Visions of Ezekiel - Abominations,
Six Men, Divine Wrath against
Rulers of Christian Nations
In the 8th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet saw the visions
of God when he sat in his house with the elders of
Similarly, let us see the visions of God through our prophetic eyes as we sit
in our houses for fellowship and worship of God along with the other saints of
God in the Body of Christ. If we want to see the visions of God, it is
necessary to have the fellowship of the other saints in the Body of Christ.
Between
earth and heaven
The Spirit of God has to lift us up between earth and heaven so that we can see
the visions of God. This means we have to be in the presence of God to see the
heavenly visions. We have to forget the cares of this world and the bliss of
heavenly enjoyment if we have to see the visions of God. At times, we are
either pulled down by our labor in the world or gravitated towards the heaven
through our worship. But God wants us to be lifted up between earth and heaven
so as to be alone with Him and to hear Him. There has to be a balance of both
these experiences.
Vision means not merely seeing through our eyes while sleeping or while praying.
It is both seeing and hearing God in our spirit as we meditate on His Word.
These days, we find many servants of God labor in His Vineyard or worship God
in church or fellowship meetings. But hardly do they find time to sit at His
feet with Bible in their hands in order to see and hear God in their spirit.
Unless they see and hear God in their spirits, they cannot give God's messages
i.e. prophetic messages to the people.
Ezekiel directs his prophecies against the nation of
The prophet is taken by the Spirit to
Seat
of the image of jealousy
The prophet is brought "to the door of the north gate of the inner court,
where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy"
(Vs.3). The seat of this image is seen first by the prophet "in the
entrance" (Vs.5). Similarly, let us be led by the Spirit to come to the
north gate of the inner court in the
It is the seat of great political and economic powers that these nations wield
to subjugate the whole world. They joined hands in forming formidable military
and economic alliances. They made many treaties amongst themselves to
consolidate their powers over the other nations. The seat of this image
situated "in the entrance" of the
Abominations
on the Wall
The prophet is led by the Spirit to peep through a hole in the wall and was
then led to dig into the wall. Whatever is done in the secret places, the same
is exposed in the light because there is a hole in the wall. Abominations done
in the dark are exposed in the light. Let us labor to know what our political
leaders do in their secret chambers because God has provided a hole in their
walls. Let us further penetrate this wall by digging through this hole. A
prophet has the eagle's eyes. Nothing is hidden from the prophet.
Let us look at the abominations portrayed on the walls of these nations which
make God
"go far away from My sanctuary".
Every
sort of creeping thing
The prophet sees the "wicked abominations which they are doing there"
(Vs.8). The people of God in these nations can see through their prophetic eyes
on the walls of their nations "every sort of creeping thing". Nothing
can escape their eyes. They can see abominations like remarriage of divorced
people during the life-time of divorced spouses, gay-marriages, homosexual sin,
premarital sex by youths claiming as boy or girl
friends, extramarital relations by spouses, etc.
Abominable
beasts
People are spiritually killed by abominable beasts let loose by Satan. In these
nations, many cults like astrology, witchcraft, black magic, Satanism, etc. are
spreading like a wild fire. These beasts annihilate the people spiritually.
All
the idols of the house of
All kinds of idols of this world are seen here. Science and technology are
their idols. Material prosperity has become their way of life. God has been
relegated to the background and these idols have since taken the place of God.
Elders
of the house of
Then the prophet sees what "seventy men of the elders of the house of
They say, "The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land".
When God judges their nations through the sword of their enemies or through the
natural calamities on account of their sins and iniquities, they bemoan saying,
"The Lord has forsaken the land". They do not see their own actions
in the light of the Word of God. Divine judgments have not corrected them. They
have become spiritually blind.
There are only seventy elders who do such abominations. This shows that there
is a remnant of about 30% in their midst who follow the ways of God.
Let us look at the consequences of the decisions taken by the rulers of these
Christian nations in waging wars against other nations and in shedding the
blood of thousands of people including their own countrymen. All these are
abominations in the sight of the holy God.
Greater
abominations
The Spirit then asks the prophet to see "greater abominations" at the
door of the
The prophet is then asked to watch "between the porch and the altar"
(Vs.16). There were about 25 men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord
and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping "the sun toward
the east".
The wicked abominations are found only on the walls. But the greater
abominations take place in the very realm of the
The rulers of these nations amend their respective constitutions so as to give
pre-eminence to their idols. In order to establish their political hegemony
over the whole world, they want to relegate God to the background and to give
preeminence to their idols. Their idols are nothing but political and economic
powers by which they can control the other nations. They interfere with the
ways of God and alter His laws to suit their conveniences. They usurp the
authority given to the Church by Christ and the Father. They are not supposed
to do anything between the porch and the altar of the
They worship the creature i.e. the sun in the place of the Creator. It is God
Who gave them His wisdom to discover the hidden energies and resources of this
universe. Atomic energy, solar energy, electric energy, etc. were discovered by
men from the hidden sources of this universe. The ultimate source of all energy
is the sun. In the absence of sun, the life in this universe cannot exist at
all. The rulers of these nations do worship the sun in place of God by giving
preeminence to the creatures like science and technology, gold and silver, etc.
The fury and judgment of God
Jehovah tells the prophet, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial
thing to the house of
Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity;
and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them" (Vs.17-18).
Six Men
In the 9th chapter of Ezekiel, we find that God
commanded six men to execute divine judgment on the chosen people of
God then commanded the other five men, "Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark….." (Vs.5-6)
The six men in the vision are those chosen by God for doing God's
will. The names of these men or their nationalities are not revealed here. They are neither spirits nor angels but men
in flesh. Each of the five men holds "a
slaughter weapon in his hand". God chooses five men to execute His
wrath on the rebellious nation of
Man clothed with linen
God is a sovereign God. He chooses "five men" to punish His own people. However, there is another man who is different from these five men. He is clothed with linen and holds a writer's inkhorn in his hand. He is a man of God and a true minister of the Word. This shows that there are still a very small group of God's ministers through whom God wants to protect those who are obedient to Him – who "cry for all the abominations" committed in the courts of the Temple of God as seen by Ezekiel in the earlier vision.
The ministers of God likened to the man clothed with linen are humble and lead a very simple life. They are commonplace people like John the Baptist crying in the wilderness. They prefer to remain in the wilderness. If the people of God want to save themselves from the hands of these five men, they have to go to the wilderness in search of such ministers of God. These ministers preach the truth with the result that those who hear the truth are convicted of their sins and iniquities and thus repent in sackcloth. Those who obey the truth would get a mark on their foreheads.
The five men execute divine judgment only after the man clothed
with linen puts his mark on those people who sigh and cry over all the
abominations that are done in the
Dearly beloved, will you heed to the true ministers of the Word who are still a minority in your nation preaching the truth? Will you sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done in your nation by the church leaders, ministers of the gospel and the political rulers?
Intercession by the prophet
We find the prophet falls on his face and pleads before God for
not judging His people. But God is
stubborn and does not relent. He simply
tells the prophet, "The iniquity of the house of
No prophetic intercessor can stand in
the gap and plead to God for saving the rebellious children of
Vision of divine wrath
against rulers of Christian nations
In the 11th chapter of Ezekiel, the Spirit
lifted the prophet up and brought him unto the east gate of the Lord's house.
The prophet saw at the door of the gate twenty five men. Among them, he saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah,
princes of the people. These two princes represent two types of rulers of
Christian nations in our midst. One type shows those who want to please the
world. The other type represents those who want to please both the world and
the Church. Though there were twenty five men at the door of the gate, only two
princes among them were not doing the will of God. Prophetically speaking, we
have, in our midst, many princes who please the Lord.
The Spirit showed Ezekiel "the men
that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city" (Vs.2).
Then the prophet was commanded to prophesy against these men. We have to
prophesy against the princes of the people who devise mischief and give wicked
counsel against the Body of Christ.
The princes said, "It is not near; let us build houses; this city is the
caldron, and we be the flesh". The princes wanted to build their own
houses. This means that they wanted to consolidate their position to remain in
the throne without love towards the people. They treated the city of
The Spirit fell upon the prophet and led him to prophesy against the princes.
Accordingly the prophet pointed his fingers at the princes, saying, "Ye
have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof
with the slain" (Vs.6). God is angry with the rulers of His people or of
the Christian nations because they have shed blood over the years in wars.
History tells us about the wars waged by these nations in conquering
territories of other nations. Death of thousands in wars is tantamount to
multiplying the slain and filling the streets thereof with the slain "in
this city". A Christian nation may wage a war against its enemy in the
soil of the latter. But in the eyes of God, the blood shed by the aggression of
a Christian nation is tantamount to filling the streets of the city of
The final word of prophecy came from the prophet - "Ye shall know that I
am the Lord; for ye have not walked in My statutes,
neither executed My judgments but have done after the manners of the heathen
that are round about". His warning is in unambiguous terms. A prince of His people is supposed to walk in
His statutes, the Bible, and to execute righteous judgment. He is not supposed
to wage a war against another nation in an unrighteous manner. He is supposed
to give protection to the people under his reign. Righteousness of a Christian
nation should exceed that of a non-Christian nation in every aspect. A
Christian nation should be a role model for the other non-Christian nations in
governance.
God said, "I will judge you in the border of
"I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands
of strangers, and will execute judgments among you" (Vs.9). No doubt, God
brings the princes out of the mess created by them. But this does not mean that
God has delivered the princes. He brings them out just to deliver them into the
hands of strangers for judgment. Strangers are not acquaintances or friends.
"Ye shall fall by the sword" said the prophet. The erring princes
fall by the sword that they fear.
Hardly had the prophet conveyed the final message of God to the princes than
the judgment of God came upon one of the princes. "And it came to pass,
when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died….."(Vs.13)
The manner in which God judged the princes of
His people under the Old Covenant remains the same under the New Covenant. However,
His judgment under the New Covenant is sorer than under the Old Covenant.
"But a
certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall
devour the adversaries.
He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath
trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the Blood of the Covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the
Spirit of grace.
The Lord shall judge His people….
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God" (Heb.10:27-31).
A Christian ruler cannot have a
different role than a minister of God. Paul says in Rom.13:3-4, a ruler is the
minister of God to execute wrath upon him that does evil. The ruler is supposed
to execute divine judgment upon his own citizens who do evil, and not upon the
citizens of another nation. The power and authority of the ruler is confined to
the boundaries of his nation.
(Job Anbalagan)