Soon we’ll be at 6.05.06. As you
can see in this passage on this day Ezekiel is lifted up between Heaven
and Earth (meeting Jesus in the 1st Heaven?). If you read Ezekiel
chapter 7 you can see God’s anger at Israel
and tells of their coming doom due to worshiping idols (Israel’s current state).
We’ll just have to pray, wait and see.
Watching for Jesus!
Ezekiel 8
Idolatry in the Temple
1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day,
while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting
before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came upon me there. 2 I looked, and I saw a figure like
that of a man. [a] From what appeared to be his waist down he
was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing
metal. 3 He stretched out what looked like
a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between
earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance
to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to
jealousy stood. 4 And
there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had
seen in the plain.
5
Then he said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I
looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol
of jealousy.
6
And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the
utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me
far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable."
7
Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole
in the wall. 8 He said
to me, "Son of man, now dig into the wall." So I dug into the
wall and saw a doorway there.
9
And he said to me, "Go in and see the wicked and detestable things
they are doing here." 10
So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds
of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house
of Israel. 11 In front of them stood seventy
elders of the house of Israel,
and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer
in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
12
He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house
of Israel are doing in the darkness,
each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, 'The LORD does not see us;
the LORD has forsaken the land.' " 13 Again, he said, "You will see them doing
things that are even more detestable."
14
Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the
LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz. 15 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of
man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this."
16
He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there
at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about
twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their
faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
17
He said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter
for the house of Judah
to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the
land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting
the branch to their nose! 18
Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity
or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them."
Israel’s rebellion precedes the Rapture?:
Ezekiel 7
The End Has Come
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, this is what
the Sovereign LORD says to the land
of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four
corners of the land. 3 The end is now upon you and I will unleash my
anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay
you for all your detestable practices. 4
I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for
your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know
that I am the LORD.
5
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Disaster! An unheard-of [a] disaster is coming. 6 The end has come! The end has come! It has roused
itself against you. It has come! 7
Doom has come upon you—you who dwell in the land. The time has come,
the day is near; there is panic, not joy, upon the mountains. 8 I am about to pour out my wrath on you and spend
my anger against you; I will judge you according to your conduct and repay
you for all your detestable practices. 9 I will not look on you with pity or spare you;
I will repay you in accordance with your conduct and the detestable practices
among you. Then you will know that it is I the LORD who strikes the blow.
10
"The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded,
arrogance has blossomed! 11
Violence has grown into [b] a rod to punish wickedness; none of the people
will be left, none of that crowd—no wealth, nothing of value. 12 The time has come, the day has
arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller grieve, for wrath is upon
the whole crowd. 13
The seller will not recover the land he has sold as long as both of them
live, for the vision concerning the whole crowd will not be reversed. Because
of their sins, not one of them will preserve his life. 14
Though they blow the trumpet and get everything ready, no one will go into
battle, for my wrath is upon the whole crowd.
15
"Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country
will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine
and plague. 16 All who
survive and escape will be in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys,
each because of his sins. 17
Every hand will go limp, and every knee will become as weak as water. 18 They will put on sackcloth and
be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered with shame and their
heads will be shaved. 19
They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an
unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the
day of the LORD's wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their
stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin. 20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and
used it to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore I will
turn these into an unclean thing for them. 21
I will hand it all over as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked
of the earth, and they will defile it. 22
I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured
place; robbers will enter it and desecrate it.
23
"Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city
is full of violence. 24
I will bring the most wicked of the nations to take possession of their
houses; I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries
will be desecrated. 25
When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon
rumor. They will try to get a vision from the prophet; the teaching of the
law by the priest will be lost, as will the counsel of the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince
will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will
tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their
own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD."