[Ezekiel 8:15 BSB] - “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Yet you will see even greater abominations than these.”

[Ezekiel 8:15 NIV] - He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

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☆1☆ As you see the Lord doing here, He shows and knows what iniquities are, and knows which sin is greater than the other. Part of discipleship training is to know what sins are, where sins are, when sins are, and to know the nature and extent of sins. The Lord was showing Ezekiel these things for his learning and for his witnessing.

One of the banes of the endtimes is the generation of the world growing increasingly ignorant or oblivion of what abominations or sins are. With advancement in technology, comes advancement in deception: but those who know the Lord would increase in the knowledge of both His righteousness and the knowledge of what He sees as sin, which is Truth. We must be sanctified by truth, or we are not fully sanctified at all.

“You have seen this (abomination), yet you will see greater abomination than this” — The mystery of iniquity must be fully unveiled for the righteous and the holy to see right through them till there's no more mystery of iniquity.

☆2☆ Another reason the Lord would show His angels, His prophets and His close friends the iniquities of people is so that those close to the Lord would both understand and agree with Him when He judges the sinners and pours His wrath on them. It's more like God getting justified when He acts against the sinners. In God's Judgment, there must be justification: when He justifies the righteous, He must be justified; and when He condemns the sinner/wicked, He must also be justified. Hence He upholds righteousness in judgment so that He may not be condemned when He condemns. One of the reasons you as a man should not judge is because you will be judged when you judge, and you may be condemned when you condemn [Luke 6:37]. God knows how to condemn without being condemned or being justified when He condemns, because God knows how to expose or bring to light the secret things in darkness when He judges.

[1 Corinthians 4:5 FBV] — So don't judge anything before the right time - when the Lord comes. He will bring to light all the darkest secrets that are hidden, and He will reveal people's motives. God will give everyone whatever praise they deserve.

Judgment comes with Revelation or Demystification (Light and Exposure). If you do not have enough Revelation and Lights to judge anyone, do not judge or condemn anyone. For saying you misjudged a man you condemned is not acceptable, and admitting you judged wrongly is even a reason you should be condemned: the sin of misjudging shall not go unpunished.

When I talk under the last bible verse in this chapter, I will relate more on how God being justified when He condemns or judges the sinners also shuts up voices of intercessors. Before then, let look into the next abomination the Lord say was greater than the ones He already showed the son of man in His Expository Series.

[Ezekiel 8:16 BSB] - So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

[Ezekiel 8:16 KJV] - ‭And He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

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This was the biggest of the abominations so far in that expository series. Though they were all idolatry, this one was the worst among the them.

☆ If it were based on the number of people involved — this one that had just 25 men would not have matched the one involving more number of women or 70 men.

☆ If it were based on the number of gods involved — this one that had just ‘Sun’ would not have matched the one involving many idols, demons and creatures.

It's not about the crowd involved nor about the varieties of demons or unclean things; rather its about the “Service and Worship” involved. To illustrate, take Roman Catholics’ claim “They are honoring Mary (and various saints), but never worship her (the saints).” Now supposing this claim is factual and true, it would still idolatry or abomination, but it would be less than the abomination of worshiping.

■☆■ The 70 elders were seen offering incense or oblation to various gods on Walls, doing “Joyful Mystery;” but they were not seen worshiping any of those gods by Ezekiel — That's idolatry of honoring or serving various gods, but not worshiping any of them.

■☆■ The women were seen weeping for Tammuz, doing “Sorrowful Mystery;” but they were not seen worshiping Tammuz by Ezekiel — That's idolatry of loving or devoting to dead gods with all one's heart, but not worshiping the dead gods.

■☆■ The 25 men were seen worshipping the sun, doing “Glorious Mystery” adoration to the sun as seen by Ezekiel — That's the peak of idolatry - worshipping any other creatures or thing apart from God the Creator of all.

Moreover, the peak of idolatry is not yet the peak of abomination that those 25 men were doing: they were also “Deny God, Profaning His Temple, and Blaspheming.”

— How they Denied God:
[Job 31:26-28 FBV] — Have I looked at the sun shining so brilliantly or the moon moving in majesty across the sky and been tempted to secretly worship them by kissing my hand to them in devotion? This too would be a sin deserving punishment for it would mean I had denied God above.

— How they Profane God's Temple:
They were in the innermost court of the temple, yet their backing was against the temple while they were facing the sun and worshiping the sun far away. This was in contrast to Daniel, being far away and in a country where prayer was forbidden, and yet he opened his window to face the temple of God while praying to God. When Solomon dedicated the temple, he spoke to God alot about men facing the temple.

[Ezekiel 8:17 BSB] - “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see this? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and continually provoke Me to anger? Look, they are even putting the branch to their nose!

[Ezekiel 8:17 AFV] - And He said to me, "Have you seen, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they do the hateful things which they do here? For they have filled the land with violence and have turned to provoke Me to anger still more. And lo, they put the branch to their nose.

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I said the peak of idolatry was not even the peak of abomination done by the 25 men worshiping the sun here, and mentioned denying God, Profaning His Temple, and Blaspheming God.

But in this Bible verse, even the abominations of the house of Judah were not enough, for they added violence (bloodshed, oppression and wickedness) to their abominations (idolatry, immorality, uncleanness) and to provoking God to anger through blaspheming or insulting the Lord God by an act of putting branch to their nose. That was the blaspheming I referred to, among the abominations of the 25 men.

See how the Almighty God is reporting this matter or complaining to the son of man, tabulating His grievances with a whole nation of His People to the prophet. This would bring Him justification when He judges the said people in the presence of the witness.

[Ezekiel 8:18 BSB] - Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My Ears, I will not listen to them.”

[Ezekiel 8:18 AFV] - Therefore I will also deal with fury; My Eye shall not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in My Ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."

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Here I will relate more on how God being justified when He condemns or judges the sinners also shuts up voices of intercessors and of mercy. Mercy or Pity may no longer be considered or regarded because the Lord God is justified in judging, condemning or pouring out His fury without restraint. Prayers, no matter how loud, would not be heard on their behalf because God is justified in outpouring His wrath upon them. This was to let the son of man, Ezekiel, know that even he pray for them in Intercession the Lord would not hear him because Ezekiel has seen or was shown the things they do to provoke the Lord to anger.

It's like the Lord told Jeremiah He will not hear his prayer for the people because he has seen or was shown the things they do in honoring the “Queen of Heaven” that provokes the Lord to anger. As it is written,

[Jeremiah 7:16-20 FBV] — You, Jeremiah, are not to pray for these people. Don't cry out to Me in prayer for them, don't plead with Me on their behalf, because I won't listen to you. Can't you see how they're behaving in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children collect the firewood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods to make Me angry and hurt. But is it really Me they're hurting? declares the Lord. Aren't they really hurting themselves and bringing shame on themselves? So this is what the Lord God says: Watch! My furious anger and will be poured out on this country, on people and animals, on the orchards and the crops in the field. It will burn and nobody will be able to put it out.

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