Yechezk'el 8:7-13 Then He brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, look, a hole in the wall. And He said to me, "Son of man, now dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall, and look, an entrance. And He said to me, "Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here." So I entered and looked, and look, every form of creeping things and beasts and "DETESTABLE" things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. And standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. Then He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images? For they say, 'The L-RD does not see us; the L-RD has forsaken the land.'" And He said to me, "Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing."
As we saw last chapter Babylon will become the same kind of empire in the future.
Revelation 18:1-3 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every "UNCLEAN" and hateful bird. "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."
Yechezk'el 8:14-15 Then He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the L-rd's house which was toward the north; and look, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these."
Tammuz was a Babylonian god. He was the vegetation god and the symbol of death and rebirth in nature. Here at the Temple of the Most High G-d, a Babylonian god was being worshipped instead of the one true G-d.
A few years ago we did a detailed study on the ancient Babylonian religion and its influence on the various pagan religions around the world. If you were not with us at that time you may want to review the lessons. They are in the archives start at #409. It was a very interesting study.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JewishMessianicbelievers/message/409
Today, many honor "mother nature" giving credit to her for sending the rain, sunshine, etc rather than giving credit to the creator.
Yechezk'el 8:16 Then He brought me into the inner court of the L-rd's house. And look, at the entrance to the temple of the L-RD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the L-RD and their faces toward the east; and they were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun.
We see here those that worshipped the sun, which is just a "star". It reminds me of those who worship on the temple mount today turning their backs on the former location of the temple and facing toward Mecca five times a day. They pray toward a fallen asteroid, which is a fallen "star" that landed years ago.
Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the L-RD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
Yeshua loved us enough to take our ugliness and the iniquity of all our sins on Himself. He died in our place. Yeshua loves you too. Repent if you pray toward a fallen star or if you pray to the moon or any celestial body. Evil forces that have fallen only want to take you down with them into an abyss to eternal condemnation. Pray that the G-d of Avraham will reveal the truth about Yeshua. He loved us while we were yet sinners. He died only to become victorious and to rise again for our sake. Place your trust in him and tell the G-d of Avraham the following: G-d of Avraham who is abounding in mercy provided through what your only unique son has done for me. I admit I am a sinner and I will turn from my sin. I trust with my whole heart that the blood of the promised Messiah takes away my sin. I accept Him as my L-rd and Savior who came because the G-d of Avraham sent Him to suffer for me. I give my life to Him and thank Him for the free gift of eternal life.
If one humbles himself in this way He now becomes part of the family of the G-d of Avraham. Congratulations and welcome to the family! You are now our brother (or sister) in Yeshua. You now have the Son and therefore the Father. Ruach HaKodesh now lives, indwells, inside you. He will guide your life and your new path. He doesn't promise that it will always be easy but He does promise He will be with you wherever you go. You no longer have to be at any special place to be close to the G-d of Avraham. Isn't that wonderful?
The Messiah Himself told us this when He came down to dwell among us.
Yochanan (John) 4:21-26 Yeshua said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Yerushalayim, shall you worship the Father. "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "G-d is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming, when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Yeshua said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Salvation is now for people of all nations. We no longer have to worship Him at any particular spot. Worship in spirit in truth. Hear what the Sprit is telling you.
I am the way the truth and the life and no one can get to the Father except by me - Yeshua. John 14:6
He is the way and the life. By your searching you have found the G-d of Avraham by reading the scriptures and finding in them the Son. You are a new creation and renewed spiritually. In order to continue in this growth it is important to continue to read the Scriptures. You may want to start by reading the book of Matthew, perhaps a chapter a day. You can also continue with our study here.
Yechezk'el 8:17 And He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Y'hudah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For look, they are putting the twig to their nose.
Trees were often used in idol worship. We must also realize that the execution stake was only the instrument that HaShem allowed to be used in the offering of His son. It should not be something we worship. What if he would have died in an electric chair? I think you see the point. Eternal life comes only through the precious blood of our High Priest above -Yeshua HaMashiach, therefore, Pay homage to the "SON".
Yechezk'el 8:18 "Therefore, I indeed shall deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor shall I spare; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, yet I shall not listen to them."