The Four Abominations of the Temple of God
Notes
Transcript
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
Discuss Mystery Flavor Christians - Dum Dum Lolipops
Turn with me to Ezek. 8:1-18
Vss. 1-3a The Vision
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The First Abomination Vs. 3b-6
The First Abomination Vs. 3b-6
The door of the gate of the inner court
The Idol of Jealousy- Possibly baal or Asherah/Asheroth
A turning from Holiness to sin
What things to we take in
that Provoke God to Jealousy
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“You shall have no other gods before Me.
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And in the same way, God’s jealousy is not a compound of frustration, envy and spite, as human jealousy so often is, but appears instead as a (literally) praiseworthy zeal to preserve something supremely precious.
J. I. Packer
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The god of Family
The god of Family
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“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
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“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
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The god of Money
The god of Money
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Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
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The gods of this world
The gods of this world
Anything that becomes more important to you
than God
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The Second Abomination Vs. 7-12
The Second Abomination Vs. 7-12
The Inner Rooms
The Secret Sins
The Worship of Creeping Things
These were the Egyptian gods
Disgusting and vile creatures
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Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.
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“For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.
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10300 Christ’s definition of sin penetrates far deeper than a list of sins on a membership card. It goes to our inner desire, motivations, and secret thoughts.
Erwin W. Lutzer
Vs 11 Jaazaniah the son of Saphan
Those who new better
Possibly the Shaphan
Which played a major role in Josiah’s reform in 2 Kings 22
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Ezekiel (1) Vision of the Abominations in the Temple of Jerusalem (8:1–18)
For such a one to be found leading this apostate group bears testimony to the rapid degeneration of worship in Israel after Josiah’s death.
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2 Nothing can be a more grievous abomination in the sight of God than excuses made by a sinner who knows they are utterly false and blasphemous.
Charles Finney
“Men Often Highly Esteem What God Abhors” sermon (19th century)
Charles Grandison Finney
Taking on positions which they are not qualified
Fragrance of incense
Taking the place of a priest
But the sons of Arron could use
Only to offer to Jehovah
Vs. 12 THEY SAY- Wrongly God is not here
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Opening Up Ezekiel’s Visions Chapter 2: Lessons Not Learnt (Ezekiel Chapter 8)
One of the great fallacies of men and women is to assume that God does not care. The longer people go on in their sin, the more bold and arrogant they become in their defiance of God.
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The Third Abomination Vs. 13-15
The Third Abomination Vs. 13-15
The Northern Entrance
The Worship of Tammuz or the Greek Adonis
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Tammuz is usually identified as a fertility god whom the Egyptians called Osiris and the Greeks called Adonis.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Loved by Aphrodite
Who he spends six months with every year
The other six spent in hades
The vision took place on September 5th 591BC
Close to the Time of the Autom equinox
The time of his dying which is winter
The women are weeping
The death of this false god
Right outside of the Lord’s house
The women had fallen in a
False Love
False Security
False Hope
Many women are being led astray to destruction
By the lies of satan
Increase in Wicca and Goddess Worship
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James 4:8 (NASB95)
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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The Fourth Abomination Vss. 16-18
The Fourth Abomination Vss. 16-18
The Inner Court
25 possibly 24 courses (Divisions) of priest and the high priest
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Ezekiel (1) Vision of the Abominations in the Temple of Jerusalem (8:1–18)
the inner court, the holiest area for worship in the temple. Only the priests could go into this area of the sanctuary.
Worshiping the Sun
which meant they had to turn their back on God
Nose to the branch
Persian Ritual of Avesta
While men prayed to the Sun
Held in left hand a bouquet of
Palm, po-meg-ranate and ta-mar-isk twigs
Place before the mouth
To keep from polluting the sun rays
With human breath
Done at the temple of Jehovah
By those who were polluting
The whole land with their violence.
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but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.
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Conclusion
Conclusion
The Results are found in Vs 17-18
The Land was filled with violence
Anger in the land
Vs. 6 Go far off from my sanctuary
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Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.
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Ezekiel (1) Vision of the Abominations in the Temple of Jerusalem (8:1–18)
God is not found in every religious experience. “There is some good in all religions” is a false axiom. The New Age movement popular in the last decade of the twentieth century illustrates such false religious philosophy. Many erroneously believe there are many valid religions and many ways to approach God. Idolatry is still an abomination to God, and Acts 4:12 is still true today. Jesus is the one and only way to salvation.
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“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
If God Far From you today
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‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.