

Then he opened it up so he could walk thru it...

THEN HE CAME TO A 2ND WALL

There was a door at this wall... which he entered.

It brought him into a large inner chamber.

The walls of this inner chamber of imagery were lined with heathen idols.

In the midst of these filthy pictures of heathen worship were 70 Elders of Israel swinging censors and chanting incantations and worship to false Gods!

EZEK 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.

Ezekiel was shocked at the Secret Idolatry!

But there was more....

He walked out of the chamber into the court by the gate and saw ..

VERSE 13 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.

Tammuz was the oriental equivalent to Adonis a lover of Venus!!

To this day you can visit the Temple of Venus.

Very sensual licentious worship was taking place there and the Bible says the women were crying for it!

YET MORE?---

25 men standing by the Temple Door (with their backs toward the Temple).

They were facing the East and Worshipping the Sun!

VERSE 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.