by Gary L. Evans
Hypocrisy
Eze 8:5 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.
The “image of jealousy” is something idolatrous (adulterous) that makes our Lord very jealous for His people. Remember that Israel (the ten northern tribes) and also Judah and Benjamin (referred to together as “Judah,” the two southern tribes) were spiritually married to our Lord at this time.
Eze 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.
The Lord asks, do you see the horrible things that Israel is doing?
Eze 8:7-9 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.
The Lord commanded Ezekiel to dig through a wall in the Court Yard to the north from the Temple, and there he found a door. Then the Lord commanded him to go through the door to see what was going on in there.
Eze 8:10 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.
There were images of disgusting creatures, filthy, obviously things they were eating in there. Perhaps they were eating the swine, oysters, clams, lobsters, catfish, and all kinds of things that would make any law abiding Jehovah worshiper feel like vomiting at the very thought. Today False Christians do the same, blatantly disobeying The Lord’s Dietary Laws which He gave us for our health and well being so that we could live a long life.
And there were idols pictured all over the walls as well. All these things that Israel was doing were pictured on the walls of the room where Ezekiel stood. It must have been a horribly shocking experience.
Eze 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.
The elders of Israel and also the High Priest, each with their incense burners they used in worship, were there. They all appeared very religious.
Eze 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.
The Lord asked Ezekiel if he can see what the elders are doing within the imaginations of their hearts, what they do in the dark, in secret, believing they can hide all of this from God.
Eze 8:13-14 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 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.
Now Ezekiel is taken right up to the North Gate entrance into the Temple in Jerusalem. Outside were women crying in worship of Tammuz, a Babylonian God!
“Tammuz” was the illegitimate son of Semiramis, wife of Nimrod who had died. She claimed that her son was by “immaculate conception” by Nimrod who she claimed had ascended into heaven as The Sun God. So Tammuz was believed to be the reincarnation of Nimrod, making Semiramis not only Nimrod’s wife while he was alive but also his mother after his death!
Tammuz became the pagan god of life, both vegetable and animal, the masculine counterpart of his mother who was worshiped as a goddess, both of whom Israel also worshiped when they became apostate and began worshiping idols. They would carve large statues of the erect human phallus and worship them in their idol temples. They would also cut off the top of a tree in the spring, strip it of its branches, and carve a bulb shape at the top of the trunk to represent a giant replica of the phallus and have sex orgies. In the Bible, these places are referred to as “groves.” These idols are called “Asherah Poles” and are still worshiped today. The modern day Obelisks, such as The Washington Monument, are constructed in the image of the ancient Asherah Poles.
Semiramis is the origin of the goddess Asher-ah, the goddess of human fertility and perversion, also called Eostere, Astarte, Ishtar (Easter), among other names she was and is still worshiped by.
Pagans and False Christians continue to worship this goddess of fertility each year under the name, “Easter” which is from “Ishtar,” and they teach their children to also worship each year presenting them colored eggs and rabbits, both pagan symbols of human fertility, and lots of candy to make the event so sweet and memorable.
Nimrod himself was the origin of the pagan gods with names of Baal and Molech, which Israel also chose to worship. Note that worship of Molech required child sacrifice.
Eze 8:15-16 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. 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.
Now Ezekiel enters the Temple itself and looks around. Those twenty-five elders faced the east and practiced sun god worship, the Egyptian Sun God “Re” or “Ra,” also having its origin with Nimrod who was called the God of the Sun.
Pagans and False Christians still get up early in the morning each Spring to watch the sun rise in order to have their worship services to commemorate the Sun God to this very day.
Eze 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.
The Lord explains that Judah, who sees all that Israel, the ten northern tribes, have done before them, is now doing the same. It is no longer even safe to walk the streets at night. They also snub their noses at the very mention of the Promised Coming of The Messiah, Who is here referred to as “The Branch.”
And False Christians continue to “snub their noses” at The Lamb of God to this day, by defiling The Passover when Jesus offered up His life for our sins, and mixing into that commemoration of The Last Supper, with The Bread and Wine, with a service dedicated to The Egyptian Sun God, Ra, and to The Babylonian Goddess of Fertility, Ishtar (Easter).
Eze 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.
I hope you have followed Ezekiel as he was shocked by all of the lawlessness and idolatry that Israel and Judah had been engaged in secretly over the years. Our Lord will not have mercy on hypocrites who practice such wickedness even while pretending to be religiously devoted in public in service to The Lord.
There is nothing new under the sun. HYPOCRISY continues today in similar ways just as Israel and Judah behaved thousands of years ago. We have them and their fate for an example of how our Father will deal with us. We can’t hide from God Most High.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.