As people read the book of Ezekiel, indeed since it does not objectify the abominable things, we can only imagine what they are. The worship of the Sun is obvious; the Sun was the image that they worshipped in the vision of Ezekiel.
It was not yet reality but a
future event, or it could have been God revealing what was happening in the
House of God that was done in secret. It could be that many people (Ezek 8) were
doing abominable things in the Presence of God that He revealed to Ezekiel.
Of special consideration is the following abomination (disgusting thing):
He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy… Then said He unto me, “Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north.” So, I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. (Ezek 8:3,5)
Why translators capitalized “son”
is confusing. God was speaking to Ezekiel, but the Son of man was there in the
form of an image of fire. That image was Jesus — the “Son of man” (Mat 8:20). However,
Ezekiel was indeed the “son of Adam” since his genetics, just as mine and yours,
was from Adam. It was as if God was not only speaking to Ezekiel but all of
mankind. Or it could be that God was referring to what He saw the “sons of the
Wicked One” doing in His abode? So, for now, we shall gloss over why God said
that.
The focus is on the “image of
jealousy.” Nobody knows for certain what that image signified, and neither do
I, but that its location was at the inner gate that looks toward the North.
There were two north-facing gates
in the walls of Jerusalem: The Flowers Gate (aka Herod’s Gate) and the Damascus
Gate.
However, maybe we misunderstand
the concept of north. It may not be directional at all and neither of those
two gates. The Hebrew word ṣapon does mean north, but it also
means “hidden”
And He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said He unto me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall,” and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. (Ezek 8:7-8)
That dig ended up revealing an
inner chamber where Ezekiel saw wicked abominations (Ezek 9), such as: every
form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house
of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about” (Ezek 8:10).
Indeed, there were hidden things
beyond the door of the court. Perhaps it was not a northern facing door but a
hidden door. Is there a hidden door?
There are two hidden gates in the
walls of the old city: (1) The Gate of Mercy: “This gate, in the eastern
Temple-Mount wall, may be the best-known of them all. Also called the Golden
Gate or the Eastern Gate, it has been blocked for centuries, and is said to be
awaiting a miraculous opening when the Messiah comes and the dead are resurrected,”
and (2) below the Damascus Gate to the north, “Below the 16th-century gate,
archaeologists have uncovered part of the entryway built by Emperor Hadrian in
the second century CE”
Hadrian’s hidden gate is both
hidden and to the north. Behind Hadrian’s Gate was at one time a statue of Hadrian
himself; it was a triumphal gate (see the photo below as an example).
Figure 1: Arch of Hadrian in Jerash, Transjordan
Perhaps in a way, God was
revealing to Ezekiel where that hidden gate might someday be hidden. Hadrian
indeed, when the monument was built to himself, desecrated the city of
Jerusalem. The Jews would not allow graven images within the city, and Hadrian’s
statue would be defiling that Holy City. In fact, the Jews would not even allow
Roman banners to be placed in the city.
The other option is the “Mercy
Gate” — the “Golden Gate.” In 1541 A.D. that gate was sealed. Jews believe that
the Messiah will enter that specific gate to the East. Christians believe that
the Messiah did enter that gate when Jesus entered Jerusalem in his Triumphal
Entry.
So, there we have it; one gate
was for the triumphal entry of Hadrian — a “Satan” to the Jews — and the other
gate, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus.
Now consider again, what Ezekiel
saw. Firstly, he would have seen the place to the north where Hadrian would
enter; then he turned (Ezek 8:6), perhaps 90-degrees to the east, and
saw the gate that would be hidden where Jesus would enter; and digging there,
he saw all sorts of abominations.
Ezekiel saw the triumphal entry
of Hadrian and that it was defiled. Then he looked toward the Mercy Gate and
saw it defiled as well.
Now consider who had northerly
aspirations. Isaiah, speaking about the coming mercy of the Lord wrote about his
own vision:
For you (Lucifer) have said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isa 14:13-14)
The triumphal gate was for the
pomp of Hadrian. I believe that the statue of Hadrian would be the “image of jealousy.”
The Mercy Gate to the East was the Way Jesus came, but the hidden northern gate
was the way Hadrian came for his own triumph in jealousy (envy) of Jesus. Or
perhaps it was in mockery of the entry of Jesus as Lucifer is prone to
do.
The mount of the congregation was
a heavenly place, but the Temple Mount was inside the walls of Jerusalem.
Lucifer would be like the most High God (Jesus) and enter through the hidden northern
Hadrian Gate, perhaps as the wicked spirit in the “son of man,” Hadrian.
Was Isaiah seeing the triumphal
entry of Hadrian? Was Ezekiel seeing into the future where men dug up Hadrian’s
hidden gate that was for the triumphal entry of Lucifer within Hadrian?
We can only speculate, but
history and archaeology do reveal the hidden meaning somewhat.
Perhaps I did get it right; that
the image of jealousy was the image of Hadrian behind the hidden wall to
the north.
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