"Ezekiel Chapters 8 & 9"
Ezekiel begins predicting that God's judgment was going to last and would become worse, and the reason that it would last and become worse was that the people's sin was lasting and becoming worse. They refused to repent as they saw God's judgments coming.
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Much of Ezekiel's vision concerned the Temple. The 47th chapter of the book of Ezekiel is a millennial vision in which he saw the background of something we call in Hebrew, “Simchat beit Ha Shoyivah”; the rite or the ritual for the pouring out of the water on the Temple Mount which is celebrated as the Feast of Booths – Hag Succoth. The 7th chapter of the Gospel of John draws on this, but its meaning is always millennial.
New-Age “Christian” Patrick Dixon argued for altered states of consciousness. He claimed that every time there was a divine encounter in the Bible, people behaved irrationally and went into altered states of consciousness. This is the basis for his defense of things like The Toronto Blessing as acceptable. As an example, he cited Peter's reaction to the Transfiguration, calling his behavior mindless and ridiculous in wanting to build the booths there. Mr. Dixon called this absurd; I pointed out to him that there was nothing absurd about it, since Peter thought that the Transfiguration was the Messianic fulfillment of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Moses and Elijah were transfigured with the Messiah, so Peter thought – without a trace of absurdity – that this was the arrival of the Millennial Kingdom. Mr. Dixon had apparently never thought of this. Within its context, Peter's behavior was altogether rational. His response was to challenge me with questions such as "How do you know? Were you there? Did you talk to Peter?" To which I responded, "I know what the Messianic symbolism of the Feast of Booths was in the Second Temple Period." To this Mr. Dixon had nothing to say. However, we see that any kind of poison goes into the cauldron these days. (2 Ki. 4:38-41)
There are at least seven places in the Bible that contain different Greek and Hebrew words for “temple” – naos, oikos, hieron, beth mishkan, beth migdash, Ha Hekal – and all are used in various contexts as types of the church. 1 Peter 2:5, "You are the living stones of the holy house", for example. In Corinthians the church is called the temple, and in Ephesians chapters 2 and 4 the temple is a picture of the church. Rebuilding the tabernacle of David is mentioned in the book of Acts, with a quote from the prophet Amos that "I (God) will rebuild the tabernacle of David"; (Acts. 15:16) the New Testament reveals that the fulfillment of this, at least in part, is the Gentile church.
The Abomination of Desolation being set up in the Holy Place – the Holy of Holies -- spoken of by Daniel was fulfilled in part at several points during history, most significantly by Antiochus Epiphanes. Nevertheless, even though the temple may be rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Abomination set up in it, while a physical event would then be transpiring in a physical temple, it is in fact only a reflection of what is going to be happening spiritually. Always! When Jesus died on the cross, the Temple veil was torn from the ceiling to the ground, meaning that sinful man was no longer separated from a holy God. A physical miracle then happened in the physical temple. But the most important thing was what that miracle represented; that man was no longer separated from God because Yeshua, our high priest, died for our sins. So it will be with the Abomination of Desolation. Although an abomination may somehow be set up in a rebuilt temple – I don't dispute that this may occur – it will only be a reflection of what is happening spiritually; the Antichrist wanting to be worshiped in God's house.
Ezekiel sees abominations in the House of the LORD:
"And it came about after the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, that I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me. The hand of the Lord fell upon me there; then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man. From his loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from his loins and upward, the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. And he stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head. And the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes the jealousy, was located. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw on the plain. Then He said to me, 'Son of man, raise your eyes now towards the north,' (trouble always comes from the north) 'so I raised my eyes up to the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was the idol of Jealousy at the entrance" (Ez. 8:1-8)
“Son of man” is an eschatological title. Here Ezekiel, like all the other prophets, prefigures Jesus in some way. Jesus is never called the Son of God eschatologically; whenever we speak of His return, He is always the Son of Man coming down.
"And He said to me, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations which the house of Israel is committing here, that I should be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations than these in My sanctuary; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations.'"
Again, this all hints at the ultimate Abomination of Desolation.
"Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, a hole was in the wall. And He said to me, 'Son of man, now dig through the wall.' So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. And He said to me, 'Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing.' So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping thing and beast and detestable thing 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:"
-- and he names them! –
"with Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, standing among them, each man with his censer in hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising. And 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 LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land."' And He said to me, 'Yet you will see still greater abominations than these which they are committing. You will see greater abominations in the house of the LORD; even in My sanctuary you will see greater abominations, O son of man.' Then he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the LORD's house, which was towards the north. And behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Do you see this? Yet you will see still greater abominations than even these.' And He brought me into the inner court"
(Now, the further you go into God's Temple, the more holy it becomes in the Old Testament).
"And behold, at the entrance to the Temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, (where Zachariah was martyred) were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Temple of the LORD and their faces towards the east. And they were prostrating themselves eastwards, towards the sun. And he said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose. 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 will not listen.' Then He cried out with a loud voice in my hearing, saying, 'Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand!' (The same as the judgments in Revelation when He dispatches the angels.)
And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with his shattering weapon in his hand. And among them was a certain man clothed with linen and a writing case at his loins. And they went in and stood next to the bronze altar" (the bronze altar is a type of the cross) "Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the Temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen, at whose loins was the writing case. And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst. But to the others He said, 'Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare. Utterly slay all of them.'" (Ez. 8:6-9:6)
Yet God does not allow them to harm His people; He commands that first His own would be sealed, then the rest would be stricken. He commands in Revelation that the trees not be harmed – "The trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Is. 55:12) – representing His people. That is what happens also in Ezekiel.
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Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.