Ezekiel, in Hebrew, means “in the strength of God”. His ministry was such that it could only be carried out in the strength of God. The names of the prophets almost always depict or describe the nature of what God is calling them to do as a ministry.
The events in the book of Ezekiel are at the onset of the Babylonian captivity that was first prophesied by Isaiah, then by Jeremiah and began in the days of Ezekiel. God had warned that such a judgment would come if the people did not repent. It began conspicuously; was clearly a fulfillment of God’s prophetic warning, yet people were denying that it was God's judgment. Everything was going down, but they kept claiming to be triumphant. This is similar to what we are seeing today in popular books such as The Unstoppable Church(when a more fitting title would be “The Unstoppable Mosque”), or from another aspect those in the Positive Confession mindset who claim their bodies lie to them when in reality they are very ill. People simply did not face the facts; they would not own up to what Isaiah and Jeremiah had been predicting all along.
Ezekiel began predicting that God's judgment was going to last and would become worse because the people's sin was lasting and worsening. They refused to repent even when they saw God's judgment coming. This is seen again in the book of Revelation: even though the judgments of God become more frequent and intense, it says that men harden their hearts, curse God, and continue to sin. (Rev 9:20-21; 16:9-11) So it was in the days of Ezekiel, and so it will be in the Last Days. The book of Ezekiel has many parallels with the book of Revelation, and replays much of it.
Exekiel 9:4 says this:
"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 their midst.'"
There were people who saw the abominations happening in the city of God and in the house of God, and before judgment began, God said, "Seal those who are truly Mine; seal those who see what's wrong, who know what's wrong, and who grieve over it. Before the judgment comes, seal them."
Revelation 7:2-3 parallels:
"And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads.’"
Prior to the implementation of the mark of the beast in Revelation 13, the seal of the Lord will be put on God’s faithful servants. We know from history and from archaeology that the mark or the seal in Ezekiel was the Hebrew letter tov. Today the Hebrew letter tov is written something like an “H” with a foot; however, in pre-Captivity Israel it was written as a slightly tilted cross, and its origin was probably an upright cross. The mark of the seal of God, as it was in the days of Ezekiel, is actually the mark of a cross.
"And they were told they should not hurt the earth, nor the grass, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (Rev 9:4).
Once again, before God's judgment comes His people are sealed. The church enters the Tribulation but is rescued from the worst of it and is sealed by the Lord and somehow protected during the part it endures. The 144,000 who minister eschatologically have the seal of the Lord.
We first see the sealing of the Lord begin, not in Revelation or even in Ezekiel, but in the Torah, in the book of Exodus. The children of Israel went through most of the judgments on Egypt; the same judgments on Egypt recorded in Exodus are replayed eschatologically, and that is a major type of what happens in Revelation. The darkness, the smiting of the waters, and so on; the Hebrews went through part of it, but were delivered from the worst of it. So it shall be in the Last Days; God's people will be sealed.Exodus 13:9 says:
"And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. For with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt."
Before the judgment comes, those whose hearts are really God's – who see the abominations and wickedness and grieve over it – are sealed with the mark of a cross. In Revelation, those who see the abominations that are happening and grieve over them are sealed with the mark of a cross.
The judgment was already happening in Ezekiel's time. The captivity was underway, yet people were saying, "Oh, it's only a temporary setback; it's short-lived." In fact, however, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah four separate times, each time with worse results. Just as the waves of evil followed one after the other, each worse than the last, so too do the judgments of God come in these kinds of waves. But His people are sealed; that is, those who are truly His.
The Temple Today
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 Kings 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" (Isa 55:12) – representing His people. That is what happens also in Ezekiel.
The Temple Today
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 Kings 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" (Isa 55:12) – representing His people. That is what happens also in Ezekiel.
Abominations in the Lord's House
God takes Ezekiel and shows him one abomination after another. It grows worse and worse and worse. The first abomination he sees is the Idol of Jealousy: idolatry in the house of the Lord. The Hebrew word for “to worship” is “hishtakvya”, the infinitive, “La Histachavot”; “to bow down”. When you see somebody prostrating or bowing down before a statue or a graven image, a common practice in Roman Catholicism, this is an act of idolatry.
It begins this way: God takes Ezekiel between heaven and earth and says, "Look. Now you're seeing how I see, from heaven. Do you see what they're doing in My house, in My sanctuary, where I'm supposed to meet with them?" Ezekiel looks and he is shocked. But God says to Ezekiel, "That's idolatry in My house, in My sanctuary. Yet greater abominations than these will you see, O son of man; even greater abominations than these will you see in My house," says the LORD.
Then God brings him and shows him further and further into the temple compound; every creeping thing, every crawling beast and detestable thing, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. The Hebrew term is “shektzim”, where you get the derogatory word shiksa for a Gentile woman. You've heard me say, perhaps, that in the book of Revelation Satan has two modes of attack: the serpent and the dragon. The dragon is Satan the persecutor; the serpent is Satan the deceiver. These creeping things are called shektzim, which means “slimy reptiles”. They are pictures of demons from the snake cults of the ancient near East, but they have them as far west as India where there is snake worship and other such things. The Abomination of Desolation draws from that. Demons are in the house of the Lord; so now it goes from mere idolatry to open demon-worship.
From there, however, God says to Ezekiel, “Yet shall you see worse! Yet greater abominations than these shall you see in My house, O son of man!” And God shows him the religious leaders – their “pastors”, as it were, the Levites or cohenim – and he names them personally here and in other places. He describes Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, standing among them; people who shouldn't be there, people you wouldn't have expected to be there, are there with their censers. Incense represents the prayers of the saints, but these prayers are not being offered to the true God. These people are not worshiping the true God. Jeremiah, Paul in 1 and 2 Timothy, and John in 3 John, all named publicly the leaders who persisted in leading the people astray. The apostles and prophets revealed them by name without hesitation.
So we see here in Ezekiel the idolatry happening, the openly demonic things going on, and now God's leaders are leading the people into it. God declares it to be a worse abomination than anything before and that the leaders are going along with it in the house of the Lord.
"'Yet greater abominations than these shall you see in My house,' says the LORD!" And the next thing He shows Ezekiel is the worship of Tammuz. Tammuz is the infant god, held by his mother the Madonna. The Roman Catholic Madonna with Child is a Catholicization of Tammuz-worship; that's all it is. Jeremiah 44 speaks of the women making cakes for the Queen of Heaven: this parallels with Catholic Mary-worship. Tammuz; Jesus is pictured as a helpless little baby, while His mother is portrayed as the strong, capable adult. This is the origin of the Catholic claims that Mary co-redeemed us, that she is the co-mediator, the co-savior. In reality, Mary herself said that she needed a Savior (Luke 14;7) but the lie of Tammuz says she is the savior.
"Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house", God tells Ezekiel. "O son of man, do you see what they're doing now?" First it was the Idol of Jealousy, then demons. Next, the leaders going along with it – even leaders who should know better, leading the people astray – and then Tammuz-worship. What will be next?
"'Yet even greater abominations than these will you see in my house' , says the LORD." God brings Ezekiel into the inner court, between the porch and the altar. There he sees them openly worshiping the sun – openly praying to other gods. These Babylonian religions involved things other than simple worship; things such as immorality. Immorality and idolatry go together. In ancient Greece it was cult prostitutes, but this goes back before Greece; the corruption of sex in worship. All the initiation rites in Satanism involve some kind of sexually connotative ritual.
It gets worse, worse, and worse still. The judgments that God was warning about all along through Isaiah and Jeremiah were coming to pass, yet the people were ignoring them. They denied that it was the promised judgment, and continued in their sin. The leaders, meanwhile, stood there and said, "The LORD doesn't really care about this stuff anymore; it's all a game. It's just our job." There are so many people today in full-time ministry in the clergy – some of them Evangelicals – for whom it is no more than a career. Being in ministry is a job; it's not a calling, not a passion, not something God has given them as a vocation; it's just what they do to make a living.
Finally, God says, "Seal those who are truly Mine." There is no hope anymore; God will not pity nor spare anyone or anything except those who see this and grieve. God brings Ezekiel up to heaven and says, "Look down at My sanctuary," and Ezekiel is shocked. And God says, "There are other people down there who see what you see, and are shocked. They grieve over the abominations being committed in My house. They grieve over the idolatry, they grieve over the immorality, and they grieve over the fact that their own leaders are leading them into it. Those will be sealed; but now My judgment is coming. Yet greater abominations than these will you see," says the LORD. "O son of man, do you see what they are doing? Yet greater abominations than these will you see in the house of the LORD."
The Condition of the End Times Church
A white witch has become the first-ever pagan chaplain at a British university. “Susan Ladourne has taken over the post at Leeds University as chaplain in order to counsel students who believe in the occult. The 29-year old witch will guide students in magic, in pagan rituals and worship.” But then, greater abominations than these will we see. What's greater? The priests – those who should have known better – went along with the immorality, with the witchcraft. “The University's senior Anglican chaplain, Rev. Simon Robinson, affirms that the witch has a role to play. He states: ‘We already have chaplains from different religions.’” The priests stand with their censers while the abomination and idolatry goes on; their own leaders say it's all right, that God doesn't see it. That is exactly what happened here in Ezekiel; “God doesn't see it,” said the cohenim; “God doesn't see it,” said the Levites. And that is precisely what the Church of England's clergy are saying today.
"'Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house,' says the LORD." "Living Together is No Longer a Sin", according to the Yorkshire Evening Post. "The Church of England changes attitude on family values; 'Living in sin is no longer a sin,' the Church of England announced today." I telephoned Lambert Palace, the official London residence of Archbishop George Carey, who I am told is a fellow Charismatic Evangelical. I called him up and left a message asking him to call me back. They wanted to know what I wanted, so I told them that I was reading in the New Testament, “Keep the marriage bed undefiled”; can the Archbishop tell me how I can keep the marriage bed undefiled when there is no marriage? They never called me back.
"'Yet greater abominations than these will you see in my house,' says the LORD." The Greek word “demonoi”, the Hebrew word “shedim”, is used in Deuteronomy and 1 Corinthians to state that other gods are demons. Both Testaments tell us that. Ezekiel saw shedim – creeping things, demons – being venerated in the house of the Lord, in God's sanctuary. Go to Canterbury Cathedral and watch the interfaith worship yourself. Visit Anselm Chapel – Buddhist, Moslem, Hindu, Sikh – all these worship there, and the "Christians" go along with it.
'Yet greater abominations than these will you see . "
Recently thirty-six bishops of the Anglican Church met to consider their stance on homosexuality. In a pastoral letter, issued after the week-long meeting in Windsor, they said that homosexuals living together in stable relationships could live lives of genuine Christian character despite it being at variance with conventional Christian morality.
A Baptist minister from Lister Hill Baptist Church in Leeds walked into our tape office in Leeds and said he came to me on the basis of Matthew chapter 18 because I objected to the fact that they had a transsexual transvestite who wore women’s clothes to church and had his children grow up with two mothers, the real one and the castrated one. This objection offended the church because this individual bakes the bread for Holy Communion in an Evangelical Baptist Church and they consider him a sister in the faith.
And this minister says that I am guilty of an abomination before the Lord because I opposed it. I showed him in Deuteronomy where God said it is an abomination and he said that that’s the Old Testament. That was his argument. What about the effeminate being cast into a lake of fire in Revelation? (Rev 21:8) That’s the New Testament but he didn’t want to know. He walked out very angry. He came to me on the basis of Matthew 18 and I didn’t repent so that’s it. I’m accursed.
The Bishops say it’s okay, but God says it’s an abomination. The Bishop openly says “I know some gay men are bitches” (that’s the term he used) but most of us make better priests because we are more sensitive. A pastoral letter from bishops was distributed saying it’s alright. “Yet greater abominations than these you will see,” saith the Lord. “Yet greater abominations than these.”
The world sees charismania, not gifts, not charismata. I’m a Charismatic. I’m a Pentecostal but I disagree with the excesses and extremism. In 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul warns that our testimony will be destroyed. The antics of the Toronto Blessing movement brought scorn to the Church of God in the secular but publications like the Assemblies of God magazine Joy promoted it. John Arnott defended imitating an animal. The only place in the Bible where we see someone imitating an animal was when God’s judgment came on Nebuchadnezzar. I can show you one article after another promoting this very thing that led to the desecration and destruction of any credibility and testimony to this nation.
“Yet greater abominations than these will you see.” saith the Lord. “You see what they are doing in My house? But I’ll show you even greater abominations than these.” What was next? Tammuz worship; in other words, the god was made small and his mother was made big – the Madonna.
George Carey, an Evangelical Archbishop, wrote the book Call to Ecumenical Unity with Rome: The Meeting of Waters. He’s an Evangelical. He marched in the procession to Mary in Walsingham along with the Roman Catholic Cardinal Basil. This is modern-day Tammuz worship.
No compromise is offered to disaffected Anglican ministers and others who seek to join the Roman church. Those who are seeking to enter full communion with the Roman Catholic Church will be fully integrated into the life of the Roman Catholic community. They have to adapt the whole Roman Catholic menu as is outlined in the Roman Catholic catechism that bears the seal of the Vatican. Included in the menu is the teaching that the souls in purgatory must suffer for their own sins. How long? Until they have atoned for their sins. You must burn in purgatory and suffer for your own sins. That’s their menu.
But the Word of God says that blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. No! Take the whole menu. Praying for or to the dead; the Word of God calls it invoking familiar spirits. It’s an abomination. No! It’s on the menu. You have to take it. Praying for the dead, transubstantiation that bread and wine becomes Christ incarnate; you take the bread and wine and worship it and then you eat it. That’s idolatry and cannibalism. No! It’s on the menu and you have to take it. Teaching doctrines of demons by forbidding marriage, requiring celibacy. No! It’s on the menu. You have to take it. The Holy Spirit it the Spirit of Truth not error. You can’t have unity of the Spirit based on error -- only the truth, but Rome is a lie. The Bible is the truth.
“Yet greater abominations than these will you see in My house,” saith the Lord. “Yet greater abominations than these. Come, I’ll show you. You want to see? Come son of man. I’ll show you greater abominations than these in My house.” God told Ezekiel. And that is what He is telling us. “Yet greater abominations than these you will see.”
The hymn Onward Christian Soldiers is too militaristic for the new, politically correct hymn book approved by the thirty-fourth general synod of the Anglican Church of Canada. Hymns that refer to God in the male gender are also out. God is now considered to be both male and female; same as the pagan cult of mother earth; as in the following hymn:
Revival of Simony
The sin called “simony” was named after a character from the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, Simon Magus. Eusebius tells us a lot about this. He had a massive following all over the ancient Near East and in Asia Minor. He tried to persuade the Apostles to sell for money the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter called down the curse of God on him. He was filled with wickedness. Repent! God will strike you.
Last year it was twenty-five pound Holy Ghost miracle handkerchiefs that could take away all debt. And then there’s Morris Cerullo’s latest fund raising scheme. Send twenty-five pounds to Morris Cerullo who will be teaching daily in the school of the Holy Spirit on a vital prophetic end time revelation and he’ll be personally praying for each candidate. Here you’ll see the very special prophetic anointing, just send in your twenty-five pounds. But that’s nothing. Confirm your attendance by returning the attached coupon with the special registration fee of just twenty-five pounds and you will be assured of your part in the great move of God that is increasing the fame of the church. You’ll see the fresh anointing of God for just twenty-five pounds. The Holy Ghost is on sale. The Holy Ghost for sale; just send in your twenty-five pounds and you will be assured of the great move and anointing.
The magazine of the charismatic denomination Elim promotes this sin of simony. What did Ezekiel see? He saw their leaders; he saw the High Priest and he named them, Jaazaniah. Today it is not Jaazaniah, it is Kensington Temple; abominations in the Temple of the Lord. As usual, Kensington Temple is committed to supplying a large number of counselors, some of whom have been saved for as little as a few months who are going to be counselors for the twenty-five pound mighty move of God. “Send your money now. Don’t delay.” That’s what Elim’s magazine says.
These scams do not escape the attention of the secular press. In a recent Sunday Times, there is a photograph on the cover of Morris Cerullo with the caption; “Would you buy a miracle from this man?” A man who has been indicted in America for tax evasion? Do you know how many people read the Sunday Times in this country? I wouldn’t buy a used toothbrush from this man. The world sees it. The world knows what he is. The world gets a hold of this stuff and uses it to discredit the Gospel in this nation and others. Yet many big names in the Evangelical church have joined with him on the platform, including Jerry Falwell, Charles Stanley, Hal Lindsay, and singer Sandi Patty. That’s just what Ezekiel saw; the leaders were promoting this abomination in the House of the Lord; the sin of simony.
“Yet greater abominations than these will you see”; idolatry, demon worship, Tammuz worship, sexual immorality, homosexual immorality, corrupt clergy. “ Yes, greater abominations than these will you see. Greater abominations than these will you see in My house Ezekiel. Greater abominations than these, in My sanctuary, I’m going to show you.”
Witchcraft’s role over Anglican priests and pagan sex rites; a holy communion service involving symbolic sex, no mention of Christ, is to be celebrated by a pagan priestess and a Church of England vicar today as part of an interfaith forum for witches and Christians meeting together. A “Holy Communion” service with witches and a symbolic act of sex. A sex rite in a Holy Communion service with witches, with Satan worshipers. “In My house,” saith the Lord.
Did God let Israel get away with it? Did God let Judah get away with it? No! He is not going to let England and America get away with it either. He is not going to let Elim get away with it. He is not going to let the Assemblies of God get away with it and He is not going to let the Church of England get away with it. He is just as angry today as He was in the 8th and 9th chapters of Ezekiel. His judgment is coming and His judgment is coming on His Church. The cup of iniquity is almost full. Why did God show Ezekiel the Temple? Because judgment begins in the House of God. God’s judgment is not coming on pimps. It’s not coming on prostitutes. It’s not coming on drug dealers. It’s not coming on crooked politicians in Westminster or cooked business men in the city, until it comes on the House of God.
Those Who Sigh and Groan
But before it comes God says “I’m going to send my servant and he is going to find those whose hearts are Mine.” And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, even through the midst of London, of Liverpool, of Manchester, of Birmingham, even through the midst of New York and Los Angeles and Chicago and Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand and Johannesburg in South Africa, go through the midst, where the people say they call on My name and put a mark on their foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over the abominations. Put My mark on the heads of those who sigh and groan over these abominations.”
I sigh and groan over witchcraft, joint communion services with witches and sex rites in God’s house. I sigh and groan. Homosexual bishops; I sigh and groan. Tammuz worship; I sigh and groan. Rodney Howard-Browne laughing at people burning in hell forever; I sigh and groan. Living together is no longer sin; I sigh and groan. The chaplain of the university in a Christian country is now a witch. If these things don’t make people sigh and groan, there is no hope. But you know what? They don’t sigh and groan. The only thing they are going to sigh and groan about is my audacity to stand up and tell you the truth. That’s the only thing they are going to sigh and groan about. They are going to sigh and groan about the Moriel Newsletter for telling you the truth. They are going to sigh and groan about Roger Oakland speaking frankly. That’s what they are going to sigh and groan about, but they won’t sigh and groan about the abominations in the House of the Lord.
What’s coming next now that Toronto has died down? Keep an eye on the Emerging Church and the Purpose Driven movements for even greater abominations leading up to the joining of Christian denominations with Rome. “Yet greater abominations will I show you,” saith the Lord. But I’ll tell you this, right now, that same Lord has His angel going through His churches. His angel is going through Baptist churches, His angel is going through Elim churches, His angel is going through Methodist churches, His angel is going through Assemblies of God churches, His angel is going through Brethren churches, and he’s saying that he sighs, he groans, he weeps, he mourns, and he’s saying she sighs, she groans she mourns, she weeps; mark him, mark her, mark that one, mark this one for My judgment will not tarry.
Friends, if it’s the last thing you do, if it’s the last thing you do before you finish readin this, make sure you have that mark on your head. That’s reality. The picture is not pretty, but for those who have the mark, you have nothing to worry about.
Paul says:
“Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His. Let everyone who names the name of the Lord, abstain from wickedness.” (2 Tim 2:19).
And Paul writes something very important about those who will be sealed by the Lord:
“Who also sealed us and gave us His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge”. (2 Cor 1:22)
If the Holy Spirit dwells in your hearts you have nothing to fear. That’s the earnest pledge of God, your seal and those of us who are sealed; the proof of that is in our abstaining from wickedness.